D850 battery problem - fake battery or not?

Hello,

new member here. I've bought D850 few months ago from one of the top ebay sellers (new, sealed, 0 shutter count). The problem is that I can't get nowhere near advertised 1800+ shots. I can barely reach 700-800 at best (no live view, wi-fi is disabled, minimum playback time), and my average is ±500 shots. The camera itself is amazing and works perfectly however I am thinking that I might got not an original battery. I attach two pictures, can someone tell me if the battery is genuine or not? Strangely enough, there is not trash bin sign which I have seen on another batteries.

Thanks

Your battery does not have the Nikon ghost image in the gold rectangle at the bottom right. You can see it in the attached photo. I think you got a counterfeit.

Hi. I have one of each (15, 15a and 15b). All have a Nikon hologram which can be clearly seen but yours doesn't. They also do not have an "Import by Nikon" marking or a 2005 date as shown in your picture. I too feel that you do not have a genuine Nikon battery.

That battery is completely fake. I have had so many Nikon EN-EL15 batteries, that I can immediately see the fonts are wrong. I am 100% sure that the battery is fake, and you should stop using it immediately.

Thanks everyone for input. The hologram actually says "Nikon" when viewed at some angle but oh well. Probably i will need to purchase a genuine one. That's the price you pay for black market product though.

MartynasMartynas said:

Thanks everyone for input. The hologram actually says "Nikon" when viewed at some angle but oh well. Probably i will need to purchase a genuine one. That's the price you pay for black market product though.

Click to expand...

I'm going to go in a slightly different direction; I think you have old stock. The seller changed the label at the top, but the giveaway may well be the 2005 on your label. A 14 year old battery still sucks, though.

MartynasMartynas said:

Thanks everyone for input. The hologram actually says "Nikon" when viewed at some angle but oh well. Probably i will need to purchase a genuine one. That's the price you pay for black market product though.

Click to expand...

I don't think it's the battery I would be sweating. Did you intentionally buy a grey market D850? As that's likely what you have.

James809 said:

MartynasMartynas said:

Thanks everyone for input. The hologram actually says "Nikon" when viewed at some angle but oh well. Probably i will need to purchase a genuine one. That's the price you pay for black market product though.

Click to expand...

I'm going to go in a slightly different direction; I think you have old stock. The seller changed the label at the top, but the giveaway may well be the 2005 on your label. A 14 year old battery still sucks, though.

Click to expand...

The EN-EL15a was not on the market in 2005, nor was the original EN-EL15.

James809 said:

MartynasMartynas said:

Thanks everyone for input. The hologram actually says "Nikon" when viewed at some angle but oh well. Probably i will need to purchase a genuine one. That's the price you pay for black market product though.

Click to expand...

I'm going to go in a slightly different direction; I think you have old stock. The seller changed the label at the top, but the giveaway may well be the 2005 on your label. A 14 year old battery still sucks, though.

Click to expand...

These batteries were not even made in 2005! There is no Nikon camera from that era which used EN-EL15a batteries!

T O Shooter said:

MartynasMartynas said:

Thanks everyone for input. The hologram actually says "Nikon" when viewed at some angle but oh well. Probably i will need to purchase a genuine one. That's the price you pay for black market product though.

Click to expand...

I don't think it's the battery I would be sweating. Did you intentionally buy a grey market D850? As that's likely what you have.

Click to expand...

Yeah, does the side of your box (near the serial number) say: Nikon D850 (BK) US? Also, does the serial start with 3? Of course, if you bought from a seller such as 6ave, it is grey for sure.

briantilley said:

James809 said:

MartynasMartynas said:

Thanks everyone for input. The hologram actually says "Nikon" when viewed at some angle but oh well. Probably i will need to purchase a genuine one. That's the price you pay for black market product though.

Click to expand...

I'm going to go in a slightly different direction; I think you have old stock. The seller changed the label at the top, but the giveaway may well be the 2005 on your label. A 14 year old battery still sucks, though.

