Need a spare BLK22 battery and discovered this... USB-C BLK22

[pdk42]

I’ll just add that my post above is about Li ion batteries with Co/Ni/Mn cathodes. The voltages are a little different for lithium iron phosphate batteries.

 

[Oíche]

Given the Neweer has a 40 month warranty and wanting to be recognised as worthy I'd expect the 2x 3.6V cells and charging electronics are good.

If you think Lumix make their own batteries you are mistaken, all of this is outsouced and produced in mass production in various factories...

The famous IKEA AA/AAA Eneloop and Eneloop Pro which were exactly the same as the Panasonic Eneloop labelled ones at a cheaper price.

Recently on dpreview I told a poster his new Lumix camera had a faulty battery as he had malfunction and massive drain when the camera was switched off, he later replied yeah you were right.

This unsubstantiated fear I find quite ludicrous in the whole. It's a bit like the anti-Cinha propaganda enthusiasm (where was your camera and almost everthing you buy made ) or not watching your dog as it might get eaten when they could sell it and buy food in Marks and Spencer for 5 years

 

[Oíche]

If you price these mass produced typical cost of 2x of any of these battery cells, a typical circuit board and casing the price is pittance, probably well below £10, for them £5. It's all mass produced inexpensive tried and tested stuff produced in billions.

The brands put a sticker on it and 20x profit, Canon are probably the biggest exortionist in photography as they have the market.

You can buy a smart phone for £80 with more than 2x battery capacity than a camera battery, it will last for a long time, maybe 20 years, no problems with battery or fear of these.

 

[Oíche]

Again, this thread was to highlight the availability of USB batteries for many like me who find them useful, and not necessarily a 3rd party battery quality discussion which is welcomed also. It is like any thread discussion, try it or leave it , I wasn't expecting a Pentax versus mirrorless response... Had my fill of that

 

[pdk42]

I think many of us have seen no brand cheap batteries that have been poorly made, with low quality cells and very basic electronic circuitry. I’ve certainly had Olympus-compatible batteries that did not match up to OEM quality with swelling, short life, and reduced capacity. I think it’s unwise to assume that all batteries are made to the same standards or that non branded batteries are just the same as OEM but with a different label. It may be the case that some are, but that certainly isn’t all. OEM will give you at least some statement of consistency.

So it comes down to personal choice. I use 3rd party batteries because in general I think they’re better value. But I wouldn’t berate anyone for sticking with OEM.

 

[Pete_W]

So it comes down to personal choice. I use 3rd party batteries because in general I think they’re better value. But I wouldn’t berate anyone for sticking with OEM.

That's me! I only use original Panasonic batteries.

I now have 4 of the BLK22 batteries to share between the S5M2 and the S9. Although the S9 only needs one battery. I find that it's very frugal in terms of power usage. I can usually get a few days worth of shooting before needing to recharge, and that's with Bluetooth left on. I keep Bluetooth turned off on the S5M2.

 

[Nevyn72]

I own 4 original batteries and 3 high-quality aftermarket ones for my cameras, along with 2 inexpensive batteries from AliExpress. These power 2 cameras, primarily used for video recording. The S5IIX, in particular, consumes significant power when connected to an external SSD and filming in ProRes format.

I've decided against using the cheap AliExpress batteries due to performance issues and potential risks. The three aftermarket batteries, purchased from a reputable Dutch camera store (CameraNu.nl), perform well. However, I still prioritize using the original Lumix batteries.

For stationary (tripod) filming near a power outlet, I often opt for a dummy battery, which provides a more convenient power solution.

 

[Travis Butler]

Given the Neweer has a 40 month warranty and wanting to be recognised as worthy I'd expect the 2x 3.6V cells and charging electronics are good.

So what?

A set of third-party batteries I bought for my fp had a two-year warranty. Both of them swelled, and one got stuck in the camera.

The seller replaced them without any fuss. For them, it was evidently cheaper to replace ones that failed, than it was to do the QC to minimize the chance of them failing.

A warranty doesn't necessarily say a hell of a lot about quality.

If you think Lumix make their own batteries you are mistaken, all of this is outsouced and produced in mass production in various factories...

Actually, Panasonic does make a lot of batteries. They’re building a huge plant for Li-Ion EV batteries about 20 miles up the road from me.

Panasonic’s battery plant is already transforming De Soto, Kansas. It’s only halfway built

The Japanese electronics company's vision for a sprawling factory in northeast Kansas is taking shape quickly. Executives say it will employ 4,000 people directly, and help create an environment for even more jobs elsewhere in the region.

www.kcur.org

That said, even when a manufacturer does outsource the batteries to someone else, it’s been documented that companies like Foxconn build to different standards depending on how closely their client monitors their work. A company that keeps a close eye on QC will get better results than one that doesn’t.

