LP-E6 Battery Performance: Canon vs. Third-Party Deep Dive (Wh & Resistance Testing

[Bryan Conner]

Introduction

After years of using both Canon and high-quality third-party LP-E6 batteries, I wanted to verify if OEM batteries truly offer superior performance. Because third-party batteries often "spoof" the camera’s State of Health (SoH) data—falsely reporting 100% health regardless of actual condition—I moved to independent hardware testing to find the truth.

The Test Rig

• Tester: Atorch DL-24 Load Tester.
• Battery Holder: A modified Canon battery magazine. Note: This adds some fixed resistance, so results should be viewed as relative comparisons against my baseline (New Canon LP-E6P, Oct 2025).
• Charging: OEM batteries via Canon LC-E6; third-party via XTAR SN4.

Parameters

• The Load: 1.1A constant discharge. This simulates a hybrid workflow of stills, high-speed bursts, and 8K video without over-stressing the cells.
• The Cut-off: 6.0V. Based on community data, this is the common trigger point for Canon camera shutdowns.
• Key Metrics: I prioritized Watt-hours (Wh) over mAh to measure actual "work" produced, and Internal Resistance (mΩ), which determines the battery's ability to maintain high current for modern R-series features.

The chart includes:
Wh listed: this is the Wh rating from the battery manufacturer printed on the battery itself
Wh tested: this is the result of the test of that battery as reported by the DL-24 tester. Higher is better.
mAh listed: this is the capacity in mAh printed on the battery.
mAh tested: this is the capacity in mAh as reported by the DL-24 tester. Higher is better.
mΩ: this is the resistance in mΩ of the battery as reported by the DL-24. Lower is better. This number is higher than actual as the tester is being influenced by the battery holder, wires and connections between the battery contact and tester. Use this result only as a relative comparison to other batteries tested in the exact same manner.

Remember, I am not a battery testing expert, or engineer, nor do I play one on television. I am simply a photographic nerd who enjoys testing things and recording date in order learn about things. The information is only a report of my experience in my very unprofessional testing scenario.

Battery Info LP-E6

Tested with DL-24 @ 1.1A for consistency
Most of my batteries have been bought as matching pairs because I use a battery grip. The pairs are named to indicate this. For example, SmallRig LP-E6P 1 and SmallRig LP-E6P 2 are always used in a battery grip as a pair. Paired batteries have the exact same charge/discharge history.
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Rankings by (Wh)@ 1.1A discharge rate

Battery (purchase date)	Wh (listed)	Wh (tested)	%Wh	mAh (listed)	mAh (tested)	mΩ
SmallRig LP-E6P 1 (01-2026)	18.144	15.3903	85%	2520	2150	233
Canon LP-E6P (10-2025)	16	14.7308	92%	2130	2040	221
SmallRig LP-E6P 2 (01-2026)	18.144	14.5910	80%	2520	2049	205
Patona Protect 2 (04-2025)	18.72	14.3231	77%	2600	2027	345
Canon LP-E6NH (10-2025)	16	14.2273	89%	2130	1983	251
Patona Protect 3b (06-2025)	18.72	14.1195	75%	2600	2004	342
Blumax #2 (06-2024)	17.80	14.0933	79%	2400	1980	336
Patona Protect 3a (06-2025)	18.72	14.0858	75%	2600	1993	335
Baxxtar Pro Energy (10-2024)	18.7	13.8740	74%	2600	1965	354
Blumax #1 (06-2024)	17.80	13.7942	77%	2400	1941	328
Patona Protect 1 (04-2025)	18.72	13.0648	70%	2600	1868	321
Neewer 1 (07-2023)	16.2	12.4334	77%	2250	1739	321
Patona Platinum 2 (01-2024)	16.2	12.2588	76%	2250	1726	322
Patona Platinum 1 (01-2024)	16.2	12.1045	75%	2250	1705	311
Neewer 2 (07-2023)	16.2	10.8745	67%	2250	1527	344

Since the battery info reported by third party batteries to the Canon body is not accurate, and is always reported as “I am the best battery ever!”, the above results allow me to have my own battery info rating. I created the chart below to use for that.

