Nikon Battery and Charger Question

pjsjr

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I've been looking at Nikon D3200-3300 cameras, I read that generic batteries are not to be used in the charger/camera and doing so voids the warranty.

Some of you have the camera in question and I would appreciate your opinion. Thanks, Preston
 
I have a Nikon D7000 and it says the same thing in my owner's manual.
That being said, I've had better luck using Nikon batteries as far as longevity goes than after market brands.
YMMV as they say, but I'm finding it's the same with my Sony cameras too now.
If your camera fails with an after market battery in it, will they ever really know?
Only you can answer that question.
 
I'm not sure they can legally do that, regardless of what the manual says. May vary by location.
 
I'm not sure they can legally do that, regardless of what the manual says. May vary by location.

Generally, only if they can prove the aftermarket battery caused the problem.

That said, my experience with aftermarket batteries (the proprietary pack style) is that while cheaper, you get what you paid for. Granted, not on a Nikon, but on a couple different Canons.
 
I bought 2 batteries with my Nikon, and one of them failed within a year. I bought 2 aftermarket and they are still going strong, as is the 2nd Nikon pack. They're just battery cells in the little cartridge, I've used a lot of LiPo, LiFePO, NiCd, NiMH, and other stuff. Never had any issues with batteries of the same chemistry causing failures, like a flashlight that only runs on Duracell and not Eveready.

That said, follow the manufacturer's recommendation if in doubt - don't take the word off somebody on the internet over their written guidelines.
 
The Chinese generics from fleabah aren't good. Mine crapped out in a short time. I've had better luck with Japanese made Nikon compatible, though not as cheap as the Chinese generics. My D5300 uses same battery as my D3200 did.
 
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That said, follow the manufacturer's recommendation if in doubt - don't take the word off somebody on the internet over their written guidelines.

Amongst saying many things, one of the provisions of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act generally precludes blanket denials unless the mfg. can prove what you did caused the problem.

In a previous position of warranty admin in a large, globally-represented company, I agree going by the mfg. suggestion is usually a good idea. However, we don't get the luxury of just saying no simply because a customer didn't comply verbatim - much as some might like you to think so.
 
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Thanks, all, I just got back from my journey to get a D3300. It was NIB so hopefully I won't be having to worry/replace it for some time. I'll be spending the next few days aquainting myself with this camera, knowing that such helpful people are so close at hand is reassuring. Preston
 
Congrats on getting the new camera Preston!
If you're just starting out in photography I think you'll like what you get out of that camera.
Looking forward to seeing some pics from you soon.
 
Thanks, Old Ears too, I'm not a photographer in the literal sense, I've had cameras before, an old Miranda SLR, presently a Canon PowerShot A520 and my iPhone:cool:. Have moved into the digital age with this one and it's intimidating. Waiting for delivery of an SD card from the big river and reading the manual. Will post about my learning curve. Preston
 
Nothing at all to be intimidated by digital at all Preston. The best thing is you don't waste any film with a messed up shot. Have fun!
 
Ive had my d3100 since 2010 or so and the battery is still going strong.Nikon battery and charger.
 
I would not use either aftermarket chargers or batteries. To do so is foolish.

Aftermarket chargers are crap and often destroy the genuine batteries, either by charging incorrectly or wrecking the charge monitoring/protector chip built into all Nikon camera batteries. Li-Ion batteries have completely different charging requirements depending on the manufacturer of those cells. Nikon chargers are designed for the specific characteristics of the cells they use. The cell cycle count, max capacity and temperature etc, are all communicated via the third connector and most if not all cheap chargers do not use that connection- they just brute force charge until a voltage peak is detected.

I've got some great pics of the internals of cheap Nikon chargers (identical *looking* clones) vs genuine Nikon ones. The Nikons are very sophisicated, the cheap ones are a joke.

And yes, Nikon can tell if you've used a cheap clone battery- the camera queries the battery and your cheap 'Lotus Pigeon' knockoff will be logged as a non-genuine battery, complete with its details, capacity, manufacturer (even if they fake it) all to be read by the service centre when you make your warranty claim.

The new batteries are getting smarter and smarter- monitoring chips, encrypted serial numbers and cycle count EOL cutouts (like laser printer toners etc).
 
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Thanks for the information, John. I think I might have seen your photos of the internals and they were as different as night and day. Preston
 
Plus 1 to what John said. False economy with chargers, and off brand batteries are a crap shoot. I have a couple for my Sony which last maybe 2/3rds as long as the genuine Sony ones. For My Nikon (D3) I find that I haven't needed to buy a spare. Yet.

And as John said about the logging of batteries, it's getting downright mind boggling the information a camera can store for later retrieval these days.
 
I've had a D5100 for a while and the thing that gets me the most is that it can't be powered off AC without a special adapter when I want to take a video or just when the battery is empty... It's annoying that companies are doing lock-in for supplies. *sigh*

I also bought some third party Chinese batteries and one came out of the box unusable. Amazon got me a refund. Now I wonder if I could somehow build a battery eliminator with the dead battery... unfortunately the circuit board in the battery is what's broken and not the lithium ion packs themselves.
 
The one best thing to give yourself for your D3200 - a prime lens that is sharper and faster (low light capability) than either of the kits lenses (18-55mm or 55-200mm).

Buy either the Nikkor 50mm f/1.8g or Nikkor 35mm f/1.8 DX lens. I paid $175 and $150 respectively. They take very sharp photos, the larger aperture will really enhance your low light/indoor shooting without flash.
 
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