Sometimes I see a lot of meanness on this site. People without understanding the economies of other members, throw out recommendations about buying like they are the ultimate authority on a subject, or right out boast like they think others are stupid for not buying the best on the market. Some people skimp whenever they can due to their financial situation. Obviously, you can't buy a generic Nikon, Canon, Sony, or Olympus body so while someone may have funds for that, they may need to skimp elsewhere. Someone in another post actually said they would not buy a non-OEM battery because it might be made in a foreign country! Guess what -- your OEM batteries are made in a foreign country! Other answers berate members for buying 3rd party items like battery grips. Hey, maybe they don't need the grip that can fall off a 100 ft. cliff and survive, maybe they just like a grip that affords a better hold when using the camera in a vertical orientation. Someone else said they would only buy HP cartridges -- I have an answer for that -- professional equipment like printers using eight or more cartridges notwithstanding, if you own a printer that you paid a couple of hundred dollars for, you didn't buy a printer, you bought into a very expensive ink program. Those lower-priced printers are so cheap because when you buy one, HP, Canon, or any others the manufacturer has you by the balls! You will be paying through the nose for your ink. Epson, and now Canon and HP have printers that use tanks which are easy to fill and cost a fraction of what cartridges do. Another possibility is that when it comes to batteries who knows who makes them? There may only be two plants in Japan/China/Taiwan that make all of them and just put different names on them. Look at the round head flash from Neewer, Bolt, and Godox they are all the same unit, just a name change. When someone asks for advice, it would be nice to see people respond with their recommendations and not put others down for things like not using OEM equipment. I would bet 75% of people here who act like people are stupid for not spending the extra bucks for a Nikon/Canon/Sony battery, use a flash that is not OEM. I work part-time at Sam's Club and I've had people tell me they would only buy Everyready Batteries over the store brand. Guess what -- they are the same battery! They don't understand marketing -- they can't believe Everyready would sell us batteries that would undercut the name brand. I explain that most big retailers will have an inhouse brand and Eveyready knows if they don't sell us a generic, someone else would! This way they get all the business. Ever see two gas stations owned by the same company across the street from each other -- it's about limiting competition. While I understand some of the group has the money to buy top-drawer on all their equipment, I think putting others down (and that is what you are doing when you state I would only buy xxx) is insensitive and is an opinion you should keep to yourselves. When I was 15, I worked in a manufacturing jewelry shop. We sold Rolex watches both 14 kt. and gold plated. They looked identical so one day I asked Mr. Hays (the owner) why anyone would spend 1200 or more for a Rolex when they could have an identical watch in gold plate for a third of the price. I said no one would know the difference. Mr. Hays looked me in the eye and said, "Oh, but the owner would know". That has stuck with me for the last 58 years and I have tried to live life in a way so as not to flaunt what I have but to just respect my good fortune when something good comes my way. So UHHers, lighten up. Respect each other, give recommendations when asked, and don't come down on others for their choices. (If you are wondering about the cheap prices for Rolex Watches -- while I worked at the jewelry shop the US went off the gold standard. One day gold was 37.00 an ounce, the next day it was like 387.00 an ounce!)

When I was much younger, one of my jobs was to deliver pallets to a Union Carbide battery plant. One day after pallets had been off-loaded, I was talking with one of the employees about a Consumer Report piece saying that I had read that Union Carbide was one of the best rated. The guy I was talking with asked how some off brand battery (maybe K-Mart) was ranked. I said that they were "down there a ways". To this he said "Ah, hell, we run Union Carbides on the line, and when we get our quota of them, we shut line down and replace the "skins" (the metal coverings) and fire the line back up. Its the same damn battery" That"s what the fellow said back then. I didn't investigate the veracity of his remark. Nor do I know if it the same holds true today.s

Sometimes I see a lot of meanness on this site. People without understanding the economies of other members, throw out recommendations about buying like they are the ultimate authority on a subject, or right out boast like they think others are stupid for not buying the best on the market. Some people skimp whenever they can due to their financial situation. Obviously, you can't buy a generic Nikon, Canon, Sony, or Olympus body so while someone may have funds for that, they may need to skimp elsewhere. Someone in another post actually said they would not buy a non-OEM battery because it might be made in a foreign country! Guess what -- your OEM batteries are made in a foreign country! Other answers berate members for buying 3rd party items like battery grips. Hey, maybe they don't need the grip that can fall off a 100 ft. cliff and survive, maybe they just like a grip that affords a better hold when using the camera in a vertical orientation. Someone else said they would only buy HP cartridges -- I have an answer for that -- professional equipment like printers using eight or more cartridges notwithstanding, if you own a printer that you paid a couple of hundred dollars for, you didn't buy a printer, you bought into a very expensive ink program. Those lower-priced printers are so cheap because when you buy one, HP, Canon, or any others the manufacturer has you by the balls! You will be paying through the nose for your ink. Epson, and now Canon and HP have printers that use tanks which are easy to fill and cost a fraction of what cartridges do. Another possibility is that when it comes to batteries who knows who makes them? There may only be two plants in Japan/China/Taiwan that make all of them and just put different names on them. Look at the round head flash from Neewer, Bolt, and Godox they are all the same unit, just a name change. When someone asks for advice, it would be nice to see people respond with their recommendations and not put others down for things like not using OEM equipment. I would bet 75% of people here who act like people are stupid for not spending the extra bucks for a Nikon/Canon/Sony battery, use a flash that is not OEM. I work part-time at Sam's Club and I've had people tell me they would only buy Everyready Batteries over the store brand. Guess what -- they are the same battery! They don't understand marketing -- they can't believe Everyready would sell us batteries that would undercut the name brand. I explain that most big retailers will have an inhouse brand and Eveyready knows if they don't sell us a generic, someone else would! This way they get all the business. Ever see two gas stations owned by the same company across the street from each other -- it's about limiting competition. While I understand some of the group has the money to buy top-drawer on all their equipment, I think putting others down (and that is what you are doing when you state I would only buy xxx) is insensitive and is an opinion you should keep to yourselves. When I was 15, I worked in a manufacturing jewelry shop. We sold Rolex watches both 14 kt. and gold plated. They looked identical so one day I asked Mr. Hays (the owner) why anyone would spend 1200 or more for a Rolex when they could have an identical watch in gold plate for a third of the price. I said no one would know the difference. Mr. Hays looked me in the eye and said, "Oh, but the owner would know". That has stuck with me for the last 58 years and I have tried to live life in a way so as not to flaunt what I have but to just respect my good fortune when something good comes my way. So UHHers, lighten up. Respect each other, give recommendations when asked, and don't come down on others for their choices. (If you are wondering about the cheap prices for Rolex Watches -- while I worked at the jewelry shop the US went off the gold standard. One day gold was 37.00 an ounce, the next day it was like 387.00 an ounce!)