"nestork" wrote in message
...
Well, long story short, the three DSO004 batteries I got from BattDepot
simply aren't as good as the Sony NP-FR1 batteries specified for my
camera.
That's not surprising. I've found very few aftermarket batteries that will
hold as much of a charge as the originals. Additionally, I find that they
won't hold the charge for nearly as long either. Batteries I bought for my
cell phones and video cameras have been 1/8 the price of the originals for
about 1/2 the performance. In some uses, that's OK because I'll charge up
three or four batteries for a trip and they'll serve their purposes. But
the batteries I bought for my D70 Nikon will lose their charge sitting on
the shelf for a month. Ditto for some cell phone batteries although others
have been fine.
On my Sony DSC-V3 camera, the LCD screen will give you an estimate of
battery life remaining as the battery charge is used up. When the
batteries are fully charged, it'll tell me I have about 195 minutes of
time left.
The DSC series (a great camera, BTW, with superb IR capabilities) as well as
a lot of other Sony gear, uses "InfoLithium" batteries.
http://esupport.sony.com/docs/dvimag.../01/03/03.html
I've bought some aftermarket packs that won't even load because the Sony
InfoLithium battery gauge circuitry does not accept them. Others have
noticed similar problems with at least some aftermarket batteries.
http://www.dcresource.com/forums/sho...t-Battery-Only
I charged all three of the DSO004 batteries I got from Battery Depot on
the same charger I use for the Sony NP-FR1 batteries, and all three of
them only charged up to about half the power of the FR1's. When I put
them in my camera, in all three cases it tells me I only have about 95
minutes of usage time available.
Two things come to mind. One is that the cells need to be
charged/discharged and recharged a few times to reach their full capacity.
The other is to test them in real life without using the meter. The
estimate of their capacity could easily be misrepresented. Testing capacity
is a lot harder with a still camera than it is with a video camera, but it's
still doable. With my Sony Handicam I just turn on the onboard white LEDs,
the NightShot IR LEDs and then set it to record at EP. It's a good way to
measure actual battery life under load and convenient, too. The footage
counter gives you a good relative index of battery life. A fully charged
Sony battery will give me about 1.5 hours of recording time. The
aftermarkets did much better when new, but after about 20 uses they are not
holding a charge anywhere near as long as the OEM battery packs.
So, I'm disappointed, but not completely bummed out.
I should note that I've had some packs go dead and drop below useful voltage
after just a few charging cycles leading me to wonder about the battery's
chemical composition. It's a crap shoot when it comes to aftermarket
batteries.
The recent 787 battery problems should serve as a reminder of the power of
lithium cells "gone wild." I suspect that cheap lithium ion cells probably
present an even greater potential fire hazard than OEM cells for a number of
reasons. I am building a charging station out of an old surplus .50 cal
ammo box to contain any potential fire or explosion from a charger or
battery that was defective. I've seen the force involved when even lithium
coin cells explode. The packs for SLRs and other lithium powered gear
around the house have at least 20 times the electrical capacity of coin
cells and probably a similar explosive capacity. )-:
--
Bobby G.