Best Camera Batteries

[Photographer9778]

Looking to buy a second battery for my Lumix G80, which takes DMW-BLC12 batteries. I have heard that there are lots of 3rd party sellers, which sell batteries for cheaper...
Am I better paying more for a Panasonic battery or should I be getting a cheaper 3rd party one?

Do the pana ones outlast 3rd party?

Are they safe to use?

Anything else I should know?
Any advice much appreciated!

TIA

 

[Photographer9778]

Just found this one on ebay…

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www.ebay.co.uk

It is quite cheap, should I buy it?

 

[BobVell]

Looking to buy a second battery for my Lumix G80, which takes DMW-BLC12 batteries. I have heard that there are lots of 3rd party sellers, which sell batteries for cheaper...
Am I better paying more for a Panasonic battery or should I be getting a cheaper 3rd party one?

Do the pana ones outlast 3rd party?

Are they safe to use?

Anything else I should know?
Any advice much appreciated!

TIA

If you are in the US (or somewhere B&H delivers), try a Wasabi equivalent. I have 2 of them for my Sony, and they are excellent.

 

[TheBrilliantShadow]

Before I went Nikon, I had a Sony Camera and bought 3rd party batteries. The original ones were 60€, the cheap ones 15€! I bought 2 and was happy with how they perform.
The thing was: after half a year or so they were almost dead. 4h charging and one hour later they were dry again. I guess a cell or something went bad and so they simply did not hold their charge anymore. Until today I went through 4 of them buggers, all dead now. The only battery that is still in perfect condition is the one that came with the camera when I bought it!!
With that knowledge, when switching to Nikon, I got original batteries from the start. The cost may be high (you pay for the name some extra $$) but my experience in the long run is much much better.

I can not talk for every brand, of course. There may be better brands out there. I just share my experience here, wishing I had not tried to cheap out.

 

[BobVell]

Before I went Nikon, I had a Sony Camera and bought 3rd party batteries. The original ones were 60€, the cheap ones 15€! I bought 2 and was happy with how they perform.
The thing was: after half a year or so they were almost dead. 4h charging and one hour later they were dry again. I guess a cell or something went bad and so they simply did not hold their charge anymore. Until today I went through 4 of them buggers, all dead now. The only battery that is still in perfect condition is the one that came with the camera when I bought it!!
With that knowledge, when switching to Nikon, I got original batteries from the start. The cost may be high (you pay for the name some extra $$) but my experience in the long run is much much better.

I can not talk for every brand, of course. There may be better brands out there. I just share my experience here, wishing I had not tried to cheap out.

There are many generic batteries that do not last, or which expand or otherwise don't work. I saw lots of reviews when I was looking to buy, and the Wasabi batteries came highly recommended. The Sony is currently US $54, the Wasabi is US $12. I can't remember what I paid, but 3 years later, the original Sony and the 2 Wasabi batteries are all working fine. All take a charge, all last about the same amount of time.

 

[BBbuilder467]

Looking to buy a second battery for my Lumix G80, which takes DMW-BLC12 batteries. I have heard that there are lots of 3rd party sellers, which sell batteries for cheaper...
Am I better paying more for a Panasonic battery or should I be getting a cheaper 3rd party one?

Do the pana ones outlast 3rd party?

Are they safe to use?

Anything else I should know?
Any advice much appreciated!

TIA

After 15 years in rotation of the OEM Panasonic and generic, it's obvious the Panasonic are "better", but I haven't had any problem with the generic. I can't tell a 12 year old Panasonic from new, but I have 12 year old generics that still work. They just don't quite hold the charge or have the battery life of the OEM.

 

[HRC2016]

Seriously?

You're going to risk your camera to save a couple of bucks?

If you need to go cheap buy a less expensive tripod, bag or filter. At least you won't ruin your camera if it fails.

 

[macsesso]

I have used Watson and Wasabi in the past with no problems. A Watson came as an extra battery with my new Canon GX 7ii from B&H. I have found that secondary batteries and chargers don't work and play well with each other with Olympus chargers so for my Olympus it's only their batteries. Watson and Wasabi played nicely with several of my Panasonics including my G85

I don't think I would buy any inexpensive brand name battery from Ebay

 

[ToxicTabasco]

IME with various DSLRs and Mirrlroress, factory batteries outlast and out perform 3rd party batteries. Also, depending on how much you use them, can make a huge difference.

The 3rd party batteries I have range in brand and all are less than 1/2 the price of a manufacture battery. Some lasted 1 year before performance decline, some 18 months. After 2 years, they start to decline in capacity, some held only 67% power on a full charge, some 72% after 2 years.

Thus, with my new camera system, I got manufacture spare batteries. These cameras charge with USB battery pack, and I can charge in remote locations anytime. Thus, I prefer to charge less, and have longer performance on my mirrorless cameras and DSLRs. And I use these frequently at least 2 photo shoots a week, sometimes more.

However, there is value in 3rd party batteries. If you have more than 3 cameras shooting at the same time, and need to shoot non stop over 3 to 6 hours, 3rd party batteries can be a better choice. But that savings comes at a cost. After a year, you'll be charging more batteries for longer periods to get the same performance of a manufacture battery. Charging 12 to 15 batteries at one time will also increase the electric bill.

 

[techie takes pics]

I have a few originals and a couple of 3rd party batterries.

They are fine. I find no difference with the originals. Mind you, chemically they are the same. Same voltage, same limitations to put power inside a given enclosure.

I'd rather have an extra 3rd party spare battery, than a theoretical 5% higher capacity with no spare.

I bought my 3rd parties at AliExpress, together with a USB charger. eBay or Amazon will be the same, if you're American.