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Extra Battery: Any Problems w/ Non-OEM?

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rhizo

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I'm thinking of getting an extra battery (NP-50) for my F70 EXR. Are non-OEM ones worth getting or staying away from? They're certainly cheaper, but are they, ahem, equivalent quality?
 
rhizo said:
I'm thinking of getting an extra battery (NP-50) for my F70 EXR. Are non-OEM ones worth getting or staying away from? They're certainly cheaper, but are they, ahem, equivalent quality?
Click to expand...
My experience:

Knowing that the F70 EXR is a battery eater in certain modes, I bought 4 extra ones from batteries.com for about $5 each (using a Google online discount code). I carried all 5 batteries on a recently completed 2 week vacation to Easter Europe with my F70 EXR that I got a few days before the trip.

Are they of equivalent quality? I used them interchangeably without knowing a difference. Nor did I care. One was in the camera, one in my LowePro Rezo15 camera belt case and three in my pocket. I never had to use more than 3 on a given day's tour. And I charged the used ones in the hotel in the evening.

I never ran out of battery power. Yes, it was a good move to get the extra batteries for the trip. Otherwise, I would have run out of battery power everyday of the tour.

--mamallama
 
It depends, some are equally good or even better, some are noticeable worse.
 
mamallama said:
My experience:

Knowing that the F70 EXR is a battery eater in certain modes, I bought 4 extra ones from batteries.com for about $5 each (using a Google online discount code). I carried all 5 batteries on a recently completed 2 week vacation to Easter Europe with my F70 EXR that I got a few days before the trip.

Are they of equivalent quality? I used them interchangeably without knowing a difference. Nor did I care. One was in the camera, one in my LowePro Rezo15 camera belt case and three in my pocket. I never had to use more than 3 on a given day's tour. And I charged the used ones in the hotel in the evening.

I never ran out of battery power. Yes, it was a good move to get the extra batteries for the trip. Otherwise, I would have run out of battery power everyday of the tour.

--mamallama
Click to expand...
Thanks mamallama -- I notice Fuji only supports their own, and I thought I'd heard somewhere about exploding lithiums. But your experience shows there are decent ones of a fraction of the price.
 
rhizo said:
mamallama said:
My experience:

Knowing that the F70 EXR is a battery eater in certain modes, I bought 4 extra ones from batteries.com for about $5 each (using a Google online discount code). I carried all 5 batteries on a recently completed 2 week vacation to Easter Europe with my F70 EXR that I got a few days before the trip.

Are they of equivalent quality? I used them interchangeably without knowing a difference. Nor did I care. One was in the camera, one in my LowePro Rezo15 camera belt case and three in my pocket. I never had to use more than 3 on a given day's tour. And I charged the used ones in the hotel in the evening.

I never ran out of battery power. Yes, it was a good move to get the extra batteries for the trip. Otherwise, I would have run out of battery power everyday of the tour.

--mamallama
Click to expand...
Thanks mamallama -- I notice Fuji only supports their own, and I thought I'd heard somewhere about exploding lithiums. But your experience shows there are decent ones of a fraction of the price.
Click to expand...
Exploding lithium-ion batteries are rare and are most risky during the charging process. The only situation, to my knowledge, of an exploding small Li-ion battery in use was for the i-Phone (or i-Pod, I forgot) and it was OEM batteries by Apple that exploded. Go Figure. So even OEM batteries can be faulty.

There have been several large laptop Li-Ion batteries overheating and causing fires and these were also OEM batteries.

A word of caution: I did mention that I carried some in my pocket. These were in a protective plastic case. Don't carry them in your pocket with the terminal exposed; a short with coins or a key can cause problems. If you don't have a case, tape over the terminals if you carry them in your pocket or loose in a case.

--mamallama
 
I bought a Power2000 brand spare as soon as I got my F200. I now use it without any problems in the F70. I typically will buy 1 or 2 spares for my camera - almost always a 3rd party brand at about half the cost of the original.

I paid $19.99 for the Power2000 battery at J&R and it has slightly more capacity (at 1100mAh) than the original Fuji NP-50

--
Joel
http://www.joelsphotoblog.com
http://www.flickr.com/photos/joelrnyc

 
hehe :-)

I've a lot of cameras and use for ALL 3rd party batteries for 1/10 (!) of original price, free shipping from Hongkong. I cannot see differences, some 3rd party's are BETTER than original, more power and GOLDEN contacts, not tinned contacs!