Click to expand...

The EN-EL15a was not on the market in 2005, nor was the original EN-EL15.

Click to expand...

Good point, I'll go back to sleep now...

Look at the first 4 digits of the serial number.

The TIS 2217-2548 (2005) is the International Battery Standards released in 2005.

The OP says he does have a hologram that shows Nikon when viewed at an angle.

I have 3 genuine Nikon batteries. If I shoot at RAW compressed and using a lens with VR turned on and auto focusing a lot, reviewing on the rear screen, I get about 500 shots.

I can't say for sure if the battery is genuine or fake.

The 1800 shots Nikon lists is under "controlled" CIPA standard conditions...……



Bob P.

Hi,

That 2005 is the date of the Thailand Industrial Standard for batteries and cells which that battery meets. You have to read the whole string: TIS 2217-2548 (2005). It is not the mfg date code.


Scroll down to Electrical / Electronic Engineering and then to number 33 in that list. You can download it from there.

"33 TIS 2217-2548 (2005) Secondary cells and batteries containing alkaline or other non-acid electrolytes - safety requirements for portable sealed secondary cells, and for batteries made from them, for use in portable applications"

If anyone cares, that is.

The mfg info would be in that white box at the bottom of the battery. That 20180914 might be the date code. But, it might not be and the way it looks like a date code a coincidence. That string would be ever changing during production. One thing the fakers do when it comes to labels is make just one, so then all the fake batteries have exactly the same thing. It is one way we tell the fakes when looking through thousands of batteries we think have fakes mixed in.

The problem is, only Nikon would have a list of what they know is fake, and they won't be sharing that.

So, the bottom line is go to a Nikon camera shop and just buy a new battery.

Also, know that there seems to have been several fake batteries reported over in the Z forum. And, the big online sellers had yanked their batteries from selling for a few days and they have them available again now. I think that points to them having been checking their stock.

Stan

Camera's serial number starts with 5. I bought it from UK seller.

Currently made 57 shots, battery charge shows 92%.

The characters on the back of the battery are Korean, not Japanese. Maybe it's a battery that was intended for the Korean market?

Perhaps related: do you use bluetooth or wi-fi on the camera? I find that these, while convenient, tax the battery.

If you want max shots per battery charge, make sure your D850 camera is in airplane mode (i.e. all radios off not just the wifi)

The battery looks like a genuine Nikon one to me.

[No message]

I buy my Nikon batteries from B&H who I know buys them from Nikon USA. I would not trust batteries sold by people on eBay or Amazon, and that is especially true when Amazon is the seller as they knowingly add counterfeit items to their inventory.

The real risk with a lithium-ion battery is having it explode as was happening with the counterfeit Canon video camera batteries. I would not take a change with a battery that is going to be close to my face or left in a car or my house.

calson said:

I buy my Nikon batteries from B&H who I know buys them from Nikon USA. I would not trust batteries sold by people on eBay or Amazon, and that is especially true when Amazon is the seller as they knowingly add counterfeit items to their inventory.

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Your evidence...?

calson said:

The real risk with a lithium-ion battery is having it explode as was happening with the counterfeit Canon video camera batteries. I would not take a change with a battery that is going to be close to my face or left in a car or my house.

Click to expand...

MartynasMartynas said:

Hello,

new member here. I've bought D850 few months ago from one of the top ebay sellers (new, sealed, 0 shutter count). The problem is that I can't get nowhere near advertised 1800+ shots. I can barely reach 700-800 at best (no live view, wi-fi is disabled, minimum playback time), and my average is ±500 shots. The camera itself is amazing and works perfectly however I am thinking that I might got not an original battery. I attach two pictures, can someone tell me if the battery is genuine or not? Strangely enough, there is not trash bin sign which I have seen on another batteries.

Thanks

Click to expand...

Sorry, it's a fake. Don't buy batteries on eBay. Depending where you are, if in the USA, buy from BH or Best Buy etc.