Compatible Battery Received

[marknorton]

Today I received the compatible battery I bought for about 1/4 of the Leica price, including shipping from Hong Kong.

Many I know will be nervous about using it and I can understand your point of view that if the camera costs $5000, why skimp on batteries? The pricing policy for spare "official" batteries plays to exactly the same cautious approach and the price is set to what the market will bear.

I monitored the voltage and current as the battery charged in my Travel Charger and it charged completely normally, with a voltage of 4.19v at the end. It's now in the camera running down to auto shut-off and I'll post here what the voltage is at that point.

[scott kirkpatrick]

Try getting a couple of data points (voltage as a function of elapsed time) as it starts to roll off -- once the indicator goes to 0 bars.

scott

[hofrench]

Would be grateful for contact details.
Pls post them.
Thanks, Howard

[marknorton]

Bought off a well-known internet auction site.

4 hours 32 minutes in, 3.69 volts, no bars showing on the battery icon.

[guy_mancuso]

Mark your a brave man.LOL

[marknorton]

OK, 4 hrs 42 minutes, 3.65v, 5 hours 4 minutes, shutdown, 3.41v.

Keep in mind these are open circuit battery voltages with the battery removed from the camera, voltage in-circuit when power is being drawn will be lower, so the 3.3v figure Leica mentioned for shut-down seems plausible.

The battery is marked 1700mAh, slightly less than the Leica battery but overall, it looks fine to me and I'll be happy to use it. If you are risk averse and like to sleep easy at night, you'll probably want to stay with the Leica battery.

[scott kirkpatrick]

I think there is quite a bit of variation in the endpoint behavior (last few tenths), even between Leica batteries, and the same battery after different discharge histories. I monitored a discharge cycle on my #2 leica battery this afternoon. It went to zero bars at 3.73 V and kept on running the screen and whatever else stays on for almost an hour and a half more. Just before it shut down, I saw 3.52 V. Shut things off and went out to dinner; it had recovered to 3.55 V in the 2 1/2 hours that took, turned things back on, and it shut off ten minutes later, showing 3.40 V. The same battery shut off at 3.55 V last time I checked it.

So the battery monitor circuitry has to be fairly smart to shut down just as things fall off the cliff. Perhaps it senses current as well as voltage to do this. Mark's Hong Kong replacement is so far indistinguishable from Leica's, except for its somewhat smaller capacity (note his rundown time was less than the 6 hours that I saw.)

scott

Edit: Here's the full set of data from my two batteries. The second set was obtained starting after the battery had shot about 100 exposures in the past day, so I arbitrarily placed its starting point at 110 minutes, to agree with the other curve. The first data set ended somewhere before 6 hours were up, but I didn't see it happen. That's why I ran a second case. I also added Mark's data.

[farnz]

Mark,

Did your after-market battery arrive with a nominated ampere-hour capacity?

Pete.

[marknorton]

Keep in mind too that this is the battery's first "outing". The discharge profile may well change as the battery goes through its first few charge cycles. Also, other factors such as display backlight brightness and temperatue may affect the result.

Ball park, you can say this camera consumes a little over 1 watt of electrical power while it is sitting displaying an image in "Play" mode. The photographer admiring that image is burning about 120 watts...

[marknorton]

Originally Posted by farnz

Mark,

Did your after-market battery arrive with a nominated ampere-hour capacity?

Pete.

Pete, the battery has 1700mAh on the label, 3.7v. It also has the usual "CE" and garbage bin symbols on it.

[scott kirkpatrick]

Originally Posted by marknorton

Keep in mind too that this is the battery's first "outing". The discharge profile may well change as the battery goes through its first few charge cycles. Also, other factors such as display backlight brightness and temperatue may affect the result.

Ball park, you can say this camera consumes a little over 1 watt of electrical power while it is sitting displaying an image in "Play" mode. The photographer admiring that image is burning about 120 watts...

Good point. I have my LCD set at standard brightness for photography as well as for rundown testing. The 120 watt photographer has the advantage over the battery that he/she can refuel chemically.

scott

[marknorton]

Originally Posted by scott kirkpatrick

Good point. I have my LCD set at standard brightness for photography as well as for rundown testing. The 120 watt photographer has the advantage over the battery that he/she can refuel chemically.

scott

LOL, I find a direct injection of ethyl alcohol does the trick...

[guy_mancuso]

I thought that it was supposed to be for the sensor, so now we know that is not so. it's fuel for the photog. May have to get a pint

[dman]

Hey Mark,

Thanks for the info - I have one of the compatible batteries sitting on my desk right now, and was afraid to try it..
may be brave enough and give it a try tomorrow..

Dave.

[craigrmurray]

I regularly drop an M8 battery into my martini instead of an olive -- more tart than briny.

[James Mitchell]

I bought a real Leica battery as a second from a reputable US dealer on Ebay for $99--about two thirds of it's list price, I think. The battery works just as the one that came with the camera. I see no reason to risk any damage or disappointment on a knock-off when you look at my initial investment. The M8 batteries don't cost $300. That might make me change my mind.

[marknorton]

James, I have no issue with anyone who prefers not to put their camera at risk by using a third party battery. My own tests have shown the battery I have bought for $17.50 is fine and I am therefore happy to use it. My recommendation is though that if you like the protection warranties give you, and like to sleep easy at night, you should stick with the Leica branded battery.

[James Mitchell]

Mark, if you have good results over a long period of use with this battery, please post again in the future. I might then me very interested. Thanks for the information.

[Shootist]

I bought 2 extra batteries the week I bought my M8, so I have a total of 3. For me 3 is plenty. If in the future, 1-2-3 years down the road, I need to buy more M8 batteries I might look at aftermarket brands. For now, even if one of my present batteries failed, I'd still buy Leica branded batteries. The cost of real Leica batteries is nothing compared to what I have invested in the body, lenses and other accessories.
Good luck to all that buy these off brand batteries.

[eronald]

Originally Posted by marknorton

James, I have no issue with anyone who prefers not to put their camera at risk by using a third party battery. My own tests have shown the battery I have bought for $17.50 is fine and I am therefore happy to use it. My recommendation is though that if you like the protection warranties give you, and like to sleep easy at night, you should stick with the Leica branded battery.

Mark -

I happen to think that compatible batteries are a great idea !

Where did you get this battery ? Inquiring minds want to know ! And then maybe they might have a *small* charger, small enough for my travel backpack ...

Edmund