My thoughts on off brand DSLR batteries

Save your money, well technically not saving.  The Canon batteries cost more, but they last longer.  I have had 2 non Canon batteries in the last few years and both of them are dead.  My original Canon batteries are still going strong and out lived the off brand ones. 

I have some off brands and have no problems with them.  Where did you buy these? 

I have both and honestly, don't see any difference between them yet.  {knock on wood}

When I had my D300 and D700, I bought a couple knock off batteries and put them into the rotation. Out of the six batteries I was using, the first two to die were the non Nikon branded units, and they were the newest. Believe it if you will or continue wasting money on cheap batteries. (btw, the knock offs wouldn't even work in the D300, so the third party batteries actually were used less than the Nikons)....
That's extensive testing, no?

You will never find a knock off battery in my bag.  Been there and done that!  Not worth the money considering how much quicker they die vs brand name batteries.

hmm ... I've been running Wasabi En-EL15 replacement in rotation with Nikon for about 1-1/2 years and have yet to see any difference.

I was told to stick with name brands

I use just Canon batteries, who knows, they are all most likely made by the same company!  lol 

Stick with the same brand of your camera

Over the years I have found that only quality accessories have lived up to my expectations. There are plenty of aftermarket add-on's for cameras...Flash, Cards, Straps, Camera bags!! However I choose to pay a little more and get the best if possible. Batteries are something that I only buy quality and made by the manufacturer of the Camera.

The problem with your post is that camera makers don't make their own batteries.... Much of the materials in their cameras are subcontracted out to other vendors. Same for car parts et al.... Thus the OEM" batteries are likely made by some of those "aftermarket" battery vendors & simply have slight differences (such as color or a minor feature) to differentiate them from the OEM branded lines... I've used aftermarket batteries for years without any issues. That's not to say you can't get a "lemon", but you can get OEM's that are lemons too...

Alan Nunez wrote: Over the years I have found that only quality accessories have lived up to my expectations. There are plenty of aftermarket add-on's for cameras...Flash, Cards, Straps, Camera bags!! However I choose to pay a little more and get the best if possible. Batteries are something that I only buy quality and made by the manufacturer of the Camera.

Screamin Scott wrote: The problem with your post is that camera makers don't make their own batteries.... Much of the materials in their cameras are subcontracted out to other vendors. Same for car parts et al.... Thus the OEM" batteries are likely made by some of those "aftermarket" battery vendors & simply have slight differences (such as color or a minor feature) to differentiate them from the OEM branded lines... I've used aftermarket batteries for years without any issues. That's not to say you can't get a "lemon", but you can get OEM's that are lemons too...

Alan Nunez wrote: Over the years I have found that only quality accessories have lived up to my expectations. There are plenty of aftermarket add-on's for cameras...Flash, Cards, Straps, Camera bags!! However I choose to pay a little more and get the best if possible. Batteries are something that I only buy quality and made by the manufacturer of the Camera.

One significant difference is that reputable manufacturers, when subcontracting parts, will usually have exacting standards. Those specs may not be available to 3rd party vendors; rather, they may reverse engineer something based on the end product. That doesn't mean they will get the details right. For example, a non-OEM battery may not have the voltage stability, current longevity, exact physical dimension that it should.

Applie iPhone cables are another good example of crummy 3rd-party products.

I prefer OEM original equipment most of the time.

To each their own... While some products are reverse engineered (3rd party lenses comes to mind), the subcontractor who makes the battery for the OEM can manufacture,  market & sell the battery under their own & other names. As long as there is some difference from the OEM product, it's entirely legal. As for the specs, the subcontractor has the specs they need to do so as they were supplied to them by the OEM when the orders were placed.... I doubt that the aftermarket batteries would be offered for sale by the likes of B&H or Adorama, among others, if there were serious issues with them ...

garyrhook wrote:

Screamin Scott wrote: The problem with your post is that camera makers don't make their own batteries.... Much of the materials in their cameras are subcontracted out to other vendors. Same for car parts et al.... Thus the OEM" batteries are likely made by some of those "aftermarket" battery vendors & simply have slight differences (such as color or a minor feature) to differentiate them from the OEM branded lines... I've used aftermarket batteries for years without any issues. That's not to say you can't get a "lemon", but you can get OEM's that are lemons too...

Alan Nunez wrote: Over the years I have found that only quality accessories have lived up to my expectations. There are plenty of aftermarket add-on's for cameras...Flash, Cards, Straps, Camera bags!! However I choose to pay a little more and get the best if possible. Batteries are something that I only buy quality and made by the manufacturer of the Camera.

One significant difference is that reputable manufacturers, when subcontracting parts, will usually have exacting standards. Those specs may not be available to 3rd party vendors; rather, they may reverse engineer something based on the end product. That doesn't mean they will get the details right. For example, a non-OEM battery may not have the voltage stability, current longevity, exact physical dimension that it should.

Applie iPhone cables are another good example of crummy 3rd-party products.

I prefer OEM original equipment most of the time.

While yes Scott what you say may be true. When the third party manufacturer does some of the work in the production, they are held to a higher standard when doing so for the OEM. When they do so under for another entity, or branch of their own company they may let it slide on the QC side of the equation. And many times they are dumping units that work, but were not up to snuff to try and recoup their money. Just look at the filter side of it. Hoya, B+W, and others manufacture for names such as Pro Master, and others, and it is their rejects many times that go to the cheap side of the market. So it goes with the batteries.

Now as for me using third party batteries, like others, I have been there, done that, and will not go there again. When I had my CP995 I tried one, and found that it never lasted as long charge wise as the OEM. It never died, but I only used it when my other battery was drained, and until I could recharge it. For my Dslrs I never even bothered after that.

Thanks for information