I use an a7r2 and as the batteries were not the greatest at that time, I was looking to buy an extra couple batteries.
Due to the great reviews - I went with Rav Power. After a few charges though, the batteries get a little bit inflated and it barely fits the battery compartment of my r2.
I am no expert but I assume it wouldn't be wise to keep using these batteries?
Does anyone have a good experience with a certain battery brand - or should I just get the Sony?
Wasabi batteries are not perfect, but they stood behind their product and sent replacements when I got a batch of older version batteries after Sony firmware updates caused the error messages for 3rd party batteries.
That said, if you can afford it, Sony batteries are the way to go. I still have original Sony NP-FW50s from the Sony Nex camera days (10years old?) that worked flawlessly in my A7II until I stopped using it.
I had a Rav Power NP-FW50 battery for a Sony a6400 camera swell up. It was tough to get out. Thankfully it was able to be removed.
I had always heard horror stories of 3rd party batteries. It had never happened to me, until it did. I don't care if a battery company sends a replacement. If a battery can't be removed from a camera it is a big problem. I no longer use 3rd party batteries.
I have told this story, before, so sorry for any repetition.
Several years ago, a local camera club hosted a battery engineer, to speak, who worked with camera manufacturers. He detailed battery chemistry, overall materials and construction details for OEM and 3rd party batteries.
The next day, I ordered all new OEM batteries to replace the many 3rd party batteries I had for all my cameras. I disposed of the 3rd party batteries (Wasabi, etc).
I might chance a 3rd party battery in a couple hundred dollar point-and-shoot, but would never use them in my A1 or A7RIV, going forward.
I wish I could help you, but the third party batteries I bought three years ago are still going strong. They are Wasabi s, but I have no current data.
If Sony did not charge an insane amount of money for their batteries I'd probably buy them. But honestly, I'd feel like a sap spending $75. for a battery.
Thanks for asking the question, OP. I've used Wasabi batteries in my Panasonic G85, but will probably be sticking with official Sony batteries for my A7 IV based on these posts.
For my a7R4 I have one Sony which came new with camera, 1 - Watson and 1 - Kastar.
For my a7R2, I have 5 - Sony, 3 - Wasabi and 2 - Watson.
All work fine with no swelling.
My overall impression is that the Sony have slightly more power, maybe 10% more. Not a significant difference.
No swelling.
I've also got similar mixes for four Canon bodies. All batteries used are on par with small variations, possibly due to age or number of recharges.
Overall, I've had no swelling problems or catastrophic failures. Over time a few have been discarded, including OEM. I'm happy to have saved money. Been doing this at least since my first digital Canon D60.
I have been using Wasabi NP-FW100 batteries for more than 3 years now and PHOTOOLEX NP-FW50 batteries for 2 years now and had no issues with it (just a little annoying message that has been reported on this forum in another thread for the Wasabi). If you do make a living with - say a brand new A1 - , then sticking with Sony batteries probably makes sense for warranty cover reasons namely. The only swelling issue I ever had was (long time ago) with a genuine Canon battery for a Canon point and shoot camera so, everyone has different view and experience on this topic...
"I wish I could help you, but the third party batteries I bought three years ago are still going strong. They are Wasabi's, but I have no current data.
"If Sony did not charge an insane amount of money for their batteries I'd probably buy them. But honestly, I'd feel like a sap spending $75 for a battery."
Yes true for me as well. Thank You Sandy Crane - well written!
sandycrane wrote:
I wish I could help you, but the third party batteries I bought three years ago are still going strong. They are Wasabi s, but I have no current data.
If Sony did not charge an insane amount of money for their batteries I'd probably buy them. But honestly, I'd feel like a sap spending $75. for a battery.
I mean particularly for r2 batteries which are obsolete. That's why I tried third party but my experience hasn't been as great as yours.
I think it's about the camera you use, for an A7RII I would just used 3rd party batteries, especially when those batteries will not work in newer Sony cameras, I feel it will be waste to buy Sony batteries for that.