 

[Oíche]

But I wouldn’t berate anyone for sticking with OEM.

It was never a do not but OEM battery thread nor intended, the quality issue was introduced by yourself, I was saying these are USB chargeable and Lumix don't make them nor supply chargers any longer plus the convienient benefits of USB direct.

It's not beration when they don't supply chargers and price them at £100+ for something that costs a few quid and the same for the batteries as I previously explained. This is universal amongst big brands for accessories, they don't like the internet free economy which prices accordingly and ruins their monopoly.

Buy OEM as you please but no USB battery available and brand loyalism is always a money maker.

 

[Oíche]

So what?

A set of third-party batteries I bought for my fp had a two-year warranty. Both of them swelled, and one got stuck in the camera.

So that means all of them are bad?

The seller replaced them without any fuss. For them, it was evidently cheaper to replace ones that failed, than it was to do the QC to minimize the chance of them failing.

A warranty doesn't necessarily say a hell of a lot about quality.

Well it should do as they have to replace them, loss of reputation etc. so easy on the internet.

Actually, Panasonic does make a lot of batteries. They’re building a huge plant for Li-Ion EV batteries about 20 miles up the road from me.

As I said they make Eneloops but IKEA sold them as their own so who really makes them? Does it matter? Rebranding is everywhere.

Panasonic’s battery plant is already transforming De Soto, Kansas. It’s only halfway built

The Japanese electronics company's vision for a sprawling factory in northeast Kansas is taking shape quickly. Executives say it will employ 4,000 people directly, and help create an environment for even more jobs elsewhere in the region.

www.kcur.org

That said, even when a manufacturer does outsource the batteries to someone else, it’s been documented that companies like Foxconn build to different standards depending on how closely their client monitors their work. A company that keeps a close eye on QC will get better results than one that doesn’t.

? It's sales speak and hocus pocus, how would you really know? Documentation? Where is it? Why wouldn't the same be true for Neweer batteries? I'm being objective here, not subjective without knowledge.

What's the agro over a battery? All I suggested was a USB battery was available LoL Holy Moses

 

[Oíche]

Cmon fellas, arguing about camera batteries is dpreview-esque and there are better things to do. ...head spins

 

[CharlesH]

I recently made up a small UPS for powering instruments in a glider in case of failure of the main batteries. I used 18650 cells. As such, I read a bit about Li ion charging strategies. In brief, it’s fair to say that you can make it simple or complicated depending on how much you care about long term battery health.

Do you remember that the Boeing 787 had Li-ion battery box fires when it first came out? They grounded the airplane. As it turned out the Japanese company that built the battery had done the safety circuitry correctly, but there was a quality issue where some of the cells could short out and cause a thermal runaway.

There was a similar issue with the Chevrolet Bolt electric car that had several electrical fires, which turned out to be a manufacturing defect, not a safety circuit design issue. All of those cars were recalled and replaced; about a $1.8 billion mistake by General Motors.

 

[pdk42]

Do you remember that the Boeing 787 had Li-ion battery box fires when it first came out? They grounded the airplane. As it turned out the Japanese company that built the battery had done the safety circuitry correctly, but there was a quality issue where some of the cells could short out and cause a thermal runaway.

There was a similar issue with the Chevrolet Bolt electric car that had several electrical fires, which turned out to be a manufacturing defect, not a safety circuit design issue. All of those cars were recalled and replaced; about a $1.8 billion mistake by General Motors.

Yes, I remember that. In the gliding world there are an increasingly larger number of motorised gliders/sailplanes that are electric powered via batteries. There have been a couple of incidents of catastrophic fires with them (thankfully none involving a crash or loss of life), always I think caused by cell manufacturing defects.

 

[Babylonia]

Well, over the years, mostly every brand electronic device that is powered by their "own" (OEM) installed battery.
E.g. laptops, cell phones , camera's..... have had "battery recalls". By security reasons as for malfunction, causing fire, acid burns, and bodily injury.
Didn't see these recalls lately in "general". But must admit I don't specially "look"/ search "specially" to these dysfunctionalities. So could be "biased".
At least didn't got a battery recall by "Panasonic". (But in past years I DID e.g. get a recall from Nikon for a special production run of batteries).

Just keep your eyes open, and always use common sense.

 

[RuleOfThirds]

I got lucky, when I had to exchange my new s5ii because it had 1500k clicks on a new body, they exchanged it and let me keep the battery. So I got a new battery and one slightly used for free. But both original. Don't need more power then that for the moment.