PGHphoto Loc: Pittsburgh, PA

Except the smart ones !

PGHphoto Loc: Pittsburgh, PA

HMMMMM - I guess I have just been 'lucky' that I still have and use the 2 third party batteries I bought for a T2i when I first purchased it. But then again it has only been about 18 years of use - maybe in another 20 years I will experience the dreaded 'screw-up'. Running it a little less now as an IR conversion but still use it 8 or 9 times a year when I shoot IR for the day.

BTW also run 3rd party batteries in my 70D and 5DS. But those are only about 10 years old - got them for my 5DII.

Still challenge anybody on this forum to tell me a *personal* experience where a bad battery killed their camera and they needed some internal board or mechanism replaced as a result. Last time I asked all I got was "I know a guy ..." . Batteries not holding a charge are not going to cause camera damage.

Dikdik Loc: Winnipeg, Canada

Why would a camera supplier want to gouge their customers?

Dik

Alan1729 Loc: England UK, now New York State.

I have a bunch of different 4/3 cameras and have bought third party batteries for all of them, no problem except one battery I left on charge far to long, the case swelled a little but still fitted in the camera. retired that one now since I don't use that camera so much. Since moving to the OMDEM 1.2 I discovered that the third party batteries have to be charged in the third party charger. I'm buying Olympus batteries for the OMDEM 1.2's because I like to carry the charger but don't want to carry two of them. It seems that we have a difference here between the technicians and the believers.

nadelewitz Loc: Ithaca NY

No, they don't. And they do quite nicely anyway.

larryepage Loc: North Texas area

Nickel cadmium batteries were simple current-based cells that could easily be charged using the simplest of chargers. Charge currents were low enough that even if the batteries were not removed from the charger when the cycle was complete, the batteries would generally not be damaged (unless left on charge for a long time, in which case they would slowly dry out). Quick charge ni-cads were a little different, in that they required a temperature sensor inside the battery case and a control circuit to drop the charge current back to a trickle. This would generally occur at about 80% charge, when the battery temperature would jump up pretty significantly. The lower current would finish off the charge, usually over a 4-6 hour period. This finish current was lower than the old trickle charge current, so batteries could now be left on the charger for indefinite periods, if necessary.

Nickle metal hydride (NiMH) batteries almost doubled the amount of energy that could be stored in the same size case. They also required much closer control on both charge and discharge cycles and currents. If overcharged, they could easily explode or catch fire. (Ni-cads would generally just outgas hydrogen and ooze out caustic chemicals if abused.) So the better ones included short circuit protection inside the battery case and some included current limiters in both directions.

Lithium Ion batteries again increased the amount of energy stored in a given amount of space. This makes charged batteries a potential source of fire or explosion. Lithium will spontaneously ignite in air, and can react vigorously or violently with water. In addition, lithium burns in a carbon dioxide atmosphere. Overcharging or charging at too fast a rate can lead to explosion or fire. Because of this high energy availability and the extremely fast design charge rates, proper controls are required on all electrical activity. These batteries contain an internal control chip, which accomplishes a number of functions, including communicating with a corresponding chip in the charger and powered device as well as preventing over-discharge, which is almost certain to permanently damage the battery. Some aftermarket batteries omit the control chip or at least some of its functions in order to meet a lower sales price point.

Make no mistake...I do not like or support 'gouging' by companies on the pricing of accessories or expendable supplies. It's the old Gillette (or Kodak) model...We'll give you the shaver (or camera) so that you will have to buy our blades (or film). But the fact is that buying the branded product is really the only way that any of us can be assured of getting components that integrate properly with our equipment. Can we get by with the alternative? Probably, at least most of the time. Is it the best choice? Not really.

Ollieboy

OEM batteries are of the highest quality, but at a price. Finding an aftermarket battery that's close at 1/4 the price is still a better deal.

DeanS Loc: Capital City area of North Carolina

Are yours made with Rocky Mountain spring water?

PGHphoto Loc: Pittsburgh, PA

You do understand that no camera manufacturer makes their own batteries - right ?
And you also know that the battery manufacturer make a lot more batteries than the camera manufacturer sells - right ?
And the ones that are manufactured that don't get the magical paint used for the logo - which jumps the price by 100-200 percent - get sold to other companies which use non-magical paint to print their own names on the battery.

For a long time the Vivitar batteries were made by the same company that made Canon OEM batteries. The only difference was the painted logo - oh yeah, and about $45 in cost. I have not done the research in a while but would expect you could easily identify the OEM manufacturer for your brand and be able to do what I did and trace them to non-OEM battery sellers. Canon used to sell extended life batteries and those are exactly what I bought from Vivitar. Should I need additional batteries, that's exactly what I will do. I do not know if the Vivitar branded batteries are still from the original Canon OEM manufacturer.

Do the homework and make sure the mAh ratings are as good or better than OEM and check reviews but then do what makes sense.

Still waiting for somebody to say their camera was fried by a bad battery ...

alamomike47 Loc: San Antonio, Texas

That is why I only buy Sony batteries.

larryepage Loc: North Texas area

I worked for 17 years for a company that manufactured store brand products, so I know exactly how it works. Our products were designed from scratch, not reverse-engineered from the "branded" products. They were not ever intended to be the same, rather they were designed and manufactured to perform essentially the same functions as the national brands. We had at least two or three distinct grades of product for each of our manufacturing lines in order to give customers a choice of focusing on lowest cost or better product quality and performance. Sometimes the whole process was complicated by our having to avoid infringing on patents held by the "big boys." These patents sometimes covered the most mundane elements of the manufacturing process. And while we used some of the same base components that the branded products did, much was different from that point.

Th situation was further complicated (but enlightened) when we were awarded a contract to manufacture a group of new products for a large multinational corporation while they were establishing their own capability to make that product. The section of the plant making that product was cordoned off from the remainder of the space. Raw materials, which matched a very different specification and which had to conform to significantly different handling requirements, were sequestered from all other raw materials in that plant. Finished goods were also stored completely separately.

Visitors to the plant were able to freely tour through the store brand manufacturing area, but the branded area was strictly off limits to all visitors and most employees.

So...if believing that these batteries are all made in the same plant, or that they are all made in a couple of plants makes you feel better about buying them, then by all means go ahead and believe that. But do not be misled that all of the product coming out of a plant is equivalent to all other product coming out of that same plant.

Scruples Loc: Brooklyn, New York

I have a Canon so I probably don't know what I'm talking about. But, I prefer Original Equipment Manufacturer products. My biggest fear is if the battery leaks that may mess up a great camera. It might also void the warranty. But, with restraint of trade in effect, I doubt it.
I hope that other Hoggers agree with me. If you don't agree, let's discuss this on the forum.

DeanS Loc: Capital City area of North Carolina

This topic has been addressed many times here. I’ll hazard a wag and say it is pretty much split between oem only and those who look for the best deal. Personal opinion, too much is made of oem only. I have been shooting digital over 25 yrs and have never had a serious failure of oem or 3rd party. It is doubtful 3rd party manufacturers could remain viable if their products were so inferior as some allege here.

Yomv..

John_F Loc: Minneapolis, MN

Checked my other 3rd party battery, a Promaster. It does 1100 mAh.

duane klipping Loc: Bristow iowa