[pjiffy]

Anyone had experience of third party batteries made by Hahnel? I just got the Sony NEX 5N as a small carry around, but because of the touch screen, it drains the battery quicker than I would like. I want a spare so I checked Amazon. A lot of the reviews for the official one are saying it looks like a fake. I don't mind third party but I like it to be up front, plus not all third parties are the same. I'd also been looking at Hahnel light weight tripods and they get decent reviews, but none for the battery, so if anyone has used them, good, bad or indifferent?

On a side note, I could go to Jessops, there's one near me, but their pricing is outrageous, they want £100, which is even £40 dearer than Sony recommend, shocking.

[gefrosolo]

Hi pjiffy, i have used third party batteries and found them ok but dont last as long. I have had some original
batteries from China at a good price. A little bit of searching over the Net you will find some a lot cheaper
than buying from Jessops..
2 NP-FW50 Battery for Sony NEX-5 NEX-5N NEX-5D NEX-3 NEX-C3 NEX5 A55 A33 A35 | eBay
try this link.

[stepheno]

Hahnel are a recognised supplier of cheaper accessories including batteries. So I wouldn't worry about the battery itself, per se, more to do with how the camera communicates with the battery which is why I would buy a Sony battery. Alternatively...can you not switch off the touch-screen?

[grease spot]

From what I've read it is wise to be cautious. Pretentious 3rd party batteries that claim to come from the manufacturer are a problem. There may be negative issues with certain batteries, but I've had Hahnel in use for nearly 2 years and no problems. It even gives the correct usage feedback to the camera. The Hahnel has a slightly higher charge capacity and will give a few 5-6% extra shots. I bought mine as a spare from Jessops when I bought the camera and it shares equal usage with the Nikon OEM battery, and neither are showing any signs of dying.

Agree 100 notes seems a bit steep

[dabhand16]

Hahnel is a recognised maker and has been around for years. The camera makers are making things more difficult for the third party manufacturers by putting chips into the batteries that if absent, will either reduce the cameras functions or not power the camera up at all. Panasonic firmware will know if the battery in the camera is not Panasonic made and will not switch the camera on!

The more reputable third party makers products are, AFAIK, compatible with the cameras they are designed for. I've used third party batteries that I've bought from reliable web sites for my video camera with no issues at all. However this was before they had chips in them.

I've bought a used Nikon battery from MPB for £18, and a new one from e-bay for under £30.

[Dave Canon]

For my previous DSLR I bought a good make third party battery at half the Canon price but found it held half the charge so it was not worth it. I did not want to make the same mistake with the replacement DSLR so bought the genuine Canon article. This was expensive but I have two reliable batteries which hold their charge and can typically cope with 500 frames from a single charge; well worth the extra cost.

Dave

[pjiffy]

Okay, thanks for the input guys.

Stepheno, yes, the touch screen can be turned off, which for now I may do. I can still access most stuff from the physical controls, however, there is one, potentially extremely useful feature of the touch screen. You can position the focus point by touching the spot you desire, which I really want to use and love. Not sure if I will, but I want to.

I can afford to wait a little before making a decision, given this disgusting weather is supposed to be with us for the whole of July. There are 3 reviews for the Hahnel, all tentatively giving it the thumbs up. It comes in at £30, with the is itorisitnot genuine one coming in at £46. I may wait a few weeks to see if Amazon can resolve the suspicion. The only thing I can say for certain is, don't put one aside for me Mr Jessop, my passion is expensive enough without being ripped off.

If I do go for Hahnel (or another third party), I'll givve it a decent test time then report back.

[stepheno]

Originally Posted by pjiffy

If I do go for Hahnel (or another third party), I'll givve it a decent test time then report back.

Look forward to reading that PJ

[Markulous]

I've a Hahnel with my G11 (came with the camera, bought s/h) and it's great, at least as good as the Canon

I've also used cheap Chinese batteries in my various cameras and have to say I've obviously been lucky as they've performed as well as the genuine. These have been chipped (very effectively - camera reads them as genuine) and non-chipped (camera works but fails to report charge)

[silver]

Hahnel I am sure will be fine (I don't think anyone would fake a battery as being a 'Hahnel' - but otherwise it should be ok)

have to say I am not too fussed about the different batteries and what brand they are,. still have a 5d ('mark 1') that is used and the latest batch of batteries I got were very inexpensive (pack of 4 for ~10 quid) and in terms of shooting capacity they are brilliant and have not yet exploded

[Helgrrr]

I have in my 7d 1 genuine Canon battery and one £10 generic thingy.

I have taken about 400 or so shots without re-charging and the battery info gives the Canon as being at 58% and the non genuine at 48%.

When I recharge it takes the non genuine a bit longer to recharge than the Canon but I guess that's because it always drains a bit more.

I've been using it for almost a year with no problems and if I need more batteries I can get 4 of the non genuine for the price of one Canon.