Non-Nikon brand batteries

[SnappingShark]

For me, I've always gone with 3rd party - Wasabi Power batteries. I find they've lasted me as long, possibly even longer than OEM.

 

[sandollars]

No mixed feelings here. I always use OEM. I have too much dough tied up in my equipment to risk it just to save a few bucks. Just saying...

 

[Jim Walczak]

At the moment I only have the OEM battery for my D90...haven't really needed a second or a replacement as the battery seems to hold up well all day. That said, when I was still shooting Canon, I did actually have a number of spare batteries for my old XT...I had 2 OEM and 3 no-name Ebay specials that only cost me a few bucks each. As far as performance goes, the 3rd party batteries compared well to the OEM's...not much difference between how long either held a change. Longevity on the other hand...both of the OEM's died after a few years and would no longer hold a charge, but 2 of the 3 knock offs still worked fine as of two years ago when my wife used the camera for one of her school projects.

So that said, -if- I only needed one battery...either a spare or a replacement, I might go OEM, particularly if I could find used or refurbished, however because of the ridiculous cost, if for some reason I needed more than one (say I start shooting a lot more video with my D90), then I'd likely go 3rd party instead.

Just my $.02 worth.

 

[Mr.Photo]

I'm a bit mixed on the OEM vs 3rd party batteries. My D3100 has nothing but genuine Nikon EN-EL14 batteries. One is the original battery that came with the camera back in late 2010, and the second is about 6 months newer than that one. Both have been going strong with heavy use for the past 4+years and only now are starting to show minimal signs of not holding as good of a charge as they used to.

On the other hand my D7000 has had issues from the start with the EN-EL15 batteries. My original one that came with the camera went from 0 straight to 3 on the battery life scale within 10 months of buying the camera. Soon after that happened I picked up a 3rd party battery from my local shop. That battery seemed to hold a charge longer than the original Nikon battery ever did. I used that 3rd party battery for a year and a half with no issues until suddenly one day it just stopped working. Neither the camera or the charger would recognize the battery. The battery only had a 1 year warranty, but I contacted the place I bought the battery from anyways to let them know. They then contacted the manufacturer who decided to give me a brand new battery despite the fact it was over 6 months out of warranty. I recently purchased another Nikon EN-EL15 battery about 5-6 months ago, and that battery has jumped from 0-2 within that short period of time. This newer Nikon battery also will not hold a charge nearly as long as the replacement 3rd party battery does.

 

[Derrel]

My D2x, which I bought May 3, 2005 still has the ORIGINAL battery. I only have one, single battery for the camera. It is now ten full years old. Plus three days shy of another five months tacked on to those ten years. Take a look at where this battery is in its life cycle--after basically, ten and a half years. The battery has sat around for about 30 days since being charged, and is at 81% charge.

There is no way in hell that any cheap made in China aftermarket battery can compete with Nikon's original batteries.

 

[Mr.Photo]

My D2x, which I bought May 3, 2005 still has the ORIGINAL battery. I only have one, single battery for the camera. It is now ten full years old. Plus three days shy of another five months tacked on to those ten years. Take a look at where this battery is in its life cycle--after basically, ten and a half years. The battery has sat around for about 30 days since being charged, and is at 81% charge.

There is no way in hell that any cheap made in China aftermarket battery can compete with Nikon's original batteries.

View attachment 109005

Really? Read my post just above yours regarding the OEM Nikon EN-EL15 batteries in my D7000.

 

[Derrel]

You probably got a counterfeit Nikon battery. There are loads of fake batteries being sold these days by unscrupulous"dealers". Last week on-line, I took Canon USA's multi-question quiz on how to identify fake batteries, fake flashes, and fake Canon accessories. Same goes for fake memory cards--there are many,many good looking fakes being sold, with pretty accurate looking labels. There are plenty of dealers looking to make higher profits, and buying their merchandise from low-ball wholesalers.

A battery that the charger cannot recognize is a good sign that the battery is a counterfeit. Nikon's chargers recognize genuine batteries, and apply pretty sophisticated charging and life-cycle monitoring to them; this is a key area where the counterfeit batteries fall flat. Nikon has also updated firmware in some of its newer cameras so that third-party batteries are deliberately not recognized.

That said, Nikon also did a recall of some lots of batteries, with batteries for your D7000 battery among them! Even though there were only 7 (seven) confirmed battery short-outs world-wide, Nikon recalled batches of their product, in two lots, E and F.Service Advisory

Again...where one buys products from has some bearing on whether there is a likely chance of getting counterfeit merchandise. Here's Canon USA's official page on this:

Canon U.S.A. : About Counterfeits: Understanding the Problem

 

[Mr.Photo]

Do not just assume that since I'm having an issue that I know nothing about counterfeit batteries. I assure you that both of my OEM batteries are genuine, and I also know of the recall on these particular batteries as I've researched this issue. Neither of my two OEM batteries are within the recall lot, but obviously still suffer from some sort of issue. Nikon has in the past had issues with certain batteries not living up to the advertised specs. You may already know this, but Nikon as well as most other manufactures do not produce their own batteries. They are purchased from a 3rd party supplier that builds them to Nikon's specifications.

