My three new awful generic batteries

Kevin

Rainbow Bridge
Local time
11:17 AM
Joined
Jun 5, 2005
Messages
988
I just ordered 3 generic batteries from a german ebayer and they are performing exactly like sean reid's batch of horrible generic batteries he received in early 2005:

After a full night's charging the R-D1 battery indicator quickly goes from 100% to 0% after taking about 5 pictures. Of course the seller has informed me by email that the batteries are not old or defective.

PowerMart Li-ion 3.7V 1500mAh DFU002.Z

Does anyone over here in Europe, preferably Germany but beyond is okay too, have a source of generic R-D1 batteries that work as I would expect them to work? I would appreciate any help.

Best
Kevin
 
When I had the RD-1s I used Fuji NP-80 batteries with no problem. They last as long as the original Epson per charge at least I didn't notice otherwise.
 
Yes, I too have a Fuji battery as a spare battery and it works just as well as the original Epson battery.
 
Thanks. I had basically given up on that course of action because two large local electronics/camera stores no longer stock them.

So I assumed that finding the original Fuji NP-80 batteries would be difficult. I cannot even find them on eBay in Europe.

Do you know of any camera shops that still sell the Fujis?

Best
Kevin
 
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.
 
Thanks Jeff

Thanks Jeff

I think I'll pick up a couple of these.

Anyone have recommendations for portable chargers besides the CTA unit?

The RD1s firmware uses about 2x the juice of the original firmware, in my experience, something to consider if you have the original firmware and are on the fence about upgrading.


Ritz Camera here in the states stocks a replacement battery that works well. I believe they ship all over the world. Here's the URL:

http://www.ritzcamera.com/webapp/wc...1&catalogId=10001&langId=-1&keyword=fuji+np80

Good luck! I have been using them in my RD1 since May of 2006. They exceed the Epson battery specification.
 
Hi Jeff, my sister in Manhattan called Ritz on Jan 28th of this year and they did not have it. Believe me, my search for a a couple of working replacement batteries is now reaching the 2 month mark :-(
 
Thanks Bill, I think I'll heed your advice !

Who stocks the Fuji NP-80 in Europe? Gosh there has to be some left somewhere!
 
Jeff, that link points to a generic battery.

Lenmar 1300mAh
Lithium Ion (Li-Ion) - Camera Battery Rechargeable - Replaces Fuji NP-80, Kodak KLIC-3000, and Toshiba PDR-BT1, PDR-BT2
 
Hi Jeff, my sister in Manhattan called Ritz on Jan 28th of this year and they did not have it. Believe me, my search for a a couple of working replacement batteries is now reaching the 2 month mark :-(

Kevin:

They never have it in their retail stores. You need to order it from their online site. I provided the link above. They are in stock, I just purchased another a few weeks ago.
 
Kevin, I received the a couple of Powermart batteries last week from notebook-laptop-batteries.com, and they seem fine so far. Not that I put much stock in it, but they came well-packaged.
 
I bought 2 batteries from an ebay seller in Hong Kong and 1 did not work. The seller shipped me another, no questions asked. They both work well and similarly to the original battery from Epson. They were very inexpensive as well.

It's true that many data cards are forgeries. You can get the serial # and check with the manufacturer to see if it's genuine.

Mike
 
Thanks Jeff but I currently need spare batteries for an event in 9 days time and Ritz only ships international with International Mail Forwarding Through Access USA.
 
Kevin, I received the a couple of Powermart batteries last week from notebook-laptop-batteries.com, and they seem fine so far. Not that I put much stock in it, but they came well-packaged.

Unfortunately the ones I just received the other day are duds.
 
You can get the serial # and check with the manufacturer to see if it's genuine.

My RiData cards have no serial number on them. They have a LOT number, which are all the same on the 'lot' I have. In any case, if there were a serial number, it would be easy enough to counterfeit that as well from a genuine card. It's just a number.

The article I read indicated that the cards sometimes cannot even be identified by a photo of them sent to the company in question - they look 'real' enough to pass initial inspection until cracked open and internals examined by the company that supposedly made them.

And again - not that I doubt you - but the article insisted that virtually ALL memory cards and batteries sold on eBay are fakes. Not one that they purchased and had tested as samples were real.

That does not mean they do not work - it just means they are not made by the companies whose name is on them.

And people have been severely hurt by laptop, cell phone, and digital camera Lithium Ion batteries melting down or exploding.

Everybody wants to save money - and you can, by shopping reputable online merchants - but I would advise against buying batteries or memory cards on eBay.
 
If these batteries are so scarce I may have to run to the shop where I bought mine and get me a few more! I'm gonna need them if I take that trip through the Gobi this Summer.
 
I know www.tantronics.co.uk sell loads of batteries and have a great service. A quick search of their site shows up energiser NP80 batteries, lithium rechargeable. If it was me, I'd give one of those a try.
 
That energiser looks interesting but when I got to the checkout-order pages they requested that I enter a credit card number. I'd do paypal for an additional small fee but even with https I'd prefer not to send my cc-number online anymore.

Thanks, however.


I know www.tantronics.co.uk sell loads of batteries and have a great service. A quick search of their site shows up energiser NP80 batteries, lithium rechargeable. If it was me, I'd give one of those a try.
 
Back
Top Bottom