SMALLRIG LP-E6P Batteries, We Have Used Them and Came Away Impressed

I'll never understand photographers who'll invest $2k to $7k in a camera body, thousands on lenses and sometimes thousands on accessories (filters, tripods, straps, etc.) who will buy essentially mini-bombs often of unknown origin (i.e., li-ion batteries) based solely on cost (and a small percentage of their overall investment) and risk the aforementioned investments as well as their personal safety.
 
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I'll never understand photographers who'll invest $2k to $7k in a camera body, thousands on lenses and sometimes thousands on accessories (filters, tripods, straps, etc.) who will buy essentially mini-bombs often of unknown origin (i.e., li-ion batteries) based solely on cost (and a small percentage of their overall investment) and risk the aforementioned investments as well as their personal safety.
Quite a jump from $2-7k. I would think a majority of the $2k camp is going to be a bit more frugal. I hear this same sentiment year after year yet Watson, SmallRig and Wasabi keep working fine albeit with shorter charge spans. I get where you are coming from but if you said $5k and up then yeah....
 
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It depends what you need: Quality (battery with the highest capacity is CANON!) or quantity (2 good Smallrig batteries for the same price as 1 very good Canon battery).
There are several comparisons of LP E6(N/P/NH) batteries and the Smallrig batteries have a slightly lower capacity than the original from Canon. I need the batteries with the highest capacity for hiking where weight is an issue. And I understand that other photographers have different priorities. So I see the Smallrig batteries as an additional option which is unfortunately not optimal for my purpose.
 
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I'll never understand photographers who'll invest $2k to $7k in a camera body, thousands on lenses and sometimes thousands on accessories (filters, tripods, straps, etc.) who will buy essentially mini-bombs often of unknown origin (i.e., li-ion batteries) based solely on cost (and a small percentage of their overall investment) and risk the aforementioned investments as well as their personal safety.
“There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.” Hamlet, William Shakespeare.

The Smallrig is £30 in the UK, and the LP-E6P £120 (= $160). Anyway, I buy my LP-E6s in the USA from B&H when I visit as the UK price is nothing short of robbery.
 
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Two of my four Canon LP-E6P are not working properly anymore. I ordered them back in autumn 2024, so I cannot say that I am satisfied by those newer batteryversion. I do not know, why this happened. They are just nor recharching and the recharger´s light indicator are blinking all time.
As I need 4-6 additional for an long journey later this year, I´ll give the third party batteries a try. I like that I can charge them with an USB-C adapter. That saves me the weight of another charger.
Pricing here is €119 at an local dealer for the original version
 
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I’ve been using Patona since my first camera, ten years ago.

Currently, I own one Canon LP-E6NH, two Patona Protect LP-E6NH, and one Patona Protect LP-E6P.

In the past I also had a Jupio LP-E6N Premium. Nothing to complain, I had it for like five years, but in the meantime I bought the R6, so I moved on to LP-E6NH.

I’ve said this before: I have no issues trusting batteries from brands that are actually battery makers. It’s their area of expertise.

I like my Patonas Protect more than the original Canon’s, because the third parties have extra capacity. Plus, Patona is a battery maker, Canon is not AFAIK.

But I definitely trust a lot more on batteries from battery makers than from “accessories brands”, like Smallrig, Neewer, K&F, you name it.

I don’t care much for conveniences though. I buy the top of the line the brand I like has to offer. My Patona batteries take longer to charge than Canon’s, but it’s just what it is, since they also have larger capacities.

A genuine Canon battery ensures us the best absolute compatibility with our cameras, because they’re the ones coding them. As for the quality of their cells and BMS, we know next to nothing. We know, from experience, they’re decent, but nothing tells us they really are the best.

Some third parties at least let us somewhat know what’s inside.
 
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Apparently these are pretty good batteries and will support all camera features in the R5 Mark ii (e.g pre-capture), however I've also heard that they physically cannot fit in the BG-R20 battery grip. Has anyone here used them successfully with the grip?
 
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My SmallRig LP-e6NH worked fine in my R5, but doesn't work at all in my R5ii. The USB-C connection is very handy. Will look to getting P versions to supplement my three Canon LP-E6P s.
 
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Good to hear. I have slightly different experiences with their older LP-E6NH versions which came bundled with a double-slot charger. Those two batteries die off so fast that I haven't bothered using them anymore in R5 or R6ii. I did some comparing, and a Canon original LP-E6NH lasted approximately twice longer than those Smallrig copies. I am happy to hear their new battery has improved. Or perhaps it was just my copies. I like most of the things they make, the rig parts are very good quality in my opinion.
 
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I use two Canon LP-E6NH batteries and three PATONA For LP-E6NH batteries, one of which has a USB-C port. I was disappointed to find that my two Canon batteries quickly lost their charge capacity (1 bar out of 3), while my three Patona batteries maintained their full charge capacity (3 bars) over the same period, according to my Canon R6 interface. I rotate my 5 batteries in order. They are all used alternately.

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
 
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I'll never understand photographers who'll invest $2k to $7k ... and risk the aforementioned investments as well as their personal safety.
I fully understand your argumentation and for years I was in the OEM battery only camp, too.
But if they come from pretty reliable vendors like SMALLRIG and if you browse the web about critics, then you can build your own picture about the quality.

Personally, I use two SMALLRIG LP-E6NH equivalent for more than two years.
I am still satisfied and especially for traveling I very much welcome the USB-C direct charging.

Right now (March 12th) there is a special offer in the German SMALLRIG store at amazone.de:
15 % off: 35,60 € instead of 41,90 (incl. VAT).
Compared to this, Canon OEM price: ~98,- € (MRSP 119,- €)
So if you compare the MRSPs, you can get 3x SMALLRIG or 1x Canon.
A few weeks ago I could get OEM LP-E6P for 75,- € special offer.
Bought them, because I didn't know that SMALLRIG would come out with own LP-E6P so soon.
 
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It depends what you need: Quality (battery with the highest capacity is CANON!) or quantity (2 good Smallrig batteries for the same price as 1 very good Canon battery). ...
TBH, my personal experience with SMALLRIG LP-E6NH after two years is that they last longer than my Canon batteries (about the same age and use).
Seems, they have an even higher capacity.
 
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Two of my four Canon LP-E6P are not working properly anymore. I ordered them back in autumn 2024, so I cannot say that I am satisfied by those newer batteryversion. I do not know, why this happened. They are just nor recharching and the recharger´s light indicator are blinking all time.
As I need 4-6 additional for an long journey later this year, I´ll give the third party batteries a try. I like that I can charge them with an USB-C adapter. That saves me the weight of another charger.
Pricing here is €119 at an local dealer for the original version
Send them in to Canon, if they are still under warranty (€ = EU = 2 years warranty).
The only thing you can lose is time and postage.
 
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TBH, my personal experience with SMALLRIG LP-E6NH after two years is that they last longer than my Canon batteries (about the same age and use).
Seems, they have an even higher capacity.
nope they don't, canons batteries will stop working as soon as they cannot guarantee the voltage to 100%. Neither is the capacity larger. Canon is calculating the capacity differntly. You can check this review that explains it on the current series; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pe-_BFC21gs
 
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