FZ30 battery

On Sun, 19 Feb 2006 14:20:19 -0500, "pt1028"
wrote:


"Robert Cunningham" wrote in message
...
I need to get a spare battery for my Panasonic FZ30. On the Panasonice
website they have one for sale for approx. $70.00 U.S. But other website
are
selling replacement batteries for the FZ30 for as low as $19.99. That
price
really seems suspicious to me. What do you think?

Also, is it safe to buy and use batteries for this camera that are not
O.E.M?

Thanks for any and all replies.




I have an FZ20 and I bought a spare battery off ebay. Works great! I don't
remember who I bought it off, but if you put in search "battery fz-" with
the "-" being your number camera, then you will get a lot of listings. Just
look at the sellers' feedbacks - they are usually good.

Steve

I just ordered one from Amazon.com for $12.95, rated at 1300mAh,
ordered last Sunday, came on Saturday, charged it up and seems
to work OK in the camera, FZ-15.

Check eBay for batteries priced about $5 from Hong Kong.

One has to beware where you get cheap batteries from because it is very
difficult to tell the good from the bad. You can even look to the Nikon
battery recall for defective OEM batteries. Bad batteries not only can
ruin your camera but can cause fire and/or physical damage to your body.

The one good thing (and you do have to pay for it) in favor of OEM
batteries is you have a reputable camera company behind them who does
not want to risk their good will. But no name who knows what from who
knows where does not care as they just want profit. If their name (if
they have one) becomes tarnished they will just market under a different
name.

Something like after market printer ink but in the case of batteries
they can damage your body.

Jay wrote:

Check eBay for batteries priced about $5 from Hong Kong.

Thanks for all of the information. I was extremely reluctant to puchase
"cheap" batteries for the very reasons reasons you stated below.
Consequently, I went for the OEM from Panasonic. While it did cost a lot
more than some of the incredible prices I have seen listed, I just did not
want to take a chance on a purchase that I might regret later. In any
event, I have appreciated every one of the comments.


"measekite" wrote in message
et...
One has to beware where you get cheap batteries from because it is very
difficult to tell the good from the bad. You can even look to the Nikon
battery recall for defective OEM batteries. Bad batteries not only can
ruin your camera but can cause fire and/or physical damage to your body.

The one good thing (and you do have to pay for it) in favor of OEM
batteries is you have a reputable camera company behind them who does
not want to risk their good will. But no name who knows what from who
knows where does not care as they just want profit. If their name (if
they have one) becomes tarnished they will just market under a different
name.

Something like after market printer ink but in the case of batteries
they can damage your body.

Jay wrote:

Check eBay for batteries priced about $5 from Hong Kong.

Nig wrote:

In article
,
"corks" wrote:

i bought a aftermarket battery for my fz30 here in oz

genuine price $99 aus, aftermarket $30

alas it only charged once, then never charged again, i'm going to send it
back and the shop says they'll send another out

might be a one off


I got some from Hong Kong. They had problems charging because the
contacts weren't connecting with the charger properly. They were
replaced without question*, although I now keep a rubberband with my
charger to hold all batteries firmly in place.

*NOTE: when sending LiIon batteries overseas, do not repeat DO NOT!!!!
describe them on the Customs declaration as 'batteries' or NZ Post and
presumably any other Post office will **** themselves on the spot and
refuse to handle them. Apparently if the plane crashes and the battery
is ripped open, it may catch on fire.

No, it may explode spontaneously. Anybody involved with air travel is gun
shy on lithium-based batteries. They were used in the first generation of
emergency locator transmitters due to their long shelf life, and a few of
them exploded spontaneously in the plane with enough force to do airframe
damage (we're not talking about the little bulge and leak that people
usually mean when they say "the battery exploded", these were real
explosions with flash and bang and pieces hurled about with great force and
the whole nine yards). I don't recall if there were any actual crashes or
if the explosions all occurred with the plane parked now, but either way
that generation of ELTs was pulled from the market and from the aircraft.

Along with the batteries from all
the passenger's cameras & cellphones, the many bottles of duty-free
plonk and approximately 2000 tonnes of aviation fuel.

