psamson Posted July 28, 2009 Share #1 Posted July 28, 2009 Advertisement (gone after registration) I don't think this impacts D-LUX 4 owners, but FYI anyway. Consumerist - Watch Out For Panasonic's Proprietary Battery Cameras - Panasonic Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted July 28, 2009 Posted July 28, 2009 Hi psamson, Take a look here Consumerist - watch out for Panasonic's proprietary batteries. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
ceflynn Posted July 28, 2009 Share #2 Posted July 28, 2009 Yet another reason to buy a D-Lux 4 rather than an LX3. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
koray Posted July 28, 2009 Share #3 Posted July 28, 2009 From the original article linked above: "Many of Panasonic's cameras will only work with official Panasonic batteries—the newest models require "an embedded security ID chip," while older models have been issued a firmware upgrade that locks out third-party vendors. This is already pretty obnoxious, but what makes it even worse is Panasonic can't keep up with demand , so the batteries they insist you buy for your camera aren't available." I experienced a similar situation with my Sony Vaio laptop. Sony puts proprietary software in their laptops that shuts down the system immediately if a non-Sony battery is detected. My laptop was only 1.5 years old and I called Sony to order a new genuine Sony battery. Guess what: they didn't have any. They asked me to search some vendors, and even if those had one it would be a two year old battery (and lithium-ion batteries degrade in time, you need fresh ones). Well I found a way to disable the software and put a third party battery in my machine, so far so good. I don't think one will ever be able to alter Panasonic's firmware, so this situation will be a horrible headache for consumers. It is a pity since Panasonic was getting better at sensor design, and now they are shooting their own foot because of greed. K. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
offshore Posted July 28, 2009 Share #4 Posted July 28, 2009 Funny, I've got an LX3 with one Pana battery and one third party battery, all the firmware upgrades and the camera works fine with both. Another Chicken Little post? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lkfosterl Posted July 28, 2009 Share #5 Posted July 28, 2009 I don't know if it's a coincidence, but my DL4 battery charger won't charge my third-party LX2 battery. The LX2 charger has no problems with it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobtodrick Posted July 28, 2009 Share #6 Posted July 28, 2009 OMG...Panasonic wants you to use their batteries in their cameras. Oh...the horror of it. I've got far more important things to worry about...like what to have for dinner tonight. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
farnz Posted July 28, 2009 Share #7 Posted July 28, 2009 Advertisement (gone after registration) Peter, Thanks for posting, this is good to know, but of so cynical on Panasonic's behalf. I can only wonder what their excuse will be when the first Panasonic security chipped battery catches fire ... After all, they're Li-Ion batteries too so they're potentially just as prone to safety circuit failures as any other battery (other than batteries from irresponsible after-market manufacturers that don't bother with safety circuitry at all of course). Pete. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lkfosterl Posted July 29, 2009 Share #8 Posted July 29, 2009 It's not just Panasonic. I tried to swap what looked to be identical OEM batteries between my BlackBerry Pearl and the wife's BlackBerry Curve and all I got was a message showing a locked battery on both. Why they're preventing their own batteries from being used is beyond me. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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