I've just upgraded the P&S to a Panasonic Lumix FZ8 (£150 @Comet ), and am now after the bits and pieces that don't come in the box. It takes a 7.2V 710mAh Li-ion battery (Panasonic CGR-S006E), I'd like a spare. Prices range from under a fiver on eBay for generics to £50 and more for the genuine Panasonic one. Any horror stories from the cheap end? I'm after any leads to a decent UK supplier, and I certainly don't want to spend 1/3 the cost of the camera on a spare battery.
SterlingTek and or DiamondBack, if you've got em' over there. Beware, there are a lot of knock-offs on e-bay (Even SterlingTek knock-offs) so make sure they are legit.
I would lean towards the more genuine packs or packs from a reputable supplier considering the fairly volatile nature of lithium based bateries.
I have been getting my spare Li-ion battery Canon camera batteries from www.7dayshop.com very good prices especially the multipacks and larger capacity than the one shipped with the camera. Over the years I have been doing this have never had any problems BUT its always good practice to remove batteries from a camera when storing for a long time
I've been using StirlingTek Batteries for ages, I was recommended these on the Canon forums, lots of people over there use them. I bought direct from the US and they arrived in 7 days.
They have the one I'm after and at a very low price - along with the SDHC memory and carry-case on my list... very tempting...
NP-20 for my Casio P&S cost $20 at stores, I got 7 generic made in China from ebay for 0.99c + $3.99 s/h each. 1 was real bad, 1 is so so, rest are ok.
They have a fixed charge for shipping so if you can bundle several things into one purchase then becomes even more worthwhile. Worth checking their clearance list for soft cases - can sometimes be lucky
ye, spending 1/3 the price of the camera on a battery does sound silly, but consider this: DVD players could be bought for $69. Now if I buy DVDs for $10, 100 DVDs will cost me $1000! I bought a few batteries off eBay sellers; 1 was bad, 1 was so-so, rest are ok. At the store they go for $19.99, it cost me $5.95 with S/H each on eBay.