Camera and cell phone batteries are also a concern, however they generally
have protective circuits aimed at avoiding the conditions required for an
explosion. The thing is though if you just say "battery" on the
description that puts them in the position of having to ascertain for
themselves whether the particular battery is an explosion risk and they
don't have a master list or anything to refer to.

They are "camera components" OK?


--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

In article ,
"J. Clarke" wrote:

*NOTE: when sending LiIon batteries overseas, do not repeat DO NOT!!!!
describe them on the Customs declaration as 'batteries' or NZ Post and
presumably any other Post office will **** themselves on the spot and
refuse to handle them. Apparently if the plane crashes and the battery
is ripped open, it may catch on fire.

No, it may explode spontaneously. Anybody involved with air travel is gun
shy on lithium-based batteries. They were used in the first generation of
emergency locator transmitters due to their long shelf life, and a few of
them exploded spontaneously in the plane with enough force to do airframe
damage (we're not talking about the little bulge and leak that people
usually mean when they say "the battery exploded", these were real
explosions with flash and bang and pieces hurled about with great force and
the whole nine yards). I don't recall if there were any actual crashes or
if the explosions all occurred with the plane parked now, but either way
that generation of ELTs was pulled from the market and from the aircraft.

Along with the batteries from all
the passenger's cameras & cellphones, the many bottles of duty-free
plonk and approximately 2000 tonnes of aviation fuel.

Camera and cell phone batteries are also a concern, however they generally
have protective circuits aimed at avoiding the conditions required for an
explosion. The thing is though if you just say "battery" on the
description that puts them in the position of having to ascertain for
themselves whether the particular battery is an explosion risk and they
don't have a master list or anything to refer to.

They are "camera components" OK?

So the camera battery sitting in the camera is protected, but the same
battery not sitting in the camera is not protected. Explain, please.

Likewise, should I worry about the spare LiIon laptop battery sitting in
my bag, about 3" away from the identical battery in the laptop?

Were these exploding batteries under charge or violent discharge?

--
~Dibley

Dibley Fanshaw wrote:

In article ,
"J. Clarke" wrote:

*NOTE: when sending LiIon batteries overseas, do not repeat DO NOT!!!!
describe them on the Customs declaration as 'batteries' or NZ Post and
presumably any other Post office will **** themselves on the spot and
refuse to handle them. Apparently if the plane crashes and the battery
is ripped open, it may catch on fire.

No, it may explode spontaneously. Anybody involved with air travel is
gun
shy on lithium-based batteries. They were used in the first generation
of emergency locator transmitters due to their long shelf life, and a few
of them exploded spontaneously in the plane with enough force to do
airframe damage (we're not talking about the little bulge and leak that
people usually mean when they say "the battery exploded", these were real
explosions with flash and bang and pieces hurled about with great force
and
the whole nine yards). I don't recall if there were any actual crashes
or if the explosions all occurred with the plane parked now, but either
way that generation of ELTs was pulled from the market and from the
aircraft.

Along with the batteries from all
the passenger's cameras & cellphones, the many bottles of duty-free
plonk and approximately 2000 tonnes of aviation fuel.

Camera and cell phone batteries are also a concern, however they
generally have protective circuits aimed at avoiding the conditions
required for an
explosion. The thing is though if you just say "battery" on the
description that puts them in the position of having to ascertain for
themselves whether the particular battery is an explosion risk and they
don't have a master list or anything to refer to.

They are "camera components" OK?

So the camera battery sitting in the camera is protected, but the same
battery not sitting in the camera is not protected. Explain, please.

Likewise, should I worry about the spare LiIon laptop battery sitting in
my bag, about 3" away from the identical battery in the laptop?

Are you being deliberately obtuse? If it is in a camera or if it is a
camera battery sitting in a bag then it's clearly a reasonably recent
design--cameras with lithium-based batteries have not been around that
long. You ship a battery through the mail, sans camera, and the inspector
doesn't have any way to know whether it's a brand new camera battery or a
20 year old ELT battery. The issue isn't that your camera is going to
explode, the issue is that some generic battery in an box might do so. If
he has to choose between ****ing you off or losing his job he'll **** you
off every time.

Were these exploding batteries under charge or violent discharge?

Kind of hard to be under either sitting in an ELT in an airplane tied down
on the ramp. Lithium batteries were used because they had a long shelf
life. ELTs don't power up until either the plane crashes or someone turns
on the switch, and in either case the actual power consumed is fairly low.



--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

J. Clarke wrote:
Dibley Fanshaw wrote:

[... questions about camera batteries in or out of the camera,
laptop batteries, etc ...]

Are you being deliberately obtuse? [...]

Naw, he's just asking reasonable questions. Unless one has
experience with the older designs, the notion that a common
battery might be a serious explosion hazard is novel. In all
the endless flame wars over which battery type is best, I
have never seen a good technical description of exactly how
the Li-ion battery explosion thing works. So I Googled it.

Apparently, Li-ion batteries with cobalt oxide electrodes
(pretty-much all of them) are subject to a thermal runaway
condition. It can be triggered by overcharging, charging
too fast, discharging at too high a rate, or other unspecified
sorts of abuse. Once the internal temperature reaches the
threshold (one web site said "about 140 degrees F"), the
cell self-heats uncontrollably. The result is a burst cell
from which the "magic blue smoke" has escaped. Presumably,
the "protection circuits" employed by modern Li-ion batteries
act to limit the over-current conditions that could cause
the battery to reach the threshold temperature. I'm not
sure what they do about a battery sitting in a car trunk
on a hot afternoon.

I found numerous warnings from experts to not trust cheap
knock-off batteries. The claim is that Li-ion chemistry is
touchy and the makers of cheap batteries may have cut too
many corners. Unfortunately, I don't see any way to
distinguish "cheap" from "reasonably inexpensive". Other
than buying a battery with a camera maker's name on it,
I don't know how to be sure I'm getting quality. It's too
bad NiMH cells can't match the size, weight, and power
density characteristics of Li-ion cells, because NiMH's have
a lot of other advantages.

Paul Allen

Paul Allen wrote:

snip

It's too
bad NiMH cells can't match the size, weight, and power
density characteristics of Li-ion cells, because NiMH's have
a lot of other advantages.

What might those be? The size, weight, and power density advantages of
Li-Ion are just three of the many advantages.


The major advantages of Li-Ion a

1. Much lower self-discharge rate (except for Sanyo Eneloop NiMH batteries)

2. Higher maximum number of charge/discharge cycles

3. Higher energy density in terms of both weight and volume

4. Far, far better low-temperature performance

5. Lower cost, when you factor in the higher energy density, and the
maximum number of charge/discharge cycles

6. Protection circuitry integral to the battery pack, rather than
integral to the camera

7. Accurate charge level indicator due to linear voltage decline
proportional to charge level

8. Lower maintenance.

9. Much better selection of higher-end cameras use Li-Ion batteries.

10. No problems with battery doors that are part of the charging circuit
(battery doors are the most often replaced part of digital cameras).



NiMH rechargeable batteries have the following advantages over Li-Ion
rechargeable batteries:

1. Faster charging with high rate chargers

2. Ability to use disposable AA batteries if NiMH AA batteries are
discharged and no charger is available

3. Longer shelf life

SMS wrote:
Paul Allen wrote:

snip

It's too
bad NiMH cells can't match the size, weight, and power
density characteristics of Li-ion cells, because NiMH's have
a lot of other advantages.

What might those be? The size, weight, and power density advantages of
Li-Ion are just three of the many advantages.


The major advantages of Li-Ion a

1. Much lower self-discharge rate (except for Sanyo Eneloop NiMH batteries)

2. Higher maximum number of charge/discharge cycles

3. Higher energy density in terms of both weight and volume

4. Far, far better low-temperature performance

5. Lower cost, when you factor in the higher energy density, and the
maximum number of charge/discharge cycles

6. Protection circuitry integral to the battery pack, rather than
integral to the camera

7. Accurate charge level indicator due to linear voltage decline
proportional to charge level

8. Lower maintenance.

9. Much better selection of higher-end cameras use Li-Ion batteries.

10. No problems with battery doors that are part of the charging circuit
(battery doors are the most often replaced part of digital cameras).



NiMH rechargeable batteries have the following advantages over Li-Ion
rechargeable batteries:

1. Faster charging with high rate chargers

2. Ability to use disposable AA batteries if NiMH AA batteries are
discharged and no charger is available

3. Longer shelf life

Sounds like biased li-ion evangelism to me. Suit yourself.

Paul Allen