fake infolithium batteries

[Uxval Gochez]

firts of all, hello everyone I'm new here.

I just came back from shooting in bagdad (and evoiding to be shot back) and there I bought (surprinsingly ) a 7 hour battery for my VX2000 wich I had to give back to the store and they gave me a 9 hours one (npf-960) in return but with the same problem, at firts you get only 107 minnutes of battery the last bar of the indicator keeps blinking and is never "full" after a week of usage the camera display the message (only for infolithium batteries) Do you guys think they sold me a fake one ??? or is there something I dont know?

now I made it safe and sound home and If Im going back there is not to yell at the hummble shop owner..

best regards

Ux

[Chris Hurd]

What I can tell you is that there have been some serious issues with no-name "fake" lithium-ion batteries causing serious damage to camcorders, which of course voids the manufacturer's warranty. I'd reccomend only name-brand Sony, Panasonic or Canon batts, or a quality third-party manufacturer such as Lenmar. Hope this helps,

[Darrell Sullivan]

Chris,

Can you expound on this or tell me where I can get more information about it? When I bought my VX2000s I purchased them from B&H with a couple of Power 2000 (I believe that was the brand, but the B&H site seems to be down now) batteries. They last quite a while, but if they are going to damage my camera I need to know so I can pull them now.

Thanks

[Chris Hurd]

Here's what I can tell you. A high-level representative at a major camcorder manufacturer told me that they're getting a number of repair claims stemming from third-party no-name batteries. Camcorders are coming in with half-melted backs, etc. with the no-name batt welded in place from the heat. The warranty is voided due to the use of inferior sub-quality off-brand lithium ion batteries, and the camera owner is out of luck on the repair. I'm told that one of the major camcorder manufacturers has reported a case of personal injury from a defective off-brand battery. Sorry I can't be more specific, but what it boils down to is that you get what you pay for.

Currently I'm using a Lenmar equivalent of the Canon BP-945 battery for my XL1 without problems, but I also had a no-name replacement batt for my PowerShot S230 that went completely bad in about a month. I don't think I'll ever go down that road again... why not spend the extra $20 for the manufacturer's brand and avoid screwing up the camera warranty in case the worst happens. That's my take.

[Ken Tanaka]

Power 2000 is a good brand of battery. No need to worry about those, Darrell. I use half a dozen myself.