3rd party batteries K30

Any recommendations on 3rd party batteries for a Pentax D-LI109 K30 battery.

I don't really want to spend £60 on a new branded one, that I could put towards other stuff.

Any brands to go for or avoid like the plague?

Thanks

Hi, SRS used to stock Hahnel ones, sometimes as a (bundle) freebie. I can't see them on their site at present. Might be worth giving them a call.

All the ones I've used have had a multitude of obscure brand names on. I tend to go for the ones that show slightly higher MA performance than the original. My present back up says DSTE on it and is 2000 MA hour rather than the 1860 MAh of the kit one. Both seem to perform the same though.

Thanks Bill,

I had heard that the 3rd party batteries tend to die out quicker.
I was thinking of ordering a couple of spares having had my official one run out on me yesterday on a shoot.

I use an Energizer battery (which has exactly the same specs as the Pentax battery).
I've had that for probably 3 years now and it's just fine.
It seems just as good as the Pentax battery. I've never been able to discern any difference between them.

Not in my experience. My pattern one quoted above did its half of 15,000 shots on my K5 and still doing good service with my K3 again for 50% of use. Like memory cards if such things start to falter then sense is to replace them immediately.

p.s.

Personally I would look for a recognised brand - Energizer, Duracell, Hahnel etc. where their quality control is hopefully better. Wasabi batteries seem to have good reviews, although I have no experience of them.
I have had a 'no name' laptop battery before, which failed very quickly, followed by overheating and swelling of the battery. (Needless to say it got disposed of very quickly!) Since that experience I would rather pay a little more for a 'known' brand.

I have used eBay specials in both my k10 & k5.
No problems with any of them yet (5-6 years on). I think the last one,for the K5, was around £8 posted so if they don't last as long I've still saved a fortune!

There will be some who tell of horror stories of damaged cameras but it always seems to be hearsay rather than personal experience.

Buy an AA adapter from ebay and use Sanyo AA Eneloops - they are cheaper overall, last a lot longer, and can then be replaced as required!

I paid 7pounds each for a pair of Energiser DLi90 substitutes and they have given no trouble whatsoever. Also, if you carefully cut across the top of the packaging to avoid damaging the interior, it can be kept, complete with its inner tray, to keep your charged battery safe.

All the £6 3rd party batteries I've got off Ebay have lasted just as long as the Pentax one's which cost up to £60

Same here

Yep. They're indistinguishable and often 10% of the camera maker's price. The power consumption of my EOS M is so woeful, I have to have two batteries and the cheap ones work fine as well.

I can see the attraction of buying cheaper batteries obviously, but regardless of what they are labelled they can deliver a significantly lower performance, the cheapest ones can be dangerous and they don't have the same longevity. Branded batteries are generally better, including familiar names such as Hanel and Inov8, but in tests have all been shown to fall short of the rated specification. That in itself doesn't mean they are no good of course.

What I would say is that having spent quite a bit of cash on top quality equipment then I have learnt over the years that buying the proper Pentax accessories gives more satisfaction and actually in the long term can be less costly. This can relate in other ways than just the cash outlay, so for example on Thursday I did a seven hour corporate shoot and potential problems with batteries were not a factor. The Pentax battery lasted all day without even dropping a bar on the display. I had two more in reserve, but they were not needed. Messing about with batteries was not on the agenda.

There are other technical issues inside the batteries, as some have overheat protection and others don't, and, as always, quality control issues relate to the price as well. All I'm saying is think about the cost over a long period of time and maybe don't penny-pinch on what is a core necessity for our cameras.

I use Hama,Hanel.Pentax batteries in my K30 &K-r and cannot tell the difference they all last the same
I also use the adaptor and use enneloops and energiser and Asda rechargeables and they last longer than the camera batteries as they have higher mah ratings.

Beware of Fake Genuine Batteries.......

One trader got caught selling Canon and Nikon

http://www.northamptonchron.co.uk/news/local/man-who-sold-fake-canon-batteries-o...


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