Aftermarket batteries

[maguire54]

Hi,

I have a recently purchased Nikon D80. I would like to get a backup battery.

Can anyone give me any feedback on aftermarket batteries? I can get a compatible EN-EL3e for about 1/3 - 1/2 of what the Nikon branded ones go for

Any help would be appreciated.

[mjs1973]

Welcome to the Forums. After market batteries are kind of like the Mac vs PC, or Nikon vs Canon debate. Some people will tell you to stay away from them, others will tell you they are fine. I fall into the camp that says they are fine to use.

This is a topic that comes up quite often and there are many threads discussing it. Go here and look through the threads to see what others have already said.

http://forums.photographyreview.com/...earchid=403369

[Photo-John]

I've had pretty consistently poor results with aftermarket batteries. I've had them for my Canon EOS 10D, Canon XSi, and Canon EOS 1D and they've all either failed or battery life has been short. So I won't buy them anymore. Better safe than sorry when it comes to batteries. I'd rather spend $20-30 more and know that I have a battery I can count on.

[mwfanelli2]

Hi,

I have a recently purchased Nikon D80. I would like to get a backup battery.

Can anyone give me any feedback on aftermarket batteries? I can get a compatible EN-EL3e for about 1/3 - 1/2 of what the Nikon branded ones go for

Any help would be appreciated.

It is not a matter of better or worse, it's just the quality control. I have had excellent aftermarket camera batteries and also really bad ones. The manufacturer's branded ones tend to undergo better QC before going out the door. This assumes, of course, you don't get stuck with counterfeits regardless of branding.

[A.M.D.A.]

Some months ago, I bought several aftermarket batteries ("CGR-S006 equivalents") to use with my Panasonic FZ7K. They work just fine... maybe even better than the single name-brand one I have, which costs about 4x the cost of an "equivalent". The only downside I have seen with these I bought is that the batteries don't fit quite as snugly into the charger or camera -- they fit, but a little stiffly.

I also have a Lenmar equivalent since the day I received my camera, alternating between this battery and the name-brand.

So yes, I'd recommend trying out aftermarket batteries, but before doing so exercise some caution, as not all are "good". Check out user-reviews, and if possible, check out the reputation of the company / seller you are dealing with. Don't buy if there isn't any warranty.

Good luck!

[onefive15]

I can tell you this if they can make the battery than they are big , it's like HP laptop the HP does not have the factory to make their own but instead they design it and OEM (out source to the other manufactures to make them) and put "HP" on the laptop battery and sell higher price, but when the manufacture does not put the HP name on them they sell less.