Third party batteries

Nowe

Nowe

Senior Member
Anyone here using 3rd party batteries aside from the original Nikon batteries? Just wondering if it is ok to use 3rd party batteries on our cameras, and some feedback on how well it functions vs. the original.
 
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Ruidoso Bill

Senior Member
I tried 3 rd party in my D300/D700 and had little success, the Nikon brand seem to shoot more shots and last longer. On the D800 I have only used Nikon batteries so nothing to compare them with. No scientific data.
 
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Horoscope Fish

Horoscope Fish

Senior Member
Nowe said:
Better than Nikon batteries in terms of?
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In terms of lasting longer, charging to capacity faster and costing about half to one third of what a Nikon-branded battery costs. And let's be clear here, Nikon does not manufacture batteries.

Nowe said:
Hmmm. Does the Wasabi brand battery comes with its own charger or you can use the original charger that came with our cameras?
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I've always used the charger that came with the camera. I've used Wasabi batteries for my Nikon D40, my D5100 and now for my D7100. My girlfriend is using them in her D3200 as well.
 
RockyNH_RIP

RockyNH_RIP

Senior Member
All of my batteries are Nikon... when I first got my D5100, there were reports of some 3rd party batteries not working (and some said they did)

At that time, I just chose to avoid any potential issues and stay with Nikon Brand... I did the same with my D7100. Even though I realize there are others that work, I am only talking 2 batteries so stayed with the Name. They have worked fine for me...

Pat in NH
 
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rocketman122

Senior Member
knock on wood no issue with 3rd party batteries.

I will remind people (who seem to forget so quickly btw) that nikon had a battery recall on D200 batteries. a few who burned in the camera, I might add. so I dont think nikon batteries are any better quality than 3rd party. and for the price difference, its a no brainer for me. Id rather use the extra money for glass.

Like with their grips, I dont think the product is worth the price. the aftermarket grips are VERY solid. VERY. I also did a side by side comparison of a nikon mb-d10 grip compared to my aftermarket one and I could not see a reason why they asked so much money for them. $250 vs $30. and you think, $30...it must be crap. but not at all. thats the thing. I was so shocked to see almost no dofference and build quality was top notch. nikon snobs will raise their noses but no one can tell, it feels the same, looks the same, works the same. and that $200 can be used for a lens.
 
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john*thomas

Senior Member
I've had an odd occurrence using one. I bought my camera as a refurbished unit and bought a non Nikon back up battery before reading up on them. eh, it worked.....It seemed to last pretty well. Then one night I'm taking pictures and I needed to use the back up. I get the message that the battery won't work. I didn't do anything to the camera. I didn't update anything. It seems that the camera just decided it no longer liked the battery.

I read about the work arounds and decided it wasn't worth it. I got a Nikon battery for a backup. So I have a non Nikon and charger if anyone wants one cheap. :D
 
Horoscope Fish

Horoscope Fish

Senior Member
rocketman122 said:
I will remind people (who seem to forget so quickly btw) that Nikon had a battery recall on D200 batteries. a few who burned in the camera, I might add. so I dont think nikon batteries are any better quality than 3rd party... .
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I'd all but forgotten that myself and it was only last year! It wasn't just D200 batteries, either, it was the widely used Niknon EN-EL15 that was recalled.
 
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Ruidoso Bill

Senior Member
rocketman122 said:
knock on wood no issue with 3rd party batteries.

I will remind people (who seem to forget so quickly btw) that nikon had a battery recall on D200 batteries. a few who burned in the camera, I might add. so I dont think nikon batteries are any better quality than 3rd party. and for the price difference, its a no brainer for me. Id rather use the extra money for glass.

Like with their grips, I dont think the product is worth the price. the aftermarket grips are VERY solid. VERY. I also did a side by side comparison of a nikon mb-d10 grip compared to my aftermarket one and I could not see a reason why they asked so much money for them. $250 vs $30. and you think, $30...it must be crap. but not at all. thats the thing. I was so shocked to see almost no dofference and build quality was top notch. nikon snobs will raise their noses but no one can tell, it feels the same, looks the same, works the same. and that $200 can be used for a lens.
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Gotta agree with you on the grips!
 
Nowe

Nowe

Senior Member
At first I preferred the Nikon branded batteries but now I'm having second thoughts when I saw the difference in price.

+1 on the battery grip. Just purchased mine, the brand is photoolex. Much cheaper and it comes with a remote trigger. Works very well for me.
 
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Ron Carlson

Senior Member
I have 1 Nikon battery for my D7100 and 6 Wasabi batteries. They all work the same and have no issues. I also have 4 Wasabi batteries for my Nikon 1 camera, again, no issues. There is a firmware upgrade that appears to limit functionality of the camera with 3rd party batteries for some models. Also people have reported that the number of pics left and/or battery level on their LCD info not working correctly with 3rd party batteries, depending on the camera model you own. I know that if you purchase a 3rd party battery, ensure you get one that is decoded. Wasabi does have decoded batteries. Apparently decoded batteries provide the correct info on the LCD for info on pic count, battery level, etc. I saw someone had posted that his EXIF data was also being recorded incorrectly with 3rd party batteries. Problem is, most of the reports and complaints do not list the brand of the 3rd party battery, so it is difficult to know what brands to avoid.
 
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