How can you spot a fake Canon LP-E6 Battery?

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Emmet Brickowski
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There is a seller on ebay selling these batteries for £16.99

I emailed them and asked if they were really genuine.

This was the reply,

Thanks very much for your interested in this item, we appreciate it. :)

Sure, it's genuine Canon LP-E6 (China Version) battery, we taken it from Canon camera kit. Some customers bought the camera from our local store and they didn't need the battery, so it was left and we sale it on eBay. it will not come with the retail box and document.
Your battery will be shipped out with tracking number in 1 day after payment cleared.

If you have any need, just feel free to contact us.
Have a good day!

Best Regards

-----------

So for 17 quid I thought it was worth a go.

All the battery info in the camera have 7 digits letters and numbers (all 3 are different letters and numbers)

1: The one I just got from ebay

2: Came with my 7D camera a few years ago. Bought from hdew cameras (It came from America if I remember rightly)


It looks good if it is a fake. Font, print all look sharp and like the Canon one that came with the camera.


So what do you think? Is number 1 genuine or a fake?


1: The one I just got from ebay

2: Came with my 7D camera a few years ago. Bought from hdew cameras



 
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If it looks too good to be true...

It's like a spot the difference competition, there are lots of small variations between the two - is battery manufacture sub-contracted by Canon to a variety of firms? Have designs be tweaked over the years? I don't know, but I'd be inclined to think that's a fake. Who buys a camera without a battery (as per the seller's claim)?

I'd rather risk an honest third party battery than a too-cheap knock-off.
 
As they sold 114 of them so far without one complaint I thought it was worth a punt.
 
Maybe they are nicked batteries. Maybe they are fake, maybe they are real. Maybe 114 bought the cameras as door stoppers :)
It really doesn't matter why. Can you tell by the photo if the battery is fake or not? :ty:
 
Canon IMO are the only ones who can give a definitive answer.

But where doubt based on price exists but there is a high potential that the item is "real" then stolen sounds possible........if the latter then maybe the question is no longer whether fake or not but should anyone be buying such goods?

In part it reminds me there sort of posts I have seen elsewhere about Craigs List and stolen camera gear being offered for sale.

Whatever the case is, caveat emptor!
 
Depending on how much you value an hour of your time you have probably wasted more money taking those photos and writing that post than you have saved buying a probably fake/stolen battery.
 
Might of been better buying a third party battery, from a proper shop over here. Probably a more reliable and safer battery, for not much more money.
 
I have some genuine Canon batteries, one bought in the UK in 2010. One bought in Australia last year, there are a few differences on the blue label on the back, everything else is identical. So that at least says that genuine Canon batteries can have different markings on their labels.

So I guess the answer is that you won't know if they're genuine. I use third party batteries, touch wood never had a problem. If these are dodgy I guess you'll find out one day when they ruin a shoot or your expensive camera!
 
It's a fake.

Nobody, but nobody buys a camera without a battery. Even if you already have a battery, and certainly not 114 people.
Nobody, but nobody would sell a genuine Canon battery worth £50+ for £17.

You don't need to look at the pictures. It's common sense.

If I was you I would claim you money back through PayPal and put the money towards a well known third party brand.
If these batteries were any good, the makers wouldn't need to hide behind the canon brand to sell them.
 
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Try weighing them. The fake Sony batteries I got caught by weighed only 37 grams rather than the genuine 57 grams.
But I agree with Elliott; it's just not rational that that many camera buyers didn't want a battery as well.
 
There are quite a few "genuine" fakes floating around. They look good and work well, but performance soon drops off. I know - I was suckered into buying one. Amazon were selling them for something like £20 till they were rumbled and suddenly the listing disappeared.
If it looks too good to be true, then it probably isn't!!!
 
