Spare Battery for R-D1

[ccie8407]

Just bought couple NP80 clone batteries from amazon at $14.43 a piece.

Amazon Link

I was wondering what other brands are recommended?

By the way, I'm new to this forum...looking foward to share the r-d1 experience.

 

[Doug]

Welcome, ccie8407! It's exciting to see so many R-D1 cameras represented here... might be up to half a dozen or so? I, along with many others I'm sure, look with interest to hearing of experiences and seeing the results.

How many spare batteries do you think wise to have on hand?

 

[David Kieltyka]

I've got three batteries: the original plus two third-party spares I bought at B&H. This is more than enough for a full day of shooting. I now have three 1-gig SD cards too, which should cover my daily storage needs fine.

-Dave-

 

[jlw]

Is this battery the exact same specs as the Epson?

The R-D1 FAQ on the Epson support website said spare batteries are available from the online Epson Store, but last time I checked they didn't have them yet.

I find I have no trouble getting through a long shooting session on one battery (I don't use the LCD very much) but I'd still like to have a spare.

Incidentally, I emailed Epson support a question asking whether the best thing for battery life is to charge it before every picture-taking session, or to wait until it's almost run down and then recharge it. They replied that letting it run down and then recharge it is better. I thought this was interesting because it's different from the advice I received from Nikon about my D100 battery (different size, but same LiIon chemistry) -- Nikon said it makes no difference, charge it whenever you want.

 

[ccie8407]

I will spent 3 weeks trekking through Brazil's rain forest this june, besides my usual M6 and M3 I'm thinking about adding r-d1 to my kit. Since my access to electricity will be limited, that's why I'm looking and evaulating various different brands of "NP80." So far these are the ones I've ordered:

1. Power-2000 - 3.7V 1400mAh $34.95
2. CTA - 3.7V 1350mAh $34.95
3. Lenmar - 3.6V 1300mAh $29.95
4. Adorama $29.95
5. Delkin - 3.6V 1200mAh $11.95
6. HiTech $9.99
7. Emerging Power $14.43

If anyone has used other brands, I would appreciate any feedbacks. I will post my result in the coming days.

 

[jlw]

The original R-D1 battery is 3.7v, 1500 mAh according to the label.

Looks as if all those listed above stray at least slightly from that. The other 3.7v models should only give up some battery life (1350 mAh or 1400 mAh vs. 1500) but I wonder how the camera will do in 3.6v instead of 3.7. Could someone who has tried a third-party battery check the label for specs and report how it performs?

The Emerging Power battery on Amazon was cheap enough that I ordered one even though I couldn't find its specs; I figure that even if it lasts for only a few dozen shots, it might be worth having as a backup until I can get a skookum Epson battery.

 

[David Kieltyka]

My spares are the Power-2000s listed above by ccie8407. They put out the correct voltage and thus the camera doesn't behave any differently with them. They do drain a little quicker, though.

Not sure how the camera would act with lower voltage. I'll take a pass on finding out too. 🙂

-Dave-

 

[jlw]

Today I received the Emerging Power batteries I bought on Amazon. I was glad to see that their rated voltage is 3.7v.

There's no marking anywhere on the battery or packaging for maH rating. Update: I received an email from Emerging Power's sales department saying the nominal rating is 1300 maH. This is about 15% less than the nominal rating of the Epson battery, so I'd guess that the Emerging Power battery won't run the camera for quite as long. Still, it's nice to have spares even if their capacity is a bit less.

Incidentally, the packaging says this same battery is used in a whole flock of other digital cameras including the Fuji 2600, 2800, 4800, 4900, 6800, 6900, MX-1700, -2700, and -2900, and the Leica Digilux Zoom -- so you have some alternative supply sources if you're ever caught out with a powerless R-D1.