Metric	Day 1 (100%)	3 Bars	2 Bars	1 Bar
Resistance (mΩ)	Your Result	<295 mΩ	296-386 mΩ	387-558 mΩ
Capacity (mAh)	Your Result	>90%	75-89%	50-74%

Pair Rankings by Wh tested (averages of the two batteries)

Batteries	Wh tested	mAh tested
SmallRig 1&2	14.99 Wh	2099 mAh
Canon LP-E6P & NH	14.48 Wh	2011 mAh
Patona Protect 3a & b	14.10 Wh	1999 mAh
Blumax 1 & 2	13.94 Wh	1961 mAh
Patona Protect 1&2	13.69 Wh	1933 mAh
Patona Platinum 1 & 2	12.18 Wh	1716 mAh
Neewer 1 & 2	11.65 Wh	1633 mAh

I was surprised and very pleased to see that the SmallRig batteries performed so well in terms of work performed (Wh) as well as in capacity. The pair out performed the original Canon LP-E6P and LP-E6 NH batteries. And the single best performing battery was one of the SmallRig batteries, it beat the Canon LP-E6P in every category….very impressive indeed. It will be very interesting to see how well the SmallRigs perform over the long haul.

If you made it this far, I appreciate your time. I hope my findings will assist you in your next battery purchase for your Canon camera.

 

[Dean Wilson]

So it appears, so far, that my purchase of two SmallRig LP-E6P batteries, at a much reduced price as compared to OEM, was a wise business decision, as if I really had a business.

 

[Bryan Conner]

So it appears, so far, that my purchase of two SmallRig LP-E6P batteries, at a much reduced price as compared to OEM, was a wise business decision, as if I really had a business.

I will say that if I did a lot of 8k video shooting or a lot of high speed burst photography, such as in sports, I would use original Canon batteries over 3rd party. The original Canon batteries, at least NH and P versions, have a lot more sophisticated thermal protection than any 3rd party does. A high quality third party battery will have an ntc sensor, but it isn't the same level of protection as the Canon battery. But for my slow as molasses on a cold, flat plate pace of landscape photography, I am confident in high quality 3rd party like the SmallRig or Patona.

I asked Google Gemini for information on thermal safety of genuine Canon vs high quality 3rd party batteries like the Patona or Smallrig which have an ntc sensor. Here is the answer it gave:

"Genuine Canon batteries utilize an encrypted digital handshake to provide the camera with proactive, high-precision thermal data, allowing the system to intelligently throttle performance—like burst rates or bitrates—well before reaching critical temperatures. In contrast, even high-quality third-party batteries like the SmallRig LP-E6P rely on an analog NTC signal that the camera treats more conservatively, often resulting in reactive speed drops or abrupt power cuts by the battery's own protection circuit to prevent damage. Your DL-24 measurements highlight the technical reason for this: while your SmallRig LP-E6P (averaging ~220mΩ) is very close to genuine Canon resistance, any slight increase in internal resistance causes the battery to generate more waste heat under the heavy 6A loads required for 8K video, making the third-party unit more likely to trigger thermal safety limits during sustained high-performance use."

 

[ShipleyNW]

I don't shoot video at all nor do I run a lot of buffer-filling bursts, so it's no wonder that I've never noticed a difference between OEM batteries and aftermarket batteries.

According to your charts, the worst-WH-performing aftermarket battery comes in at 80% of the Canon OEM battery. Considering that you can buy 3-5 aftermarket batteries for the price of 1 OEM battery, aftermarket batteries still seem like a pretty good value.

I've got about an equal mix of OEMs and aftermarkets and use them all indiscriminately in my 3 bodies that take LP-E6-type batteries. I swap a dead one with a charged one. That's my only criteria and, again, I've never noticed a difference.

That said, I may start using OEM batteries exclusively in my bird kit, just because I can, and just in case.

 

[Bryan Conner]

The difference with the high speed bursts and video is linked to the internal battery resistance. That lower internal resistance is the difference between LP-E6P and LP-E6NH batteries. Older LP-E6 and LP-E6N batteries are also higher in resistance but also lower in capacity and don't support high speed burst shooting in camera mirrorless bodies anyway.

Higher resistance means higher heat. While my testing procedure of 1.1A discharge rate would discharge even the best battery in about 1 hour 45 minutes, it didn't cause any battery to become hot to the touch. My tester only measured the temperature of the tester itself, so I don't have any data in numbers, just feel. But, the LP-E6P batteries, both the Canon and the SmallRig, only faintly became warm while the other batteries (all LP-E6NH) became slightly warm to the touch.

