Batteries

DSTE batteries (made by the NE£WER company?) are, imo, as good as any. They are the only non Pentax batteries I use now.






Roger

DSTE are good, or Energiser (if you can find them).

I'm using a DSTE battery that came with a K-5IIs I acquired about 18 months ago along with the Pentax OEM battery. I alternate the two. The OEM battery lasts slightly longer...maybe 10-15% longer but am very pleased with the DSTE battery performance as well.

I also use a Maxsimafoto in a K-50, again alternating with the Pentax OEM battery. Pleased with this as well although this brand only lasts about 80-85% as long as the OEM.

These 'compatibles' are generally much better value for money though as they typically cost about 1/3rd the cost of OEM.

I gave up getting third-party batteries for my K-3 as they never hold as much charge as the genuine ones and stop working completely sometimes in less than 18 months. I bought a genuine Pentax one from SRS and that works great, though that was when they could be had for about 55 GBP in the post-christmas sales, now I see they're 80 GBP and no sales, which is what I paid for my genuine Panasonic one for my mirrorless camera. It hurts but it's the worry-free option.

From my experience with my K3ii never leave the battery in the camera. It killed my genuine Pentax battery stone dead. All attempts to resurrect it failed. I bought a twin pack of Newmowa and they came with a very hand charger that I can use in the car. Now when I am driving around on safari I permanently have freshly charged batteries.

K3ii does gobble the charge up very quickly but mine has never 'killed' a battery. I always leave them in without problems. For this reason if I ever take the K3ii out I always have a spare battery in my pocket.

I rotate 3 original Pentax batteries with my K3 II and some of these are dated 2005 and still going strong.