EN-EL3e Batteries from China

Joseph, thanks a lot for the information. If one can indeed get genuine EN-EL3e batteries for $24.95, I see absolutely no point to buy 3rd-party ones.

BTW, this is the parallel thread on this topic: http://photo.net/nikon-camera-forum/00TjvS

And Stan Chang is the member whose generic battery (not EN-EL3 generic) exploded during charging in his bedroom and created a fair amount of damage: http://photo.net/nikon-camera-forum/00TjvS

And why are are you convincced these are Nikon genuine batteries ?

I have one Calumet that works and acts like a Nikon.

How about the Nikon corp label. How about Nikon Hologram. How about the Nikon original package. Have you looked at the photos?

Upon further checking, I am afriad that Joseph's new battery may potentially be a counterfeit. See the following Nikon link on how to distinguish counterfeit EN-EL3e batteries: http://support.nikontech.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/8119#1

As shown in the Nikon link, the counterfeit batteries look very similar. But the background for the Japanese wording that tells people to recycle the batteries should be white with the wording in dark characters. The counterfeit batteries have the wording in white characters with a dark background.

Attached is my image of a genuine EN-EL3e.

A bit away from Nikon battery topic, but something to share. My sister got an XD card for her Olympus P&S camera on an auction site in Japan from a reputable seller as "new in box". It was working fine until she turned on "video" mode of the camera, when suddently the camera froze and started saying "broken card" or something like that. I tried to retrieve and salvage any photos she had taken (more than 200) with various software but no avail.
She brought back the card to Japan and asked her husband who happend to be an engineer at Olympus to check it out. The quick response from the Olympus lab - the XD card was the well-made fake from Taiwan which works as long as the camera is in the "still photo" mode. Olympus knew the existence of the fake, who made, and how to tell the slight difference in its appearance.
Just a story that happened recently to me.

Welcome to the world of counterfeit products. I work in the pharmaceutical industry where counterfiet products are rampant on the Internet. Original packaging (including holograms) are often counterfeited in no time flat. If the price appears too good to be true; it's because it is a fake. I certainly wouldn't trust any photos on E-Bay or anywhere else. You can only go by the serial number that is confirmed by Nikon as being original. these batteries can explode as noted in one of the posts; I don't think this is anything to take lightly.

For what it's worth, the top battery shipped with my D200, factory sealed from Nikon. The bottom battery shipped with my D300, factory sealed, from Nikon. These are different generation batteries. Serial/lot numbers are marked in different places, the actual molds are different, as are the adhesive labels. They are different in design/marking, and they are separated by about 3 years, in terms of manufacturing. There also appears to be a made-in-China vs. Made-in-Japan difference between the two. They both work as good as new, and hold their charges well. Their lifetime charge meters still register as zero.

With respect, the seller's add nowhere states that this is an actual Nikon battery.

I believe it to be a counterfeit, based on

http://support.nikontech.com/cgi-bin/nikonusa.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=8119

Your battery reads 'Nikon Corp.' whereas all the genuine batteries illustrated read 'Nikon Corporation'.

EDIT: Missed a post--I could well be wrong.

Be careful of what you call counterfeit and real. Just because the battery passed through a Nikon USA warehouse on its way from the factory in China to your camera and received a very large markup doesn't make it any higher quality or safer to use. Just ask the Sony laptop users who a genuine Sony batteries catch on fire.

Ken

Matt, the top battery in your image looks very much like the counterfeit in Sample #1 in the Nikon link I provided above. Did you get your cameras new and are you sure those were the batteries that came with the cameras? (I seem to recall that Matt might have bought a used Nikon.)

I have 4 different genuine EN-EL3e's, from the D200, D300, and D700. I'll go home and double check.

That top battery was indeed the one that was in the box with a factory fresh D200 from an authorized dealer in the US, Shun. The bottom battery was shrink-wrapped in with a Nikon-refurbed D300, also purchased through an authorized US dealer (and Nikon liked it fine when I registered it). It will be interesting to see how these line up against yours, Shun.

When I get back Home I'll compare the 3 that came with cameras to the 2 new ones.
I will also weigh the batteries to see if they all weigh the same. some generics weigh less that the OEM.

I'm just now getting caught up on this and the related threads, including the Nikon corporate link.

Those counterfeits are pretty convincing. I can see how this would be a problem. It's not easy to spot unless you have the side-by-side photos for comparison.

