Has ANYONE ever had a 3rd party battery damage their camera?

Willo said:
You honestly think buying third party batteries is going to cause the death of children? :wacky:
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Or that buying the official, OEM ones will mean that no child labour or similar unethical working conditions were used.

puddleduck said:
IMHO the "ooh! They'll explode and set fire to your family" if you go 3rd is just FUD. At least that's my interpretative of the text.
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yep, exactly, and that's what I was after with this thread. Not the negatives of offbrand batteries, but if the ever perpetuated myth that they frequently (according to FUD spread by brand loyallists on forums) destroy cameras was even remotely true.

Still waiting on a story of actual permanent camera damage caused by a 3rd part battery... not going to hold my breath :p
 
itsdavedotnet said:
Or that buying the official, OEM ones will mean that no child labour or similar unethical working conditions were used.
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But that statement could equally hold true for reputable non OEM, like Hahnel, Annsman, Duracell or Energiser, and that's only the brands I can think of now who also make compatible batteries.
 
itsdavedotnet said:
Still waiting on a story of actual permanent camera damage caused by a 3rd part battery... not going to hold my breath :p
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I have a feeling you will be waiting a long time. I've been using generic batteries for the last 10 years now, never had a single problem. When you need 10 batteries it makes a lot more sense to buy the £5 generic brand batteries than the £50 genuine items. I think those who decide to pay £50 or more for a genuine battery are either paranoid, a brand snob or have more money than sense (possibly a combination of all three :LOL:).

I do find it amusing though how they try to defend their decision :dummy:
 
CSB said:
I think those who decide to pay £50 or more for a genuine battery are either paranoid, a brand snob or have more money than sense (possibly a combination of all three :LOL:).

I do find it amusing though how they try to defend their decision :dummy:
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I done it so that Nikon can't refuse to fix my camera as it didn't have an original battery in it if it ever needed fixing... As I'm sure that that they will find some clause to get out of doing something

:thinking: Not only that I'm not paranoid... Prefere to buy named as I had the money to do so in the 1st place... But thats me....

Me a brand snob :thinking: :nikon: Noooooooo never:razz:
 
chris321 said:
Just wondering, do you have any evidence to back that up? It's quite a big claim to make, and I was just wondering, that's all! :)
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Hi Chris - it's sort of self evident. If the price is that low then they have to be saving the money somewhere. I have been in electronics in the UK for 30 years. I know a little about what it costs to build something here andwhy compared with elsewhere.
 
Oggy said:
Hi Chris - it's sort of self evident. If the price is that low then they have to be saving the money somewhere. I have been in electronics in the UK for 30 years. I know a little about what it costs to build something here andwhy compared with elsewhere.
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So you don't have any evidence that buying 3rd party batteries contributes to the death of children? Or if children are involved in making batteries at all?
 
Oggy said:
Hi Chris - it's sort of self evident. If the price is that low then they have to be saving the money somewhere. I have been in electronics in the UK for 30 years. I know a little about what it costs to build something here andwhy compared with elsewhere.
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O.K, I'm not entirely convinced by your reasoning there, but different people have different opinions!

What doesn't really stand up for me though is the assumption that official batteries cost more, so more money must be going to workers, factories, into health and safety etc. Without seeing the complete financial breakdown I don't think you can really make that assumption! How do you know the more expensive ones aren't just making a whole load more profit?

Do you know how much it actually costs to make an official battery vs a non-branded one? I'd be quite interested to see those figures if you or anyone else has or knows them :)
 
Arkady said:
Do they? Prove it.

I'm inclined to treat your comments as inflammatory BS, just in the same way you're appearing to treat other comments here...
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Why do people have to resort to comments like this ? :(:(

It does nothing to help the argument in either direction and just devalues many of the other posts on this subject and prevents people, with genuine points to offer, from posting in case they get abused too !
 
Been using "Max Power" batteries in my 400D for years and had no problems at all. In fact (anecdotal) I'm convinced they last longer than the official Canon batteries I have although I've never done controlled tests.
I'm also using a non-Canon spare in my 7D. The power meter appears to work the same and it charges on the Canon charger.
As to why I use them - I simply can't afford to buy the OEM ones. The fact that Canon have started chipping their batteries smells of a company protecting a very lucrative market...
 
