Non-OEM Batteries

[Meremail]

A year ago, I found a recommendation for, and bought batteries from www.bestbatt.com (US) for my Panasonic camera.

A single spare battery (in AUS) from Panasonic was about $80-100 which is a bit rich, so I ended up buying 4 batteries from Bestbatt for $52 shipped to Australia. So far they have performed perfectly, and I never get caught out with a flat battery.

Be aware, I have read that some software may check for the presence of OEM battery only before operating.

There are many other places to buy from, and I can only suggest the one I have used, where the range of batteries is staggering and the online service was excellent.

Jim

[David]

Hi Jim - Thanks for this info. I've just checked out their site and it looks good. A year or so ago I was looking for some replacements for the Canon BP-511 and Colin recommended Sterling-Tek http://sterlingtek.com/. I got some and they work very well - as good as the Canon ones. I'm now looking for the LP-E6 and your recommendation has them - so I'll give them a shot.

Cheers

David

PS Welcome to CiC.

[Hansm]

Be aware, I have read that some software may check for the presence of OEM battery only before operating.

Jim

Hi Jim

What do you mean with this?
I know my 5D mkII has the option to check the SN from the battery used.
But I don't think this will effect the performance of the camera, at least I hope.

[Meremail]

Hi Jim

What do you mean with this?
I know my 5D mkII has the option to check the SN from the battery used.
But I don't think this will effect the performance of the camera, at least I hope.

I have not experienced this myself, but have read it numerous times on the Flickr Panasonic LX3 group website. I expect that if it is true, that the camera will not function if the software detects a 3rd party battery ie not a Panasonic battery in this case. This is not the case for the LX3 and I had not known that it was likely, but these days, in the digital world we live in, anything is possible, and manufacturers make a lot of money from consumables. eg printers.
As an example, recently a service guy was replacing the filters on an under-bench machine that provides on-tap chilled and boiling water in our office kitchen. I was chatting to him and he explained he had the wrong filters at first, and had to go get the right ones. On questioning, he explained, the manufacturer has a special collar with some smarts in it, and if 3rd party (non-genuine) filters are used, the machine will not work at all.

So I just wanted to add the caveat, that there might be a risk with some camera manufacturers trying to protect their patch, and it is buyer beware.

[David]

Interesting point about whether non-OEM batteries could be detected such that the camera no longer functions. When I bought my Canon 5D Mk2 the supplier, a highly reputable photography store in the UK, commented that I could use the Energiser equivalent of the Canon battery. They had tested it and it was just as good, and 2/3 the cost. Given that Canon, at least, has not objected as far as I know to BP-511 equivalents being manufactured, sold and widely used, I doubt they could object to LP_E6 replacements from other sources. That is not to say that there won't be rogue traders that produce inferior quality batteries, but then "caveat emptor."

David