My three new awful generic batteries

[kuzano]

More than one article on counterfeit batteries

More than one article on counterfeit batteries

A recent news story made the bold claim that nearly 100% of ALL rechargeable batteries and memory cards sold on eBay are counterfeits and nearly worthless, in addition to the batteries being dangerous and liable to exploding. Lithium-Ion batteries can and have exploded with some violence when short-circuited.

Not trying to scare you - but when a national magazine feels safe to make such accusations, I tend think they might be on to something (I believe it was Shutter Bug, but I could be wrong).

I buy all my batteries from Thomas Distributing and my flash memory from NewEgg. YMMV.

There's actually been quite a bit of press on this problem, and reports about the volume of confiscations of counterfeit batteries.

One report from Consumer Reports here:

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/...eit-products-1-08/overview/counterfeit-ov.htm

Memory cards are also being counterfeited and sold on-line as well as all forms of device batteries,

 

[Angel]

From R.Cutler site,

"A reliable battery for those in the UK appears to be the Jessops own-brand NP-80 (part No. JESHLNP80). Note that the Jessops website lists this battery as 1300 mAh whereas the battery bought from Jessops shops is marked as 1500 mAh; ensure that you buy the latter; alternatively, 7dayshop sells 1500 mAh batteries.

In the US, the North American Battery Company sells 1650 mAh batteries that are widely available (e.g. from RitzCamera.com), but, although reliable, they appear to last no longer than the standard Epson batteries, so I am sceptical about the high capacity rating.

There are plenty of NP-80 batteries available on eBay, some very cheap, but their quality may be questionable."

These shops are just across the pond. I hope this info helps you.

 

[Jim Watts]

I have had 3 x 1500mah NP80's from 7dayshop (based in the Channel Islands) in use for over a year now and they have proved as good as the Epson's. Any Epson originals will now be quite old and Li-ion batteries deteriorate with time whether used or not unless stored under ideal conditions.

I'm not sure that 7dayshop will take Paypal, but I have used my credit card with them over a few years without problems. They have a secure site and have been in business for sometime.

They now cost only £4.49 about 5.8 Euros plus postage, but were about £6.00 when I brought mine, but they look the same.

http://www.7dayshop.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=777_3&products_id=8140

There are plenty of other earlier threads with useful info on batteries if you do a search, such as this: http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=40637&highlight=Batteries

 

[Kevin]

From R.Cutler site,

"A reliable battery for those in the UK appears to be the Jessops own-brand NP-80 (part No. JESHLNP80) ... These shops are just across the pond. I hope this info helps you.

Hi Angel,

I already tried Jessops in mid January but they only ship to the UK, Ireland and the Channel Islands :-(

Best Regards
Kevin

 

[Kevin]

I have had 3 x 1500mah NP80's from 7dayshop (based in the Channel Islands) in use for over a year now and they have proved as good as the Epson's. Any Epson originals will now be quite old and Li-ion batteries deteriorate with time whether used or not unless stored under ideal conditions.

Thanks for the link, Jim, but I am going to steer clear of the "made for" batteries from now on. Last night I ordered two original Fuji NP-80 from the link I posted here yesterday. Hopefully that will work out for me.

If not I'll be back 🙂

Best Regards
Kevin

 

[yanidel]

Kevin, I do not know how much you charge or are paid for one hour of you work but between all the time you spent researching the internet and reading this thread, trying the batteries, finding another supplier, paying again, wouldn't it have been easier to buy original Epson's in the first place ? At no risk on top of that.
Don't worry, this question also applies to my purchasing process, but I just paid an extra 150 euros for a CV lens by purchasing to a local store in France instead of a US online store. Figured out it redirected all product support, customs worries and time spent surfing to get the best price to more productive time doing something else.

 

[Kevin]

Kevin, I do not know how much you charge or are paid for one hour of you work but between all the time you spent researching the internet and reading this thread, trying the batteries, finding another supplier, paying again, wouldn't it have been easier to buy original Epson's in the first place ? At no risk on top of that.