Moonrakerz said:
Why do people have to resort to comments like this ? :(:(

It does nothing to help the argument in either direction and just devalues many of the other posts on this subject and prevents people, with genuine points to offer, from posting in case they get abused too !
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errr NO...
I make comments like this because people make unsubstantiated claims with no evidence to back them up...hello...? :wave:

With me so far?

My post was not abusive - I merely asked puddleduck (with whom I've crossed swords before but for whom I have a great deal of respect as a photographer) in a fairly robust manner what information his statement is based upon as it appears to be just a personally-held opinion.
The wording of my post reflected the boldness and belligerence of his own...

His post is IMO unhelpful to this thread as it makes a direct and apparently factual statement with no evidence to back it up.

I merely asked him to prove it...

What's your problem with that? :shrug:
 
Arkady said:
errr NO...
I make comments like this because people make unsubstantiated claims with no evidence to back them up...hello...? :wave:

With me so far?

My post was not abusive - I merely asked puddleduck (with whom I've crossed swords before but for whom I have a great deal of respect as a photographer) in a fairly robust manner what information his statement is based upon as it appears to be just a personally-held opinion.
The wording of my post reflected the boldness and belligerence of his own...

His post is IMO unhelpful to this thread as it makes a direct and apparently factual statement with no evidence to back it up.

I merely asked him to prove it...

What's your problem with that? :shrug:
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I DO apologise - I didn't realise it was OK to be insulting/rudely sarcastic to some people for whom you have "a great deal of respect" but this can be done with impunity to others:- :thinking:

"hello...? :wave:
What's your problem with that? :shrug:"
 
Arkady said:
Do they? Prove it.

Been down this road before and as yet no-one has ever offered any conclusive evidence that all batteries come from the same factory...just because they look the same from the plastic mouldings doesn't mean they come off the same production line, or that they utilise the same internal componentry...
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I don't know about camera and batteries but Nike and Adidas both had their Athletic shoes made in the same Yue Yuen factory, and I know for a FACT the some canoeing kit all came from the same place, as the sewing was done near were I live and the machinist had boxes of different manufacture labels, and they just pick out the company they were sewing for that morning, the garments were EXACTLY the same with just a different label sewed in at the end.

Also if you recall last year there was a food scare for ready made meals coming from a factory in Ireland, and Tesco Asda M&S were among the companies that had to removed from the shelves there own brand ready meals (All form the same production line)

I would be very inclined to believe that batteries are just out sourced with some unbranded ones coming from the same production line.

If you read Naomi Kleins book No Logo , it shows that some of the Chinese factories are run with the secrecy of CIA black ops unit or the KGB, and you'll never get positive proof of who makes what.


Now I used non Canon ones without any problems at all on my 30D, and would love to hear what 1D4 users have, as the Canon price of £120 is a little high when non Canon can be found for under £30
 
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whiteflyer said:
I would be very inclined to believe that batteries are just out sourced with some unbranded ones coming from the same production line.
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I'm not so sure - a quick look round at whats available for the en-el4a show generic ones with ratings from 1,300 mah, to duracell at 2,300mah to nikon at 2,500 mah

They're not coming from the sameplace
 
Moonrakerz said:
I DO apologise - I didn't realise it was OK to be insulting/rudely sarcastic to some people for whom you have "a great deal of respect" but this can be done with impunity to others:- :thinking:

"hello...? :wave:
What's your problem with that? :shrug:"
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My problem is that you're picking a fight just for the sake of it, you little twerp...

Did the person to whom the comments were addressed complain to either me or the site admins?

What business is of of yours how I speak to another member who I've been on good terms with for years?
 
whiteflyer said:
I don't know about camera and batteries but Nike and Adidas both had their Athletic shoes made in the same Yue Yuen factory, and I know for a FACT the some canoeing kit all came from the same place, as the sewing was done near were I live and the machinist had boxes of different manufacture labels, and they just pick out the company they were sewing for that morning, the garments were EXACTLY the same with just a different label sewed in at the end...
...I would be very inclined to believe that batteries are just out sourced with some unbranded ones coming from the same production line.

