I have had very much the same experience as yourself Doug. I currently have 12 of the Sony 970 batteries which I have now started to replace with the Neweer TP-F970 batteries. The Neweer batteries have been holding up well now for around a year with zero issues. The USB C in/out power is amazing and really helps with charging. I can run my tally's from the battery as it powers the camera which cuts down on weight as well. Love the Neweer's, love the Sony originals and I have 1 of the smallrig batteries which seems to be identical to the Neweer. The fact that someone can charge a phone from the Neweer is really handy as well as it acts as a PD charger if needed.
Thanks for making this video, very informative. I have loads of old NP-F batteries from over the years that are really unreliable - and lots of chargers that are awful too. For some reason the NP-F battery market seems to be flooded with low quality garbage. I feel like I should buy a tester like yours and see if any of my batteries are salvageable, but most likely they all need throwing out. In fact, I’m already in the process of moving all of my gear to v-locks, since it’s a more reliable and professional standard. But those Smallrig batteries in particular are making me wonder if it’s worth giving NP-F another go, especially since they can charge over USB-C, taking the dodgy charger issue out of the equation. (I have some Smallrig v-locks and really like them.)
Hähnel LP-E6 for Canon DSLRs have been great. Roughly 50% of the price of an original Canon one, but about 95% as good, and some of them have outlasted some OEM Canon batteries. With these NP-F Batteries, SWIT has been my go-to since forever. These have been in almost daily use at our school for years, and still hold up well. Only problem I have with these is the flimsy connector, some devices that use NP-F standard have extremely tight connections, and I've had to replace several batteries with faulty connections (but working cells). For use in cameras, I've never encountered any problems with SWIT. Always delivered, and the price is very reasonable. I've had some experience with Chinese manufacturers, mostly bad, but one brand I've been happy with, is Batmax. Haven't bought them in a year or so, but I have some Batmax batteries from 2016 that are working just splendid. Smallrig ones are also very good, with loads of additional features. SWIT also makes batteries for the newer Sony system, the BP-U batteries. And they are also excellent with D-Tap outputs. hold the charge very well.
That's very true, that's why I exclusively use these LP-E6 batteries from Hähnel, they've worked on all our cameras from 7D onwards to the current mirrorless series without any issue. I don't have experience with other Canon products, namely their video cameras, only used OEM batteries there.
Great informative video. Thanks. I found the same thing. The OEM batteries were far better. I would like to know how the Watson batteries work. B&H sells that brand. I usually buy the OEM batteries. I was on a photo shoot with another photographer that had aftermarket batteries. At the end of the evening my Canon OEM battery was at about half charge. In the same time he used 2 and a half aftermarket batteries. I feel this makes OEM batteries cheaper in the long run and more economical.
That does seem to be the trend I've noticed as well. Even though the OEM can be twice as expensive, they last more than twice as long, both in terms of runtime and the number of years of service you get out of them.
Kind of sad to not see the PowerExtra/BluMax battery's (980L only) that have both voltage readout and bar percentage with a touch sensor rather then a depression button, these due to having USB PD power in for passthrough (5v out) and UPS style charging have been my go-to for a few years rather then OEM NP-F battery's as its all just the same Li-Ion cells these days.
Epson LW-PX900: amzn.to/4gJT5Gc Also, the LW-PX700 would also work. amzn.to/3VZZWmS I have a video about my label printers: ua-cam.com/video/BVvme4U5p9g/v-deo.html
I've had some bad experience with the wasabi power LP-E6 batteries. All of the canon cameras I use with it are unable to communicate with the camera. Which makes charging them impossible with the XC-15s at my Uni since we use the cameras as the chargers themselves. I don't trust wasabi.
@@djp_video So overall, you would recommend going with either Neewer or Smallrig for NP? I'm looking to get more to use with a Tilta NP external battery plate for my Blackmagic Cinema 6K FF. I already have two Smallrig NPs for it and they work great. But I have yet to properly test their battery life.
