What's the Difference Between the Panasonic VW-VBG6PPK 5400mAh and 5800mAh batteries?

Jan_Crittenden said:
That is one of those outstanding questions. I am trying to figure out where the 5800mAh VW-VBG6 batteries are coming from as those shouldn't exist according to the Song and Dance I am getting, because the factory told me that they had to change the label due to the temperature impacting the output in 2008, and that they felt that the 5800 was going to power pretty much the same way as the 5400, but varying according to temperature. So that being true, there shouldn't be any out there that say 5800. Now the factory that built the camera were probably looking at the original sets of batteries that they first designed into the AVCCAM line and those would have 5800 on them, so I sort of understand their mistake. What I don't understand is where these new 5800 VW-VBG6s are coming from. So stay tuned the mystery is only half over.

Best,

Jan
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I don't think anyone is getting 5800 VW-VBG6's. Everyone here that's ordered and received them has confirmed they do say 5400. However, they do appear to be lasting as long as or longer than the battery that comes with the camera (CGA-E/625), which says 5800. And the CGA-E/625 are a different size physically (a little smaller, but heavier) than the VW-VBG6.
 
Okay do this for me, take a freshly charged VW-VBG6PPK that says 5400mAh and turn on the camera. How many minutes/hours does the camera say it will run? I just put on a fresh CGA-E/635 and it say 3 hours, 58 minutes. I just did this with a 5800mAH VW-VBG6, not the PPK, and it says 3 hours, 29 minutes. I know it is weird I don't have a PPK version, but for whatever reason, I don't right now.

Thanks,

Jan
 
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Jan_Crittenden said:
...factory told me that they had to change the label due to the temperature impacting the output in 2008...
Jan
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Jan, this is kind of odd of them to try to explain that difference using temperature. While low temperature below 20 deg C has some negative effect on capacity, above that point in the 20C-40C range the difference is very small, probably less than 5%. There is practically no difference between 20C and 25C as far as capacity goes. Btw I tested one of the first 5800mah batteries when they just came out about 2 years ago, it was a bit under 5400mah to my surprise. Usually the brand name batteries test close to their label.
 
adolgin said:
Jan, this is kind of odd of them to try to explain that difference using temperature. While low temperature below 20 deg C has some negative effect on capacity, above that point in the 20C-40C range the difference is very small, probably less than 5%. There is practically no difference between 20C and 25C as far as capacity goes. Btw I tested one of the first 5800mah batteries when they just came out about 2 years ago, it was a bit under 5400mah to my surprise. Usually the brand name batteries test close to their label.
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I don't think they are trying to explain differences with the temperature difference and the temps in question are25-20 degrees C, although I do know the colder the battery the less power it has. And we are talking about a 7% difference, so that is in the ball park that you estimate. So it has the semblance of truth. What I believe it is, is that it is more about the regulations on how you can label the battery in Japan, and the 5400 is the more conservative spec and that is what all the batteries should have. Now I have some old batteries floating around here and they are all labeled with the old label. Need someone with a "PPK" to post his/her results to my test above.

Best,

Jan
 
Jan_Crittenden said:
Okay do this for me, take a freshly charged VW-VBG6PPK that says 5400mAh and turn on the camera. How many minutes/hours does the camera say it will run? I just put on a fresh CGA-E/635 and it say 3 hours, 58 minutes. I just did this with a 5800mAH VW-VBG6, not the PPK, and it says 3 hours, 29 minutes. I know it is weird I don't have a PPK version, but for whatever reason, I don't right now.

Thanks,

Jan
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I happened to have my batteries fully charged and just did this. The CGA-E/635 said 4h10m and the VW-VBG6PPK said 4h11m. Both have previously been discharged once, then fully charged at the same time. I don't have a non-PPK version.

EDIT: I had another fully charged VW-VBG6PPK and it showed 4h23m.

EDIT 2: Also, all 3 of my VW-VBG6PPK batteries don't have "PPK" on the label. They only had that on the box they came in.
 
Mike@AF said:
I happened to have my batteries fully charged and just did this. The CGA-E/635 said 4h10m and the VW-VBG6PPK said 4h11m. Both have previously been discharged once, then fully charged at the same time. I don't have a non-PPK version.

EDIT: I had another fully charged VW-VBG6PPK and it showed 4h23m.

EDIT 2: Also, all 3 of my VW-VBG6PPK batteries don't have "PPK" on the label. They only had that on the box they came in.
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Thank you. This is starting to make the whole thing make sense. It really is the same battery. The fact that my 5800 VW-VBG6 was low is that it is older. So I am starting to feel a little better about this, and that it is all in the dynamics of Japan, Inc. and battery regs. Also goo to know that the batts themselves don't have PPK.

thanks,

Jan
 
Just checked mine, both freshly charged:

The CGA-E/635 said 4h23m and the VW-VBG6PPK said 4h29m.
 
The CGA-E/625 is 2 1/2" long & weighs 276g.

The VW-VBG6 is 3 1/16" long & weighs 228g.

I like the more compact sized one for storage and mounting on camera. Also, would make sense that the heavier one would last longer, but maybe that's not the case. I'm going to charge them both up and see what kind of battery life the camera reports.
 
The batteries for the AF102 seem to be an issue of some sort in New Zealand and I am reliably told that Panasonic NZ here wont be bringing in Panasonic batteries.

You just got wonder sometimes !

Adds to the conundrum I guess. (You just got to be a bit keen and dedicated to want to own this camera)
 
Ok so, fully charged, the heavier CGA-E/625 read 4h 13m, while the lighter VW-VBG6 read 4h 26m. Interesting. Guess I'll keep them ;)
 
Alt Batts"

Alt Batts"

The Panasonic - VW-VBG6PPK seem to be hard to find.
What are the alternatives for an Ag-AF100 spare battery?

:)
b
 
dregenthal said:
or buy a sack of these . . . toss 'em when they croak: http://cgi.ebay.com/z607-Battery-Pa...012?pt=Batteries_Chargers&hash=item3f03163a4c
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+1 I bought a bunch of those ebay ones for my HPX a few years back, and most recently for the AF100... They may not last quite as long as the panny batteries, but I still get 3 hours out of them on the AF100 (I get 4 on the stock battery), and they are cheap enough that I can always have a bunch of charged extras around, and while they seem to lose their compacity after a 1-1.15 years (compared to my panny battery that is still going strong for my HPX after 2 years), at $35 a battery, I dont mind. I can buy four for the cost of one Panny battery, and power the camera for a whole shoot. If you don't need the ability to power a nanoflash or something in addition to the camera at the same time off one battery, it is the way to go IMHO... that said, if you have a nanoflash, I would go the swit route though.
 
Careful buying Ebay batteries for the AF- mine failed after one use. Very light weight compared to OEM. I'd buy the Flashpoint from Adorama instead, and have some recourse if you get a bad one.
 
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