Nikon own brand Batteries vs cheaper altrnatives (Page 2): We each know without a doubt the answer to your question. The problem is that we do not agree, and we each think that others...

larryepage Loc: North Texas area

sagfgrump wrote:

I'm looking at getting a/some spare batteries got a Nikon d7200, there is a large price difference between Nikon's and some of the generic alternatives.

Is it worth paying the premium for the Nikon one's, in peoples experience?

We each know without a doubt the answer to your question. The problem is that we do not agree, and we each think that others who believe differently or who have had different experiences are either ignorant or just nuts.

This is one of those questions that you are going to have to answer for yourself, if you really want an answer. As suggested above, try one (or more...they are NOT all the same). Decide for yourself.

Good luck and have fun with your experiment.

rook2c4 Loc: Philadelphia, PA USA

cdayton wrote:

You bought an expensive semi-professional camera - why in the world do you want to save a few bucks on off-brand batteries?

To save money and cut down on further expenses, of course. Just because I bought an expensive pair of pants doesn't mean I'm then obligated to buy an expensive belt as well.

Quixdraw Loc: x

davidrb wrote:

In life, as in photography there is a philosophy: ... (show quote)

Bunk! What person with a grain of sense doesn't have spare batteries, SDHC, cameras, lenses any time they are out for photos. Show me the difference between a photo taken with a Nikon battery and one taken with a Wasabi. Takes a few seconds to swap out a battery, and if you start out with a full charge, that can happen any time it is convenient.

toxdoc42

If you buy an off brand, be sure you can return it. I bought one, a major brand but not OEM, and my D3400 would not "recognize it."

John N Loc: HP14 3QF Stokenchurch, UK

I bought a Hahnel High Capacity battery for my CANON, but it does not seem to perform as well as the many years older original. Never tested, never checked, just gut feeling.

PGJR Loc: 33868

sagfgrump wrote:

I'm looking at getting a/some spare batteries got a Nikon d7200, there is a large price difference between Nikon's and some of the generic alternatives.

Is it worth paying the premium for the Nikon one's, in peoples experience?

My first digital is a P900 new. I bought one for my wife new. We bought 4 Wasabi batteries. All 4 swelled up and had a hard time getting them out of the P900's. I bought a D200 used 5 years ago & got 2 Wasabi then with no problems since. Bought 2 D850 & 4 Wasabi batteries. On one of the D850's with every Wasabi battery gave the camera error messages. None of the Wasabi batteries give as many shots as the OEM's. I guess Wasabi's QC isn't up to OEM's QC standard. Just replaced 2 of them for the D850's with OEM's. I have mixed feelings about non OEM batteries. Many photographers have great luck with non OEM batteries, we didn't. We will only use OEM batteries in the D850's from now on. That's my two cents worth. Good luck. Paul

OnDSnap Loc: NE New Jersey

Ya spend that kind of money for a camera and go cheap on a battery...just don't understand the logic. It's like putting an expensive camera on a dollar store tripod. I wish I could buy a Porch, if only I could get a rubber band driven motor. You get what you pay for.

chrissybabe Loc: New Zealand

One reason why OEM 'sometimes' last longer than brand X is because of the crappy Chinese labeling. They almost always quote a higher capacity than the cells actually used. Nikon (and other name brand) are probably more accurately labeled and closer to their real capacity. And if you are using non oem and at the cheaper end their manufacture is probably crap. So there are really 3 categories of batteries -
1. oem. okay manf and close to stated capacity
2. non oem but from a good manf. okay manf and close to stated capacity
3. non oem but from dodgy manf and capacity is anybodies guess

As a rule of thumb price, based on 1,2,3 above - 1x1 = 2 x 2 = 5-6 x 3
Personally I prefer # 2 above.

Here's a photo of a cell from those cheating bastards. The bottom one was INSIDE the top one.

cburgmike Loc: Pittsburgh

I definitely get more mileage from the Nikon batteries but I’ve personally never needed more than two batteries in an outing. I always have at least one spare so yhe difference of 30 or 40 pics isn’t reslly a big deal for me. I have noticed that my 5600 will not recognize some of the generic batteries that my 3400 is perfectly happy with. Check the return policy.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

I've been using generic batteries in everything for as long as they have been available. No problems, and I see no difference in performance. I admit I've never done a count of how many shots I get with different kinds, but I get so many shots that it doesn't matter. The only batteries I've actually go bad are the old AA Ni-Cad. Is that what the old ones were?

jaymatt Loc: Alexandria, Indiana

I have off-brand batteries, and I find they work just as well in my Canons and Sony as the name brand ones--can’t speak to Nikon ones.

sb Loc: Florida's East Coast

I have never had a problem with the Wasabi batteries for my Canon cameras. I have not noticed a difference in performance.

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

sagfgrump wrote:

I'm looking at getting a/some spare batteries got a Nikon d7200, there is a large price difference between Nikon's and some of the generic alternatives.

Is it worth paying the premium for the Nikon one's, in peoples experience?

This topic just will not die.
I was a professional photographer for over 40 years. Over those years I read many articles about camera brand vs. cheaper alternatives.
To summarize: Camera brand batteries cost more than cheaper alternatives, name brand batteries last longer and give more charges than cheaper alternatives, camera brand batteries rarely fail, not the same with cheaper alternatives, camera brand batteries were manufactured to work in all of your camera brand camera's, cheaper alternatives sometimes do not work in all of your name brand camera's.
In the long run, both types of batteries end up costing the same, because you'll need more cheaper alternatives to give you the same number of recharges as the camera brand.
Because of the probability of the cheaper alternatives causing damage in my expensive name brand camera's I have always gone with the camera manufactured batteries. Why wouldn't you?

Jack 13088 Loc: Central NY

The risk of disastrous Li ion battery fires is very real. Manufacturing reliable and safe batteries requires investment in design and rigorous testing. I would trust that the high end camera companies would not risk their reputations for a few dollars. It is certainly possible that some third party batteries are safe but which ones? Not a risk I would take.

nimbushopper Loc: Tampa, FL

I have Nikon batteries from 2006 and 2009 that still work fine and the camera's analyzer still says they are as new. Having said that, I have purchased Wasabi batteries that only lasted about 5 years, but they are good as backup since they are about 1/3 the price of Nikon.