leonpro Posted July 31, 2007 Share #1 Posted July 31, 2007 Advertisement (gone after registration) Apologies for my ignorance, but what is the Hanhel company? I'm beginning to notice a lot of these batteries popping up for Leica. Are they OEM manufacturers for Leica that decided to make their own branding? Or this this a third-party non-affiliate that is making batteries for Leica brands? For a low-sale specialty product like Leica cameras, I'm surprised a company has decided to make batteries for them as third-party. So I'm wondering if they make the actual OEM batteries. But Panasonic/Matsushita is obviously a supplier, so it's imposible they will allow Hahnel to make batteries when Panasonic makes their own. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted July 31, 2007 Posted July 31, 2007 Hi leonpro, Take a look here Hahnel Battery - are they OEM?. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
farnz Posted July 31, 2007 Share #2 Posted July 31, 2007 Raymond, Hahnel is a stand-alone supplier of batteries and battery chargers. Leica doesn't manufacture batteries but all Leica batteries are branded as "Leica" batteries so it's difficult to know who the real manufacturer is - and it could be Hahnel. Many Li-On batteries for digital cameras are very similar and are based on the same battery design (ie materials, terminal voltage, capacity and protection circuitry) but with different casings or contacts. It would seem to be a reasonably low-cost activity for a manufacturer to set up for a run of, say, 20,000 casings to fit a newly released camera and insert the common components. There don't appear to be any legal constraints that would prevent a battery manufacturer from developing a battery that would be compatible with a particular camera (unless it had a bespoke and patented connection device) because terminal voltage can't be patented and it's then a matter of engineering the components to fit the space in the camera. Pete. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
avsearle Posted July 31, 2007 Share #3 Posted July 31, 2007 When recently in Berlin, I visited a camera shop which sold much of the Leica range. Wishing to buy a second battery for my D-Lux 2 I was directed by the salesman towards a Hahnel , it being more than half the price. No probs with it,and I understand it being a reputable manufacturer in Germany anyway. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
marknorton Posted July 31, 2007 Share #4 Posted July 31, 2007 Hahnel are fine, I use them with my D2x. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted July 31, 2007 Share #5 Posted July 31, 2007 They have been trading in batteries for 50 years, producing batteries since 1975. They are fine. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
leonpro Posted August 1, 2007 Author Share #6 Posted August 1, 2007 Thank you guys for the inputs. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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