Regarding the Quality of Rechargeable Batteries for Digital Cameras
Oct 3, 2015 14:07:40 #
I own the A7R, A7S, A7 II and A7R II, and all the Sony batteries that came with these cameras:
- I've never had a Sony or 3rd party battery fail to charge and work through ?? cycles with at least 20,000 pix shot to this point.
- they do slowly lose their charge if left in the camera; probably dead in a month or so driving whatever power the camera grabs when shut off.
- they hold their charge very well in my camera case; 95% or more after a month's storage
- I also have four UpStartBattery NP-FW50 (MadeInChina) batteries rated at 1300mAh. They work just as well as Sony batteries; however, the 1300mAh is probably overstated compared to the 1020mAh of the Sony batteries.
- I also have four No Name NP-FW50 (MadeInChina) batteries rated at 1500mAh. They also work just as well as Sony batteries but the rating on these ones is definitely overstated; I doubt they even put out the power of a 1020mAh Sony battery.
- all my 3rd party batteries were less than 25% the cost of Sony batteries and are just as reliable. Pricy Sony batteries are simply rebranded MadeInChina batteries (it does say Made in China on the battery)! They may have been tested more thoroughly but one never knows...
- I don't get as many shots off a battery under really cold conditions. Try to keep the camera and/or the batteries warm if at all possible.
bwa
- I've never had a Sony or 3rd party battery fail to charge and work through ?? cycles with at least 20,000 pix shot to this point.
- they do slowly lose their charge if left in the camera; probably dead in a month or so driving whatever power the camera grabs when shut off.
- they hold their charge very well in my camera case; 95% or more after a month's storage
- I also have four UpStartBattery NP-FW50 (MadeInChina) batteries rated at 1300mAh. They work just as well as Sony batteries; however, the 1300mAh is probably overstated compared to the 1020mAh of the Sony batteries.
- I also have four No Name NP-FW50 (MadeInChina) batteries rated at 1500mAh. They also work just as well as Sony batteries but the rating on these ones is definitely overstated; I doubt they even put out the power of a 1020mAh Sony battery.
- all my 3rd party batteries were less than 25% the cost of Sony batteries and are just as reliable. Pricy Sony batteries are simply rebranded MadeInChina batteries (it does say Made in China on the battery)! They may have been tested more thoroughly but one never knows...
- I don't get as many shots off a battery under really cold conditions. Try to keep the camera and/or the batteries warm if at all possible.
bwa
NP-FW50 Batteries
Oct 3, 2015 14:12:18 #
cjkorb wrote:
Contrary to popular belief...batteries do not hold a charge longer when stored in a refrigerator, that's why most car batteries die at the first sign of freezing weather.
A car battery died when it gets cold because the temperature slows down the chemical activity. A proerly working car battery will hold up in all but extreme cold. If a car battery fails in cold it was not charging properly to start with.
As to storing in the refrigerator, it will slow down the chemical reaction and drain the battery. That is why when shooting out in the cold for extended periods of time I keep one battery in my pocketvnextvto my warm body. When the battery in the camera wears down I swap them out. Often the first once warmed up is still good to go.
Oct 3, 2015 14:18:14 #
amfoto1
Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA
There are probably only a few actual manufacturers of batteries... who slap different labels on them depending upon whether they are going to be sold as "OEM" or "third party".
I wouldn't be at all surprised if your "Sony" batteries were made in the same factory, by the same people, using the same tech, tools and materials as are being used to make cheaper "Vello" or "Watson" or whatever third-party batteries.
I shoot Canon and over the years have used both OEM and third party batteries in a bunch of different cameras, and have noticed no difference except what I paid for them. At one point when Canon OEM of a particular type were $40 each, I bought $8 generics off eBay that worked just as well.
The only time I avoided third party and paid a premium for OEM was when Canon first went to some "smart" batteries with a chip in them that serves several functions, and third party batteries hadn't caught up and started to produce anything similar yet. (They were selling "old tech" that didn't have same functionality and required a different charger.)
That was particularly painful because the new type of Canon OEM batteries were scarce and sellers were over-charging for them (up to $125 each... they've now "settled" to about $62 each street price). Now that the third party manufacturers have caught up and started to produce the same, fully compatible batteries for my Canon, I wouldn't hesitate to save some $ by using them instead (above type are about $40 or less, from 3rd party).
I wouldn't be at all surprised if your "Sony" batteries were made in the same factory, by the same people, using the same tech, tools and materials as are being used to make cheaper "Vello" or "Watson" or whatever third-party batteries.