OEM, are the best, especially with SONY. IndiPro and IDX are others that care. Anton Bauer. But there are a million manufacturers now that I think just make them to make money.
WEEELL it's not about saving 20% 30% it's buying 2 or 3 batteries for the price of one.. even if they last 1/3 of the time it still worth it. Ofc always grab a good brand.
The big trouble I've had is that aftermarket batteries will start becoming unreliable and have to be retired even though they technically still have a decent amount of capacity... they just can't deliver the amount of power required, causing the equipment to just shut down randomly without a 'low battery' warning.
@@TaskerTech Yes, it does change from brand to brand. Each brand chooses where to buy the battery cells that are used internally... and they can choose to go cheap and get cells that wear out quickly or can't provide much power, or spend more and get quality cells with high capacity and hold up well over time. And that holds true even when the outer housing or packaging is identical from one brand to another -- you can't tell much of anything just from the appearance. It even holds true within a single brand... they can choose to change suppliers at any point in time. For example, in this video I talk about some Wasabi batteries that I purchased. The ones I got 8 years ago (allegedly) used higher quality Japanese cells, where the newer ones no longer do, even though the product SKU has never changed.
@@djp_video Thanks for sharing your experience nuggets, that's sad tbh we should go out and build a battery brand with good quality standards it would blow up, all the pieces are in place for that just find a manufacturer in china, source quality cells and test to guarantee it meets a certain standard
I have had very much the same experience as yourself Doug. I currently have 12 of the Sony 970 batteries which I have now started to replace with the Neweer TP-F970 batteries. The Neweer batteries have been holding up well now for around a year with zero issues. The USB C in/out power is amazing and really helps with charging. I can run my tally's from the battery as it powers the camera which cuts down on weight as well. Love the Neweer's, love the Sony originals and I have 1 of the smallrig batteries which seems to be identical to the Neweer. The fact that someone can charge a phone from the Neweer is really handy as well as it acts as a PD charger if needed.
@@intrinsicmediaau let us know when they swell
Great video. Thanks for doing the testing and sharing.
Thanks for the video and insight!
SmallRig is my current battery of choice but to soon to tell how long they will last. I like there V mounts as well
Thanks for making this video, very informative. I have loads of old NP-F batteries from over the years that are really unreliable - and lots of chargers that are awful too. For some reason the NP-F battery market seems to be flooded with low quality garbage.
I feel like I should buy a tester like yours and see if any of my batteries are salvageable, but most likely they all need throwing out. In fact, I’m already in the process of moving all of my gear to v-locks, since it’s a more reliable and professional standard. But those Smallrig batteries in particular are making me wonder if it’s worth giving NP-F another go, especially since they can charge over USB-C, taking the dodgy charger issue out of the equation. (I have some Smallrig v-locks and really like them.)
Hähnel LP-E6 for Canon DSLRs have been great. Roughly 50% of the price of an original Canon one, but about 95% as good, and some of them have outlasted some OEM Canon batteries.
With these NP-F Batteries, SWIT has been my go-to since forever. These have been in almost daily use at our school for years, and still hold up well. Only problem I have with these is the flimsy connector, some devices that use NP-F standard have extremely tight connections, and I've had to replace several batteries with faulty connections (but working cells). For use in cameras, I've never encountered any problems with SWIT. Always delivered, and the price is very reasonable. I've had some experience with Chinese manufacturers, mostly bad, but one brand I've been happy with, is Batmax. Haven't bought them in a year or so, but I have some Batmax batteries from 2016 that are working just splendid. Smallrig ones are also very good, with loads of additional features.
SWIT also makes batteries for the newer Sony system, the BP-U batteries. And they are also excellent with D-Tap outputs. hold the charge very well.
Canon cameras and chargers are pretty picky about which batteries they'll work with.
