Watson battery issue with PhaeOne P series DB

[ZamanPhoto]

Hello all,,,

I have PhaseOne P30 DB  (its for sale anyway) and I needed new batteries for it. PhaseOne Tech Support says original batteries are 7.2v but its okay to use 7.4v version upto 3500mAh which is BP-930 (only Canon has it with groves in the two sides of the battery body)

Anyway, I bought  Watson BP-915 Lithium-Ion Battery Pack (7.4V, 2200mAh) from B&H but unfortunately because of tiny size deference the battery didn't fit inside DB battery slot.

I sent an email to Watson Tech Support, and here is their reply:

Hello Abdullah,
Thank you for your patience.
Some of our video batteries are larger than their OEM version so it may not fit.
We regret any inconvenience.
Watson

I really liked their battery and had to find the way to make it slide in. I paper sand those batteries from three sides (left, right, and top two edges). Now those batteries are perfectly fits in the DB.

Why I did that? because I'm sure that Watson uses Japanese cells inside their batteries unlike some other Chinese cheap quality.

I thought to share this information with you, and sorry if my post was too long or boring for other users 

[Doug Peterson]

Native physical fit is one of the reasons we (DT) suggest only using the official Phase One batteries ($70). The other reason is that as they 3400mAh they last significantly longer (it's more than a linear improvement over 2200mAh due to the way batteries discharge).

Also, if the back exhibits any quirky behavior and you're using a 3rd party battery the first troubleshooting step is to change to using a factory/official battery.

[ZamanPhoto]

Thank you Doug for your reply ..

I don't see any logical reason or single sense why I should pay this much difference in price to use same product but different in labeling. and as far as I remember my studies in university, those aren't smart batteries, which means those doesn't have any kind of brain inside, those are just dummy batteries that provide "this much of power/voltage" which that is all what you need.

Example: if I connected my DB with power convertor that converts 220/110V to 7.2v 0.3Ah that should work too. So, the same scenario is happening with Watson or any other batteries' brand.

All we users care about is the cell inside the battery.

Thank you once again for your effort. 

[Paul2660]

If these are the "silver" batteries that were sold in the US and other locations, be aware that they can also get hotter and expand, thus you won't be able to get them out of the back.  The P30 has the battery outside the back, but the cell can still get hot enough to expand and not come out. 

This happened to me with my IQ160, and I had to wait about 2 hours before I could get the "silver" battery out. 

You can read more here:

http://paulcaldwellphotography.com/061513-phase-one-failures-using-silver-vs-black-batteries/

Paul

[ZamanPhoto]

Paul

your input is strongly useful .. so you are making me right to choose Watson batteries (no its not the silver battery you are talking about) they were in this industry for long time and I believe they did great.

I hate cheap Chinese quality product anyway.

[Joe Towner]

Given the total investment in medium format gear, trying to save $40 with something that could really screw up your gear is kind of .......  At least the Phase batteries are under $100, my Hass batteries are ~$250.

I use third party batteries in 35mm stuff - if it dies and takes the camera with it no biggie.  If it takes down my MF gear, whole different deal.

[ZamanPhoto]

Joe

its not about the money when it comes to A logic. Why you need to pay more money for the same function? performance? and lower quality sometimes?

think of it this way please.  

by the way .. I'm a hasselblad user too .. but there is no third party batteries for Hassey 

[sbernthal]

I've just had a delightful experience where a non original battery died inside the back and would not come out - on a Thrsday evening before a weekend full of scheduled jobs (offices don't work on Fridays here).

Miraculously I was able to coax the dead battery out of the back, then I threw all my non original batteries and bought a bunch of original ones for $70 each.
It's just not worth the saving.

[Paul2660]

The non phase cells can expand if they get really warm then like you discovered won't slide out.

Paul

[Doug Peterson]

The battery expansion was less of an issue with the P/P+ since some of the expansion could be accommodated by the open-side design of the battery. Even with those I still recommend the official battery - it's not an area I would pinch pennies. But with the IQ/IQ2 it's even more important since the battery bay is enclosed on all sides and even slight expansion can result in a stuck battery. If this does happen to you the solution is usually patience - if you let them cool down a bit they should start to contract. A piece of gaffe tape in a tight loop can be helpful to try to pull it out once it's just a bit contracted.  Of course in a high pressure shoot this is the last thing you want to have to do, so official batteries are a far far better solution.

[ZamanPhoto]

Hello all .. mind me to correct something I said earlier.

BP-930 (only Canon has it with groves in the two sides of the battery body)

Correction is : that battery from Canon, big size with a groove on each side doesn't fit into DB battery compartment, The groove doesn't meet the lips DB has.

I don't want to give false information. I just ordered one and found that out and wanted to share it with you. Thus I still stay with WatSon batteries 

Thank you

[BobShaw]

.. but there is no third party batteries for Hassey 

You can get the CR123 battery grip on Hassy H.

Anyway, I had a Phase back with and H2 and the manual says to use Canon batteries. Those things really ate batteries so I am glad to now have an integrated back.