Short answer: the difference is discharge stability, not capacity. The LP-E6N is Canon’s own model at 1865mAh, 7.2V; LP-E6+ is a third-party label for an enhanced version, and its rated capacity usually lands in the same bracket. What really separates them is internal resistance, how flat the discharge curve stays, and how the protection board limits current.
The question keeps coming up because the “+” naturally implies “more”. Capacity, though, runs into physical limits: a 7.2V pack built from the same class of cells in the same shell cannot show an order-of-magnitude jump in energy density. A slightly higher rating is plausible; doubling is not.
1. Start by putting both names in their place
The LP-E6N is Canon’s revision of the LP-E6, raising capacity from 1800mAh to 1865mAh; both generations are 7.2V, with fully interchangeable shells and contacts. Canon’s LP-E6 family contains only LP-E6, LP-E6N, LP-E6NH and LP-E6P — LP-E6+ is not among them.
LP-E6+ is a naming convention used by third parties (YO included) to separate a “standard” from an “enhanced” version. There is no industry-wide definition, so one maker’s “enhanced” can mean something completely different from another’s: better cell sorting, a different protection board, or simply a new label. What follows therefore compares a well-designed enhanced pack with Canon’s LP-E6N in general terms, not one specific product.
2. Capacity — looks like a big difference, usually is not
Put both packs in the same body and shoot at the same pace, and the gap in usable time is usually smaller than the gap in rated capacity. The reason is that “rated capacity” and “usable capacity” are not the same number.
- Rated capacity is measured under standard discharge conditions, typically at a low discharge rate and down to a low cutoff voltage.
- Usable capacity is what sits above your camera’s actual cutoff point. Once voltage falls to a threshold the body reports low battery or shuts down, and the energy below that never gets used.
So a pack with a higher rating but a lower discharge plateau and higher internal resistance will sag faster under heavy current, and the energy you can actually extract may be less than from a lower-rated Canon pack. That is why many people who switch to a high-rated third-party pack feel that things got no better, or worse.
3. The real gap sits at three mechanical levels
Internal resistance. Resistance determines voltage drop under high current. Bursts, long exposures and video recording all raise current, and the higher the resistance, the more terminal voltage falls. Once terminal voltage drops, the body concludes the pack is nearly empty and warns or shuts down early — even though charge remains in the cells. An enhanced pack that uses cells with better high-rate characteristics has lower resistance, which flattens that curve.
Discharge plateau. A lithium-ion discharge curve is not a straight line: it has a relatively flat middle section and a fast fall at the end. The flatter the plateau and the later the fall, the closer usable capacity comes to rated capacity. Canon’s advantage is that its packs are calibrated together with the body’s gauge algorithm, so curve shape and display logic match; a third-party pack may have a good plateau but a different shape, which produces display error.
Protection-board current limit. Every third-party pack carries a protection board handling over-current, over-discharge and over-temperature. A conservative threshold gives a large safety margin but trips early under heavy current, which shows up as “the camera just cut out mid-shoot”. An aggressive threshold survives peaks but demands more of the cells and the thermal design. None of this appears on a spec sheet; it can only be inferred from use.
| Item | LP-E6N (Canon) | LP-E6+ (third-party enhanced) |
|---|---|---|
| Status | Canon model | Third-party label, not a Canon model |
| Rated capacity | 1865mAh / 7.2V | Same bracket, possibly a little higher, never an order of magnitude |
| Internal resistance | Good batch consistency | Depends on cell choice; a good design can be lower |
| Gauge match with the body | Factory calibrated, linear display | May deviate; verify in practice |
| High-current tolerance | Stable | Depends on the protection board; wide unit-to-unit spread |
| Price | Canon pricing | Mostly the budget bracket, clearly lower |
4. How to compare them yourself without instruments
- Same body, same lens, same settings. Turn off Wi-Fi, GPS and stabilization to remove variables, and use the same card and shooting pace.
- Measure the cutoff point first. Shoot continuously from full and note the frame count at the first low-battery warning. This tests whether the pack holds up at the end of discharge, which matters more than total frames.
- Then measure recovery. After the warning, power off, let it sit ten minutes, and power on again. If the level jumps back noticeably, the warning came from voltage sag — a classic sign of high internal resistance.
- Compare charge time. From empty to full on the same charger, the pack that finishes clearly faster usually has less real capacity.
This yields a relative answer rather than an absolute number, which is enough to choose between two packs and requires no extra equipment.
If Canon’s high-capacity model is what you are weighing, see the LP-E6NH category; for the full list of official models in the series, the LP-E6 series category has a summary; other questions about enhanced packs are collected in the LP-E6+ category.
FAQ
Is the LP-E6+ capacity much larger than the LP-E6N?
No. The two usually fall in the same bracket; a third-party product may rate slightly higher, but shell size and cell energy density rule out an order-of-magnitude difference. Claims of “double capacity” are not credible.
Why does my LP-E6+ last less than a Canon LP-E6N?
The usual causes are a lower discharge plateau or higher internal resistance, which produce visible sag under high current and make the camera declare low battery early. On top of that, the body’s gauge is calibrated to Canon’s curve, so a differently shaped curve discounts usable capacity further.
Can the price gap make up for the difference?
Partly. An enhanced pack in the budget bracket is close to Canon under light load, which is enough for everyday stills; under bursts, long exposures and cold conditions the gap widens. It depends where you place the pack in your kit.
How can I tell a genuinely enhanced LP-E6+ from a relabeled one?
Three signs: whether the level recovers after a low-battery warning and a rest (internal resistance), whether the gauge falls linearly (plateau), and whether bursts cut out unexpectedly (protection board). If all three pass, the design is reasonably serious; if any one is clearly off, be cautious.