Batteries - OEM or other

[BBW]

The official Olympus is about $60 on their website. B & H Photo sells it for $43 and they have another version for $29.95 by Pearstone. And then I found this one on Amazon "Maximal Power DB OLY BLS-1 Replacement Battery for Olympus Digital Camera/Camcorder" for about $10.00 and inquiring minds want to know which you'd buy?

My point being do off brands matter? Not that I'd know that much about which brands of batteries were "off". My initial thoughts were to go with the Pearstone.

 

[Streetshooter]

Get the Oly..........think of the money yer saving on Tri-X......
get the el cheapo for hubby......
that way ya save enuff to get a new bag....

 

[BBW]

Really? OK, Don you know that I have a compunction to follow your advice. Hubby doesn't need a camera battery. He might, however, need that iPad so that I can use it.

But seriously, I've always sort of had this feeling that it's best to go for the brand name on certain things. I have another question for you that I'm going to post on the Accessories forum - no, not about bags.:horse:

 

[Elliot]

Battery beware

Having spent the majority of my working life in the photo industry working for Nikon (Now retired in the world of micro 4/3), I can tell you with a great deal of certainty that you should stay with the camera manufacturers batteries. There can be differences, in regards to heat sensing circuits etc. that could make a big difference in damage or no damage.

I have also found over time that the camera manufacturer batteries out perform the knock off batteries, so please beware of what looks like a good deal.

 

[Streetshooter]

Elliot is 100% right. I actually cooked my Sigma DP1 with a cheapo battery....

 

[BBW]

Believe me, I followed your advice and have received the real McCoy!

 

[Djarum]

When I ordered my camera from adorama, it came with this extra battery:

http://www.adorama.com/IBYBLS1.html?searchinfo=bls1

I've used it 5 or 6 times, and I have had no issues with it. Will it last as long? I don't know. I will find out eventually I guess.

 

[sebastel]

using several generic no-name BLS-1 replacements.
they work just as well as the original - but keep in mind, you're at your own risk.

 

[cosinaphile]

ive got some cheap batteries and they work fine

 

[blackSP]

I always get 1 or 2 spares with every camera I have, never OEM, and never had any problem. At 30% of OEM prices!

 

[tpitch14]

Okay, now I'm in the right place to post this! So, any experiences with the following: MaximalPower, bestbatt.com, or ebay seller orphanbiker... ?

(This coming from someone who typically sticks to OEM stuff)

 

[Streetshooter]

I used esopheric or something. I got 2 x 1500ma for $14.95 USD no shipping.
They work great...better than the oem....
please disregard my post back in Jan.....

 

[BBW]

Well thanks Don!

Did you have an epiphany or something?

 

[zman m4/3]

I have two of these:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001FA0AM2/ref=oss_product

and they have worked fine for me.

 

[E-PL1Shooter]

I always use the original brand battery, don't try to save money to get the risk of damaging your camera.

 

[mtlshop]

I bought mine in HK and it came with an extra battery. Generic but has a little higher mAh than the oem. Good for backup and hasn't failed me yet. I don't think it'll harm the camera unless there's a battery leak.

With oem, at least you can blame Olympus

 

[mauve]

I don't buy el-cheapo models off e-bay, neither do I bind to the extortion of branded batteries. I get 3rd party reputable brands from camera stores. Hähnel has a bls1 compatible model, for instance.

 

[BartonFlyer]

There was a discussion on this a while back

https://www.mu-43.com/showthread.php?t=784

 

[Gwendal]

Asking myself the same questions about OEM vs non-OEM (in my case, for the EP1). Apparently there are differences in the mAh values, 1150 in the case of the OEM PS-BLS1 while anywhere between 900 and 1500 for the non-OEM. Being no electrician, I have no idea what is the influence of these ?

 

[Shinka]

I used an off-brand battery for my Sony F828 a few years back, and while it didn't fry my camera, it slowly died after a few months and now it won't hold a charge anymore. Every since I've decided to stick with OEM batteries.