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3.7 Volt enough for EX1?

Started Apr 5, 2012 | Discussions
(unknown member) Senior Member • Posts: 1,001
3.7 Volt enough for EX1?

The output of the original battery SLB 11A is 3.8 Volt. I found several cheap replacement batteries, however some of them are "only" 3.7 Volt. Anyone using 3.7 Volt batteries and encountering problems because of this? Or does the EX1 work just fine with 0.1 Volt less?

Samsung TL500 (EX1)
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Billx08 Forum Pro • Posts: 11,373
Re: 3.7 Volt enough for EX1?

JoostL wrote:

The output of the original battery SLB 11A is 3.8 Volt. I found several cheap replacement batteries, however some of them are "only" 3.7 Volt. Anyone using 3.7 Volt batteries and encountering problems because of this? Or does the EX1 work just fine with 0.1 Volt less?

It's a non-issue. The capacity in mAh is what's important. The camera will shut down when the voltage drops too low and that should be well below 3.7 volts. FWIW, every battery ever made can have different voltage ratings. The no load voltage is always higher, and the load used by the battery manufacturer is what determine the voltage rating. A battery tested at a 150ma load will have a higher voltage rating than one tested at a 750ma load. They also will produce different mAh ratings. A really cheap battery might have only 80% of the Li-Ion content inside the battery shell. This will result in a lower mAh capacity rating (if the company is honest) and the battery life will be 80% of Samsung's own battery. But the cheapy should also weigh less if you bother to weigh it, but it will have the same 3.7 or 3.8 voltage rating, just like all alkaline, manganese and carbon/zinc batteries are usually rated at 1.5 volts, whether they're D, C, AA or AAA cells.

Ysarex
Ysarex Veteran Member • Posts: 3,354
Re: 3.7 Volt enough for EX1?

I bought one of the cheap (ebuybatteries.com) $10.00 replacement batteries as a backup for my EX1 and it works just fine. It's listed as 3.7v

Joe

ac146 Regular Member • Posts: 322
Re: 3.7 Volt enough for EX1?

Hi!

No I don't think that the 3.8v vs 3.7v makes much of a difference. At least with my EX1.

I have 3 batteries the original 11A, and 2 'off market' ones. These are Vivitar branded and are rated at 1300mAh. I just received them last week. Purchased via Amazon.ca . So I can't say that they will hold the charge longer (than the lower rated original batteries). They look just as well made.

However, a bit of a warning. As I said these were purchased via Amazon. I purchased an external charger and battery combo. If you are looking for such a thing stay away from what I purchased. The charger blew as soon as I plugged it in ... total junk. Flimsy and cheap. The batteries are OK.

This is what I purchased:

http://www.amazon.ca/Extended-Replacement-Battery-Samsung-SLB-11A/dp/B004DQA57K/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1333670578&sr=8-6
So beware.

I still wanted an external charger. We are going on our next cruise soon and I wanted a better (read that as quicker) way to charge the batteries for my EX1 and my wife's WB700. They both use the 11As. The cheap charger from Amazon was toast (literally - smoked and smells burnt). So I purchased another charger..

A Digipower TC55SG. It handles the 10As or 11As. Its rather sleek.
http://www.henrys.com/63617-DIGIPOWER-TC55SG-TRAVEL-CHARGER-SAMSUNG.aspx

While it doesn't charge in 1hr - it is nonetheless much quicker than charging in the camera. If your looking for a travel charger check it out. This one works.

Thanks
--
Nova Scotia, Canada

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sherwoodpete
sherwoodpete Veteran Member • Posts: 7,767
It may not be a real difference

JoostL wrote:

The output of the original battery SLB 11A is 3.8 Volt. I found several cheap replacement batteries, however some of them are "only" 3.7 Volt. Anyone using 3.7 Volt batteries and encountering problems because of this? Or does the EX1 work just fine with 0.1 Volt less?

It's possible it's not even a real difference, it might exist only on paper.

Just like many manufacturer's specifications, unless all measurements are made by an independent tester using a standard methodology, the results may vary. It may simply be that one company rounded up a decimal figure and the other rounded down.

Equally, it may depend on whether the battery was tested under load or no-load conditions, how large was the load, whether this was the voltage of a freshly-charged cell, or an average over an extended period... there are just too many possible variations to make this anything other than a spurious difference.

Regards,
Peter

OP (unknown member) Senior Member • Posts: 1,001
Re: 3.7 Volt enough for EX1?

Thanks every one, I'll go for it.

vinnieturbo New Member • Posts: 1
Re: 3.7 Volt enough for EX1?

Can I use a 3.8 volt battery with a 3.7 volt device?

Xoden Forum Member • Posts: 66
Re: 3.7 Volt enough for EX1?

Yes, you can.

Anyway, the actual voltage of fully charged Li-ion battery is 4,2 to 4,35V and for fully discharged it's 2,5 to 3,0V depending on exact chemistry.

3,7 or 3,8 is only a some kind of 'average' figure. I can also mean that battery rated 3,7V at 1000mAh, for example, holds more energy than one rated 3,8V at 1000mAh.

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