Can I use a higher-capacity BP-511 battery in my Canon EOS camera?
Asked 11/23/2012
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My Canon EOS camera uses a BP-511 battery rated at 7.4V, 1100mAh. I need a replacement and found a well-reviewed third-party BP-511 battery that is also 7.4V but rated at 1500mAh. Is the higher mAh rating safe for the camera, and does it matter as long as the voltage and battery type match?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
13y ago
2 Answers
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This will not be a problem. Milliamp-hours are a rating of the capacity of the battery (metaphorically, the size of the gas tank), and having extra won't cause any harm. (Basically, it's how long the power will last, not how strong it is.) It's possible but unlikely that cost-cutting in the battery may have other, more problematic issues, but many people use them with no adverse effects. (See Should I buy an original manufacturer battery, or is a generic brand OK?)
However, be aware that cheap, third-party batteries often overstate their capacity. So, it's completely likely that the actual capacity is really about the same as the name-brand version — or even lower in real use, despite the much higher labeled rating.
Originally by user1943. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user1943
13y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Yes — if it’s the correct BP-511 type and the voltage matches (7.4V), a higher mAh rating is generally fine. The mAh figure is the battery’s capacity, meaning how long it can run before needing a recharge, not how much power it forces into the camera. In simple terms, it’s like a bigger fuel tank, not a more powerful engine.
So a 1500mAh replacement should not harm the camera just because it has a higher capacity.
The main caution is quality: some cheap third-party batteries may exaggerate their stated capacity, so a battery labeled 1500mAh may perform similarly to — or even worse than — the original 1100mAh pack. But the higher capacity number itself is not a problem.
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AI13y ago
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