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3rd Party Batteries Any Better Now?


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So I find it time to buy one or more new batteries for my M8.2. I have had 2 real batteries and 2 knock offs. The knock offs worked for a while and then show charged but as many of us know fail to report to the camera after a while and are junk.

 

My two original Leica batteries are getting old and now I need more. So are any of the knock offs now be worth buying. Please be specific.

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So I find it time to buy one or more new batteries for my M8.2. I have had 2 real batteries and 2 knock offs. The knock offs worked for a while and then show charged but as many of us know fail to report to the camera after a while and are junk.

 

My two original Leica batteries are getting old and now I need more. So are any of the knock offs now be worth buying. Please be specific.

 

Genuine Leica batteries are available secondhand from some reputable dealers who test them before sale to make sure they have good capacity and retain a full charge. I have bought two used M8/M9 batteries for half the new cost and both are fine after 18 months use.

 

dunk

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I have a genuine Leica battery and a couple of 3rd party batteries, I can't tell any difference between them, in fact I don't even know which one my M8 has in at any given time unless I check. Which I don't.

 

When and where might you have picked up your 3rd party batteries.

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 months later...

I use T6Power Baterie BLI-312. They looked crappy at the beginning, but performing a few complete discharges brought them to full performance, meaning on par with original Leica battery. And they only cost $22 each.

 

Notwithstanding this, I still bit the bullet and bought an extra original, because it is proven to work and last.

 

But speaking of non original batteries: I would rather like to see a battery pack with much higher capacity shaped like old leica motor drive. It would come in handy when traveling (or hiking rather) with the camera without an access to power. Anyone come across such a thing?

Edited by dlbr
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Personal opinion: Leica make plenty of $$'s from us on their cameras, we accept that, but, screwing us for around $200(?) for an 'original' batt when the same batt (minus the bit of techy stuff that say's 'Leica'), and most likely from the same Chinese factory, can be bought for $40 or less, is as I said, screwing us!

 

Local batts, sourced a half hour drive from me, or mailed FREE, work perfectly as long as you understand to ALWAYS totally discharge before charging. A bit of a pain, but on my pension the saved purchase value works for me and so do the batteries. A sad fact of Leica, because their mark up is not Leica input. :mad:

Edited by erl
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Personal opinion: Leica make plenty of $$'s from us on their cameras, we accept that, but, screwing us for around $200(?) for an 'original' batt when the same batt (minus the bit of techy stuff that say's 'Leica'), and most likely from the same Chinese factory, can be bought for $40 or less, is as I said, screwing us!

 

Local batts, sourced a half hour drive from me, or mailed FREE, work perfectly as long as you understand to ALWAYS totally discharge before charging. A bit of a pain, but on my pension the saved purchase value works for me and so do the batteries. A sad fact of Leica, because their mark up is not Leica input. :mad:

 

I bought the original battery for my M8.2 for 90 euros. That's roughly 130 USD.

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Personal opinion: Leica make plenty of $$'s from us on their cameras, we accept that, but, screwing us for around $200(?) for an 'original' batt when the same batt (minus the bit of techy stuff that say's 'Leica'), and most likely from the same Chinese factory, can be bought for $40 or less, is as I said, screwing us!

 

Local batts, sourced a half hour drive from me, or mailed FREE, work perfectly as long as you understand to ALWAYS totally discharge before charging. A bit of a pain, but on my pension the saved purchase value works for me and so do the batteries. A sad fact of Leica, because their mark up is not Leica input. :mad:

There are real, not immediately apparent, differences between Li-Ion batteries. The quality of the membranes, the pureness of the polymers, all have a long-term quality influence

.

Also, and not the least, the environmental impact of producing these batteries can be horrendous if there are no protective (expensive!) measures in place. By using the cheapest cells a manufaturer can be sure that he is using the most polluting -at the production stage- ones.

Edited by jaapv
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There are real, not immediately apparent, differences between Li-Ion batteries. The quality of the membranes, the pureness of the polymers, all have a long-term quality influence

.

Also, and not the least, the environmental impact of producing these batteries can be horrendous if there are no protective (expensive!) measures in place. By using the cheapest cells a manufaturer can be sure that he is using the most polluting -at the production stage- ones.

Interesting observations but, are they in fact the actual (if any) differences between Leica and 3rd party batteries? Or is it more a case of the difference (I understand) between the Olympus and Leica badged EVF's?

If there is any difference, as you claim, is it significant, or just a notional difference?

 

Many things, I suspect, that we choose in life are not necessarily the 'best' or least polluting choice. Do we shy away from them as well? Mostly not. We are still an economically driven society.

 

As an afterthought, some commenter's claim that film and it's processing is polluting. True, but then the production of electronics in digital cameras, and the necessary computers that rapidly become obsolete, is also polluting. So how are we realistically going to make a sensible choice? Sorry Jaaap, but at this stage I am not sufficiently convinced by your proposition about Leica batteries. Always prepared to be convinced by more persuasive evidence of course.

Edited by erl
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Wel, I strive to make Eco-friendly choices in all things. Often not possible, I admit and insignificant if done by one single person too, but every journey starts with one step.

I trust the ethics in purchasing from suppliers by Leica more than those of super-cheap Chinese clones makers. The el-cheapo industry in China does not have the best record in that respect.

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Wel, I strive to make Eco-friendly choices in all things. Often not possible, I admit and insignificant if done by one single person too, but every journey starts with one step.

I trust the ethics in purchasing from suppliers by Leica more than those of super-cheap Chinese clones makers. The el-cheapo industry in China does not have the best record in that respect.

Jaap I would like to agree with you on this, and in part I do, but I know nothing of the ethics of Leica's purchasing practice, particularly the batteries. So where is the reason to trust it? I suspect they come from the same factory as those I have bought, but I don't know. As for Chinese being el-cheapo, well yes it can be, but the Chinese are also capable of very good manufacturing as well. I don't dismiss them because they are Chinese.

 

In another life I was a production engineer and I know the costs involved were not so much the cheap/expensive materials but were more driven by the labour content. On that basis I am not very suspicious of the idea of inferior materials in the 'el-cheapo' batteries. I am more inclined against the 'rip-off' Leica batteries. I am prepared to be proven wrong, but ...... :cool:

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John, I hear what you are saying, but to my mind there are a few aspects that point the other way.

Yes, the provenance of Leica's batteries is unknown to us. However, the company has a tradition of ethical business practices dating back to the mid-nineteenth century and operates in a part of the world where concepts like sustainability and corporate ethics have increasingly become more ingrained over, say, the last decade. So I would have some careful confidence in Leica's policies in this respect.

On the other hand, a 5$ or 10$ product in Hong Kong is 100% sure to have the worst possible provenance.

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