[Palu Guimaraes]

Hi people.

After a short research in the net, I found some "white" brands of batteries for the pentax. Some of them, costing 4-5 times less then the original battery.
Other thing is the wireless remote control. There are some that say that are compatible with the major brands, (Pentax included), and have more functions than the pentax wireless remote for the K10.

What do you think of this Non Pentax acessories?

I would apreciate very much your oppinions because I need urgent a remote wireless and a extra betery.

Thanks.

Palu

[walter]

I'm using a pair of Minolta NP-400's from B&H. They're lower capacity than the Pentax battery but they work great for $20 (about 700 shots the one time I checked, but I normally recharge before they run out). I went with those over other brands on the theory that the Minolta batteries may be better quality than the generics but I don't know if it's true.

I'm using a $10 remote that I picked up on ebay (Jianisi Remote Control RC-4). It has triggers for Pentax, Canon, Nikon, and Minolta. It's compact and works well, at least with my K10D (haven't tried with other cameras). For Pentax, there's just the S button (shutter - you set whether it's instant or timer in the camera) and a W/T button. I don't think the W/T button does anything with the K10D. I'm not sure there are any other functions that can be controlled wirelessly in the K10D. Definitely worth the $10.

edit: the Minolta NP-400 from B&H is $15, not $20
Konica Minolta NP-400 Lithium-Ion Battery (7.4v 1500mAh)

[-=JoN=-]

I have 1 impact battery from b and h. and even w/ the higher MAh rating, it doesnt last as long as the pentax ones.

[Palu Guimaraes]

Thanks Walter and JoN.

So I'll take the chance on those cheeper acessories. They don't need to be excelent. If they work fairly, is good enought for the price. I prefer to spend more in some good lens.
Thanks again for your reply.

Best regards,
Palu

[rodeknyt]

Check out "orphanbiker" on EBay. I and many others on several Pentax forums have purchased batteries from him. I'm using one of his in my K10D right now, and it works just fine. It has slightly less capacity (it's a Minolta equivalent), but only cost $8.50. I also got a charger from him (for another $8.50) that plugs directly into the wall (no need for the long cord that comes with the Pentax unit) and also works with an included 12V cord in your car.

[nosnoop]

Li batteries quality is very variable. The worst part is that you cannot tell the good ones from the bad ones from the outside. There was a review for Olympus 3rd party batteries, and he took apart all of them, testing the protection circuit etc. Some of the batteries were so poorly made, protection circuit not functioning etc that it is quite frightening.

And it is hard to make judgement unless someone do a detailed test as above, but this is hard to come by. Most are from word of mouth that "I bought one and it works." But the fact that your camera turned on told you nothing about what would happen if there was a short in camera, in charger or by accident.

At this point, I am sticking with "Named" 3rd party ones, rather than those ebay ones with no brand name or manufacturer's name. I am using B&H's Impact brand; and I have bought from Battery Barn who sells mostly named 3rd party batteries such as VidPro (Power2000), CTA, etc

They cost slightly more than ebay's no name ones, $15-$20 (but with free shipping over $25 order) instead of ebay's $5-$9. I think that's reasonable. Although this is no guarantee, at least there is a company/manufacturer which would stand behind its product and a warranty and a 800 number.

[SRT-202]

Stick with Pentax or Samsung. The cost difference is $20 per battery.

Why? Because a bad battery (leaking, power surge, etc.) is about the only thing that can destroy the camera as fast as a one-hundred foot drop.
Bad SD card = lost photos (excuse to return to London) while bad battery = ruined camera. THe savings doesn't justify the risk.

[walter]

There was a review for Olympus 3rd party batteries, and he took apart all of them, testing the protection circuit etc. Some of the batteries were so poorly made, protection circuit not functioning etc that it is quite frightening.

Yeah, that review was very informative. I was surprised at the quality differences and the mislabeling of the cell capacities. I'd recommend giving it a quick read for those who haven't already - BLM-1 Lithium-Ion Clone Battery Tests.

Keep in mind that the companies that have higher quality olympus batteries may not necessarily have better pentax batteries since they may get their batteries from various sources.

[ebooks4pentax]

You wouldn't buy a Porsche and want to put the cheapest tires on it, would you?
You bought a $1000. camera, put the OEM batteries it it.

[Chris S]

I recently went through the same thing, deciding whether to get a check after market battery or a Pentax model for my K10D. In the end, the cheapo aftermarkets didn't instill much faith in me. I did end up getting a Konica Minolta NPH400 for cheap. My advice is to get a battery with a reputable name, rather than take the chances of frying your $1000 camera with a $10 battery.

[-=JoN=-]

I mainly purchased the Impacts, just to try it out. Next sets of batteries will be the oem pentax ones, regardless of price, the impacts just didnt make enough of an......impact....(pun intended) on me