3rd party batteries

[Terao]

Hmm, first time I use one and the second frame I shoot is a dark frame. First in over a thousand shots.
Backup use only for me then. These were 1500ma 3.7v cells from 7DayShop...

 

[jlw]

We had this discussion once before, and results do seem to depend a lot on the battery. I believe Sean posted that he was told by Epson that it's important to use their battery (although I've had good luck with the Emerging Power batteries I got.)

Just a guess, but my take is that even batteries with the same voltage and total mah rating may differ in how much instantaneous current they can deliver; some third-party batteries don't seem to have enough "kick" to put the R-D 1 through its operating cycle reliably. I assume that Epson spec'ed a battery that can meet the camera's current needs; with other brands, you're on your own to find ones that work reliably.

 

[Adam-T]

here goes - 5 easy steps to the 3rd party battery issue in the UK 🙂

1:- Walk into Jessops
2:- Pluck one of their own name 1500Ma Fuji NP80 clones off the shelf
3:- Pay for it
4:- Charge it
5:- See how it outlasts the Epson Original

The Great thing is that if its a dud, you can change it at Jessops - I`d not trust any of 7-day-shops batteries unless they were OEM or had Ansmann or Hahnel on them

 

[Terao]

Adam - agree. But then three 7Dayshop batteries for the price of one Epson/Jessops will do for backup. I'll get a Jessops one for critical use as well...

 

[Adam-T]

Good Move .. They`re only £22.50 which although isn`t as cheap as a 7-day shop one, is still a lot cheaper than the Epson .. It would appear to be the full hit 1500Ma (unlike some clones which are optimistic to say the least), I usually buy Hahnel or Ansmann Batts but the Hahnels are 1300Ma and I`ve not seen an Ansmann NP80..

BTW my used 50 Nokton arrived today, compared it to the Nikon 50mm F1.4 shots I have done on a D50 in RAW both using Capture one ( relevant as its much the same CCD and same converter) .. Both are pin sharp in the middle wide open, the difference being that the sharpness of the Nokton extends to the edges whereas the Nikon (a really good sample as it happens) gets more and more dreamy as you move away from the centre like the Canon 50 F1.4 does..

Amazingly with the Nokton wide open, I`m seeing Purple hazing / fringing for the very first time ever in the RD1 but it`s very slight indeed and the Nikon/ Canon 50 F1.4s are heavy with it at F1.4.. Very impressed with the build of course, it mqkes the C&N 50s feel like dogtoys and is actually cheaper new than either.

 

[Terao]

Is it really cheaper than the Nikon f/1.4?
Certainly better built, lovely lens to handle 🙂
My only concern is that its a bit big and I'm going to leave it at home too much. I can get my 21, 12, 40, and 75 in my Lowepro TLZ1 but can't squeeze in the 50 if I substitute for the 40...
But it will be the lens of choice for the wedding shots next weekend 🙂

 

[Jim Watts]

Hmm, first time I use one and the second frame I shoot is a dark frame. First in over a thousand shots.
Backup use only for me then. These were 1500ma 3.7v cells from 7DayShop...

May be a consistency problem, but I have 3, 7Dayshop ones, brought on two seperate occassions and have had no problems. I get 80 - 100 Raw from a battery as with the Epson.

 

[Adam-T]

Is it really cheaper than the Nikon f/1.4?
Certainly better built, lovely lens to handle 🙂
My only concern is that its a bit big and I'm going to leave it at home too much. I can get my 21, 12, 40, and 75 in my Lowepro TLZ1 but can't squeeze in the 50 if I substitute for the 40...
But it will be the lens of choice for the wedding shots next weekend 🙂

Actually I got that a bit wrong - it`s only £20 more though 🙂 .. Thankfully it has a standard 52mm filter size (Standard as in SLR rather than weird RF filter sizes) so you can remove the hood and use a standard snap on cap on it , I hate RF slide on caps, they often slide off when you don`t want them to like Canon G series Digicams do so I`ve put a Hoya HMC UV and a Nikon cap on mine 🙂, it reduces the size a worthwhile bit and the lens is better protected

 

[Adam-T]

May be a consistency problem, but I have 3, 7Dayshop ones, brought on two seperate occassions and have had no problems. I get 80 - 100 Raw from a battery as with the Epson.

I get around 250 RAWs from the Epson, between 300 and 350 with the jessops, though the LCD is folded inwards most of the time and I only review / zoom on occasion

 

[RML]

With my Epson batt I get about 200 shots. Review is set at 3 sec., and I generally switch the camera off when I've taken my shot.

The 2 generic batts I have are reportedly full but last each nary a 1 GB card. But they come in handy as a backup.

 

[Jim Watts]

I get around 250 RAWs from the Epson, between 300 and 350 with the jessops, though the LCD is folded inwards most of the time and I only review / zoom on occasion

Yes, this difference has been much discussed in other threads on batteries before with different people getting a variable life of between 58 - 300 Raw. I get towards the low end, like you I keep the use of the LCD to a minimum and time out at 3 mins, but only get 80 - 100 shots when made over a day. Go's upto 150+ if shot over an hour or two though.

7Dayshop and Epson 3.7V 1500's both give me the same result. A 1300 Mah Uniross (from Jessop's) gives about 20% less as you would expect. I'd like more from a battery, but it's still less hassel than changing film.