That's very true, that's why I exclusively use these LP-E6 batteries from Hähnel, they've worked on all our cameras from 7D onwards to the current mirrorless series without any issue. I don't have experience with other Canon products, namely their video cameras, only used OEM batteries there.
@@djp_video Canons do not like Wasabi power batteries
Great informative video. Thanks. I found the same thing. The OEM batteries were far better. I would like to know how the Watson batteries work. B&H sells that brand. I usually buy the OEM batteries. I was on a photo shoot with another photographer that had aftermarket batteries. At the end of the evening my Canon OEM battery was at about half charge. In the same time he used 2 and a half aftermarket batteries. I feel this makes OEM batteries cheaper in the long run and more economical.
That does seem to be the trend I've noticed as well. Even though the OEM can be twice as expensive, they last more than twice as long, both in terms of runtime and the number of years of service you get out of them.
That batterytester seems interesting. If I some day posses bunch of batteries might need one.
Kind of sad to not see the PowerExtra/BluMax battery's (980L only) that have both voltage readout and bar percentage with a touch sensor rather then a depression button, these due to having USB PD power in for passthrough (5v out) and UPS style charging have been my go-to for a few years rather then OEM NP-F battery's as its all just the same Li-Ion cells these days.
would you suggest using a v mount battery with dummy battery setup ?
If all of that extra trouble is okay with you, that could be fine.
What label machine you used to label the batteries?
Epson LW-PX900: amzn.to/4gJT5Gc
Also, the LW-PX700 would also work. amzn.to/3VZZWmS
I have a video about my label printers: ua-cam.com/video/BVvme4U5p9g/v-deo.html
Thanks
I’ve had some Hähnel HL-XL982 PRO batteries being rejected by my Z150’s as not being original
I've had some bad experience with the wasabi power LP-E6 batteries. All of the canon cameras I use with it are unable to communicate with the camera. Which makes charging them impossible with the XC-15s at my Uni since we use the cameras as the chargers themselves.
I don't trust wasabi.
I'm leaning that direction as well. When I got my first set several years ago they were pretty decent... not so much any more.
@@djp_video So overall, you would recommend going with either Neewer or Smallrig for NP?
I'm looking to get more to use with a Tilta NP external battery plate for my Blackmagic Cinema 6K FF.
I already have two Smallrig NPs for it and they work great. But I have yet to properly test their battery life.
OEM, are the best, especially with SONY. IndiPro and IDX are others that care. Anton Bauer. But there are a million manufacturers now that I think just make them to make money.
WEEELL it's not about saving 20% 30% it's buying 2 or 3 batteries for the price of one.. even if they last 1/3 of the time it still worth it. Ofc always grab a good brand.
The big trouble I've had is that aftermarket batteries will start becoming unreliable and have to be retired even though they technically still have a decent amount of capacity... they just can't deliver the amount of power required, causing the equipment to just shut down randomly without a 'low battery' warning.
@@djp_video Got it, I have to yet experience this but my usage is not even close to yours. Does it change from brand to band?
They don't hold up to higher power demands and crater faster.
@@TaskerTech Yes, it does change from brand to brand. Each brand chooses where to buy the battery cells that are used internally... and they can choose to go cheap and get cells that wear out quickly or can't provide much power, or spend more and get quality cells with high capacity and hold up well over time. And that holds true even when the outer housing or packaging is identical from one brand to another -- you can't tell much of anything just from the appearance.
It even holds true within a single brand... they can choose to change suppliers at any point in time. For example, in this video I talk about some Wasabi batteries that I purchased. The ones I got 8 years ago (allegedly) used higher quality Japanese cells, where the newer ones no longer do, even though the product SKU has never changed.
@@djp_video Thanks for sharing your experience nuggets, that's sad tbh we should go out and build a battery brand with good quality standards it would blow up, all the pieces are in place for that just find a manufacturer in china, source quality cells and test to guarantee it meets a certain standard