Sorry 'bout this - counterfeit batteries question from newbie

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Sorry 'bout this - counterfeit batteries question from newbie

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spraynpray

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Hi guys, first post - hope I've put it in the right place...

I just bought a 'genuine' EN-EL9a of ebay and smelled a rat so sent Nikon some pics of it to look at. They say that it is a fake, but it is such a good fake that the only thing they got wrong was the four little notches missing out of the hologram label. It came in perfect Nikon packaging too.

Now I'm thinking that a battery is a battery (normally) but Nikon say there are 'safety devices' in their battery that are not present in the fakes (I have no way of knowing it that is true or not). I checked the voltage after I charged it and compared it to the new Nikon battery that I have and found that the Nikon was 7.2V and the fake was 7.4V. I don't know what the normal tolerance is on these things, but I do know that it isn't worth damaging my new camera.

I also know that if they have the means to make such fantastic copies, why would they make such an elementary mistake as to leave out a component?

Can anybody out there shed any light on this 'safety device' like does it exist? Would using these batteries REALLY cause damage to my camera?

Thanks for any help with this.

Posted 3 years ago #
NikoDoby

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Welcome to the forum spraynpray. They leave out components to make a super cheap battery. The materials used inside are not the same. I've actually seen a cheap battery start to smoke inside of a camera! Use at your own risk!

I never quite understood why people spend so much on a camera and lenses and then go for the cheapest battery they can find. Batteries are the heart of your camera and will last you a very very long time. So why skimp on getting a "real" one?

It's like buying a sports car and then putting the cheapest, crappiest tires on it to save money.

Posted 3 years ago #
spraynpray

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Point taken NikoDoby. I only bought it because it was avertised as genuine and have not used it. Really, it is the price that Nikon charge for a battery that is the reason there is a market for the scammers though, agreed?

£20.00 is fair but £50 plus?

Thanks,

Posted 3 years ago #
NikoDoby

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Can you return the battery? Like I said the battery is the heart of your camera. Without it your camera is just a fancy paper weight. I think the price for a genuine battery is a bargain compared to paying for repairs to a damaged camera due to cheap batteries.

Posted 3 years ago #
spraynpray

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Oh sure, no problem there, the seller refunded me and told me to keep the battery when I kicked up a fuss. I don't intend to use it, but I am totally certain that it is possible to make those batteries and a decent profit for the amount I paid for the fake as opposed to the amount Nikon charge.

I don't mind lens or body prices being where they are because the investment is there, but it is like a stealth tax to be charged so much for relatively simple consumables IMHO.

I think I am going to hang on to it so that I can disect it and compare it to the Nikon battery when it gives up. I'll report back when I do.

Cheers.

Posted 3 years ago #
NikoDoby

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Uh, don't mess around trying to open up a battery spraynpray! Lots of dangerous stuff inside.

Posted 3 years ago #
spraynpray

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Hey, I didn't get where I am today without handling a few dodgey chemicals ;)

Now what was I doing....

Posted 3 years ago #
NikoDoby

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lol

Posted 3 years ago #
bmxdad

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I have and do you use None Nikon batteries, I have a larger slide in battery for my Grip, but have only used Nikon's inside my D300. The grip battery has work fine so far, does not get hot and provides 8 fps and 1500 shots per charge

But I would be careful with a fake

Pete

Posted 3 years ago #
jonnyapple

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I think Nikon has an interest in telling you not to use 3rd party batteries. I preface my suggestion by saying that I'm a risk-taker, but I would personally use it. My laptop battery went out last year and Dell wanted something like $140 for a new battery. I thought that was outrageous so I bought one for $40 on ebay knowing that it wasn't genuine. I've had no problems with it (9 months so far) and the capacity is double what the original was. I should mention that I also checked the voltage and it was off-spec by 5% or something and I didn't give it a second thought. 7.4V shouldn't be a problem, but use at your own risk of course.

Posted 3 years ago #
NikoDoby

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You are a brave man jonny. I will pray for you.

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Posted 3 years ago #
jonnyapple

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I took out a life insurance policy just a couple of months before the battery switch. If I ever stop posting on the forum you'll know why and also that my wife is both sad and rich.

