A question about batteries

Jock Elliott

Hall of Famer
Location
Troy, NY
Yesterday, the Spotter-in-Chief (aka the better half) mentioned she would like to visit Lock 4 on the Champlain Canal because a photographer we had encountered mentioned that Bald Eagles could be seen there. Further, she wanted me to make sure that her camera (my old FZ150 superzoom) was ready to go. This means making sure all three batteries (one Panasonic, two off-brands) are fully charged and the camera is functioning properly.

It had been over a year since either of us had used my wife's camera, so I wasn't sure what I would find. The battery in the camera (a Bower brand) was dead . . . really dead . . . so dead that I had to reset the date and time in the camera. A second Bower battery was also full dead. But here's the really interesting part: the third battery (the Panasonic that had come with camera) had retained its charge and was in fact full, according to the power meter on the camera. And when I stuck it in the charger, in just a few minutes, the charger indicated that the battery was full . . . and it had been at least a year since it had been charged.

I'm wondering if this means that buying Original Equipment Manufacturer batteries is worth the additional money that they usually cost.

Does this square up with anyone else's experience?

Cheers, Jock
 
If you’re going to store the batteries for long periods of time without using or charging them. Then you might have a case for saying buying the OEM batteries are better. But that would require testing for accurate answers.

I can say that my experience with wasabi batteries in my Fuji cameras has been that they perform identically to the OEM Fuji batteries. The newer 126s batteries may last longer while using them. But I’ve never paid close enough attention to notice. My batteries are never stored for a long time without being used so I can’t speak on charge retention.
 
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