| Author: | | Loyal Site Supporter Registered: October, 2007 Location: Rhode Island Posts: 1,168 | | Review Date: January 11, 2022 | Recommended | Price: $8.00
| Rating: 10 |
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At a fraction of the price of a Pentax battery ($8 vs $50) and no noticeable performance difference, there's no reason to not have a spare battery or two in your kit.
Regarding safety concerns: UL certification is necessary for chargers/batteries sold in the United States and Canada. Primarily, the UL is concerned with the electrical safety of the product. I suspect there are other design differences that mitigate other reviewer's perceived weaknesses. For example, the conclusion about the lack of third contact being a "cheat" and safety concern may simply be part of design differences necessitated by patents and not a nefarious safety weakness. My experience with businesses that import electrical devices from/sold in Japan is that, quite often, significant design changes are needed for the items to meet stringent UL requirements.
Based on UL certification combined with the huge number of third party batteries used without incident, it is not rational to be overly concerned about a safety difference versus OEM.
| | | | | | | Site Supporter Registered: April, 2015 Posts: 3,520
3 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: June 25, 2021 | Not Recommended | Price: None indicated
| Rating: 1 |
| Pros: | None | | Cons: | Avoid, it charges too quick, lasts not long Lack of temp.control (see text) | |
Actually the clone-manufacturers cheat with their clones:
The original OEM Pentax D-LI90 (as does the D-LI109!) has a 10kOhm@20°C NTC temperature sensor.
The Wasabi clone uses a simple 10kOhm resistor to cheat the original Pentax charger which would otherwise not charge it:
All clone-chargers no matter which one lack the (obligatory) 3-rd contact for temperature control!
They use the obligatory centertap for voltage-monitoring and have the obligatory surge-protection.
That's the cheap way and in the clones surge-protection is done usually just with an 8-leg double MOSFET which shuts off PLUS in case of a too high surge.
None of the clone-batteries even use a polyswitch (resettable fuse, i.e. a polymeric positive temperature coefficient device = PPTC) which anyway is quite slow in reaction but at least would offer better protection than none.
All those cheap components you won't find in Pentax originals because of their much more advanced temperature NTC sensor.
Wasabi claimed to use cells made in Japan. But they are manufactured by Dongguan Zhongbo New Energy Technology Co., Ltd.,China. This company makes their own cells. So using Japan-made cells is history since quite a while.
Wasabi batteries have no UL-certification! Nor do the Wasabi chargers!
They just have the quite meaningless self-declared CE declaration which is for the European Market.
SO if reviewers here "declare that Wasabis have UL certification", everybody who has eyes can check if there is an UL certification:
I have come across such cheap clone batteries which started to swell!
Here a photo of a Wasabi D-LI109 which did swell and is now 1,48cm thick, the original Pentax is 1,4cm thick:
I had worse samples which bulged more but then didn't think of taking photos. I guess 1,52mm thickness at least. I needed good tweezers to get them out of the battery compartment and due to the danger of exposion got rid of them right away.
The jamming of the batterydoor is particular critical with all those Pentax bodies:
K-r, K30/50/500, K-70, K-S2, K-S1.
Their battery-hook is more fragile and it can break if one is not super careful getting such a battery out:
The reason why they swell is because the Wasabi-charger (and all other clone-chargers) are quickchargers!
The battery produces more heat when quickcharged and then can swell.
Also those clones don't last long at all! At the beginning they have sometimes even just 2/3 of the capacity, but this drops after 1-2 years!
Here a photo of the original Pentax D-LI109:
You can see, it doesn't bulge, it slips in and out easely into the battery compartement.
| | | | | Closed Account Registered: March, 2015 Posts: 8,694 | | Review Date: December 7, 2016 | Recommended | Price: $18.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Cheap, they do the job | | Cons: | Not as good as the original Pentax | |
These batteries are quite good, but you get what you pay for. In Australia the LI90 sells for AUD $99, so I can get 4 of these for the price of one Pentax. They don't seem to give as many shots per charge as the originals, but not 4 times less !! I can recommend these batteries.
| | | | | New Member Registered: January, 2012 Posts: 13 | | Review Date: December 17, 2014 | Recommended | Price: None indicated
| Rating: 7 |
| Pros: | seems to work the same as Pentax battery for a few years | | Cons: | doesn't hold a charge so well after 3.5 years of use | |
I got this with the 2 batteries and charger set. Partly to get a backup and 12v charger, plus the extra batteries. Total cost about $25 US.
I had 2 pentax and 2 wasabi batteries and numbered them and rotated them in order. I couldn't tell the difference in usage or charging times. I mainly used the pentax charger unless I was charging from my car or needed to charge more than one battery at a time. I got a new K3, and the first time I experienced mirror flop was with the wasabi battery, but I also experienced it with the pentax. I got these batteries in Dec 2010 and in late summer 2014 I noticed that the wasabi battery power was dropping fast - it didn't last very long for night time-lapse sessions or for a bunch of long exposure pics. It would start showing full charge and then drop to empty very quickly, often stranding me with the shutter open requiring me to pull the battery.