While I'm usually one of the first to recommend OEM batteries because of the likely chance that you will get a bad one, when I go to replace my next Nikon battery I will be looking at other options other than the Nikon brand battery. If you do the proper research you will find batteries that will work just as well as (or better) than the original Nikon ones. I'm very reluctant to take a chance on spending a rather inflated price on another OEM battery when I've had two in a row that have given me issues. I will be looking at some other options I think this time around.

 

[Derrel]

Here is the latest Nikon support page that I could locate on counterfeit batteries and chargers, after a 30-second Google search.Counterfeit batteries and accessories

Looks to me like Nikon Asia is aware of 14 different counterfeit lithium-ion battery models and variants, and four counterfeit battery chargers, two counterfeit AC adapters, three counterfeit battery grips, and one counterfeit version of the ML-L3 wireless remote control.

New Nikon firmware released in late 2013 "bricked" a number of third-party batteries, rendering those batteries unusable.New Nikon Firmware Update Kills 3rd Party Battery Compatibility for Several Models

My genuine, original equipment battery has lasted TEN YEARS and five months, and is still showing that it has about 20% of its duty cycle ahead of it.

I would welcome the chance to read about even one single instance of an aftermarket battery giving ten years and five months of life.

 

[cgw]

Pay less, get less. Knock-off EN-EL15s seem to die young and pretty compared to the real thing. I just picked up another that was about 25 bucks more than a fake at a bricks-n-mortar retailer. Reliability and longevity? I'll pay for those, thanks.

Same goes for those poxy fake battery grips.

 

[Mr.Photo]

I had a feeling that posting here was going to open up a big ol' can of worms. The simple fact is that people will always be divided on the subject, and will defend their choice to the bitter end. Some people simply won't use anything but OEM and blindly buy with the misconception that it will always work or that it is superior to anything else that is not name brand.

Then there's the people who have been bitten too many times by faulty or defective OEM equipment or simply can't afford it so look to cheaper alternatives. This can work with the caveat that there are many companies out there making very poor quality or possibly unsafe products. Responsibility then falls to the buyer to do the necessary (read extensive) research to ensure that what they're buying will work. In rare cases the 3rd party product may be as good or better than the OEM product. This isn't always the case, but the possibility is there.

I support both sides of this debate. I will buy OEM in most cases. However I do photography more as a hobby than a living, and the few third party batteries I have used overall have been great. Therefore I will consider both OEM and 3rd party when it comes time to replace my next battery. Maybe I'll get lucky and the third Nikon battery will be OK.

 

[Alexr25]

The thing to note is that camera manufactures do not make batteries, they buy batteries made to their specifications from "cheap made in China" battery manufactures the same way that 3rd party battery suppliers do. If your 3rd party battery supplier uses a reputable manufacture the battery will be as good or better than the camera manufacturer's battery, if the 3rd party battery supplier uses a cheap fly-by-night battery manufacturer the battery will in all probability be crap.

 

[cgw]

The thing to note is that camera manufactures do not make batteries, they buy batteries made to their specifications from "cheap made in China" battery manufactures the same way that 3rd party battery suppliers do. If your 3rd party battery supplier uses a reputable manufacture the battery will be as good or better than the camera manufacturer's battery, if the 3rd party battery supplier uses a cheap fly-by-night battery manufacturer the battery will in all probability be crap.

Take a look at Nikon batteries. Cells appear Japanese-made with Chinese assembly. That's the case with my EN-EL15s. So much for "cheap made in China" batteries. Problem you seem to miss is that there's no way of knowing who made what where with knock-off batteries. If you can afford a pricey DSLR, a few extra bucks for an OEM battery shouldn't be all that painful. No interest in playing cheap-out crap-shoot with counterfeits. YMMV, as usual.

 

[JacaRanda]

For me, it makes sense to go by my own experience. Based on experience, I have decided to only use OEM batteries for my 2nd dslr. I also decided to purchase OEM battery grip for my 2nd camera. The oem batteries have held charges longer and recharge life has been better. The OEM grip feels more solid and fits flush when locked down. The 3rd psrty grip worked on my 60D, but battery charge information did not always register properly with it (oem nor 3rd party). I am all for 3rd party flashes (Yongnuo particularly) but grips and batteries will be oem from now, unless financially it can't be done.

 

[WayneF]

I've been very happy with Wasabi batteries for a D300 (EN-EL3e) and a D800 (EN-EL15). They perform as well and last as long, and 1/3 the price of a Nikon brand. The low price is a very small risk, worry seems unwarranted. Some might be junk, but there are a few brand names with excellent reputations.