3rd party battery survey

[Don Palomaki]

What make/model aftermarket battery are you using?
How long have you been using them?
In which camcorder model?
Serious/professional or casual hobby use?
Are you satisfied?

[Jeff Harper]

Wasabi BP827 in XA10

About 3-6 months, some batteries newer than others, I didn't mark them to keep track of dates as I should have.

Charging times as good or better than Canon originals.

A few days ago I experienced camera turning off 4 times in about one hour, then it was fine rest of evening.

My personal feeling is I would buy these as a back up, but I will stick with OEM batteries from now on. I have four of these batteries, but I will not buy any more, not that I would need them. If I must buy more, I will buy Canon and pay the price.

[Aya Okawa]

Wasabi BP-819s in an XA10

Purchased 9 months ago, used primarily for the past 6 months for interviews and event coverage. Was very happy at first. Then noticed that they didn't charge fully. Eventually started dropping out. The vendor was very quick to respond and offer to replace the batteries, which have a 3 year warranty.

Summary - Can't beat the price of the wasabis. But do keep a close eye on them after 6 months or so. Before mine started dropping out completely I noticed incomplete charging and faster than normal discharge, so those were the warning signs. I'll try out the replacements but be very careful with them, and see how it goes before I decide to go and buy some expensive Canon replacements.

[Jeff Harper]

I am suddenly having problems with two more Wasabi's. One did not charge fully and two are causing the camera to shut down randomly.

I went on a rant about using generic batteries before I bought these, but I listened to happy campers and decided I was being closed minded, so I bought two, then two more.

The truth is they seem very unreliable for professional use. As I said before I bought these, you truly do get what you pay for.

For a casual user, I would recommend them as long as you have a backup. For pro use, I'd suggest not using them at all. I have charged mine, but will rely on genuine Canon's for primary use and then as they run out go to the generics. For next season I'll order more OEM batteries.

[Alex Dolgin]

Not going into specific battery model discussions, the OEM battery makers like Sony, Panasonic use their own cells. They obviously have a direct control over the quality and testing of their own product.
All the no name ones use cheap Chinese made cells, which are hit or miss. A few years ago a got a bunch (about 15-20pc) of the no name ones. About 1/3 of them had much lesser actual capacity then the rest. After a couple of years some of them died. I know of just one Chinese maker - SWIT - that stands by their product and has consistent quality from sample to sample. Both functionally and mechanical fit wise.
Also keep in mind that none of the 3d party vendors use real "Fuel Gauge" smart chips even when they are able to talk to the camera. So their estimation of time left is never as accurate as the real (more expensive) OEM batteries is.

[Bruce Foreman]

I purchased 4 Wasabi batteries, two for Olympus Pens and two for my GH2's. The two for the Olys are down for the count, one failed totally on 4th use and won't even take a charge. The other swelled up in the camera and it took me an hour to "pry" it out.

The two for the GH2's still work but provide far less run time than Lumix batteries, so I just don't use them anymore. I don't even carry them as spares because I'm wary of starting a project and forgetting I may have a Wasabi battery in the camera.

I only purchase OEM "genuine" batteries for my cameras now.

[Mark Goodsell]

Wasabi BP819 batteries (2x) from an Amazon seller.
Bought 1.5 years ago.
XA10 Camcorder
Non-pro use, but use a lot
Very satisfied. They still hold their charge well. On-camera battery indicator works like it should.

It's the only battery I use. I only use one of the two batteries that came in the kit. It'll pretty much last all day of on/off shooting, at least for my style of shooting. I keep the small Canon battery that came with the camera handy as a back-up just in case. I bought the 819 size because the next larger size seems to stick out too far for legitimate eyepiece use. The main reason I bought THIS battery is because I prefer the external style charger and the 12v car plug. It is also world voltage capable. I never use the Canon charger (with all the cords) unless I'm xfering a lot of data.