 

[Bryan Conner]

Keep in mind, the 1.1A discharge rate was used to replicate usage in my R6 Mark II, which does not require the lower resistance needed to maintain 6A continuous output that an LP-E6P offers. In my discussion with Google Gemini, I learned that the only theoretical advantage possible for me to use an LP-E6P in my R6 Mark II could occur while shooting in very cold conditions. The lower resistance of the LP-E6P might enable it to perform longer before the cold resulted in the battery needing to be changed, or warmed in a pocket in order to keep the green H+ lit up in the display.

When lithium batteries, like LP-E6 batteries, have had a lot of charge/discharge cycles, or are simply old, they suffer from increase resistance and increased voltage sag. So, theoretically, an old, and much used LP-E6P could function longer in an R6 Mark II, for example, because the batteries performance may degrade to the level of an LP-E6NH. The camera might report that the battery condition isn't good, because as an LP-E6P it isn't, but it can still perform like an LP-E6NH for example. So the R6 Mark II may continue to work as if it had a battery with 3 green bars in it. But, that is just theory. It could be that the battery management system in the R6 Mark II might limit performance simply because the battery indicates that it can't perform optimally.

A lot is unknown about how our cameras do battery management as Canon doesn't make that public...which is why 3rd party batteries tell a big fat lie when the camera asks it "how do you feel right now?". 3rd party answer "Oh I am fantastic...the best I have ever been" and I imagine its voice sounds like a late night infomercial salesperson.

 

[Bryan Conner]

Oh...I didn't include my future plans in buying batteries. I will probably continue to buy high quality 3rd party batteries since I am not a professional shooter and I always carry spare batteries with me...it is a habit from my wedding and sports photography days. I personally can't justify buying only genuine Canon batteries for my use case.

But, I definitely would not blame a person if they only bought Canon. Canon batteries are very good and offer the ultimate in battery protection and overall safety while charging in a Canon charger and being used in a Canon camera. That is a fact. They are very high quality with a very very high quality price.

 

[David Berry]

Do ALL features of cameras, for example the R5m2, work when pseudo-LP-E6 batteries are used?

I don’t know the answer, but I have a strong suspicion that it might be ‘No’.

… David

 

[Only RF]

I was not sure what to do about a 2nd battery for my R6III. I decided to get it from Canon. It felt like a bit expense but I just got it and never thought twice about it. Nothing to worry about after. It was worth it to me.

 

[Bryan Conner]

Do ALL features of cameras, for example the R5m2, work when pseudo-LP-E6 batteries are used?

I don’t know the answer, but I have a strong suspicion that it might be ‘No’.

… David

The extra security that comes from the information shared between the battery and camera will most likely not be factual as I stated above. So, in terms of battery management and thermal safety, the answer is "not quite". But, I feel confident that if you buy high quality 3rd party batteries that state that they are 6A rated, then all 8k video capability and high speed shooting features "should" work.
I don't own a camera that needs 6A, an R6 Mark III and R5 Mark II can utilize 6A, other LP-E6 using cameras like my R6 Mark II are reported to use 3.5A to 4.5A for full functionality. That is what an LP-E6NH, for example, can deliver. An LP-E6NH will work, of course, in an R5 Mark II or R6 Mark III, but the high speed shooting frame rate will be limited (lower) as well as 8K video not being possible.

I have used 3rd party LP-E6 batteries, along with genuine Canons, since my EOS 7d back in 2010 and haven't had any problems. I did buy a couple of really cheap ones back then and realized soon that they were a waste of money.

If a person only wants to buy and use Canon batteries then I say that is the right choice.

 

[Bryan Conner]

I thought of one extra, very important bit of info. I would never buy and use an LP-E6 NH or P 3rd party battery which didn't specifically state that has an ntc sensor. Without an ntc sensor, you are really running a risk in my opinion for overheating and potential damage or even personal injury.

If the battery does not say it has an ntc sensor, then be aware that you are taking a definite risk. Most lower priced batteries do not have ntc sensors. Among my tested batteries all have ntc sensors except for the Baxxtar Pro Energy LP-6NH (I only have one), and the two Neewer LP-E6Nh. Each of these batteries sell for about 25% of the price of a Canon LP-E6NH here in Germany, and at around 50% of the price of Patona LP-E6P batteries...so they are cheap indeed....and pose a risk to use in my opinion.

 

[thomhir]

Thanks for the intense testing and sharing. Really interesting AND useful!!