I bought two chargers with 4 battery´s from bestbatt. They don't last as long as the olympus and they are a little TO tight for the grip ( ok inside the camera ) . I Sanded them down a little bit when back home and now they are just as Loose in the grip as the original.

Have to try them out for a while to be able to judge better.

I am sorry, but I am not trying to be rude, but if I purchase something and then have to redesign it in order to make it function as I purchased it to function; that equipment is going back just as fast as it was sent to me if not faster. I would never pay a $1300 for a camera and grip and then try to save a few pennies purchasing a piece of equipment that I would have to work on in order to make it fit properly in my camera. I have placed some Olympus batteries on back order and I can wait till they arrives.

We are all different. In order to get backup and/or two batteries per camera/grip now, I don't have a problem with installing the non-Oly battery in the body only, or perform a slight modification to make something work to my satisfaction. That option for me is much better than waiting, lord only knows how long, for Oly batteries.

I use my cameras a lot. It is far better for me to able to continue shooting after my OEM batteries are drained ... than to be up a creek in a barbed-wired canoe waiting for the perfect battery.

Having the capacity to photograph at the end of the day is more important to me than waiting for the perfect power source. My motivation is not a matter of pennies but a choice for photography.

Gary

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You are definitely not rude, and in fact theoretically right. Nobody here would choose a dubious third party battery over the original, even at 3X the pricetag.

Problem is, originals are currently unavailable. I have two outdoors model shoots next week, and each shall last several hours due to the concept(s). I'm pretty nervous about my single OM-D battery keeping up. One of the concepts includes night shooting using Live Bulb and in general the LCD will be on all the time... What I'm trying to say is, seeking reliable (albeit lower performance) third party batteries is a must for some of us right now.

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I understand what you are saying about needing a back up battery, although I have never used any in any camera that I have ever owned. I shoot mainly with the Nikon D3s and I have Nikon back up batteries for it, but my E-M5 will not become my main system until I get not only the needed lenses for it, but also batteries as well. It was not the idea of using after market batteries that bothered me, but it was having to redesign them in and cut them down in order to make them fit and work in my camera that bothered me. If you can get after market batteries that will fit and work properly in your camera then I say go for it, but having to do some work on them in order to make them both work and fit in my camera and grip is what I would never do. Olympus is stating on their site that they will have all their pre-ordered batteries caught up by the end of this month.

Good for you, then don't order non-OEM batteries and slightly modify them for fit. Thank you for your opinion.

Gary

__________________
"Everywhere you look there are photographs, it is up to us photogs to see them."- Gary Ayala
My Snaps are Here: Unsharp At Any Speed
Critiquing my images is welcomed and greatly appreciated.

i'm a user of these 3rd party batteries and really happy with the performance... i have 3 of this. i took me same numbers of shots with the OEM for a freshly charge of this.

For what it's worth, I haven't had to modify my aftermarket batteries in order to fit them and remove them either from the body or the grip, though they do seem tighter in the grip.

When installed in the grip the spring that pushes the batteries out when the battery tab is released still pushes the battery out, though not as well/far as the oem battery. When I open the battery door and release the tab, usually about 3mm or so of the battery will be exposed to grab, but it's "grab-able" and I don't have a problem getting them out.

Your results may vary.

I guess I lucked in, was in Korea in May, walked into the Olympus flagship store in Seoul, walked out with a battery for my OM-D :) ...figured I'd mention it if by any chance someone is there

It has nothing to do with saving pennies. I would buy the original battery if available , and thats what I will do when available. Third party battery´s don't scare me at all. And expressing your opinion is in no way rude to me either :-).

Happy shooting.