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

itsdavedotnet

itsdavedotnet

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This appears to be a complete urban legend. I have NEVER seen an actual report of it happening. So, has anyone ever had it TO THEM? not heresay through the internet, but actual camera damage, from using a cheap battery as opposed to the official branded (and overpriced) one?

edit: ie, many people insinuate that it is relatively common that offbrand batteries, will malfunction, and damage the camera even when that battery is taken out and replaced with a different battery.
 
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Yes..... and hmm No

I used a 3rd party battery on a 1dmkII

A few months later (so not obviously related) My camera started to switch itself off for no apparent reason right in the middle of a match... If I changed batteries from third party back to original it still did it...

Took me a long time through trial and error to find out the 3rd party battery wasnt sealed to the camera.. in very cold winter... damp got in and effected the connection.. damp was already in when i changed to original battery so again hard to spot..

Had been going on for some time before i sussed it...

So 3rd party battery made my camera switch off when i didnt want it to in cold wintery conditions.. is that damage? at the exact time of it happening its damage to the connecttion (part of camera) surely?
 
I've never had a third party battery damage my camera or any other of my devices. The only effect I've seen is reduced long term performance although official li-ion batteries also fade in time and knowing that, I'd still have bought the generics due to being so much cheaper.

John
 
I'm into my 4th year with an unbranded "Nikon". Use it alternately with the pukka item - can't tell the two apart in use !
 
have used 3 third party plus the original with my 50d for over 18 months wothout any issues. The same also applied to my 400d previously had for 2 years! And all bought from the same source as recommended from here.
 
A bump... would really like to hear any other real world stories - I really don't think that there will be many/any.

A 3rd party battery being used for sensor cleaning - alright, however, it should be fully charged before doing it - some batteries and cameras (namely canon iirc) don't display the meter correctly unless it's an official battery. Therefore the erroneous reading lead to the issue. All user manuals for cameras advise to fully charge the battery before sensor cleaning.
 
I've used them in a 350D, 40D and now my 5D2.

The 5D2 ones even give battery info and charge level.

I don't know of any of my mates that have had problems other than one of the 5D2 ones being a bit of a tight fit until taken in and out a few times.
 
The 7dayshop batteries for my camera don't fit quite as snugly as the kosher ones so it's possible dirt and rain could get in if it was trying really hard - same situation as KIPAX had. Other than that the batteries themselves perform fine and the meter reads correctly. Used third party batteries in my previous camera and they were fine too, as well as in laptops etc. never had an issue.
 
ChrisH said:
I've used them in a 350D, 40D and now my 5D2.

The 5D2 ones even give battery info and charge level.

I don't know of any of my mates that have had problems other than one of the 5D2 ones being a bit of a tight fit until taken in and out a few times.
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do they charge in the canon charger? if so post a link as I'd like another spare as my first green square went away today :(

if they need a special charger I can't be fagged to carry it everywhere for at least a year for 30 odd quid
 
I doubt that many, if any will have problems if the battery was bought in the past two years or so. The horror-stories I'd heard of (unconfirmed, but widely reported at the time) were from about six years ago and concerned 3rd party Chinese batteries in mid-range Canon bodies...

While anecdotal evidence should be taken with a pinch of salt, the fact that Nikon issue an alert on how to spot 'fake' batteries is enough for me to be wary of using them. Nikon are obviously interested in keeping their profit margins high by making us buy OEM, but even so, stating that they will not undertake repairs to damage caused by 3rd party batteries is enough of a warning for me....

I'll still maintain that OEM are 'safer' in that they're covered by the warranty.

If all other considerations are the same, I'll still pay the extra.

Who wants to be the first TP member posting a thread entitled: "Battery melted in my Camera and Canon/Nikon won't repair..."
 
My five year old Olympus generics are still ticking along fine, I thought they'd be long dead by now given they cost a fiver each rather than whatever silly amount Olympus wanted at the time for a genuine one.

In the many years I've been on camera forums I've yet to see even one topic titled anything like 'Battery melted in my camera' so I've no problem with that risk. As I mentioned in the other thread, the only disasters I've seen with batteries going wrong is rather laughably with official batteries.

John
 
Arkady said:
I doubt that many, if any will have problems if the battery was bought in the past two years or so. The horror-stories I'd heard of (unconfirmed, but widely reported at the time) were from about six years ago and concerned 3rd party Chinese batteries in mid-range Canon bodies...

While anecdotal evidence should be taken with a pinch of salt, the fact that Nikon issue an alert on how to spot 'fake' batteries is enough for me to be wary of using them. Nikon are obviously interested in keeping their profit margins high by making us buy OEM, but even so, stating that they will not undertake repairs to damage caused by 3rd party batteries is enough of a warning for me....