I suppose they could be putting third party batteries in with discounted cameras and then flogging the genuines to make back margins. More likely that it's counterfeit. However it's only £17. So not that different (but slightly more expensive) than decent third party equivalents. The ones I worry about are the ones charging £45 for a "genuine" battery that are nothing of the sort, but you've then properly been fleeced; and these can make their way into all sorts of genuine retail channels, duping those unsuspecting people who think paying more assures them of the real thing.

If you are buying possible counterfeit, at least buy it cheap. :)
 
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The way the OP's supplier is selling these they are not in retail packs so they get away with avoiding the genuine ones having the hologram logo sticker on the packaging that Canon say is the primary identifier.

But whether you believe the hype or not that Canon (what about other makers?) say about the quality of their batteries and the control elements built in to them there have been reports of fake read as poorly made without QC etc to ensure they meet a standard of them going into meltdown and worst let alone just not charging/holding charge/lasting such a short time etc.

Third party ones of good brand are likely worth having because they are or should be backed by the maker/supplier but fakes have no backup or recourse if they go wrong..............................so I say again buyer beware and if you buy Canon branded and it turns out to be fake do not expect Canon to help you but third party all being well you should have some route of support.

The old adage maybe is a guide especially with fakes ~ buy cheap buy twice applies for more reasons than just what brand it is!
 
The issue is whether you a confident to leave it on charge unattended. At least with a third party they are telling you its not genuine. The story from your seller sounds like the biggest load of crap I've ever heard, unless as mentioned they are swapping the genuine with fakes. But for £17 minus postage it seem like a lot of hassle for the money.
 
Raptor Mike said:
The issue is whether you a confident to leave it on charge unattended. At least with a third party they are telling you its not genuine.........
Click to expand...

Personally, I think there is no difference in this regard. A no name third party battery gives me no more confidence in its ability to not catch on fire than a no name battery with a canon label on it. I'd not charge either unattended :).
 
Simes123 said:
Personally, I think there is no difference in this regard. A no name third party battery gives me no more confidence in its ability to not catch on fire than a no name battery with a canon label on it. I'd not charge either unattended :).
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But you can get third party batteries made by well known names, such as Duracell etc. They are likely to be safer, than fake batteries made to hoodwink people !
 
jonbeeza said:
But you can get third party batteries made by well known names, such as Duracell etc. They are likely to be safer, than fake batteries made to hoodwink people !
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I don't disagree. That's why I said, no name third party battery. But don't imagine for one minute that by buying a name you are guaranteeing getting a different product. The tooling and production lines for technology are not cheap. It's not like counterfeiting leather goods or clothing. Thus the source product may well be identical, with different branding etc.
 
Lets not forget that Canon do NOT make batteries. They are probably made by some factory in China, so it's not improbable that these batteries were made in the same factory, but labeled differently.

My original Canon battery supplied with my 7D failed to charge fully after about 10 months, Canon did replace it free of charge, but the same is happening again now. However, I bought a none genuine battery from Amazon when I bought my camera new and that one is working perfectly. The issue I have is, when I charge the Canon battery fully, it still only shows 2 green bars, but the none original shows 3 green bars and lasts much longer.
 
Simes123 said:
Personally, I think there is no difference in this regard. A no name third party battery gives me no more confidence in its ability to not catch on fire than a no name battery with a canon label on it. I'd not charge either unattended :).
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I'm talking about the battery the op thinks may be fake. There's a difference between third part and fake.
 
It is true that Canon do not make batteries and that their batteries are probably made in a factory in China, but that's not to say the cells in the knock off batteries aren't cheap Chinese cells and some, if not all of the protection circuitry has been removed to save manufacturing costs.

I'm in the business of laptop batteries and I've seen some shocking batteries over the years.
If you have cells that go into thermal runaway because the battery doesn't have sufficient protection you're in for a bang. As a retailer of third party laptop batteries, I'm certainly not saying you should only buy overpriced genuine branded ones, but I would NEVER touch a no name Chinese brand or one advertised as genuine but to cheap to be true.

As stated before a good quality third party manufacturer has no problem branding their product and will stand behind it. A poor quality product will fake branding so as to avoid any consequences when it all goes t*ts up.
 
