The spare battery I bought around two years ago for my Panasonic FZ7 was=20 around a fiver. It has a higher capacity (both marked and in use) than=20 the one that came with it and ain't died yet. Without flash, perhaps 400=20 shots at full resolution. They're currently nearer =A34 provided you don't= =20 mind waiting for one to arrive from Hong Kong or wherever.
Yes - you can get four AA NiMHs for under a fiver, but only a real=20 cheapskate would quibble about the extra.
Interesting how so much now comes from Hong Kong in a few days and a totally-insignificant sum of money. I've an order for something or other from HK sources almost every week.
We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember John MacLeod saying something like:
LSD NiMhs have put paid to that.
LSD NiMhs again.
For the price of a few batteries to keep it going, when it might last for years yet. If it's a camera he's happy with and knows well, I fully see his point. Of course it could break tomorrow, any of them could.
The official replacement battery pack for my camera is over £40 and I would not buy anything direct from China as it is very likely it won't arrive or it will be inferior.
I would quibble over £35 so I must be a cheapskate ;-)
Mark ( snipped-for-privacy@dontgetlotsofspamanymore.invalid) wibbled on Monday 10 January 2011
09:09:
For camera batteries, for Canon at least, Hahnel make excellent pattern parts - less money and better (I ran a Canon G3 battery against a Hahnel equivalent side by side with alternating usage - the Canon died long ago, the Hahnel is still going though it is approaching death (7 years old).
Yup. The chances are high the original battery is made in China anyway. And supplied to the camera makers at a tiny fraction of the price they charge for it.
I've bought loads of components off Ebay from China with no probs.
I went off rechargeable batteries some years ago. I have a ten year old camera that has a pattern battery in and it works fine apart from its long shutter lag. The one I bought after runs off AA's and I keep a spare set in the camera's case, in case. I buy them in bulk from Maplin, I think in 40's and they last ages, because of their long shelf life and they can be bought anywhere.
Not sure that that's terribly relevant. Most of my stuff comes via DP which in turn owns DHL. I've a friend who used to export architectural trees from China by DHL and the contract allowed them to fly for a very nominal sum. I assume there's a "Space Available" deal being used.
Ah - my experience differs. The replacement battery pack for my camera=20 was very cheap, arrived very promptly and has proved excellent in every=20 way.
Unfortunately the camera manufacturers are getting too clever at protecting their profits.
I have a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FS10. I ordered a spare battery for it which was the equivalent for the Panasonic one but noted that my camera did not appear in the list of models it was suitable for.
I assumed that, as my camera was new, that the list hadn't been updated and ordered it anyway.
The battery arrived, was charged and inserted in the camera. I switched on and the usual display appeared - for about two seconds! Then a message came up saying that the battery could not be used in the camera!
Obviously Panasonic have omproved their firmware to spot the copy when it reads the chip inside the battery.
Fortunately I got the battery from 7dayshop.com who refunded my money without argument - might not have been so easy with a Chinese vendor!
For the moment, I haven't got a spare and the lower capacity battery supplied with the camera works well and lasts ages between charges. I would still like a spare without paying an outrageous price for it so, if someone has a suitable battery in the same camera, I'd like to know about it, please!
We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember Mark saying something like:
Perhaps that particular one, but generally I've found the generic China-made replacement batteries are ok. There is some rubbish around, sure, but overall the quality's fairly decent.
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