I'll still maintain that OEM are 'safer' in that they're covered by the warranty.

If all other considerations are the same, I'll still pay the extra.

Who wants to be the first TP member posting a thread entitled: "Battery melted in my Camera and Canon/Nikon won't repair..."
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I'm in agreement with you here Rob... I always get original/genuine Nikon - even if its for piece of mind that if anything ever went wrong that I'm covered..

Like some say "each to our own"
 
had 2 generic batteries in a generic battery grip on my 450d , never had a problem , in fact the performance of the batteries was excellent :clap:
 
not in 6 years of using a camera - I don't buy no name cheap rubbish from china though.

itsdavedotnet said:
This appears to be a complete urban legend. I have NEVER seen an actual report of it happening. So, has anyone ever had it TO THEM? not heresay through the internet, but actual camera damage, from using a cheap battery as opposed to the official branded (and overpriced) one?

edit: ie, many people insinuate that it is relatively common that offbrand batteries, will malfunction, and damage the camera even when that battery is taken out and replaced with a different battery.
Click to expand...
 
some boring tech stuff....

I've worked in battery field for quite some time as part of my job functions ( dealt with Lithium, Ni-Cd, Lead acid for high ranges in Kilo AH ratings). The following problems are very common in batteries.


1. Closing the air circulation - like covering the camera with Rubber protection where by you are arresting the air flow for which it has been designed for

2. Temperature of Operation - In tropical climate countries, the temperature may reach upto 46 deg Celcius where continuous exposure to that temperature may tend to overheat your battery and so the equipment

3. OverCharging -Every battery is designed for a specific charging cycle and if you do overcharge it spoils the life of internal materials

4. Charge Capacity - Charge capacity for OEM produced digital camera batteries are designed to meet specific requirements for the consumption of energy needed. They pass quality assurance testing standards before they get to the customers. Generic and non-OEM batteries may have higher, lower or similar charge capacities to the OEM options.

5. Electronics exposed to variable energy output may lead to malfunctions in internal electronics. Batteries from sources other than the OEM producer may not hold a charge properly or run out of energy faster which will cause malfunctions with the digital cameras they are used in.


So if you find any charts of temperature of operation, efficiency, Charging density, Discharging flow rate.... of comparision with a third party and if it is within a range of acceptance then it is good to use.


Now Logical......
In a world of high end camera with high price tags, we are talking about a battery price which is less than 5% of total camera cost. Don' think too much and pick up a OEM one, be happy with 95% other stuff protected
 
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When I bought my 1D it came with a non genuine battery and a genuine one, the bandit doesnt fit as well as it should and I doubt it seals as well, for that camera I never use the bandit. I have some bandits in my other cameras and had no issues but I'd buy UniRoss or similar rather than a cheap Chinese one.
Matt.
 
No problems at all with 3rd party batteries on my 400d.
Their performance isn't quite as good as genuine batteries, but the price is a lot better.
 
No problems with 3rd party batteries on my 450D, 50D, or 5DII. The ones on the 50D didn't seem to hold their charge for quite as long, but it wasn't all the noticeable, and I never really tested it, so it could be my imagination! :)
 
slt_roopan said:
be happy with 95% other stuff protected
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Protected against what ? According the the vast majority of posts on this thread there is no problem with non OEM batteries - and the couple of reported cases appear to be hearsay anyway.

........and of course no one ever moans about a problem that has occurred with a real OEM item :D
 
They all come from the same factory anyhow...Nikon and Canon do not make their own batteries, they just slap a label on it and charge 4x more..

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.
 
I have 2 others they are Bluemax and work well for 15 quid each, probably don't last as long as the original Nikon but not far off.
 
only battery I have ever had fail was what was supposed to be a genuine Nikon battery. However maybe it was a fake. It was bought through a reputable supplier who refunded me with no problems. I have also used non original but high quality compatible batteries also with no issues.
 
Moonrakerz said:
Protected against what ? According the the vast majority of posts on this thread there is no problem with non OEM batteries - and the couple of reported cases appear to be hearsay anyway.

........and of course no one ever moans about a problem that has occurred with a real OEM item :D
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Individuals perceptions...Your call...:D
 
puddleduck said:
They all come from the same factory anyhow...Nikon and Canon do not make their own batteries, they just slap a label on it and charge 4x more..

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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Every company in the world outsources their part of production assembly starts from BMW to Rolls- Royce to Boeing to Airbus...every one does,

and I'm sure they won't slap a label any item produced from your Garage.

Their QC (Quality control) costs you 4X :D

Like I said earlier, if you are sure about the technical stuff is good, within the parameters of safety..it is good to use.