Based on my fairly heavy use but also rotation I would say that these batteries are still probably a decent value, but you also probably don't want to use them for critical stuff where just swapping them out isn't an easy option (like time-lapse or in an underwater housing). For the price I think they did fairly well though. It does make me curious about the long term usage of the other non OEM batteries (and the pentax ones too - although mine seem to be fine still).
Last year I would have enthusiastically endorsed them - this year it is less so. Still, getting 3 years of use for 1/3 the price might be well worth it, especially if you have one trip where you need a few extra batteries.
| | | | | | | Otis Memorial Pentaxian Registered: March, 2007 Location: Vancouver (USA) Posts: 42,007
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: December 17, 2014 | Recommended | Price: $12.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | It works as advertised | | Cons: | None yet | |
I bought this as a two battery + charger kit directly from Blue Nook for $25 USD. As of the date of this review, I have been using both batteries in rotation with my original Pentax on my K-3 with good results. Time between charges seems to be about the same as the Pentax D-LI90 and I have had no problems with power issues after about 6 months usage.
A few notes:- Wasabi warranties the battery for three years. If purchased through Blue Nook, they will honor that warranty without you having to deal with Wasabi.
- Wasabi batteries are often promoted as being made in Japan. The lithium cells are made in Japan, but the housing is made in and assembly is done in China.
- The charger that shipped with my package is a rapid charger (two rather than three/four contacts) and is of very light construction. It is a cordless design and is suitable for travel use (110 or 220 VAC). It also includes a 12V car adapter. Again, it is of very light construction and I am not sure I would depend upon it exclusively for travel without backup. I use the Pentax charger for routine charging since it supports trickle charge.
- The battery housing is sized a little differently (shorter and narrower) than the Pentax D-LI90. As a result, fit in the Pentax charger is less secure than with the Pentax battery with a tendency to pop out if jostled. The Wasabi charger holds both types equally well. Score marked down because of this.
Update:
It has been 3 1/2 years with the Wasabi D-LI90 replacement batteries and they are just in the last few weeks starting to to show less capacity in the past. Specifically, even modest use of live view is enough to cause the battery level to drop rapidly. My Pentax-brand that came with the camera is also showing its age, but not quite as bad. All three will be replaced.
| | | | | Pentaxian Registered: August, 2011 Location: Windhoek, Namibia Posts: 989
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: February 2, 2014 | Recommended | Price: $24.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Works as well as the original, excellent price, car charger very useful, reallt excellent service from Blue Nook in trying to get it to me in Namibia | | Cons: | None | |
It works as good and better than advertised and as I said, fantastic customer service from Blue Nook
| | | | | Site Supporter Registered: October, 2010 Location: Butte, Mt. Posts: 33
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: February 2, 2014 | Recommended | Price: $15.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Reliable | | Cons: | none | |
I have use theses batteries in Both K-5 and K-5 IIs without any problems for over a year.
| | | | | Junior Member Registered: September, 2012 Location: Maryland, USA Posts: 31 | | Review Date: September 18, 2013 | Not Recommended | Price: $15.00
| Rating: 4 |
| Pros: | Inexpensive, works in a K-5 | | Cons: | Short life span | |
I've had this battery for a little over a year, using it in rotation with my original D-LI90. It worked perfectly at first. About 2 months ago, I started experiencing camera lockups after shooting 50 or 60 exposures with this battery. The shutter would open, but would not close until the battery had been removed and replaced. The battery indicator would show a full charge before the lockup and show nearly empty afterwards. It then required a few hours on the charger before I could use it again. This doesn't happen with the original battery.
I'm replacing the Wasabi battery. I'd rather have a more expensive battery that lasts longer, especially since this one failed in such a disturbing manner. I'm giving it a 4 only because it was good for about a year.
| | | | | Loyal Site Supporter Registered: July, 2007 Location: Jonesboro, GA Posts: 1,972
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: April 23, 2013 | Recommended | Price: $25.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Inexpensive, my kit included wall charger and car unit | | Cons: | none | |
I have the Wasabi battery/charger kits for both my K10 and K5. They work fine and seem to give the same battery life as do the Pentax batteries. Being able to fold the power plug for the wall charger is a plus, and having the car charger adds a feature that Pentax should have provided.
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: September, 2010 Location: Somewhere in the Southern US Posts: 12,285
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: April 23, 2013 | Recommended | Price: $11.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Inexpensive, indistinguishable in camera from OEM | | Cons: | None | |
Excellent and less expensive than the Pentax branded batteries. I can't tell which I have in the camera from a usage standpoint without pulling them out and looking at them. I bought them in a kit with 2 batteries and a charger (much nicer than Pentax's because it has folding prongs and is more compact).
UPDATE: There is a new Pentax D-LI90 battery that has another contact for battery management. This battery is like the older model D-LI90 and will charge in the older Pentax Charger too.
UPDATE 12/12/14: A newer review said the Washabi batteries don't last - simply not my experience with 4 of them that have been used in my K-5, K-01, and now my K-5iis.
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