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OMD Spare batteries

L

Landshark

Guest
Just got my extra battery from Portland Pro Photo today so along with the one Olympus sent I am set for one body.
 
M

mark1958

Member
HI all Sorry I was at my son's graduation and had to look up where i got the batteries. I got two batteries and a charger at bestbatt.com. The battery is labelled Kapahen. The kit was 36 dollars plus tax
 
kwalsh

kwalsh

New member
mark1958 said:
YEs this is the kit. Stated voltage is 7.6 same as the olympus battery.
Click to expand...

They have a different maximum charging voltage. Some tear-downs and measurements of the voltage discharge profiles show the generics to likely be using a different lithium cell chemistry than the original Olympus. That's the most likely reason the generics are not compatible with the Olympus charger and the generics in practical use on the camera have less capacity. Given the extreme cost of the Olympus battery the generics are still a way better deal for capacity per dollar. And given how gigantic the Olympus charger is compared to the generics charger the capacity difference is easily made up with another battery.

In the end I opted to just buy a three batteries + one charger package for a fraction of the cost of an Olympus battery. On travel I'll leave the Olympus charger at home and pack the smaller generic charger and three generic cells (FYI, I haven't tried it myself, but apparently the generic charger will charge the Olympus battery but not to full capacity).

Anyway, in this case there seems to be a very legit reason for the Olympus charger to not charge the generics - they really are different and incompatible cells as far as charging goes. Fortunately the other cells work just fine in the camera and Olympus hasn't done anything to disable them they way Panasonic has done in the past sometimes.

Ken

P.S. A tear-down post:

OMD EM5 spare battery (where to get it?) - Page 3

P.P.S. Charging voltages:

summary from my experiences: Micro Four Thirds Talk Forum: Digital Photography Review
 
etrigan63

etrigan63

Active member
I just got my 2 battery + charger kit from BestBatt.com. Charged up both and popped them into my OM-D. Worked a treat. Monza still owes me a OEM battery so, ultimately, I will have 4 batteries: 2 OEM & 2 generics. For overseas travel, I may get another pair of generics as their charger is auto-switching and comes with a Euro style plug adapter.
 
bensonga

bensonga

Well-known member
Thanks for the link Carlos......I ordered some today. Basically, just to tide me over until Olympus releases some OEM batteries.

Gary
 
etrigan63

etrigan63

Active member
Update: the generics are still running strong. The battery meter has not dipped past full charge yet. Good stuff so far!
 
Hosermage

Hosermage

Active member
Sorry to burst your bubble.. but as I understand it, the 3rd party battery won't show intermediate charges.. it'll be either full or empty. Again, not speaking from experience, just from what I read.
 
JMaher

JMaher

New member
The generics I purchased seem to work fine and show a full charge when inserted. However mine dropped to empty with no notice after 387 shots. Not complaining as two batteries and the charger were less than one virtually nonexistent Olympus battery.
Jim
 
M

Millsart

New member
I think if you really plan to need multiple batteries for regular use, it sounds smart to buy the OEM's (when you can find them). Its not as if they cost all that much

However, I would assume most users, much like myself, probably can make it through a day one just one battery. If I'm doing something where I need a few thousand frames I'm darn well grabbing my D3s, not my Em-5 lol.

I ordered a generic simply because I plan to use it as an emergency spare, in the event my battery does run out while on a long day of vacation etc.

Might not last quite as long, might not show accurate charge, but just something I can pop in and finish shooting should worse come to worse.
 
bensonga

bensonga

Well-known member
Millsart said:
I ordered a generic simply because I plan to use it as an emergency spare, in the event my battery does run out
Click to expand...

That's why I always have a spare battery on hand. If Olympus had made OEM batteries available, I'd have bought one. But since the OEM is nearly impossible to find, I'm glad there is a generic battery available in the mean time.

I've never encountered this problem getting a OEM battery before.....on the other hand, this is my first Olympus camera. What's the problem Olympus?

Gary
 
2

250swb

Member
I think it is a common problem with many new camera's Gary, not just Olympus. Like you I would have bought one there and then if it was available.

When the Leica M9 was released it was six months before the battery I ordered arrived, it was a worldwide shortage. So I got some generic's that could be made to work, after a fashion. But then you get people saying stupid things like 'why would you use a $3 battery in your $7000 camera?' as if they didn't notice the title of the thread was 'Battery shortage'! :rolleyes:

Steve
 
Ario Arioldi

Ario Arioldi

Member
What is annoying me is this new policy aimed to prevent, or make it difficult, the use of third party battery by means of ad hoc designed circuits placed inside the camera and/or in the charger. This makes sense only to allow them to sell for 70€ a very simple battery which third parties could easily sell with the same quality for 10-15€ or so.
Until now on my previous Olympus (E3, E5. EP2, EP3) I could easily use third party batteries branded by reputable manufactures such as Duracell and Uniross, much cheaper and easily available, but now unfortunately this option is over.
 
ptomsu

ptomsu

Workshop Member
In almost all cameras I have owned in my lifetime I always used original batteries. The few times I tried with third party I had only problems.

BTW I could get my original OMD spare battery without any issue here in Austria :)
 
M

m_driscoll

New member
Can't get the OEM battery here, so using two generics as spares. I'll use only the OEM's when they're available. Meanwhile, these are working (fingers crossed).
BTW, much more compact, integral plug, charger for the generics.

Cheers, Matt

Zenfolio | Matt Driscoll
 
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