Spare Batteries for Aptus Back

[MarkKay]

This seems like a relatively unimportant qustion but anyway here is my issue.  Leaf recommends  the Samsung SBL-320 as a longer lasting battery for their digital backs.  The first time I ordered a spare, I did not realize i ordered a clone that in the end did not quite fit on the back so I returned it.  At one point I did find a bona fide Samsung battery.

Now that I need another, I cannot find the Samsung battery anywhere. THey are all clones.  I am concerned about using one of these batteries on such an expensive item.  

I know there are all of these OEM brands that are supposed to be made by the same factory but packaged under another name.  However, when you read the print on the web sites some state the  batteries are  OEM approved or  have standards as good as OEM etc.  

So what are ohters using?  What can  I trust?  

PS one of my original Aptus  batteries even though hardly used does not hold much of a charge.

[Dustbak]

I have bought clones which work perfectly on my Aptus. The larger ones are a true blessing. for the first time I am able to just shoot without worrying about battery life.

I don't know how long they last (charging & changing has become kind of a no-brainer) but for the way I use it, more than a day at least.

The original one doesn't even get me through the morning. I find myself constantly turning of the back when I am on a short hold. This I do not do with the large battery

This is the place I got them from. There is a 3200Mah (grey) and a 4000Mah (silver).

http://www.accu-shop.nl/assets/s2dmain.htm...B-L32&x=15&y=12

Not sure which brand they are.

[nicolaasdb]

batteries on the leaf backs are TERRIBLE!!! Even the original ones.... The back came with 2 batteries and they shoot at the most 200 frames....the clones I bought ( they were very cheap $14 ea) shoot maybe 90 frames.

The big battery makes the camera very unstable when putting it down...and this is a big concern to me....but in the end I might have to get them...because if you are shooting on location (without outlets around) you are kind of screwed!! I was shooting at the beach the other day...had all batteries charged....but they lost their charge very very quickly. Freaks me out! SO much so that I will never leave without my Canon ds1mkII as a backup.

[MarkKay]

One of my aptus original batteries shoots less than 20 or 30 frames.  The other one is better but not great.  The larger samsung I purchased does  200 frames or so with image review on.   The larger battery is sometimes a problem with my arca swiss cube when trying to rotate the camera but otherwise since i usually shoot on a tripod the instability is not an issue for me.  I did find a power 2000 that is supposed to be an OEM battery.  I am more concerned that the cheap clones can cause power surges and damage the electronics.  So for 25 more dollars would rather be safe.  However the parts all probably are derived from the same place?

batteries on the leaf backs are TERRIBLE!!! Even the original ones.... The back came with 2 batteries and they shoot at the most 200 frames....the clones I bought ( they were very cheap $14 ea) shoot maybe 90 frames.

The big battery makes the camera very unstable when putting it down...and this is a big concern to me....but in the end I might have to get them...because if you are shooting on location (without outlets around) you are kind of screwed!! I was shooting at the beach the other day...had all batteries charged....but they lost their charge very very quickly. Freaks me out! SO much so that I will never leave without my Canon ds1mkII as a backup.
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[bradleygibson]

Old thread, but I have new information.

The back I have (Leaf AFi-II 10) is hungry, so I wanted to buy reasonably priced replacement batteries with high capacity.  I bought a number of batteries marked 2200mAh, but like Mark, found they were too large to fit in the camera or on the back properly.  The batteries wouldn't even charge properly.  Total junk.

I did some more searching and found another battery which seems to work fine.  (I wanted the single-sized battery so it would fit in the AFi's handle or directly on the back).  Seems to work fine, so I wanted to let other users know that there are options available.

Battery: Maximal Power 7.4v 2500mAh (!)

Lowest price I could find is $11 per here on eBay.  Batteries came in full retail packaging and are working great.

Hope that helps,

[xinchenc]

Battery: Maximal Power 7.4v 2500mAh (!)

Lowest price I could find is $11 per here on eBay.  Batteries came in full retail packaging and are working great.

Hope that helps,

It performs the same as the orignal LEAF battery does? If so, I will buy some.

[Rod.Klukas]

2 notes,
The smaller batteries can be ok, but need exercise.  Try to run down to very low and then recharge.
The 320 batteries can work fine but be sure you remember to NEVER leave a battery, 160's or 320s, on a charger that is not plugged into current.  It will discharge back into the charger and this will kill its capacity.
If you want to use the 320's and stability is an issue, try to find a polaroid back tripod mount which raised the camera to allow mounting with med formats on a tripo :)d head with a larger platform.
They work fine.
Mamiya, made several and even had a ext mount for the Mamiya 7 to allow acces to its base controls.  They will work although you might have to pull the positioning pins if not using Mamiya.
Rod

[bradleygibson]

Xinchenc,

I expect so, with these batteries, being branded, having been delivered in full retail packaging, rated at slightly higher than the OEM battery, etc.  They fit the AFI's handle, and the back's battery slot just as well as the OEM batteries, charge and power the camera and back without a problem. (Very unlike how a previous set of batteries arrived, no-name branded, loose in a bag, shipped out of Hong Kong.  Those batteries didn't fit, didn't charge--plain didn't work.)

I'll need another week or so to put them through a couple charge/discharge cycles to be able to confirm the number of shots I'm getting per charge, and will report back.

[Frank Doorhof]

I use the same silver ones as dustbak and they work great.
I warm weather they will power the back almost the whole day while walking around, in cold weather a long time but you will need two to be sure.

I've used them for 2 years now and they still run fine.

[archivue]

Hähnel provides batteries for leaf, at least mine was one of these...
I'm using Hähnel HL-160S Samsung type 7,4V 2000mAh with great success... not in the cheap side, but safe !

[bradleygibson]

Update for you--the batteries I bought, using the Leaf batteries at 2350mAh as a reference, are delivering only 1745mAh of energy, ~25% lower than the OEM batteries, and ~30% below their advertised capacity of 2500mAh.

So they're not nearly as powerful as advertised, but they still cost $11 vs the OEM's $90.

-Brad