If you read Naomi Kleins book No Logo , it shows that some of the Chinese factories are run with the secrecy of CIA black ops unit or the KGB, and you'll never get positive proof of who makes what.
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In the other battery thread it posited my opinion (note: no proof as I've never been to China, though I do have some knowledge of other Communist countries' manufacturing practices and capabilities), that if they follow the usual compartmentalised soviet-style manufacturing template then goods of one particular type are very likely to be manufactured in the same city, town or district due to supply and logistics considerations.

Whether they're made in the same actual building or production line is moot as the factories are all state owned. Fifty seperate production lines in as many buildings could theoretically be churning out the same product for the same end-user. Equally possible is that they could be knocking out similar products using inferior electronic components to maximise output and profit.
Unless you actually go there and see for yourself, none of us have any way of knowing what's made where and with what standard of components.

All I'm trying to say (and have been for some time now) is that with the higher QC standards imposed by Japanese companies (especially where Chinese products are concerned), it's likely that the OEM products are finished to a higher standard.

Anyone who's tried selling manufactured goods to Japan will know exactly what I'm talking about here. It's ferociously difficult to get stuff accepted as fit for domestic Japanese use...
There is no way of knowing that the componentry is the same unless you crack open the battery case - the plastic mouldings are likely to be identical.
 
I have two genuine canon batteries, one each for my 400D and 50D and six third party no-name batteries. I've never had any problem with any of them and the no-name ones perfom and hold a charge as well as the genuine canon ones. To be honest the only reason I even have the genuine canon ones is that they came with the camera bodies.

I think the thought that part of the extra cost for genuine batteries may come from additional QC measures is perfectly valid though, in a different life a place where I used to work done various computer parts for companies and while much of the work was QC'd by ourselves some companies (IBM springs to mind) would sometimes bring in an end of line inspector to do an additional QC on items before they left our factory to be shipped.
 
Arkady said:
There is no way of knowing that the componentry is the same unless you crack open the battery case - the plastic mouldings are likely to be identical.
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Now theirs a thought, any volunteers on this ? c,mon surely someone is going to crack open their £90 Nikon EN-EL4a against my £30 phottix :D :nuts:
 
ok. Did any one thought about this.

Why Nikon or Canon manufacture their batteries and not memory cards, though both generic ones are available in plenty with cheaper prices.

That should be doing something with safety right.
 
can we take a look at what we're posting please folks, seems to be alot of tension creeping in. some folk need a massage, others a good shag, but whatever your issues, please can you NOT bring them to the boards. I dont want to start dishing out suspensions but if this bickering continues then there will be some people kicking some heals for 3 - 7 days depending on comments.
 
matty said:
can we take a look at what we're posting please folks, seems to be alot of tension creeping in. some folk need a massage, others a good shag, but whatever your issues, please can you NOT bring them to the boards. I dont want to start dishing out suspensions but if this bickering continues then there will be some people kicking some heals for 3 - 7 days depending on comments.
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others a good shag,
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You owe me a new monitor, this one's got curry all over it! :LOL:
 
I have used non OEM batteries on all my cameras.

None have damaged the cameras.

Only one did not work and that was for my Nikon.

One for my Canon 30D did not hold a charge.

The rest have been absolutely fine and still are.
 
aaadhy said:
ok. Did any one thought about this.

Why Nikon or Canon manufacture their batteries and not memory cards, though both generic ones are available in plenty with cheaper prices.

That should be doing something with safety right.
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More like the fact that people expect a camera to come with a battery and charger, therefore they need to supply one. As you're supplying it you might as well chuck your name on it. Then as you have a product you might as well sell them alone as well as with the camera.

I have a mix of genuine and aftermarket batteries in my 40D and 5D, all do exactly what they say on the 'tin'.

The cells are normally Li-Ion, which are pretty stable. The time when failure is most likely to be dangerous is when they're being charged, so well away from your camera. The charger is probably more critical than the batteries.
 
I don't care what anyone says a Toyota Aygo is better built than a Citroën C1 :LOL:
 
aaadhy said:
ok. Did any one thought about this.

Why Nikon or Canon manufacture their batteries and not memory cards, though both generic ones are available in plenty with cheaper prices.

That should be doing something with safety right.
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Quite simply the batteries are proprietary, the memory cards aren't.

John
 
Where do people get theirs from? I need another EN-EL3E to fill my D90 grip, any suggestions?
 
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