Battery grip for t2i/550d - LP-E5 or LP-E8 batteries?

T

tikigod19

Well-known member
Hi all,
I'm investing in a couple of 550d's pretty soon for unattended recording so thought I'd best get (non-canon) battery grips. I notice you can buy some that take the same battery as the 550d (LP-E8) and some that take the LP-E5. I read somewhere (can't find it now) that the LP-E5 was the better battery and that's why they make the grip which takes the different battery.

I like the idea of not having to worry about which battery I'm carrying if I decide to not use the grip, which would mean therefore buying one that takes LP-E8 but before I went for the purchase I thought I'd check with you guys to see if there is any advantage over one compared to the other.

I'll be using cheap as chips imported non-canon batteries... i've had good experience of such things on my 5D so wouldn't pay top dollar for the canon ones.

Thanks in advance
 
Definitely get a grip that supports the LP-E8. I have about a dozen of those batteries, imports of course which run absolutely fine and are as you say, cheap as chips. I haven't had such luck in the past with knock-off Sony batteries but these have served me very well.
 
thanks guys.

i appreciate the ebay links. Unfortunately I'm in the UK so will have to use a more local seller (although the highest mAh I can find is 1350, not 1400 and in fact most are 1200 but I decided to avoid those)

It looks like the cheapo ones are recommended though so I'll definitely go LP-e8
 
interesting.. just had an email back from the seller of this one saying that it would not enable me to see the remaining battery level on screen on the camera. I am starting to wonder if the Chinese batteries I have for the 60d and 5d have the same issue. They always display full on the camera panel and then when they run out the cam just goes dead with no warning.

Is it a case of if it displays ANYTHING in the panel then it's classified as displaying the remaining time. Or could I buy that grip/batteries and find that when I look at the battery level indicator in camera it's just not there?
 
2 more emails overnight from different sellers of the 550d battery grip, all saying that it will not allow you to see the remaining battery time on the camera. Can somebody confirm whether this is correct?
 
tikigod19 said:
2 more emails overnight from different sellers of the 550d battery grip, all saying that it will not allow you to see the remaining battery time on the camera. Can somebody confirm whether this is correct?
Click to expand...

Which one? There are several, some completely un-branded, so cannot be subject to reviews. There is a company called Meike who have been in the market for some years now making replica battery grips with a good reputation.

I recently bought the Meike for my 550d having read positive reviews. It takes LP-E8s. It shows the battery level for Canon, 3rd party and AA's. I don't know how accurately though, but it seems to be fine.

It has metal mounting plates top and bottom, is built well and can be had for £30 shipped from Hong Kong.
 
jamesd256 said:
Which one? There are several, some completely un-branded, so cannot be subject to reviews. There is a company called Meike who have been in the market for some years now making replica battery grips with a good reputation.

I recently bought the Meike for my 550d having read positive reviews. It takes LP-E8s. It shows the battery level for Canon, 3rd party and AA's. I don't know how accurately though, but it seems to be fine.

It has metal mounting plates top and bottom, is built well and can be had for £30 shipped from Hong Kong.
Click to expand...

fantastic, thanks for the info. Just found it on ebay for £31. Always a possible import tax risk but then I found the seller cam2_uk (ive used them before and they were ok) selling the meike one so I assume its the same and this is £35 in the UK so I'll order two of those now.

Thanks again for that info.
 
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