Battery question

[sharpe15]

I'm still happily using my 5100. I've got one original Nikon battery and a couple of after market ones. None of them seem to be holding charges. I'm assuming they're just old. Any recommendations for quality after market batteries? The Nikon ones seem to be either not available or extremely expensive.

 

[Bikerbrent]

Welcome aboard, enjoy the ride. We look forward to seeing more posts and samples of your work.

You might also want to consider introducing yourself on New Member Introductions.

Someone will be along shortly to help you out.

 

[TwistedThrottle]

Hi and welcome!
“Quality aftermarket” is a misnomer. Nikon batteries are ‘grade a’ batteries. That is, they are as good as what the label says they are. Grade b and down get tossed into the bin that get aftermarket labels applied. By paying for aftermarket batteries, you’re asking for low grade batteries. It’s a roll of the dice if you get a grade b or a grade d. I’ve had an aftermarket battery overheat inside a camera before. That’s when I stopped using cheap batteries in my expensive camera. IMHO, it’s worth a few extra dollars up front getting what you know is good quality from a reputable Nikon distributor like Adorama or B&H, (I’ve also had fake Nikon batteries sent to me from Amazon). FWIW, Nikon has made aftermarket batteries useless in their newest cameras, they don’t work at all.

 

[sharpe15]

There is an earlier thread about modding the firmware to use non-Nikon batteries, but I don't think it applies to the 5100. I've never had the camera not recognize a battery, even when it wasn't a Nikon. FWIW, anyway. Let me see what I can find on Adorama.

 

[Clovishound]

Before you spend money on new batteries, check your camera for energy draining modes. Things like Bluetooth and wifi will drain the battery much quicker and can be turned on and off. You may have already checked this out, but thought I would bring it up.

 

[Marilynne]

I'm still happily using my 5100. I've got one original Nikon battery and a couple of after market ones. None of them seem to be holding charges. I'm assuming they're just old. Any recommendations for quality after market batteries? The Nikon ones seem to be either not available or extremely expensive.

Welcome!

Please let us know the results in case someone else has the same issue.

Thanks!

 

[Woodyg3]

I have never found or heard of a third party battery that works as well in a Nikon as an actual Nikon battery. They are expensive, but they work and hold a charge.

 

[Fred Kingston]

I just checked my Amazon account. I bought a STK battery for my D610 in Sept/2018... and currently use it in my D810... Both the camera and the Nikon batteries didn't last that long. Here's a partial screen shot of the order...

 

[BF Hammer]

I have bought 3 EN-EL15 batteries from Wasabi over the years and have not been disappointed with them until I bought my Z5. The Z-bodies have a stricter battery check and rejects the aftermarket batteries. That is until I started reading the reviews today and discovered they updated the battery chips to work. I'm considering asking for an exchange, even though I still have 2 D-bodies they get used in. I also bought spares for my Lumix point-n-shoot that still works better than a phone.

https://www.wasabipower.com/

Of course they are found on Amazon also.

EDIT: I looked on my Amazon account, I last bought a pair of Wasabi EN-EL15 batteries in February 2017 and have been using them regularly since. Well outside of the 3 year warranty and not fair for me to demand a replacement for Z5 use. I also use a 3rd one that is even older.

 

[Danno]

I used Wasabi in my D7200 and had no problems. They worked as well as my Nikon batteries.

That said, I have been very reluctant to use aftermarket batteries in my Z6 or Z8.