Canon NB2L Battery Pack for Elura 40MC/50, Optura 400/500 Camcorders & S30/S40/S50/S60/S70/Rebel XT Digital Cameras
From Canon
Since it began operations, Canon has placed great importance on technology. By developing original technologies, Canon has been able to diversify into a wide range of business fields. Behind the company's fully equipped product line stands a whole line of innovative power accessories that will help you to work more productively. All power accessories are reliable and noted for their superior quality.
- Brand: Canon
- Model: NB-2L
Lithium-Ion rechargeable battery.
Models:
- PowerShot S30, S40 and S45, Elura 40MC, Elura 50
Not many other choices for the Powershot S-series cameras
This is a proprietary battery almost exclusively for the Canon Powershot S-series (S30/40/45/50) line of digital cameras. If you don't own a Powershot S-, this is not for you. If you do, read on...
The Canon Powershot cameras were designed to be powered by a proprietary battery - the NB-2L Lithium Ion - and cannot be powered by standard disposable or rechargeable batteries/battery packs. So if you want a spare battery, the NB-2L is it.
DO YOU NEED AN EXTRA BATTERY? Most digital cameras eat up battery power quickly, especially with the LCD on, so even the casual photographer could find a use for a second battery (e.g. if you are going out for the full day and don't want to get stuck with a dead battery in the middle of junior's baseball game).
WHICH ONE SHOULD I GET? There are only a handful of other manufacturers that make a compatible NB-2L and from what I've seen you're bound to save maybe a 10 spot at the most over the Canon. In one sense, a battery is a battery is a battery - if it has the same voltage and amp rating, there probably won't be significant performance differences (no, the bunny doesn't go longer on the Energizer than it does on the Duracell - that's marketing, sorry to burst your bubble). So by getting the Canon you pay a little more for the same product but maybe get a little peace of mind that you have the same battery as originally came with your camera.
But wait, there is one other option. The Canon and most other NB-2L batteries are rated at 7.4 volts and 570 mAh. The volts measures how much power at one time the battery delivers - this has to be standard so your camera will not blow up. The mAh, or milliamperes per hour, measures the total storage capacity of the battery. There is one manufacturer out there that makes an NB-2L that is rated at 650 mAh, thus suggesting you will get 14% more life out of this battery than the Canon (I'll be nice and not mention where to get it, but search the web - you will find it). Whether this holds true, I'm not sure as I'm not an electrical engineer but maybe you are, so it's one option. To be fair, I bought the Canon cause I have a low risk tolerance and I like to see the Canon name on my battery.
BOTTOM LINE: A safe bet if you need a proprietary NB-2L for the Canon Powershot cameras - you'll only save a few bucks maybe with a third party battery.
An ok battery for the price.
The Canon NB-2L Battery Pack is just ok but it serves my needs.
It is recommend that you buy a spare battery or even two spare batteries.
Positives:
* The NB-2L charges very fast. It charges fully in a little over an hour.
* You can take a decent number of pictures without having to recharge the battery. I took about 95 at the 2048x1536 resolution in the fine mode on my Canon S30 in about 3 hours of shooting time and that was with the display on. If you turn the display off this time will be extended significantly.
Negatives:
* The charge does not last very long, usually less than a day. This is why that spare battery is mandatory.
* The NB-2L battery is very limiting. It can only be used with Canon S30, S40, S45 and S50 Digital Cameras & Elura 40MC Camcorders. I could understand if it could be used with the whole line of Canon digital cameras but no, it can only be used with those models. The other Canon cameras have there own batteries such as the NB-1L. I don't know why this is. Maybe it's a money thing with Canon.
* It's expensive. Though the price has gone down significantly from when it was first introduced a few years ago, it's still costly. Since you must buy a spare battery, it's hard on the wallet to buy one of these let alone two.
Overall if you have any of the above model cameras you will need this battery even with all its flaws. The fact that this battery takes little or no time to charge is indeed the upside. So even if you can't afford a spare battery you will not have to wait forever to get it back up and running to take some more pictures.
If cost is no big deal, go for it...
After getting a Canon Powershot S50, I decided to get extra batteries for it. Not wanting to spend around $50 for one, I checked around. Since thomasdistributing.com has been highly recommended by several digital camera review websites (steves-digicams.com is one) as a good source of rechargeable batteries (particularly NiMH, of which I did have a good experience there), I bought two Powermax NB-2L replacement batteries there. One seemed to work OK, however noticeably faster to go out of juice, compared to the Canon's. The second one, after ten minutes or so on the Canon charger, blinked red and green alternately. Leaving it longer on the charger did not help. After a few minutes with it in the camera, the low battery indicator came up. A few cycles charge and discharge in the camera (by leaving the back display on) as recommended by thomasdistributing customer service gave no improvement. A replacement came about a week later, and seemed to be OK at first, but did not get much use. After two months, this replacement now exhibits the same behavior as the one it replaced!
All the while the Canon brand battery that came with the camera still holds charge, and lasts the longest of all three under use. It costs a lot more (more than twice) than other brand. Yet, the quality is clearly superior. I also own a Canon Elura camcorder for a few years now. Its battery and a higher capacity Canon battery for it are still going strong.
Foot Note: I just got another NB-2L "impersonnator" from batteryspace.com for $17. (Have not learned my lesson yet, I guess!) So far it appears to be better than the Powermax.