Anyone know if nikon will validate the battery or not if I send it to them?
I'm starting to get a bad feeling about this.
Hate it if I'm been taken.
How dumb do I feel about the review now.
Just goes to prove, No good deed goes unpunished.
If its too good to be true, It isn't. Guess thats true.

China does make some impressive copies. They even have cars that are near exact copies of BMWs and Lexus's. I would only buy batteries and flash memory from a seller I could trust, like B&H Photo or Adorama. Flash memory from Costco. At least if the memory is bogus I can return it for a no-hassle full refund.

One thing is for sure, some of those counterfeit EN-EL3e batteries look awfully similar to the genuine ones. I probably won't comment on this topic any further until I get home and check all of mine. I also wonder some unethical camera stores might swap out the genuine battery with a counterfeit one before they sell/ship a brand new Nikon camera; it is extremely difficult for the buyer to tell the difference, and then they can sell the genuine battery for extra profit.

Who knows; maybe some of my "genuine" batteries are counterfeits also.

One way or another, I would like to thank Joseph for sharing his experience with us. I have certainly learned something from this thread, but I am not sure exactly what I have learned yet.

Mine don't look like either one. I have one that came with my D700 and I bought another one from Adorama which looks just like the one that came with my camera. They are probably a newer model. My box that my second battery came in looks like the Nikon lens boxes in copper and black. I noticed those boxes are a different color.

OOOh, kay.. This is turning out to be a right can of worms here isn't it ? Needless to say my 'genuine' battery hasn't arrived yet from China to report on, but, just imagining everyone on reading this thread and scurrying of to their camera bags to whip out batteries, at 2.00am it got my curiosity working overtime and I opened up my D700 to check my battery. Lo and behold, its neither of the above illustrated ! If I done it correcty, it should appear in the post. I'm sure its a genuine Nikon battery, although its none of the above, but it just shows that not all the genuine Nikon batteries are identical worldwide. what do you think Shun ?

Bah, I was too busy taking photos of my battery and Andrew already posted it up.

My D200 (bought new Feb 2009) came with the white background label. My 2nd battery from Amazon (May 2009) looks exactly like Andrew's photo.

When I got home I checked all my batteries.
Nothing matches
The one that came with my D200 is different from the one that came with the D300 and the D700 battery doesn't match either one. The 2 I just got from the china distributor are closest to the D300 battery like the top one in Matts photo.
I'm beginning to think that Nikon has serveral versions depending on when they were made.
Another thought is that Nikon doesn't make the battery themself and depending on what vendor they are using, they look a little different. They may use more than one vendor.
That theory will blow the generic is bad idea to hell. What if the generic is made on the same line as the Nikon by the same company.

Most likely the best way to tell the difference between the real thing and a fake is by performance rather than appearance.

I received a non-Nikon battery as an extra freebie with my D90 - it would only charge to about 65% and loses charge quite quickly.

I have also bought one of these Chinese "genuine" Nikon batteries, and it charged to 99% on its first charge, same as the original battery did. I'm confident it's the real thing.

On the other hand I recently bought a "genuine" Nikon lens cap that is a subtly obvious counterfeit - also on Ebay.

So where are we at? I don't Know. First I think they're real, then fake and now I leaning towards real.
They weigh the same as the 3 Nikon (if they are Nikon) original batteries that came with cameras.
they seem to charge just like the Nikon ones and from some testing tonight, they seem to last the same. Power meter works fine on the 200,300,& 700.
Are they real or conterfit, use generic or OEM. GOOD LUCK ON THIS ONE. My head is going to explode, not one of the batteries.

A few years back, Nikon had a major recall on "Nikon batteries" that were manufactured in China. For the last two years, the manufacturing of Nikon batteries has been in Japan....this was done for quality control reasons or to curb non-legal sales of "just like a Nikon" battery?

Spending $50.00 to save $30.00 may not be worth it. Nikon USA will not honor a camera body warranty if a non-Nikon battery causes damage. [The poor quality of the hologram really makes one wonder as to the ability of the battery shop in China.]

Good luck!

Andrew - your battery looks like its made by Sony. Whats with the SONY E.D on the label?
Gives credence to the different vendor theory.

Saw that, have no idea.

How dumb do I feel about the review now

Joseph, you must not feel dumb. Instead, I will thank you for having enlightened us with more information on battery problems, and in my opinion, thats why we are here on photo.net: to share and to learn.

Thank you.