Making reach manufacturers with cameras does not mean to make them rich² or rich³ with batteries

------------------------------------------------------------
Forget ISO, noise, mpixel & other nonsens!
Don't talk about these things like a guru.
Go out, make photos and have fun!

http://forums.steves-digicams.com/panasonic-leica-dslr/152704-lumix-gh1-8.html#post990208
 
I'm all for saving some cash. But, I'm not willing to take a chance on batteries from anywhere but reputable sources - especially with Li-Ion batteries. Not saying your sources are not reputable or the batteries you're getting are bad.... just that I have a high confidence level with the stores I'm buying from and I'm willing to pay more for that peace of mind.
Knallbert said:
haaaaaalf? urrrgh.

I pay 1/10 (with free shipping) !
Click to expand...
--
Joel
http://www.joelsphotoblog.com
http://www.flickr.com/photos/joelrnyc

 
I bought one for my F200, and the first few times I tried to charge it, the charger just blinked a warning light and shut off.

after a while it charged once.... haven't drained it yet though, so I'm not sure if the problem fixed itself.

long story short, i'm not sure if Fuji chips their batteries, or have diff. specs than normal batteries (such as internal resistance, etc)
h
 
xtracrispy123 said:
I bought one for my F200, and the first few times I tried to charge it, the charger just blinked a warning light and shut off.

after a while it charged once.... haven't drained it yet though, so I'm not sure if the problem fixed itself.

long story short, i'm not sure if Fuji chips their batteries, or have diff. specs than normal batteries (such as internal resistance, etc)
h
Click to expand...
Fuji does not chip their batteries.

From whom did you buy your 3rd party batteries? A reputable company will stand behind their products. I've not had problem with batteries from Sterlingtek or Batteries.com.

--mamallama

--mamallama
 
nycfonephreak said:
I'm all for saving some cash. But, I'm not willing to take a chance on batteries from anywhere but reputable sources - especially with Li-Ion batteries. Not saying your sources are not reputable or the batteries you're getting are bad.... just that I have a high confidence level with the stores I'm buying from and I'm willing to pay more for that peace of mind.
Click to expand...
What 3rd party company you have such high confidence in?
 
mamallama said:
rhizo said:
mamallama said:
My experience:

Knowing that the F70 EXR is a battery eater in certain modes, I bought 4 extra ones from batteries.com for about $5 each (using a Google online discount code). I carried all 5 batteries on a recently completed 2 week vacation to Easter Europe with my F70 EXR that I got a few days before the trip.

Are they of equivalent quality? I used them interchangeably without knowing a difference. Nor did I care. One was in the camera, one in my LowePro Rezo15 camera belt case and three in my pocket. I never had to use more than 3 on a given day's tour. And I charged the used ones in the hotel in the evening.

I never ran out of battery power. Yes, it was a good move to get the extra batteries for the trip. Otherwise, I would have run out of battery power everyday of the tour.

--mamallama
Click to expand...
Thanks mamallama -- I notice Fuji only supports their own, and I thought I'd heard somewhere about exploding lithiums. But your experience shows there are decent ones of a fraction of the price.
Click to expand...
Exploding lithium-ion batteries are rare and are most risky during the charging process. The only situation, to my knowledge, of an exploding small Li-ion battery in use was for the i-Phone (or i-Pod, I forgot) and it was OEM batteries by Apple that exploded. Go Figure. So even OEM batteries can be faulty.

There have been several large laptop Li-Ion batteries overheating and causing fires and these were also OEM batteries.

A word of caution: I did mention that I carried some in my pocket. These were in a protective plastic case. Don't carry them in your pocket with the terminal exposed; a short with coins or a key can cause problems. If you don't have a case, tape over the terminals if you carry them in your pocket or loose in a case.

--mamallama
Click to expand...
Thanks, I wouldn't have thought of that, Mama:)
 
mamallama said:
nycfonephreak said:
I'm all for saving some cash. But, I'm not willing to take a chance on batteries from anywhere but reputable sources - especially with Li-Ion batteries. Not saying your sources are not reputable or the batteries you're getting are bad.... just that I have a high confidence level with the stores I'm buying from and I'm willing to pay more for that peace of mind.
Click to expand...
What 3rd party company you have such high confidence in?
Click to expand...
Yes, please do tell...
 
mamallama said:
nycfonephreak said:
I'm all for saving some cash. But, I'm not willing to take a chance on batteries from anywhere but reputable sources - especially with Li-Ion batteries. Not saying your sources are not reputable or the batteries you're getting are bad.... just that I have a high confidence level with the stores I'm buying from and I'm willing to pay more for that peace of mind.
Click to expand...
What 3rd party company you have such high confidence in?
Click to expand...
I have had excellent results with at least 6 Li-Ion batteries (for 3 different cameras) from Sterlingtek. They are a small, family owned business and seem to really care about Customer Service and Customer Satisfaction. Here is a link:
http://sterlingtek.com/
--
All the best,
Jim

Photographers take pictures, not cameras.
 
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