I have 8 Sony batteries and 4 3rd party(RAVPower), all of them worked perfectly, I put all of the Sony into my 2 A1s and the RAVPower in the 3rd camera A73 (A74 soon) that I don't used as much.
matt-to wrote:
Thank you all - seems the consensus is to stick to Sony batteries.
Sorry to sound like that guy but I just find it odd that people don't really think twice about spending thousands of dollars on a camera and then can potentially more than double that on a lens but get bothered about an extra $50 for a battery? Without that vital piece nothing works. I honestly feel the same about many of the peripheries that I read about. People with $20,000 in gear using a crappy monitor to process on equally makes no sense to me. I am all for saving a couple bucks but in the grand scheme the little extra spent on a Sony battery amounts to next to nothing compared to the cost of your camera, lenses, memory cards, computer, etc. My advice is get the best, spend the money and never think about it again. I have shot Canon, Nikon and now Sony. I have always had OEM batteries and never once had an issue with them.
nicephore wrote:
I have been using Wasabi NP-FW100 batteries for more than 3 years now and PHOTOOLEX NP-FW50 batteries for 2 years now and had no issues with it (just a little annoying message that has been reported on this forum in another thread for the Wasabi). If you do make a living with - say a brand new A1 - , then sticking with Sony batteries probably makes sense for warranty cover reasons namely. The only swelling issue I ever had was (long time ago) with a genuine Canon battery for a Canon point and shoot camera so, everyone has different view and experience on this topic... ...Show more →
Yes, same here regarding the small, thin Canon (and off-brand) batteries -- I had several that swelled and got hot. I think they were used in the G10 and T2i cameras. Those are the only ones I had problems with.
aboutthelight wrote:
Sorry to sound like that guy but I just find it odd that people don't really think twice about spending thousands of dollars on a camera and then can potentially more than double that on a lens but get bothered about an extra $50 for a battery? Without that vital piece nothing works. I honestly feel the same about many of the peripheries that I read about. People with $20,000 in gear using a crappy monitor to process on equally makes no sense to me. I am all for saving a couple bucks but in the grand scheme to little extra spent on a Sony battery amounts to next to nothing compared to the cost of your camera, lenses, memory cards, computer, etc. My advice is get the best, spend the money and never think about it again. I have shot Canon, Nikon and now Sony. I have always had OEM batteries and never once had an issue with them....Show more →
I tend to agree. Also, a little bit of shopping around can net a decent discount on the OEM Sony batteries. I bought several spare NP-FZ100 batteries a few weeks ago for $55 shipped from a Sony authorized dealer. That is over $20 off from retail list price.
aboutthelight wrote:
Sorry to sound like that guy but I just find it odd that people don't really think twice about spending thousands of dollars on a camera and then can potentially more than double that on a lens but get bothered about an extra $50 for a battery? Without that vital piece nothing works. I honestly feel the same about many of the peripheries that I read about. People with $20,000 in gear using a crappy monitor to process on equally makes no sense to me. I am all for saving a couple bucks but in the grand scheme to little extra spent on a Sony battery amounts to next to nothing compared to the cost of your camera, lenses, memory cards, computer, etc. My advice is get the best, spend the money and never think about it again. I have shot Canon, Nikon and now Sony. I have always had OEM batteries and never once had an issue with them....Show more →
Well it's not that obvious for people who haven't experienced issues with third parties batteries or heard of horror stories from others. It's a learning process. Personally I had my experience, won't buy 3rd party batteries again.
If we take your rationale further though, we shouldn't use 3rd party lenses because it could damage the body mount etc.... so I think it's normal for people to want to take shortcuts sometimes, budget is not always what we would like it to be.
Without that vital piece nothing works. I honestly feel the same about many of the peripheries that I read about. People with $20,000 in gear using a crappy monitor to process on equally makes no sense to me. I am all for saving a couple bucks but in the grand scheme the little extra spent on a Sony battery amounts to next to nothing compared to the cost of your camera, lenses, memory cards, computer, etc. My advice is get the best, spend the money and never think about it again. I have shot Canon, Nikon and now Sony. I have always had OEM batteries and never once had an issue with them.