But who will authorize it ..? Our equipments cannot be a Guinea pig for some manufacturer.

End of the day ...it is your equipment..if you are using it,your call..

If It's my equipment then I won't use it
 
Good points Rooban. After all, would you buy a Ferrari and put remoulds on it?

I always use the manufacturer's batteries.

There is one other point not yet mentioned.

By paying a decent price you are taking reasonable precautions to ensure the battery is not made by a child in a factory where health and safety is non existent and it's probably killing them just being there.

By buying stupidly cheap ones you are guaranteeing that you are getting one from that child.

You may or may not care about this.
 
Oggy said:
By paying a decent price you are taking reasonable precautions to ensure the battery is not made by a child in a factory where health and safety is non existent and it's probably killing them just being there.
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You honestly think buying third party batteries is going to cause the death of children? :cuckoo:
 
Oggy said:
By paying a decent price you are taking reasonable precautions to ensure the battery is not made by a child in a factory where health and safety is non existent and it's probably killing them just being there
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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! :)
 
By paying a decent price you are taking reasonable precautions to ensure the battery is not made by a child in a factory where health and safety is non existent and it's probably killing them just being there.
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In all honesty:

- It is likely the more expensive batteries will come from the same factory
- by paying a higher price you merely increase the profits of the factory owner and camera/battery makers, the extra money wont got to the workers or to improve their conditions

It's a fair point to make, but I'm afraid the reality is rather different. It seems also that conditions in Chinese factories are improving, although I am sure they are still short of what we in the west would consider acceptable
 
Arkady said:
I doubt that many, if any will have problems if the battery was bought in the past two years or so. The horror-stories I'd heard of (unconfirmed, but widely reported at the time) were from about six years ago and concerned 3rd party Chinese batteries in mid-range Canon bodies
.......
Who wants to be the first TP member posting a thread entitled: "Battery melted in my Camera and Canon/Nikon won't repair..."
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Quite, in the radio control field, there are lots of examples of cheaper batteries not quite holding up as well as the more expensive ones, but over the last few years, even the cheaper batteries have become more stable (and by not holding up, I mean catching fire).
I certainly do not want to be the first to post that my camera caught fire....
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZAr68FScZc)


slt_roopan said:
some boring tech stuff....
.....
So if you find any charts of temperature of operation, efficiency, Charging density, Discharging flow rate.... of comparision with a third party and if it is within a range of acceptance then it is good to use.


Now Logical......
In a world of high end camera with high price tags, we are talking about a battery price which is less than 5% of total camera cost.
Click to expand...

Again I agree. People talk about why bother to purchase cheap filters, why risk a cheap battery,

eos1 said:
No problems at all with 3rd party batteries on my 400d.
Their performance isn't quite as good as genuine batteries, but the price is a lot better.
Click to expand...

When I purchased my 400d from Jessops, they bundled their own make battery as a second. This actually lasted longer than the Canon original.
However, with the 7d I now have, I am currently using Canon only for the two I have.
 
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puddleduck said:
They all come from the same factory anyhow...Nikon and Canon do not make their own batteries, they just slap a label on it and charge 4x more..

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.
Click to expand...

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...

Interpret what you like how you like - they're your cameras and nobody's forcing you to do anything you don't want to, but until you offer proof to back up your statements, I'm inclined to treat your comments as inflammatory BS, just in the same way you're appearing to treat other comments here...
 
POAH said:
not in 6 years of using a camera - I don't buy no name cheap rubbish from china though.
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I think this is a very good point, at one stage I bought a number of cheap no name "made in China" batteries and they all failed pretty quickly. Most didn't even have adequate protection circuits (they were basically just cells + very light weight wire) and were not fused.

Even though the batteries failed, I never had camera damage.

I have since still bought non-OEM, but stick to branded batteries like Hahnel.
 
Does it really matter what type of batteries or grip some-one decides to buy or use...

It seems to cause some disagreement between people on which one's...

If you want to stick cheaper versions of the original batteries in your camera then do so & also goes for the same with the grips... Surely its down to the owner & what they can afford...

There are obviously some that prefere the original named grips/batteries for their camera & others prefere the cheaper versions..

Each to our own - so let bygons be bygons & just do as you feel is right for you & lets just leave it at that..

Like someone mentioned earlier its the same with UV filters - some use them to protect their expensive glass as some reckon the hood does the job just as good..

Its catch 22 - an each to their own preferences..
 
You pay your money you take your chances.

I'd never buy cheap Alkaline batteries, as history has taught me that they end up leaking, but NiMH can't leak (can they?) so I'll take my chances.
 
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