Posted 3 years ago #
spraynpray

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Yeah, but apart from that, the battery was OK right?

Posted 3 years ago #
NikoDoby

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Oh yeah, the guy dusted it off and used it in his macbook pro for many years after.

*facepalm*

jonnyapple said:
I took out a life insurance policy just a couple of months before the battery switch. If I ever stop posting on the forum you'll know why and also that my wife is both sad and rich.

I think this thread is going to give your wife an idea on how to get rich quick jonny :^)

Hey what's up with your morbid sense of humor lately? You're starting to remind me of Charles Bronson in Death Wish 9

Posted 3 years ago #
jonnyapple

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spraynpray said:
Yeah, but apart from that, the battery was OK right?

This gets my vote for best comment of the day.

NikoDoby said:
Hey what's up with your morbid sense of humor lately? You're starting to remind me of Charles Bronson in Death Wish 9

It's nothing new, Niko. When my sister and I were at college together, we used to walk around the library passing out death threats with drawings of guillotines on wheels, etc. on them. People understood it was a joke then, but I'm not sure it would go over well in the post-9/11 world. If anyone kept one of those it's probably worth something now that I'm a senior member of the famous NR forum.

Posted 3 years ago #
warprints

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Jonny - was your "fake" battery actually branded as a dell? There is a difference between counterfeit batteries and aftermarket batteries in my experience. Aftermarket batteries can be quite good ... or very bad. However, counterfeit batteries are generally not so great overall. I would never knowingly use a counterfeit battery.

Posted 3 years ago #
warprints

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Death threats??! You sound like my kind of person. I used to set off small explosive devices in the women's dorm, timed to go off as I walked into the front of the dorm (needed to see reactions and have the security guard "witnessing" me come in the front when the explosion went off in the back stairwell). I think that would be frowned upon now, too.

Posted 3 years ago #
jonnyapple

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It was not branded as a dell battery. It has no brand written on it at all, but does say that it "replaces model XXXXXX, XXXXXX."
So is there really a difference between counterfeit batteries and aftermarket ones? It seems like the easiest way to make a counterfeit would be to slap some stolen stickers on an aftermarket battery to make it look genuine. But then, I'm not a counterfeiter so that's why I ask.
edit: Which is not to imply you are one, either, warprints. ;-)

Posted 3 years ago #
jonnyapple

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warprints said:
I used to set off small explosive devices in the women's dorm, timed to go off as I walked into the front of the dorm (needed to see reactions and have the security guard "witnessing" me come in the front when the explosion went off in the back stairwell). I think that would be frowned upon now, too.

People just don't know how much the terrorists have taken from us, do they? Besides which, we have to wear "I'm a photographer, not a terrorist" T-shirts now.

Posted 3 years ago #
PB PM

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Just remember that the use of after-market batteries can void your warranty, if Nikon can prove that you used them.

Posted 3 years ago #
jonnyapple

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Hey, PB PM, stop trying to hijack our thread! We're discussing pranks here, not...oh, wait. Sorry. I'll shut up.

Posted 3 years ago #
PB PM

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lol, I eat prankers for breakfast. :-p

Posted 3 years ago #
warprints

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Aftermarket battery makers are usually just trying to get market share (although sometimes not). Counterfeiters are by definition cheats. They want to commit fraud by getting you to think you're paying money for a genuine product. They are generally most interested in maximizing profit, not maximizing repeat customers. The package may look good, but the insides are junk.

Posted 3 years ago #
NikoDoby

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jonnyapple said:
It's nothing new, Niko. When my sister and I were at college together, we used to walk around the library passing out death threats with drawings of guillotines on wheels, etc. on them. People understood it was a joke then, but I'm not sure it would go over well in the post-9/11 world. If anyone kept one of those it's probably worth something now that I'm a senior member of the famous NR forum.

Wow I found an old college photo of jonnyapple! Dude you were soooo cool back then! What happened to you?

Posted 3 years ago #
jonnyapple

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I thought I had all the copies of that destroyed. Well, I guess if people think I'm still cool worse things have happened.

Posted 3 years ago #