I shoot Canon and over the years have used both OEM and third party batteries in a bunch of different cameras, and have noticed no difference except what I paid for them. At one point when Canon OEM of a particular type were $40 each, I bought $8 generics off eBay that worked just as well.
The only time I avoided third party and paid a premium for OEM was when Canon first went to some "smart" batteries with a chip in them that serves several functions, and third party batteries hadn't caught up and started to produce anything similar yet. (They were selling "old tech" that didn't have same functionality and required a different charger.)
That was particularly painful because the new type of Canon OEM batteries were scarce and sellers were over-charging for them (up to $125 each... they've now "settled" to about $62 each street price). Now that the third party manufacturers have caught up and started to produce the same, fully compatible batteries for my Canon, I wouldn't hesitate to save some $ by using them instead (above type are about $40 or less, from 3rd party).
Oct 3, 2015 14:20:34 #
The battery life was the % that the camera reported. I have no idea of the precision of those numbers. Did anyone notice the significantly different discharge pattern of the two batteries. The Sony showed a sort of plateau & plunge and the Promaster a rather smooth decline (indicative of a chemical reaction).
Oct 3, 2015 14:24:04 #
cjkorb wrote:
I wouldn't buy 3rd party batteries even though they cost less. Always use batteries made for your particular camera. When fully charged batteries are in the camera, they still have to run things like the date and time. When not being used, they still lose charge very slowly. I'm still using my original rechargeable battery for my 5 year DSLR, takes less than a hour to charge and I'm good for about 350 photo's.
As I am comming to this party late, I don't know if this has alreadt ben said. All batterys self deplete even if not used. all batterys will sooner or later fail. With regard to 3rd party batterys- NO camera maker makes batterys. There are only a few battery makers and ALL camera companies use those batterys. Any battery can be useless out of the box. I use 3rd party batterys as back ups and have never had a problem. My 7d can't tell which battery is installed. If the Canon battert recherges in 30 minutes and the 3rd party battery charges in 1 hour so what? If the Canon bettery lasts for 400 shots and the 3rd party lasts for 300 so what That is my take, for whatever it's worth.
Oct 3, 2015 15:09:36 #
Joanna27
Loc: Lakewood Ca
JaiGieEse wrote:
Well, all this information is interesting, and muc... (show quote)
Ditto for memory cards :-( :-( :-(
Oct 3, 2015 15:29:29 #
Joanna27 wrote:
Ditto for memory cards :-( :-( :-(
How very, very true! :(:( And they're harder to find in a pocket than a battery...
Oct 3, 2015 16:19:38 #
I have four off brand batteries that came with my battery pack that hold two at a time and they have served me well and if you pay twice more for a battery and get twice the usage then one half the usage for cheaper batteries comes out the same but the 3rd party battery's I use last as long as the Canon battery so I have no gripes. Just me though.
-Bushy
-Bushy
Oct 4, 2015 01:58:21 #
lev29 wrote:
Hello! Although my questions pertain only to the L... (show quote)
I have used the Wasabi brand of third party batteries in several cameras including the a6000 over a number of years. I can't speak for other batteries, but this brand has been an excellent buy. The Wasabi batteries have held charge and been fully compatible with the OEM batteries. I've purchased them from Amazon, but I'm sure they are available elsewhere.
Do be careful that you don't overbuy. I thought I was buying two batteries for the a6000. Actually I bought two packs of batteries, each containing two. So I wound up with four batteries. With the a6000, that really wasn't a bad deal because I was only getting 250-300 shots per charge on the official battery (A little better on the Wasabi)
Oct 4, 2015 02:40:32 #
Reinaldokool wrote:
...
I was only getting 250-300 shots per charge on the official battery (A little better on the Wasabi)
I was only getting 250-300 shots per charge on the official battery (A little better on the Wasabi)
Holy cow! I get about 600 to 800 per battery, (times two since I use a battery grip), for about 1,200 to 1,600 shots total.
...and I thought I "chimped" allot! LoL
Oct 6, 2015 07:25:50 #
Oct 7, 2015 21:50:59 #
TomV
Loc: Annapolis, Maryland
balticvid wrote:
Can anyone recommend a meter to check the condition of
our camera batteries?
I suspect the camera battery indicators are not that accurate.
our camera batteries?
I suspect the camera battery indicators are not that accurate.
I think the in-camera meter is more accurate since that will be a derived remaining % value with the battery under load. An external voltmeter will be more of a test of the open circuit voltage and not give you a useful indication of remaining life for the camera.
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