Nikon own brand Batteries vs cheaper altrnatives (Page 3): Gee, I seem to remember OEM Sony batteries in their laptops that caught on fire in years past. Plus, didn't Nikon have a...

Screamin Scott Loc: Marshfield Wi, Baltimore Md, now Dallas Ga

Jack 13088 wrote:

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.

Gee, I seem to remember OEM Sony batteries in their laptops that caught on fire in years past. Plus, didn't Nikon have a recall on some of their batteries recently? Just remember that the camera manufacturers subcontract their batteries out to battery companies, most of which are in China, India or somewhere else in SE Asia...

Bullfrog Bill Loc: CT

I have been rotating two nikon and 2 wasabi batteries for my D850 for four years and have never noticed a difference. I basically did the same for my D800 and D300 before that.

bikerguy

When I was a Canon shooter I used both Canon and better third party batteries. The only battery that I had that ever failed was a Canon OEM battery. I currently shoot Olympus and use only Oly batteries because when I purchased the camera only their batteries were showing the charge state of the battery.

jbk224 Loc: Long Island, NY

So let me understand. The camera body, when new, cost about $1200. The Nikon battery cost $54. You can buy the off brand for 1/2 the price. A savings of $27! per battery.
Now, if you have a defective off-brand battery that causes a problem with your $1200 Nikon camera-- what recourse do you have?
While Nikon's camera warranties are 1 year+extended 2 year...and your camera may be out of warranty anyway; I would still stay with Nikon's batteries and deal with the issue if it ever came up with Nikon.
So....I agree with everyone regarding the minimal savings, but this added issue seals the deal for me. My Z6 only uses Nikon batteries!

Jack 13088 Loc: Central NY

Screamin Scott wrote:

Gee, I seem to remember OEM Sony batteries in their laptops that caught on fire in years past. Plus, didn't Nikon have a recall on some of their batteries recently? Just remember that the camera manufacturers subcontract their batteries out to battery companies, most of which are in China, India or somewhere else in SE Asia...

Yes, of course they do. But I suggest they keep a tight rein on their subcontractors. I suspect they don’t go to Amazon and list by price. They can do that but I can’t.

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

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?

The Nikon would be a first choice.
Then the ones recommended here in this string as a good close runner up or equal.
Cheap off brands way below are not generally worth it.
That said I did buy some closeout batteries-no name- for my getting older 10D some time ago.
They were a dollar apiece and do work.
They did not last as long and now several years later do not hold a charge as well.
My 2 OEM batteries still work just fine but the cheap ones do come in handy still but not worth more than the dollar each that I paid.

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

Here's my philosophy, take it for what it might be worth. I use only Nikon batteries purchased from a reliable source. The reason is one of the potential failure with damage. Let's say a catastrophe occurs. During usage, it swells, ruptures, and ruins the innards of the camera. One sends the camera to Nikon for repair. If it's a Nikon battery probably no problem. If it's a non-Nikon battery your guess is as good as mine as to the outcome of that one.
--Bob

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?

DJCard Loc: Northern Kentucky

I’ve never had a Nikon battery function poorly, even after years of use. Years ago I had a D750 at the time that would begin to act strangely (shutter button would not fire consistently), and it turned out to be the non-Nikon battery even at more than 50% charge remaining.

Now, only Nikon batteries for me!

wetreed

I have used off brand for my D5300 and have found no difference. For my D500 I found a OME at a great price so I picked it up and have no problems with that one also.

cdayton

rook2c4 wrote:

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.

Not my philosophy - the Jags gets Jag parts/service when needed. If I couldn’t afford it, I should have bought a Honda.

thegrover Loc: Yorba Linda, CA

Yes. Buy from Nikon.

Screamin Scott Loc: Marshfield Wi, Baltimore Md, now Dallas Ga

Just remember that there are a lot of creative fakes out there. IIRC B & H recalled a bunch of supposedly OEM batteries that they bought that turned out to be fakes. For what it’s worth, I have bought both OEM and 3rd party. The only issue I had with any was an aftermarket battery for my Olympus Pen EP3 (it swelled up and was hard to remove from the camera) I have never bought that brand since.

APSHEPPARD

I had a 7200 and now have a D500. I bought several of the off brand from B&H which I think is totally reliable and they proved to be probably less than half the life and charge retention of the EL-15 series from Nikon. Nikon still will use the EL-15 in newer cameras like the Z7 but must be charged on the external charger whereas the OEM later EL-15 with the Z7 can be charged in the camera with
a cable.

IDguy Loc: Idaho

PixelStan77 wrote:

This video answers your question.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBk7N9a66oI

The answer is no. I have been using Wasabi batteries with outstanding results.

Interesting but not meaningful test. One sample of each vendor’s battery tells us little. But the weight test was interesting.

I expect more likely there are differences in the charge reporting mechanisms. Nikon works to reject non-Nikon branded batteries. I couldn’t use the ones from my D800 in my Z6. It seems the battery makers have overcome that latest Nikon trick but there will be more.

lamiaceae Loc: San Luis Obispo County, CA

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?

Ho hum, this again. What ever you like.