GH5 Battery: Panasonic vs. Wasabi vs. Watson

adolgin

adolgin

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While testing our new GH configuration 4x charger, we ordered 3 batteries: Wasabi BTR-BLF19-JWP labeled 2000mAh, Watson DMW-BLF19 labeled 1750mAh and Panasonic DMW-BLF19PP labeled 1860mAh.
It is an open secret that some manufacturers use "truthful hyperbole" to make their product look better, especially when it is hard to verify their claims without using proper test equipment.
Here are the test results, using exactly the same test setup and test methodes for each of the tree.

Wasabi BTR-BLF19-JWP labeled 2000mAh - tested 1610mAh
Watson DMW-BLF19 labeled 1750mAh -tested 1650mAh
Panasonic DMW-BLF19PP labeled 1860mAh - tested 1820mAh

The numbers speak...:Drogar-BigGrin(DBG)
 
I probably should know this but in real world use how much run time difference does this come to? Regardless of the mAh ratings they don't have much of difference in the end. With the worst offender it's 210 mAh difference but the price is substantially less.

Wasabi 2 pack with dual charger $30
Panasonic DMW-BLF19 $70
Watson DMW-BLF19 $23.28

That puts the Watson three times less expensive than OEM Panasonic. I have all three of the listed batteries and they all seem to give me the same performance.
 
I have not used wasabi or watson brand, but i have octopus and phottix batteries for my GH4.
I found out these off brand batteries dont hold charge very well after you used it for like 1year+
my OEM GH4 batteries still hold charge and provided enough juice for the GH4 shooting 4k about 3hrs, but those off brand batteries I had even I fresh charge it on shoot they only last like 30mins now.
my 6D canon batteries also holding charge very good after 2 years, but off brand batteries just last like 20mins.
these only apply for shooting video though, when using for photo shooting. they were fine.

I would buy a OEM batteries anytime if I were using it for video.
 
Erik Naso said:
Regardless of the mAh ratings they don't have much of difference in the end. With the worst offender it's 210 mAh difference but the price is substantially less.

....I have all three of the listed batteries and they all seem to give me the same performance.
Click to expand...

mAh is the measurement of power over time. So by definition the different power ratings and subsequent battery performance cannot be equal. A difference of 210mAh comes out to approximately 10 minutes less power over the hour, so for a two hour shoot you are looking for about 20 minutes less performance time, which is in line with my experience using Watson batteries over the Panasonic.

I always use Panasonic batteries and carry a Watson or two as back-ups in case of longer than expected projects, or where recharging might be an issue. But as always YMMV.
 
I have used all three of the brands you listed. Wasabi stinks.....completely unreliable, Watson is OK....good for a backup, OEM is best....dependable. OEM batteries are cheaper in the long run. There is NO way to determine the true run time status of a battery. If you are shooting for fun....go cheap. If you are shooting as a professional....don't skimp on batteries OR cards.
A battery failure can be sooooo expensive.....both to your wallet and your reputation. Been there, done that.
 
You also need to consider the amount of draw when doing these tests. A 500ma (about .25C) draw over many hours may reveal a higher rating than a 2 amp (about 1c) draw test might yield. You could really torture them with a 5c test or 10c test (10 amp or 20 amp load) but they may not survive that test for very long since they are probably designed for around a 2C load or maybe even just a 1C load.
 
Greg, you are exactly right, we did testing at easy .5A as we wanted to do apples to apples tests, and also have the results to be comparable to the manuf. labeled numbers.
Also, when the cells are heavily loaded, the delivered capacity will get smaller, and in general they will wear out much quicker. Good quality cells will have longer life, also if the manufacturer does not carefully match the cells in the pack, the pack could have shorter life.
 
I have 10x OEM Panasonic batteries, & never had a single issue. The reason I have so many is for documentary work where I may be away from AC for a few days.

What I'd like to purchase is a compact quality single-bay charger for these batteries, one that didn't require a cord, which eats space, & often lead to secondary inspection while passing through airport security. Currently using two (for redundancy) of the generic Watson-style single-bay chargers, but they are slow to charge compared to Panasonic's OEM.
 
What is the approximate draw from the camera when doing high resolution and hit bit rate recordings? That's probably where I would be testing things and would expect that the OEM batteries will shine compared to the other manufacturers.

As far are chargers without cords, I know there are direct to plug molded short little adapters that plug into the various 2 and 3 pin power and charger modules. But I can't think of the name right now. SOmething like this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/US-2-Pin-AC...er-Charger-for-Apple-ForMacbook-/201911858331
 
Greg_E said:
What is the approximate draw from the camera when doing high resolution and hit bit rate recordings? That's probably where I would be testing things and would expect that the OEM batteries will shine compared to the other manufacturers.
Click to expand...

I posted battery run-down times back in June : GH5 Battery Run-Down Tests...

These were all made with Panasonic batteries, though I own four Watson batteries that I use all the time.
 
I've replaced nearly all of my little Panasonic chargers cords with these things awhile back. One of the single most helpful gear tweaks in some time... for such little $.

with these
Greg_E said:
What is the approximate draw from the camera when doing high resolution and hit bit rate recordings? That's probably where I would be testing things and would expect that the OEM batteries will shine compared to the other manufacturers.

As far are chargers without cords, I know there are direct to plug molded short little adapters that plug into the various 2 and 3 pin power and charger modules. But I can't think of the name right now. SOmething like this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/US-2-Pin-AC...er-Charger-for-Apple-ForMacbook-/201911858331
Click to expand...
 
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