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Daverkl said:
There is a seller on ebay (from China) selling these batteries for £16.99 - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/221741416354?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

1: The one I just got from ebay

2: Came with my 7D camera a few years ago. Bought from hdew cameras



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It's funny, of these two I'd have guessed the second was the dodgy one, I've not seen a Canon LP-E6 without the stamped-in date or warnings in English before.

Did the new one come in one in a plastic sled? Third party batteries often don't put much effort into that bit and they are loose, I'd guess a fake battery would be the same.

TBH if it works as expected I wouldn't worry about it. Interesting question though!
 
the standard of the English in that reply alone would put me off ... also who buys a body without buying the battery ? worst excuse of evah
 
I forgot about this thread.

I contacted Canon, sent them photos and they have confirmed the battery is genuine.
 
may be the sellers are swapping the geunine ones out of kits to sell seperately- given that the one you bought with a body from hdew isnt a standard canon one
 
I buy 3rd party batteries for my DSLR's, all bought from "sue-able" sources. Putting a "ebay" battery in a £1000 body just seems madness
 
big soft moose said:
may be the sellers are swapping the geunine ones out of kits to sell seperately- given that the one you bought with a body from hdew isnt a standard canon one
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^ This is exactly what I think might be happening. Sell the bodies with no/fake batteries via grey market. Also sell the genuine batteries separately from the broken up kits. Extra margins on an increasingly competitive grey market product.
 
I once bought two fake batteries from different sellers in Hong Kong mainly for curiosity. I didn't ask, if they were really genuine, because I knew they couldn't be. They were delivered in old style carton boxes, with Canon and "Made in Japan" printed on. ;)
The fake batteries are slightly more shiny than the original ones, everything else is very similar, but not exactly the same, just as shown in the opening message.

I bought them from different sellers in the hope, they would have different identity numbers, which are reported to the camera. But they haven't. So the camera (5D Mark III) is not able to record the number of shots for each battery separately. I had difficulties with that batteries when I used them with a no name batteries grip. They were constantly reported to be empty very soon, but with that grip even the original ones were. I've got another two LP6, both with the same id, but different from the fakes, which were included by the noname grip. Now I've recently gave up and bought an Canon BG and even the fakes now perform quite well.

My two original LP6, one was included with camera, the second I bought in the same store with the camera, are loosing their load even if stored in the fridge. 20% in about 4 weeks and I cannot say they are better or worse than the fake and clones.
 
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I've read, they would discharge less at lower temperatures. I'm talking on about 8°C.
 
There were several sources, including an interview with a guy from a battery manufacturer, but for sure not facebook, as I don't use it. Some say room temperature, some say 15°C, some say 0°C. It's a fridge in the basement, just for the case of we need occasionally more space and for the beer and white wine. If it doesn't matter, at least I exactly know where all my batteries are. :)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium-ion_battery#Degradation
 
I found some in a similar listing on ebay (maybe the same one) and decided to get a couple to see how they worked. Mine came in the blister pack with the Holographic logo marked genuine, had the same font as the four batteries that had come with my camera bodies (70D, 6D, 7D MkII and 5D MkIII) that had been bought in various locations (2 grey import from the UK, 1 grey import from Hong Kong and 1 from L.C.E. in the UK) and the labels look almost identical, probably from different year of manufacture.

They worked perfectly in all the cameras and grips, charged on the different chargers I have and performed as well as the originals. I took them into my local branch of L.C.E. and they couldn't tell them from the ones they had on display so I, like the OP, sent photos of them to Canon and they replied confirming they were genuine as well.

After receiving that news I was relieved and quite elated to think of the price I had got them for so I ordered another bunch and I now have a total of 16 batteries. 2 for each grip on each body and 2 spares for each although so far I've never actually ran out at a single event. I have started taking more videos on the 70D and the 7D MKiI and that does seem to eat battery power far quicker than stills but I'm still covered I think.
 
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