A lot of post are saying I know they are real Nikon batteries because it came with my D300... How do you know the dealer didn't swap out the batteries with fake ones. They would keep the real Nikon battery and place a cheap fake one in the box. Now they can sell true Nikon batteries in place of fake ones. Hey, some of these dealers even pull the instructions out of the boxes and charge extra for them. The news forum has a story about seven NY camera stores being indicted by the NY Atty General for fraud. See this link: http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/25/online-electronic-stores-caught-in-consumer-fraud/

Interesting discussion indeed. However, what exactly would be a "counterfeit" altogehter?
Consider this scenario: A guy runs a battery factory and does business with Nikon. Nikon purchases their original batteries from him, controlls the quality, puts their branding (this week's sticker, it seems) on them and distributes them as spare parts or with the new cameras. "Real" Nikon batteries. Now for some reason Nikon switches to another vendor. May be the quality had decreased, the pricing was not good any more, whatever. Our guy however just continues to produce them and has his brother-in-law's cousin's fiance's little sister sell them on the well known auction place.
Counterfeit? A little bit? Mostly?
Not legal for sure, but how exactly would we know??? For the sake of completeness, this is how the one I got with my D700 looks:

Guys,
Three of the things mentioned on Nikon's counterfeit website (and that I notice, consistently, in all of your pictures) is that genuine Nikon batteries have four notches cut into the hologram, the font used is different, and the real ones say "Nikon Corporation" instead of "Nikon Corp., Japan". Check 'em out.
Andrew Phenodos, yours looks right (correct label, four notches in hologram).
For instance, Matt Laur, your D200 appears to be fake. Note the hologram and the <edit> font used</edit>. The D300 appears legit.
Michael Alger, your appears real.

That is the same battery that came with my D700. Also I bought an extra battery from Adorama and it is a factory sealed Nikon that looks just like the one that came with my D700. They look like the ones that the other 2 people have taken pictures of from their D700. So I think those must be the lastest version.

I ended up capturing an image of all of my EN-EL3 and EN-EL3e batteries. The two EN-EL3 were purchased in 2002 along with my D100 body. Those are the two black batteries on top. I grouped my oldest EN-EL3e battery (gray in color) with them on the top left side since the wording on that EN-EL3e is very similar to the older EN-EL3's, e.g. there is a warning instead of caution. My oldest EN-EL3e came with my D200, which was the first Nikon DSLR that uses EN-EL3e.

My other three EN-EL3e batteries are all similar with warning in Chinese also, in addition to English and Japanese. Note that all 6 of my batteries were made in Japan, none from China. All of my EN-EL3e's were purchased in 2007 or 2008, including the one that came with my D700.

As specified on Nikon's page, on genuine EN-EL3e batteries, there are four notches cut into the hologram. The wording about recycling in Japanese all have a white background with dark characters.

To me, it looks like the batteries Joseph bought from Hong Kong are different from the genuine ones from Nikon. The top one in Matt's image; that is the one that is supposed to come with his D200 also looks counterfeit. Matt's battery also does not have the batch number/serial number etched onto it. Exactly how that battery got into the box for a brand new D200 as Matt described is beyond me; something doesn't sound right.

I have never even seen the type of EN-EL3e in Andrew and Michael's images. My guess is that it is a new packaging, and Nikon has not updated their web site about it. I can try to check with Nikon directly and see whether we can get an answer.

I'd like to thank Joseph again for starting this thread. I sure have learned something new here.

I heartily agree; Thank You, Joseph, for this. We've all learned a lesson here. I'm sorry it had to come at your expense.
You know, in all likelihood, your battery is probably fine to use. Anecdotes of exploding batteries tend to get sensationalized whereas there's likely thousands of these things out there, working fine (though maybe not to rated capacity ;) ). Of course it's up to you. (IANAL, don't sue me, I'm not responsible for fires, etc)

Shun: that D200 was a body/18-70 bundle from (ready? drum roll...) the late Circuit City, at a very aggressive price on the heels of an extended back-order situation. Nikon registered the body and lens as US-market products, so the overall purchase seemed legit... but this just goes to show you that the goods you get through an unhealthy (as Circuit City was, at the time, though was well before their bankruptcy) big-box retailer may have found their way through some interesting twists and turns. The D200 (and the suspicious battery!) continue to work great, so this is of more academic interest than anything else.

A fascinating thread, indeed.

While the chance for explosion is very small, but that can happen and has happened. That was why Nikon recalled some of the original EN-EL3 batteries (although mine were not on that list based on batch number). In fact, in the new warnings in Chinese (shown above), Nikon expliciately mentiones leaks, over heating, bursts, and explosion as the possible danger.

I am afriad that one issue people tend to miss is that unlike 3rd-party lenses, which are passive devices and really cannot hurt your camera or become a danger, some accessories such as batteries and electronic flashes can be dangerous.

The advantage from buying a genuine Nikon battery is that when they discover any problem, Nikon would recall it, as they did along with Sony and Apple recalling some laptop batteries. And in case they cause damage, those companies will be responsible. When you buy unknown brands or counterfeits, you lose that protection. When a genuine EN-EL3e is merely $40 in the US, it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to save a few dollars.

And there is also the issue that Nikon can make those fake batteries incompatible with the next generation of DSLRs as we have already discussed.

Matt, the store you buy the camera from could be legit, but who is to say no employee would open up the box and sawp some batteries for personal profit. Something like that can happen in a number of steps in the process.

One poster stated that Nikon was making batteries in china for a while. Maybe Matts is from that era and thats why it is different from the made in Japan ones.
Still don't like the hologram missing the 4 notches.

I have 4 EN-EL3e batteries, all made in japan with the notches in the hologram. 3 of the batteries have the serial No. in the bottom left corner and 1 battery has it in the middle, the same as Shun's 6 battery picture. It may be of interest that 1 was supplied from the UK with my D80, 1 plus a spare for the MD10 supplied from B & H and the other bought in South Africa. All the stickers are the same coulouring as Shun's battery photo.

There are clearly variants in the 'genuine' batteries--ones shipped by Nikon with their cameras. The one thing that seems consistent is the four notches on the holygram (sic). My D200 battery (one of the Best Buy USD 600 recent ones) has the notches.

The main issue here is simple--Nikon has a list of the genuine serial numbers, and if one of those explodes, they are responsible. If a non-genuine battery fails catastrophically, even one pulled from the line currently selling to Nikon, you are left with recourse to the third-party seller. If it's Ritz, or B&H or some reputable dealer, you may be okay.

I have 5 EN-EL3e batteries, all made in Japan, all with four notches in the hologram. Two are identical to the single battery on the left of Shun's picture (with serial nos. stamped in the middle) and three are identical to the three batteries on the right of Shun's picture (with serial nos. stamped in the bottom left corner).
One battery was a replacement from Nikon for a recalled EN-EL3, one came with a new D200, one came with a new D700 and the other two were bought separately from reputable UK dealers.

My battery that came with a D300 is exactly like the "legit" pic.
Most of the batteries are made in China and Japan by a few major companies that electronics vendors such as Nikon then by the batteries from. The large battery scandal some two years ago that was started by exploding Dell laptops showed that brand name and origin of manufacture doesn't matter much, it's the QC on the design and manufacture that makes the difference in whether batteries are safe or not. In any case, the point that if a brand name battery blows up, then that company will need to compensate is very important.
As for the fakes, there are some very good fakes in China and it's quite possible that even a generic brand is made in the same factory as the real one -- Nikon doesn't make the batteries, so a similar design could be sold to someone else. I really doubt much at all of the battery is designed by Nikon. Trouble is how to spot the good ones from the bad ones -- you can't, that's why we trust brands.

Very interesting thread. I use a Fuji S5 (Nikon D200) and Fuji discontinued the camera months ago and the batteries (NP-150) just 2 or 3 weeks ago. All authentic Fuji batteries were sold out of retail here in the US within days. Like Nikon, Fuji doesn't want you using 3rd party batteries, but now we have no choice. Wonder what that does to the warranty...

I wonder if the serial numbers are useful in this. My D700 (Sept 2008) came with one like that in Shun's lower photo, including the same number, so it's a batch number, not a serial number. My other two are older with a lower number. Most numbers are 4numerical digits followed by one letter, but one of Shun's pictured earlier in this thread shows a letter after the first digit. I wonder what all this means.

My guess is that if there is no batch number, it's non-Nikon. (one of Matt's)

Another guess: If the number is upside down, it's non Nikon. (Joseph's first post)

After all this, the counterfieters will improve the finish on their products, so be ready for the next wave.

See this original EN-EL3 recall back in 2005: http://www.nikonusa.com/email_images/nikonusa/service_advisory/battery.html
Those are "lot numbers" or batch numbers if you will. They are not individual serial numbers. Nikon uses that to determine which batteries could be potential hazards.

If the stamped "lot number" is missing, I am quite sure that it is a fake.

For what it's worth, that's why I put up the shot of the similarly formatted number hot-stamped into the end of the casing on the odd-duck battery. Perhaps even the counterfeiters like to keep track!

Heres the email reply from the Ebay Vendor when I complained:

Hi,

i am so sorry!!I am innocent, I do not write in a description of it is original. Original battery is very expensive, this is the third-party manufacturers. In many EBAY sellers are described in this way. I do not know what I have done something wrong. . . If you are not satisfied with my battery, you can contact us, we can give you a refund. I am really helpless. . ..

I am a new seller, just a few months. EBAY on the competition, no one will be a high price to buy an original battery. I never said that I guests of the battery is original. As long as the guests are not satisfied with, I can refund and replacement. Please forgive me, I do not know cause of the misunderstanding you.

Can you tell me how I should do what you can forgive this incident?

Looking forward to hear you soon!

my english is so bad,sorry about that.

Regards,
Guo

So their not Nikon but a 3rd party manufacturer. Then why do they say Nikon? And they did nothing wrong. And Santa really comes on christmas eve.

That is pure nonsense. The Nikon brand name, logo, etc. are registered trademarks. If they want to sell a generic battery, they should either put no brand name on it or create their own brand name. They not only print the Nikon brand name all of the battery and packing, they actually make it look awfully similar to the real thing to a degree that it is very difficult to tell the difference.

But what bothers me more is Matt's battery. It is very disturbing that even though you buy a brand new, out of the box Nikon, some accessory could be swapped by someone (don't know who) so that you get a faked battery.

The ones that Michael and Andrew have are the same as the ones I just bought. They are probably the newest version. I bought a D700 that had one and I bought a Genuine Nikon battery from Adorama that was the same. I bought the camera from B&H so I am confident that they are legit.

That is amazing the length they went to. It really looks like the real thing. If you didn't have an original to compare it to you would never know. Of course, without a good forum like this anyway.

I tried to make a quicky photo and made it too small but I think you still get the idea. My batteries look just like Michael's and Andrew's. Here is a photo of the genuine battery box as well.

I almost bought my second battery off of ebay but at the last minute decided to go ahead and pay a few extra bucks and buy one from Adorama. I'm glad I did now, not knowing what I would have got off ebay.

I'm sure after this thread the counterfiet ones will also have the 'four notches ' !
Anyone figure out what the Sony connection is ? Maybe they manufacture for Nikon, or they have the same battery in one of their stuff ?

I'm reminded of an incident about a year ago when I had an EN-EL3e, only a few weeks old, die on me. Worked well one day, dead the next. I talked to Nikon about it, and they told me that they dont warranty the batteries - that there are just too many ways for them to be damaged during use (shock from dropping them, high heat, and so on). So, no warranty.

That always struck me as a little lame, certainly within 90 days of the purchase. But I was busy, so I disposed of the battery at the local county hazmat trash drop-off, and simply replaced it. Of course, I now wonder if it was even the real thing (I'll never know), and now have to give more thought to Nikon's position on that - in that they could find themselves, if they did warranty batteries, which don't bear serial numbers, essentially cleaning up after thousands of counterfeits they didn't even make or sell.

I'm a little more sympathetic now. Even if they refused to warranty a counterfeit unit after seeing it was such, they'd still have to spend their time receiving it, communicating with the annoyed customer, "proving" to the customer that it was a fake, etc. There's not much margin in a $40 battery to be doing that, when huge numbers of them might be from sales they didn't even make.

As for how I got what looks like a fake in with a bundled camera deal: this was fairly early in the life of the D200 as a product, but after the first big wave of sales. The big retailers were selling a lot of them as bundles, and that's how I got mine, just because that's where I could find one. But I'm not at all convinced that the kit was as-assembled by Nikon. The included 18-70 kit lens was in generic made-for-kits-looking packaging - not the markings you get when the lens is packages for stand-alone sale - and was actually shipped separately. No master carton from Nikon with both camera and lens.

The camera's box looked fresh, but wasnt actually sealed... so, who knows. The whole transaction had a slightly disjointed feel to it. Perhaps this battery is more evidence of that. Not that the camera was ever anything but exactly as expected. If someone swapped around batteries, they had many opportunities, since it was a mail-order sale. Circuit City, at the time, wasn't exactly being celebrated for their keen management, that's for sure. Live and learn.

Matt I checked my literature that came with my battery and it doesn't have any information about a warranty. That is strange, but I think your right they must not warranty batteries.
I know from now on I will only buy from reputable dealers when it comes to batteries. I have bought several things off ebay but it won't be batteries.
I have noticed that the newer ones say Sony on them. Who knows, maybe they are selling batteries that don't meet their standards to a third party company.

Counterfeiters with a sense of morals? I told them that that I threw the batteries out because I would not use them and risk camera damage. They are still refunding all my money. I gotten 3 emails telling me how sorry they are. Lets see if the refund comes. I'd be surprized if it does.
But they are still selling them on Ebay. They lowered the price to $17.00 from $24.00 and took out the picture of the back of the battery. Yea - they have morals ok.
So I took a look at Ebay auctions for EN EL3e-
There are 3 areas to look at to see if their counterfeit - the notches in the hologram, the white backround on the warning and a 3rd that I've noticed - the recycle logo above the LI-ION in the white square is not centered in the square.
All auctions from china have the same counterfeit battery. There are at least 6 different vendors selling them at different prices. It hard to find a real on one ebay. Most are generics, theres a lot are these and very few that look to be real.
So then you look at the vendors others auctions - These same guys are selling Sony, Dell, Canon, HP and so many other OEM batteries from china. They all have to be fakes.
I knew there would be a few fakes on the market, but not like this - Counterfeit batteries and counterfeit accessories may be selling more that real ones.
Its unbelievable to what extent this is going on.
NEVER BUY A OEM BATTERY FOR ANYTHING UNLESS ITS FROM A TRUSTED SOURE

Shun or Matt - Since you guys are PN respected leaders maybe you should start a thread in casual conversations about what we learned in this thread and about the wide sale of counterfeit OEM batteries. Canon users and others would find this interesting.

Joseph, one thing you can do is to add some comments to our Neighbor to Neighbor section and relay your experience. I have already notified NikonLinks.com, and this thread is now shown over there: http://www.nikonlinks.com/new_links.htm So we are spreading the word. I am sorry that you had to go through this process, but something good has come out of it.

I happen to have grown up in Hong Kong. The environment there is similar to that in a lot of big cities; I learned not to trust people growing up. Now I work for a California company that has a branch office in Beijing. Whenever we have colleagues visiting from China, we take them to Costco (since they don't have membership cards). They like to buy a lot of vitamin pills, calcium tablets, etc. One time some guy bought 10 bottles. I asked him that they must have those in Beijing. He said there are a lot of faked pills, faked baby formulas, etc. You don't want to put that in your mouth.

P.S. I am still waiting for Nikon USA's response on this topic. There seem to be only two different designs. The new one people are getting merely has a different sticker on the same battery.

A full refund came.
I threw the batteries out and they still gave me a full refund.
I guess the 3 mails where they say they are sorry are real - Very surprized.

eBay just frightens me now. I just can't do it anymore.
I love the List That Craig Built, it reminds me of the eBay of old, back before it got flooded with cheap knockoffs and crooks. Back when it was just people trading their old stuff, like an online swap meet. Sigh.

You certainly have to watch what and who you buy from on eBay. I don't buy anything coming from China. I'm sure some are good deals, but I think it would be a hassle if something was wrong. There are a lot of legit dealers that sell on eBay. I buy all my filters on eBay. You can save a bundle on things like that. I have even bought some lenses off their. I have sold a bunch of camera equipment. It is a great place to sell good used equipment.

Good Gawd!

USD 11.95 for a compatible! If you're going to buy one, at least these guys ADMIT it's not an original.

Les

EDIT: And they have an 8.89 rating at resellerratings.com!

This could turn us paranoid like in a Phillip K. Dick novel. He really knows how to make you doubt reality!

It's worrying that lenses and filters might be next. Even cameras! It reminds me of fake watches etc. Nobody even minds that they have the Rolex badge on them. I'm fine with that. But when they say 'Made in Switzerland' when they aren't - THAT'S THE LINE.

Let's hope that counter-measures are executed soon.

This thread is truly interesting and demonstrates the many variables (and possible hazards) of buying from a potentially risky source.

I have 2 EN-EL3e batteries and they look like Shun's large image (with the Chinese cautions), as are also depicted on Nikon's support site (the bottom battery). These ones have the batch number in the lower left corner (stamped vertically). The first came with my D700, while the second was purchased early in 2009. Both came from the same reputable shop in Toronto, Canada and were factory sealed. The second one I bought came in the light grey packaging that Nikon's site shows. Presumably this is now the older style packaging.

Interestingly, I bought another battery a month or so thereafter for a friend's D80 and noticed that the packaging has changed to the version that Brian Duffy shows above (gold/black box). