Best Li-ion battery for Lumix FZ20?

I've got a couple of original Panasonic batteries that came with the FZ20
and it seems to me that they grew weak fairly quickly. The camera displays
battery charge with three bars and now after I put in a freshly charged
battery the level drops to two bars after taking just a few pictures. Are
there higher capacity or better quality batteries that fit the FZ20?

Victek wrote:
I've got a couple of original Panasonic batteries that came with the
FZ20 and it seems to me that they grew weak fairly quickly. The
camera displays battery charge with three bars and now after I put in
a freshly charged battery the level drops to two bars after taking
just a few pictures. Are there higher capacity or better quality
batteries that fit the FZ20?

Victek,

You probably just want new, freshly-manufactured batteries, and Li-ion
wear out after three years or so.

David

On Thu, 27 Dec 2007 07:54:32 -0800, "Victek"
wrote in :

I've got a couple of original Panasonic batteries that came with the FZ20
and it seems to me that they grew weak fairly quickly. The camera displays
battery charge with three bars and now after I put in a freshly charged
battery the level drops to two bars after taking just a few pictures. Are
there higher capacity or better quality batteries that fit the FZ20?

How long have you had your FZ20? The life of Li-ion batteries in heavy
use is only 1-2 years. But don't take the battery gauge too literally
-- measure the actual shooting performance to see how it's holding up.
(I test with forced flash.) And I'd personally stick with OEM batteries
-- aftermarket batteries can be pretty crappy.

--
Best regards,
John Navas
Panasonic DMC-FZ8 (and several others)

On Thu, 27 Dec 2007 07:54:32 -0800, Victek wrote:
I've got a couple of original Panasonic batteries that came with the FZ20
and it seems to me that they grew weak fairly quickly. The camera displays
battery charge with three bars and now after I put in a freshly charged
battery the level drops to two bars after taking just a few pictures. Are
there higher capacity or better quality batteries that fit the FZ20?

As David and John noted, your batteries are probably just getting old.
It's an unfortunate feature of LiIon battery construction.

I don't remember the brand off-hand, but I bought a 3rd party battery
for my FZ5 a year or so ago and it works just fine. If you go to B&H's
website, and go to Camera Accessories/Batteries, you can filter the list
by what type of camera the battery goes into. Set that to Panasonic, and
look for batteries that will replace a CGA-S002. Or, if you prefer, you
can buy a genuine Panasonic and avoid the potential worry of going 3rd
party; it will cost somewhat more, of course.

-dms

Are the batteries listed on e-bay for about $ 3 to $ 15 any good ?

Most of the ones I see in the stores are around $ 50.

Ralph Mowery wrote:
Are the batteries listed on e-bay for about $ 3 to $ 15 any good ?

No.

Buy from "http://sterlingtek.com"

On Fri, 28 Dec 2007 10:38:56 -0500, "Ralph Mowery"
wrote:

Are the batteries listed on e-bay for about $ 3 to $ 15 any good ?

Most of the ones I see in the stores are around $ 50.


They can be, if they ever get sent to you.

SMS 斯蒂文• � wrote:

Ralph Mowery wrote:
Are the batteries listed on e-bay for about $ 3 to $ 15 any good ?

No.

Buy from "http://sterlingtek.com"

I'll second the suggestion to buy from Sterlingtek. I've brought
several batteries from them all better than the stock canon battery and
I'll buy more when I need them.

--

Ralph Mowery wrote:
Are the batteries listed on e-bay for about $ 3 to $ 15 any good ?

Most of the ones I see in the stores are around $ 50.

I wouldn't buy off eBay, but I have bought 3rd party batteries from
reputable suppliers a lot cheaper than manufacturer's offerings, and had
no problems with them, both for compact camera batteries and DSLR ones.

Cheers,
David

On Fri, 28 Dec 2007 10:38:56 -0500, "Ralph Mowery"
wrote in
:

Are the batteries listed on e-bay for about $ 3 to $ 15 any good ?

Some are; some aren't. The problem is knowing the difference.
Better to buy from a reputable retailer like B&H.

--
Best regards,
John Navas
Panasonic DMC-FZ8 (and several others)