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Kastar replacement battery for Nikon En-El 25
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Oct 13, 2021 11:38:43   #
DaveyDitzer Loc: Western PA
 
I am asking you all for your experience with Kastar batteries. Kastar is the only one I can find - no Watsons so far.
The OEM EN-EL 25 has been on back order at B&H since August when I bought my Nikon Zfc. I always carry a spare battery when out shooting and want to buy a spare that will do until the supply of Nikon OEM batteries opens up again. Your counsel is appreciated. Thank you.

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Oct 13, 2021 11:43:50   #
Quixdraw Loc: x
 
Have several Kastar, but have not had them for very long. They generally seem o.k. Have had one bad one, an EN EL 4 that would not take a charge. Another EN EL 4 is fine as are a couple of EN EL 15. They are inexpensive, but I would rather have Wasabi or Watson which I have used for years.

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Oct 13, 2021 13:54:23   #
kmielen Loc: Eastern NC
 
DaveyDitzer wrote:
I am asking you all for your experience with Kastar batteries. Kastar is the only one I can find - no Watsons so far.
The OEM EN-EL 25 has been on back order at B&H since August when I bought my Nikon Zfc. I always carry a spare battery when out shooting and want to buy a spare that will do until the supply of Nikon OEM batteries opens up again. Your counsel is appreciated. Thank you.


I just bought two Kastar EN-EL15c's from Amazon (the Kastar Store). They seem to work fine, so far. They are charging as I would expect on my [pro]master Traveler+ charger (ie. the time to charge @750mA). Registering at 100% and 0 age in the camera. I've only taken them through a few discharge cycles so far using the video mode so I can't offer data regarding shot counts. I have no Nikon EN-EL15c to compare to, but these weigh 76g without the protective cap.

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Oct 13, 2021 15:34:52   #
mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey
 
DaveyDitzer wrote:
I am asking you all for your experience with Kastar batteries. Kastar is the only one I can find - no Watsons so far.
The OEM EN-EL 25 has been on back order at B&H since August when I bought my Nikon Zfc. I always carry a spare battery when out shooting and want to buy a spare that will do until the supply of Nikon OEM batteries opens up again. Your counsel is appreciated. Thank you.


I too am waiting for extra batteries for my Z fc from B&H. Its frustrating because if my only battery fails for some reason I'm stuck with a brick. I am familiar with a number of 3rd party battery vendors but I never heard of Kastar before now. I won't risk my new camera with an untried battery from a vendor I don't know.

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Oct 13, 2021 15:57:41   #
DaveyDitzer Loc: Western PA
 
I'm sure the Nikon batteries will show up at some point, but who knows how long. If any "hogger" reports a problem, I will order a Kastar battery for my least expensive camera and try it there before installing in my Zfc.

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Oct 13, 2021 17:51:49   #
Quixdraw Loc: x
 
The earliest digital photo of mine I can find is from 2008. Except for the first couple of years, I have always had off brand batteries as back up. Three or four batteries have eventually failed to perform over the years, including one Nikon Brand. Not one battery failure has harmed a camera. A dozen years or more of significant camera use without incident. There are always horror stories, but few in the first person mode.

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Oct 13, 2021 18:53:27   #
mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey
 
quixdraw wrote:
The earliest digital photo of mine I can find is from 2008. Except for the first couple of years, I have always had off brand batteries as back up. Three or four batteries have eventually failed to perform over the years, including one Nikon Brand. Not one battery failure has harmed a camera. A dozen years or more of significant camera use without incident. There are always horror stories, but few in the first person mode.


I understand, but I'm not go to trust my brand new Z fc to an off brand battery that has been untested in this camera by other owners, especially from a company I've never heard of. As small as the odds may be, I don't want my camera to be one of the few horror stories.

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Oct 13, 2021 19:06:38   #
Quixdraw Loc: x
 
mwsilvers wrote:
I understand, but I'm not go to trust my brand new Z fc to an off brand battery that has been untested in this camera by other owners, especially from a company I've never heard of. As small as the odds may be, I don't want my camera to be one of the few horror stories.



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Oct 13, 2021 23:42:26   #
Stardust Loc: Central Illinois
 
I have never had a problem with a Kastar but they don't seem to last as long on a shoot. I suspect the specs are over-stated. No experience with Watson but only use Wasabi if not OEM. I have found they perform almost as long at 1/3rd the price to OEM. Not sure if your size is available in them???

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Oct 13, 2021 23:44:14   #
DaveyDitzer Loc: Western PA
 
No Wasabi batteries available that I could find (EN-EL 25)

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Oct 13, 2021 23:50:35   #
Stardust Loc: Central Illinois
 
DaveyDitzer wrote:
No Wasabi batteries available that I could find


NikonUSA.com shows they have theirs in stock @ $69.95

By the way Wasabi site shows they do sell them, sold out, arriving late Oct if to be believed.

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Oct 14, 2021 01:03:42   #
MDI Mainer
 
I've had generally good results with the 12 or so Kastar batteries I use in my Sony bodies. The take and hold a charge as well as the OEM batteries that came with the cameras. However, over the past 8-10 years three have failed (refused to take a charge) and had to be replaced, but so has one of the Sony branded batteries.

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Oct 14, 2021 07:47:57   #
SuperflyTNT Loc: Manassas VA
 
I had several Kastar batteries for my Lumix G9 and never had a problem. If I remember correctly their dual chargers have a charge indicator LCD that is a nice feature, better than a colored light.

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Oct 14, 2021 08:13:43   #
Soul Dr. Loc: Beautiful Shenandoah Valley
 
Never had any problems with any of the Kastar batteries I have for various brands of cameras.
They seem to work as well as the OEM batteries.

will

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Oct 14, 2021 08:34:44   #
Bill_de Loc: US
 
I have had a couple of off brand batteries die sooner than expected, but never caused any damage.
I bought a Nikon D4s when they first came out. The original Nikon battery and the Watson battery that B&H included at no charge are both still going strong.

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