Steven asked:

Do you have any tips on a good battery charger for the LP-E8 batteries?

This is what I’ve been using (above). On the left is a generic clone Canon LP-E8 battery charger and on the right is the official LP-E8 battery charger from Canon. If you look really close you can see that the insert arrow on the left charger is shinny and the led light windows are slightly opaque, otherwise they look identical.

Both the clone battery charger and the official Canon unit charge decoded LP-E8 batteries. The clone charger is $10.50 and comes with a 3 foot cable, while the official charger is $60 and comes with a 4 foot cable.

Build quality of the clone charger does feel a little less substantial in your hand. The clone battery charger feels like it’s made out of slightly thinner plastic and seem to weigh a little less then the original Canon charger. Batteries fit just a little bit less snug in the clone charger but the snap clips still hold the battery in place. Charging times seem about the same and without look closely it’s hard to tell which is which.

I don’t know if this is a Canon Asia charger or if it’s a flat out counterfeit, but it does the job and it’s 1/6 the price. The official Canon charger might outlast the clone battery charger if you plan to subject it to heavy use and abuse but at $10.50 a peace, you can have 5 backups for the price of a single $60 Canon unit. I’ve been using this one for over 6 months without any problems, so for me it’s a usable option, but mileage may very.

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