You make a valid point there.

I originally searched for the original battery back in December 2007 but couldn't find one locally. I remember I saw one or two listed on Hong Kong/Japanese sites for an astronomical amount. It was then that I started looking for a cheaper alternative.

During this brief internet (re)search I also realised that it might not be a smart idea to buy the original Epsons at all because li-ion batteries start to deteriorate immediately after manufacture. And the R-D1 was then 3 years old.

I further speculated that if Epson made all of their R-D1 and li-ion batteries in 2004 and then stopped manufacturing more, any orignal Epson battery I might find would be 3 years old already - and still quite expensive compared to a newly manufactured high-quality generic replacement.

This suspicion was further reinforced by the fact that I could not find an original Epson R-D1 battery over the internet.

This morning, however, Matsuiyastore wrote to inform me that they still have the originals in stock but I have yet to find out exactly how old they are.

Best Regards
Kevin

 

[yanidel]

You make a valid point there.

I originally searched for the original battery back in December 2007 but couldn't find one locally. I remember I saw one or two listed on Hong Kong/Japanese sites for an astronomical amount. It was then that I started looking for a cheaper alternative.

During this brief internet (re)search I also realised that it might not be a smart idea to buy the original Epsons at all because li-ion batteries start to deteriorate immediately after manufacture. And the R-D1 was then 3 years old.

I further speculated that if Epson made all of their R-D1 and li-ion batteries in 2004 and then stopped manufacturing more, any orignal Epson battery I might find would be 3 years old already - and still quite expensive compared to a newly manufactured high-quality generic replacement.

This suspicion was further reinforced by the fact that I could not find an original Epson R-D1 battery over the internet.

This morning, however, Matsuiyastore wrote to inform me that they still have the originals in stock but I have yet to find out exactly how old they are.

Best Regards
Kevin

I did not think about the age issue. I was lucky enough to find 2 extra original batteries and a charger in a used equipment shop here in Paris for€50. They last as long as the one supplied with my R-D1, which is probably 3 years old even if I bought it three months ago.
I get around 100-150 shots with some LCD usage per battery. Probably below current performances for recent batteries, but I don't find it bothering as two batteries are enough for one day of shooting.

 

[RIVI1969]

If someone is expect a 3dlls battery (charger included) performs like the original ones is dreaming. I did some research and I finally bought 3 new Epson batteries with my new R-D1.

R

 

[Ian Biggar]

Batteries

Batteries

Kevin - I bought 2 Fuji NP80's from 7DayShop in the Channel Islands and have had no problems at all with either. Good price + good service. Just make sure to get the 1500 mAH ones.
Ian

 

[Kevin]

Hi Ian, 7DayShop appears to only sell a Fuji Compatible Digital Camera Battery and not an original Fuji NP-80.

Today I ended up buying both an original Epson EPALB1 and an original Fuji NP-80 from separate online sellers so as to increase the chance that I receive at least one spare working battery when I need it next week.

Best Regards
Kevin

Kevin - I bought 2 Fuji NP80's from 7DayShop in the Channel Islands and have had no problems at all with either. Good price + good service. Just make sure to get the 1500 mAH ones.
Ian

 

[efkbl]

Hi everybody,
I recently bought a no-name 1500mAh battery in Germany from the akku.net online shop. I am quite satisfied so far, it seems to last a bit longer than the original epson battery which may be quite old.

 

[dan denmark]

you can order them directly from matsuiyastore for US$80 including shipping. and you will have them in a matter of days, less time than this thread has been running. and they are genuine epson RD batteries.

dd

 

[Kevin]

Thanks Dan!

I already ordered from Japan on tuesday but I doubt the order will get here in time. Meanwhile my local order from Mendler Vertriebs-GmbH arrived but instead of sending me the two original NP-80 batteries I paid for they only sent one. :bang:

I don't understand why it is so difficult for me to get a couple working batteries over the internet without some provider screwing up.

Must not be my year yet.