3rd Party M8 batteries - where from?

Swallow it, I think

Swallow it, I think

I'm going to swallow it, Kully, and buy a full price battery- the rest leave too much to be desired....
 
I've bought a total of 8 batteries from wqtallup@yahoo.com.hk, and all have been good. They've lasted longer than the Leica brand batteries.

There's no way I'm paying $150 a battery here instead of the $10 to wqtallup.

In all my cameras I use third party batteries, if at all possible. Yes, I've had failures, but I've had at least as many failures with the OEM batteries.

Henning
 
I bought a third party battery from a major photographic house (no names, please). I second the several opinions about their being a major pain in the derrier. Mine works, if fully charged, but the only way to fully recharge it is to leave it in the camera, on and with the LCD screen left on to make sure it goes completely flat. Then it will take a full charge. It's frankly too much trouble to use only to save a "few" bucks. I find that the Leica battery has an amazingly long charge life if the LCD review is left off. If need be, it's a simple task to turn it on if you must review a shot. The spare battery is for back up and I intend to replace my third party battery with a genuine Leica one and damn the expense. After all, you spend a fortune on a camera body and a lot more for a complement of good lenses, so what is another $125 or so for a reliable spare battery? I frankly think this whole thread is about nickels and dimes when you consider that the camera outfit is $5000 plus!
 
Jim Evidon said:
After all, you spend a fortune on a camera body and a lot more for a complement of good lenses, so what is another $125 or so for a reliable spare battery? I frankly think this whole thread is about nickels and dimes when you consider that the camera outfit is $5000 plus!
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No.

This thread is about finding good 3rd party batteries, because there is no need for a small capacity Li-Ion battery like the M8 uses to cost $125 / £60 / whatever.

I wouldn't mind paying it if I just needed one, but I've needed four spares (I don't chimp).

Oh, and I hadn't known that buying the M8 turns one into a spendthrift :)
 
HenningW said:
I've bought a total of 8 batteries from wqtallup@yahoo.com.hk, and all have been good. They've lasted longer than the Leica brand batteries.

There's no way I'm paying $150 a battery here instead of the $10 to wqtallup.

In all my cameras I use third party batteries, if at all possible. Yes, I've had failures, but I've had at least as many failures with the OEM batteries.

Henning
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Thanks for that Henning, did you email him directly / does he have a website?
 
baycrest said:
Sure on ebay their selling for $11 now per battery. A bit of inflation since I bought it. The vendor isn't perfect, >50,000 sales with a 99.1% rating. So perhaps the 1% has been unhappy I guess :rolleyes:.

The vendor is loo100us.
Best
Rob
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I've had a couple of private messages requesting the seller I got my batteries from. This is the guy.

Again, these batteries have been as good as the OEM ones for me, and I paid (with shipping) about 1/15th what OEM batteries cost.

Henning
 
...so we have a situation where a pro can't risk battery failure in the middle of a shoot, OEM batteries cost a bloody fortune, even they require a complete discharge followed by moderate overcharging to assure the maximum amount of exposures per charge, and that's with turning the Chimp Screen off. Suddenly film looks like The Invention of the last millenium!
 
Al :) It's easy to switch to the other body - super bad luck if the batteries in both fail. But, you're right, when my digital decided to use some large object as a suppository at a wedding last summer out came the completely knackered M2 and CV 50/1.5 and worked perfectly with no software glitches.

Henning - you are a star sir, I've contacted the gentleman(?) in HK to get some over. Will report on how they are.
 
Kully - The guy Henning bought from is the same as my source. As mentioned previously, i bought two units. One was perfectly fine, the other dodgy from day one. Replacement was promptly sent and the replacement has worked perfectly since.

Given the price - nothing to loose. ; )
 
man, the way some people march lemming like to the beat of leica... Its not like leica is in the battery business, geesh. Your camera is shipped with a "third party" battery. Just find out who makes the batteries and buy them direct without paying the 5x markup for retail that leica is billing you.

There are not ten million people making batteries that size...
 
Henning, boy_lah,

Thanks for your posts. I received two batteries from 'loo100us' and I've been using them this past week.

The quality of the plastic is good, the shutlines are precise and most importantly the charge / discharge is also good. I've ordered 6 more :)
 
One leica battery two third party and now six more:eek: You must indeed be a happy snapper. At about 500 shots per battery that makes 4500 images on one gadget bag!:rolleyes:
 
I am a happy snapper extraordinaire Jaap ;-) I have three official batteries and will have eight 3rd party ones - 11*500=5500!

That and I am going somewhere with sporadic electricity in the summer.

And I have a battery fetish.
 
baycrest said:
There's some negative and positive views on 3rd party batteries. Run a search to get a wider range of comments.

For myself, I've got 2 Leica "branded" batteries and 2 no-name batteries.
As I drain all batteries, before replacing (Leica and the no-name), I can't comment on the issue mentioned the earlier post.
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I would recommend not to completely drain a Li-on battery before recharging. You will increase the servicable lifespan considerably by recharging from a half-charge (if possible) back to full.
This advice does not apply to NiCAD or NiMH batteries - my guess is that some (but not all) of the aftermarket batteries are this inferior technology (as they require discharge to zero and charge because of the "memory" effect).
 
I have four non-Leica batteries, they are nearly two years old. In the beginning they were fine, except for the deep discharge reset. I have used them maybe three or four times each over time, and they are all useless now. A total waste of money. As a comparison, my Leica batteries, the same age but in constant use are all like new.
I should have listened to my grandmother. She always told us "I'm too poor to buy cheap stuff"....
 
jaapv said:
I have four non-Leica batteries, they are nearly two years old. In the beginning they were fine, except for the deep discharge reset. I have used them maybe three or four times each over time, and they are all useless now. A total waste of money. As a comparison, my Leica batteries, the same age but in constant use are all like new.
I should have listened to my grandmother. She always told us "I'm too poor to buy cheap stuff"....
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this is more than likely because of frequent use rather than because one is "cheap stuff". Batteries need to be cycled...
 
WoolenMammoth said:
this is more than likely because of frequent use rather than because one is "cheap stuff". Batteries need to be cycled...
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As I said in my earlier post, I suspect different battery chemistries are more likely at fault here.
Cells which require deep-cycling (NiMH and NiCAD technology) simply do not withstand as many cycles as more modern Li-ion technology which does not require deep-cycling.
 
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