Is Amazon selling fake LP-E6 batteries or did Canon change design?

[aloper]

Maybe just wait a few days for the flood of photos and videos that will be coming from a ton of "unboxing" videos...I'm sure you will find something in those to compare the battery with...

[kiniro]

This is how my battery came...the packaging.

[unkbob]

This is how my battery came...the packaging.

Looks very similar but subtly different to mine. My packaging has no ridges on the sides. Was it sealed / blister pack? Mine could be opened in 1 second and put back with no one the wiser.

[kiniro]

I'll have to check when I get home.  I'll post an update later tonight.

[Parallacs]

Sorry OP if the battery is fake, I got burned a few years back with a very convincing CF card.

A word of advice to everyone: Don't use Amazon or Ebay to buy any type of memory card/battery/filter.

Just assume that anything from a third party seller is fake. Assume anything from Hong Kong is fake. Even when your order is directly from Amazon, their system will sometimes use may different warehouses and distribution centers. These locations aren't guaranteed to have legit stock.

Ebay is just asking for counterfeit stock, don't even try.

Pretty much the only option for these type of items is either Adorama or BH.

[Mt Spokane Photography]

Sorry OP if the battery is fake, I got burned a few years back with a very convincing CF card.

A word of advice to everyone: Don't use Amazon or Ebay to buy any type of memory card/battery/filter.

Just assume that anything from a third party seller is fake. Assume anything from Hong Kong is fake. Even when your order is directly from Amazon, their system will sometimes use may different warehouses and distribution centers. These locations aren't guaranteed to have legit stock.

Ebay is just asking for counterfeit stock, don't even try.

Pretty much the only option for these type of items is either Adorama or BH.

I've had no problem buying batteries from Amazon, they are a authorized Canon Dealer.  The op bought his battery from a third party seller, not from Amazon.

[preppyak]

Yep, and I've actually had pretty good luck with a few known knock-offs (Wasabi, Maximal) that have lasted just as long as my original Canon or Panasonic batteries. No reason to pay $60 for a battery I know someone can make and sell for $10. But, they also say they are knock-offs.

Sucks to get bait-and-switched on what you thought was a legit Canon battery.

[RC]

Anyone know if these counterfeit batteries register the s/n in the battery menu?    The reason I ask is because one of my 3 batteries (purchased from Amazon fulfillment) has a different length serial number from my other 2.   I was a little suspicious but I could not tell any differences between batteries or packaging.

[unkbob]

Anyone know if these counterfeit batteries register the s/n in the battery menu?    The reason I ask is because one of my 3 batteries (purchased from Amazon fulfillment) has a different length serial number from my other 2.   I was a little suspicious but I could not tell any differences between batteries or packaging.

Yes, other brands of batteries can be registered in the menu. Don't worry about the number of digits - I get that too.

[Mt Spokane Photography]

The main concern besides having poor performance / life is safety.  Someone who is making a counterfit battery is not likely to worry about following the safety laws for Li-on batteries, and they can be dangerous.  Its like a lottery, but with a counterfit, your odds of a fire are much greater.

[kiniro]

This is how my battery came...the packaging.

Looks very similar but subtly different to mine. My packaging has no ridges on the sides. Was it sealed / blister pack? Mine could be opened in 1 second and put back with no one the wiser.

I just opened mine.  The tabs in the back are glued to the red paper so I don't know how someone might open this packaging and then repackage. 

[kiniro]

Also, check the hologram on the package.  Canon's anti-counterfeiting tactics includes the use of the special hologram. The new unique holograms show the word ‘Canon’ running horizontally in a number of bands, and in between the ‘ribbons’ users should see a helix design, also running horizontally, overprinted with the word ‘genuine’. The hologram has a color-changing feature also. Upright, it should appear as an iridescent gold, but when tipped into a horizontal position, a bright, iridescent green. If this transition does not color, Canon advises that the hologram is fake.

hologram that came on my package meets these characteristics.

[Mt Spokane Photography]

Canon has changed packaging as well as whats printed on the batteryabout once a year.  Three of my four are slightly different, each is a different age.  The new batteries I bought form Adorama and Amazon (not a third party) have the correct hologram.  The other two came with my 5D MK II and later 7D.
 
The original 5D Battery says made in Japan, then I have a made in China, and one that is part Japanese and part Chinese.  One has a date on it, but the others are older and do not.

[unkbob]

Canon has changed packaging as well as whats printed on the batteryabout once a year.  Three of my four are slightly different, each is a different age.  The new batteries I bought form Adorama and Amazon (not a third party) have the correct hologram.  The other two came with my 5D MK II and later 7D.
 
The original 5D Battery says made in Japan, then I have a made in China, and one that is part Japanese and part Chinese.  One has a date on it, but the others are older and do not.

Do they all have the same colour plastic covers?

[Jedifarce]

I guess this is a tricky one. When I ordered additional batteries from Amazon, I purposefully stayed away from "third party" replacements. So I purchased it from this amazon spot -

http://www.amazon.com/Canon-LP-E6-Battery-Digital-Cameras/dp/B001KELVS0

They seemed to work fine. However, when you look at the reviews you'll see 93-5stars vs 31-1star ratings it can make deciding a bit confusing. After sifting through some of the negative ratings, some of the people that were burned seemed to have not bought directly from Amazon but from other sellers. The battery crapping out or not holding it's charge appears to be the biggest complaints. The batteries I got hold the same amount of charge as the original that came with my camera and the yellow plastic cover is the same color.

 I suppose it's more difficult for me to tell if theres a problem because I shoot primarily video which drains the battery much quicker than taking stills and they power my SmallHD DP6 external monitor. The DP6 is pretty neat, it was specifically designed to have 1-2 canon batteries to bolt on back of it as a power source so it's not drawing any power from the camera itself. Having 8 batteries you don't really worry about the batteries losing power, when it does you switch it out. I'd purchase more batteries from the same Amazon link again.