Spot the fake

[Henry Fool]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

One of these is a genuine OEM Leica battery, I purchased about 2 years ago, the other I'm not so sure about. I can't remember which is which.

Please help identify the OEM battery - A or B?

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

Edited March 26, 2021 by Henry Fool

[handgun]

I have one the same as B, it came with camera  which was purchased from a Leica UK dealer hope this helps

Dave

[Advertisement]

The Leica Q3 is available for pre-order at B&H Photo Video and Adorama

[Graham (G4FUJ)]

I have one like B too.  I think that is my genuine one.  The other battery was an Amazon purchase, which has no markings whatsoever.

[johnkunstadter]

Interesting that, according to its label, battery B was made in mainland China for the Russian-speaking market.

[farnz]

1 hour ago, johnkunstadter said:

Interesting that, according to its label, battery B was made in mainland China for the Russian-speaking market.

I wonder why the battery carries CE-marking then?

Pete.

[andybarton]

The CE marking shows that it has been approved for use within the European market. Unless it's a fake CE mark, which is not unheard of.

[Herr Barnack]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

3 hours ago, Graham (G4FUJ) said:

I have one like B too.  I think that is my genuine one.  The other battery was an Amazon purchase, which has no markings whatsoever.

JMHO, but I would not trust Amazon on any Leica hardware. 

[pippy]

B is clearly the genuine article. For one thing it uses Leica's proprietary font which is unique to the company. If you flip the batteries over you will also see that the genuine battery carries the Leica part No. which is 14464.

FWIW I have 6 of these on my desk as I type - some dating back almost 10 years; others new last January - and all of them have the Cyrillic text.

I seem to remember there's a way to tell the date of these things...

Philip.

EDIT : Hmm...perhaps it's the M240 series batteries which are date-stamped and not the earlier style.

Edited March 26, 2021 by pippy

[aksclix]

Usually when some product says it’s “for” that brand, it is usually not original branded 

[Gelatino]

C E  also means China Export. The chinese logo is not exactly the same as the european   https://www.francenetinfos.com/sigles-ce-conformite-europeenne-china-export-156532/

 

[pippy]

6 minutes ago, aksclix said:

Usually when some product says it’s “for” that brand, it is usually not original branded 

Usually...but not always.

On the flip-side of the genuine batteries, for instance, it says;

Rechargeable (...) FOR DIGITAL LEICA M-CAMERAS (...).

Philip.

[aksclix]

8 minutes ago, pippy said:

Usually...but not always.

On the flip-side of the genuine batteries, for instance, it says;

Rechargeable (...) FOR DIGITAL LEICA M-CAMERAS (...).

Philip.

I see.. good to know 

 

[farnz]

46 minutes ago, Gelatino said:

C E  also means China Export. The chinese logo is not exactly the same as the european   https://www.francenetinfos.com/sigles-ce-conformite-europeenne-china-export-156532/

 

Interestingly, according to the link you provided, battery A's marking is "China Export" and battery B's marking is "Conformité Européeanne".

Pete.

[Graham (G4FUJ)]

1 hour ago, Herr Barnack said:

JMHO, but I would not trust Amazon on any Leica hardware. 

Amazon purchased battery has been in use for over 3 years with no problems...

[NigelG]

I have 3 and they all look like “B”. On the underside there is a very faint 4 number + 1 letter code which might be some sort of production date/run marking?

[250swb]

5 hours ago, johnkunstadter said:

Interesting that, according to its label, battery B was made in mainland China for the Russian-speaking market.

Leica don't make their own batteries, and the batteries they commision don't come from the EU or anywhere near. If it says 'China' you can bet it's where it comes from, and any fake battery for that matter.

[boojum]

https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipOZ7VwYXXzV6u5yWeL6uaP9whH_ZS7vuvhPiKmV

 

https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipPdSbEvLl7mKimbrKI1CzBO2Eo2ydnP-ONaFbtE

[johnkunstadter]

53 minutes ago, 250swb said:

Leica don't make their own batteries, and the batteries they commision don't come from the EU or anywhere near. If it says 'China' you can bet it's where it comes from, and any fake battery for that matter.

My point is quite different than questioning where Leica may source its batteries or implying that Chinese = fake.  One would expect that articles which have the C E certification would, for marketing's sake, carry labels in one of the EU languages...although on second thought one encounters over and over that Russian -- and even more so Turkish for that matter -- are useful lingua francas throughout the EU.

[jdlaing]

A is not a fake. It is a third party battery made by BTAI. 

[Advertisement]

Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

[a.noctilux]

17 hours ago, pippy said:

B is clearly the genuine article. For one thing it uses Leica's proprietary font which is unique to the company. If you flip the batteries over you will also see that the genuine battery carries the Leica part No. which is 14464.

FWIW I have 6 of these on my desk as I type - some dating back almost 10 years; others new last January - and all of them have the Cyrillic text.

I seem to remember there's a way to tell the date of these things...

Philip.

EDIT : Hmm...perhaps it's the M240 series batteries which are date-stamped and not the earlier style.

Philip,

on those Leica 14464 batteries, the date of manufactoring is stamped at one place, as WWYY X (week number in two digits followed by year in two digits, plus one letter),

I have one as 5112P ( almost last week of 2012 😉),

finding the code number may be difficult, just faint etching or stamp which can be at different place on the battery.

Those batteries are almost all different markings over years, even first ones have no label just markings in bas-relief.

Edited March 27, 2021 by a.noctilux