Examples in which ki and battle power might differ

[Natasha Romanoff]

Kaioken x20 Goku vs 50% Freeza:

Both are supposed to have the same ki, however, Freeza shows to be able to stop Goku's Kamehameha with just one hand, of course, Goku had a great strain due to not being able to resist Kaioken x20, but he also got shocked by this:

Spoiler

Vegeta vs Perfect Cell:

Chapter: 382 (DBZ 188), P11.1-4
No.16: "Cell really did get considerably stronger...But Vegeta's still better than him at everything."
Vegeta: "Damn you. You're not taking this seriously."
Cell: "I told you I was warming-up."

Cell seems to emit a ki that is less powerful than Vegeta's, even though, his performance makes the case that he is actually outclassing Vegeta. The reason I decide to omit Vegeta's comment about Cell not looking like anything special is due to on my own consideration, he's just basing on appearance to determine what he claims and not in his actual ki.

But one thing that can perhaps counter this argument is that Krillin explicitely tell that they can't go by the ki Cell is emitting at that point, even though, Krillin seems to be judging also his hidden potential.

Piccolo vs Freeza:

Chapter: 300 (DBZ 106), P2.1-3
Context: after Vegeta calls Piccolo useless trash
Piccolo: "Sorry I'm such trash. But remember this...After I take care of Freeza, it will be your turn next..."
Kuririn: "It's no use...No matter how much Piccolo may have trained at Lord Kaio's, Freeza's in an entirely different dimension..."

Back on Namek, neither Vegeta or Krillin seems to have confidence on Piccolo's capabilities when it comes to the idea of him defeating Freeza, even though, in his actual performance, he could take advantage of the tyrant.

Spoiler

However, once the fight, keep going, we realized that Piccolo was actually stronger, something which is pointed out by Vegeta's correction to Krillin:

Chapter: 301 (DBZ 107), P2.2-3
Kuririn: "In-incredible he's fighting evenly with Freeza..."
Vegeta: "No...no...He's more than [even]..."

Another example that may come to mind is Piccolo vs Gero, in which Trunks describes' Piccolo's ki as just a "battle ki", which tell us that he doesn't emit that powerful of a ki:

Spoiler

Even though, this same Piccolo shows incredible feats of strength:

Spoiler

Well, I would like to know your opinions on this topic, do you agree with this? Do you disagree with me? It would be a pleasure to read you, as was mine if I entertained you while you were reading this thread, hope that was the case.

 

[Yoshi]

Ki and Battle Power are different. Ki is an ability that forms your Battle Power into a physical shape or that amplifies your Battle Power while draining it afterwards.

 

[GreatSaiyaman123]

My favorite example is Goku saying Satan is a better fusion choice than Satan, despite Dende having had his potential unlocked and belonging to a stronger race.

 

[Natasha Romanoff]

Well, thanks a lot for commenting after a long time hehehe... I thought this post would have been inactive forever.

EDIT: I wanted to avoid using the Majin Buu Saga considering that is the case that is more frequently used when it comes down to this. Also, I wanted to use Vegeta vs 4th form Freeza as an example but afterwards realized that it was an example that has a lot of holes on it.

 

[Goku9001]

I think Ki and Battle Power are synonymous in the sense that Battle Power is just a representation of how much ki a user is putting out at a specific time. For all intents and purposes, it might as well be the same thing.

 

[Dagon]

Koyama was answering questions about the DBZ movies and while he was explaining that Broly is the strongest, someone brought up that Goku said fat Janemba had the biggest ki Goku ever felt, and Koyama said Ki and battle power are different. So theoretically Janemba can have more energy than Broly but Broly is, I don't know, somehow more "potent" in his abilities.

 

[Natasha Romanoff]

Koyama was answering questions about the DBZ movies and while he was explaining that Broly is the strongest, someone brought up that Goku said fat Janemba had the biggest ki Goku ever felt, and Koyama said Ki and battle power are different. So theoretically Janemba can have more energy than Broly but Broly is, I don't know, somehow more "potent" in his abilities.

But, if I'm not mistaken, Koyama is just involved with the DBZ anime and has no authority over the manga. Isn't that right?

 

[Dagon]

But, if I'm not mistaken, Koyama is just involved with the DBZ anime and has no authority over the manga. Isn't that right?

The anime and movies, yes. Point is he was closer to production than any of us were, so his opinion could be indicative of the general consensus about how the DB super powers work.