My Original & Backup Battery for my Canon Camera - Canon BP-511 Battery

In order to make sure I never run out of battery power when I’m using my Canon Digital Rebel camera, I carry a spare, charged battery with me. That way if the battery that’s in the camera runs out of power, I can swap in the charged one and continue taking photographs.

When I was looking for a battery backup, I went and just got a second BP-511 battery from Canon. I wanted to make sure that it was fully compatible with the camera and that I was getting a quality battery that wouldn’t lose its charge or have other problems.

While there is a bit of a price-premium on Canon branded batteries, I felt the difference in the price was fairly minor and having the exact battery from the camera’s manufacturer made me feel more comfortable about its reliability. Not only that, this was the battery that came originally with my camera and worked well, so I figured I wouldn’t tempt fate and went with the same battery.

Battery Basics

There’s not much to say here. The BP-511 battery from Canon is a rechargeable battery that fits into a number of different Canon devices. Specifically for me, it fits in my Canon EOS Digital Rebel camera.

This is the same battery that comes with the camera when you purchase it.

The battery is charged on the standard BP-511 charger. My charger came with my Rebel camera, which also included the original BP-511 battery. The battery charges fairly quick – within a few hours it’s completely charged.

I’ve found that I can average 300-400 photos on a charge, though usually it’s more likely to be around 300, especially if I am using the flash a lot or use the LCD screen on the camera to review photos I’ve taken or modify settings.

Because the BP-511 battery is a lithium ion battery, it tends to hold its charge better than non-lithium ion batteries. In addition it can be recharged many more times than standard batteries without any reduction in the amount of charge that the battery can hold. Thus this battery should last you quite some time.

Experiences

Like I said I average about 300 shots on a full charge when I’m taking photos that use the flash and when I use the LCD panel to review shots. I can push that number up towards 400 when I’m not using the flash and I don’t use the LCD panel.

I’ve been using my BP-511 batteries for several years and done hundred of charges on them. I haven’t noticed a problem with either one, the continue to chug along and provide on average, the same charge as they did when they were new.

The only real problem I’ve run across is cold weather operation. The batteries will become quickly depleted if you do not keep them warm in colder situations. When I take the camera on a wintertime hike or ski, I have to keep the battery in an interior pocket close to my body to keep it warm in order to hold on to the charge. Even with the battery in the camera, I must remove it and keep it warm, otherwise the charge is quickly gone. However any batteries have problems in colder temperatures so it wasn’t an unexpected problem.

Otherwise, I haven’t had any problems with my secondary or primary BP-511 batteries. They generally hold their charge well, charge quickly and offer that average of 300 shots.

Final Thoughts

Overall I’ve been quite happy with my BP-511 batteries. They do what they are supposed to do and because they are from Canon, I know they are going to work in my Canon camera.

For anyone with a Canon camera that takes the BP-511 battery, I would recommend you get yourself at least one of these as a backup replacement battery. That way you’ll never be left in front of a great shot without any battery power.