[clynnfrazierphoto]

Anyone who uses these, do they seem to last well for you? I got a K511S used and the battery charger and 2 wasabi batteries used, seems pretty great. Anyways after having them full charged they both managed to well one fully died with shooting a wedding for half a day, was completely dead by 4 pm, that was having off & on shooting since 9 am. And the other shortly that evening, is this normal? Should I just keep as back up and buy new, need help and everyone's input as I have a few more weddings this season, and don't want this happening again.

Also, for the battery grip, how do I use that as backup, i always keep the spare in there on the camera but off, is it draining the battery as well even with the grip switched off? I didn't get a manual with it, so how do I turn that on to be my backup battery or use as backup when main battery is dead, because I also got the double A holder with it.

Thank You in Advance!!!!

[dakight]

Used batteries of any brand are questionable. You have no way to know how many charge/discharge cycles they have sustained and their life is not infinite. Given the nature of your work I would get brand new name brand batteries; one in the camera and two more fully charged and ready to go. I have wasabis that I use on my K-50 and they are fine and I've not heard any negatives regarding them but still why take a chance with third party when your livelihood and/or reputation are at stake? I would also get the AA adapter and keep it handy for emergencies.


*edit* I now see that you have the AA adapter so you can check that off the list.

[Wolfeye]

As dakight says, used batteries can be variable. New ones used to be nearly as variable, at least the non-branded ones, but I have 4 batteries for my K-3, two Pentax and two knockoffs, and I can't tell you which ones last longest. The good thing is, the knockoffs are so cheap (read: price gouging, Pentax?) compared to the OEM that you can usually buy ten knockoffs for the price of one OEM battery, and even if half of them are crap, you still make out with the rest.

[severalsnakes]

Gotta be something wrong with those. Improper storage, maybe?

I own 5 Wasabi-brand spares for my various cameras and they are all excellent - easily exactly as good as the OEM batteries.

[hjoseph7]

I bought a set and they lasted quite a bit of time. Not sure if they will last longer than the originals since they are still ticking. The owner of Wasabi called me personally to tell me I had the wrong zip code on the Online Order form. Sounded like a nice guy.

[THoog]

Wasabis generally have a good reputation. I've got a couple each of the Wasabi D-Li109 and D-Li190 equivalents. Mine don't last quite as long (either stored or shooting) as my OEM Pentax batteries, although it may be that they aren't fully broken in - I use them less because of the shorter life.

The OP's batteries may have been damaged by improper storage (heat) or a cheap charger with a too-high voltage. At this point, I wouldn't trust those batteries for any important work, but I wouldn't blame it on the brand as a whole.

Here's a link to the manual for the K-5IIs. Battery selection with the grip installed is covered on page 267 (auto-select chooses the battery with the most power).
http://www.ricoh-imaging.co.jp/english/support/man-pdf/k-5-2.pdf

[Basie]

I find that he Wasabi's does not last as long as he OEM, but the price and the facility to charge it in my car easily makes up for it, and the customer service is just great. I can recommend them without hesitation

[ramseybuckeye]

Used batteries of any brand are questionable. You have no way to know how many charge/discharge cycles they have sustained and their life is not infinite. .

I would suspect that. There are good knock offs and bad, Wasabi is a pretty reliable brand

[TheOneAndOnlyJH]

I bought a DSTE charger and two batteries for $18 on Amazon and I've had no problems yet. (Link)
It's a bit cheaper than the Wasabi kit and the batteries are listed as having a higher capacity. (Believe it if you will... It could be fudged calcullations.) They also list as7.4V rather than 7.2V, but my OEM Pentax battery also shows 7.4V when fully charged even though the label states 7.2V.

I haven't done any endurance tests, but I noticed they run for quite a while even when the camera displays one bar left. (Two DSTE generic batteries definitely last longer than one OEM battery though. ) My tactic is to use both generics first and keep the OEM battery as my reserve/backup so I don't get caught with my voltage down . At that price if I ever have any trouble, I'll just buy another pair.

[TER-OR]

I had one aftermarket K5 battery which failed pretty soon. The OEM pair I have last a LONG time in the camera. I have auto-preview OFF.
The Wasabi batteries for my Q are every bit as good as OEM, and those get charged more frequently as the Q burns through batteries much more quickly.

[DeadJohn]

I like Wasabi batteries. Bought a combo, 2 batteries plus charger, shortly after I bought my K-5. More recently, I did the same for my Ricoh GR. The combo costs approx. $25 compared to over $40 for a single OEM battery. The Wasabi life seems similar to the OEM batteries, so close that I never bothered to count how many images I get with each battery.

The Wasabi charger is great for travel. The original K-5 charger has a long wall cable that just keeps getting in the way and the GR doesn't even come with an external charger. The Wasabi charger has a fold out plug instead of a wall cable so it's more compact. It also comes with a 12V car charger.

[bschriver11]

About half the capacity of the Pentax battery for my K-30.I should have spent the coin for the Pentax.

[stevebrot]

All lithium rechargeable batteries eventually fail due to old age if nothing else. I currently have my original Pentax D-LI90 and two Wasabi equivalent batteries. The Wasabi came with a quick charger and car adapter. In my K-3 with my style of shooting, the Wasabi are not noticeably weaker than the Pentax. I almost always use the Pentax charger (the Wasabi charger does not provide trickle charge) and all seems to be good.


Steve

[istreetshooter]

I've used Wasabi without a problem, but I agree that they are cheaper because they last less time.

[clynnfrazierphoto]

Thank You everyone! I think that's what I will do is just go ahead and order 2 more, plus the adapter for the car, which I am dying to have as a just in case. I have heard nothing but good things about the Wasabi and this confirms it, maybe just old age, again I have no idea how long they were used prior or how many times they have been cycled through. A Pentax would be nice but I feel like I am getting more of my money with 2 new batteries and adapter...we shall see...I appreciate all of the input!!!