Fuji How to tell a battery is on the way out?

Mike G

All-Pro
Location
West London
Name
Mike Gorman
Is there a method to discover if a Fuji NP-W126 battery is on the way out?

Yesterday my X-T2 would not switch on after some use, taking out and the putting back in the battery came to life! This happened three times and since using an Fuji NP-W126S the problem so far has not reappeared. When I charged the Fuji NP-W126 which took only minutes to recharge from 60%, I'm suspicous that this battery has become faulty, and soI am looking for a way to tell?

Thanks in advance.
 
With Li Ion batteries, lack of performance and not holding a charge is how you know it's bad. After around 200 recharges it's a matter of time. Even if it is just a partial recharge.
 
Yep, I'd use another one in cases like this. I have more than 20 NP-126(S), and so far didn't have an obvious failure, but it's clear that after a few years, not all batteries perform equally well. GFX has a battery age indicator that counts charing cycles. No such thing for NP-126.
 
Thanks fellows, this battery is from about from January 2015, from what you say it looks as though this battery has had its day, I have no idea how many charging cycles it's had. But
It seems I need another.
Thanks
 
65 bucks for a Nikon EN-EL. No clones because 3rd party had hit or miss on the battery condition circuitry reverse engineering.

Wasabi - 8 bucks per battery. I can keep reordering those on Amazon all day. I have six between two cameras.
 
I believe that Wasabi batteries are not available on this side of the pond!

But I wouldn't use them in any case however much they cost!
 
There are two main reasons, 1. Why are they so cheap, there must be a reason and it's probably that the QC and materials are not so good! 2. I'm just not happy using after market gear, the manufacturer of Fuji batteries is Panasonic a name I trust!

Perhaps Rico will say why he does not recommend the cheap batteries?
 
Perhaps Rico will say why he does not recommend the cheap batteries?

It's already been stated in my X-T2 book, but maybe not clearly enough. They don't work correctly. This also applies to the X-Pro2, X100F and X-T20. Original W126S and the older W126 are okay, though.

By now, it's common knowledge that pretty much all third-party battery vendors are lying when they claim that their products are 100% compatible and have the same protection features (against heat, overcharging and deep-discharge) as the originals. Expert bloggers have opened up many of those third-party offers just to find that the promised technology isn't there. So there's always a somewhat higher risk, and the different discharge-curve makes it impossible for the newer cameras to display correct "remaining power" percentages.

Luckily, there aren't many reports of serious incidents with third-party batteries.
 
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Well, they don't in the X-T2 etc., that's the whole point. The percentage display will be off, which is clear given the different discharge curves.

Btw, I once bought 2 Wasabis in the U.S. as a quick replacement for my X-T10, and they are the worst performers I have ever encountered. It seems to depend on where Wasabi/Patona etc. get their current batch of batteries. As usual, YMMV.
 
XE-1 and XT-10 user, no complaints on 3rd party brand. I've run all my batts down in 8-10 hour days of continuous AF, lots of chimping. I prefer to spend my money getting somewhere to photograph. Cheers!
 
I dunno. If I'm spending $1000 or more in a camera, I see no reason to cheap out on the last few dollars for an aftermarket battery. Sometimes they work out but we've all heard stories about third-party battery packs swelling inside the camera, etc. Besides, Fuji's OEM batteries are far from the most expensive compared to some other brands.
 
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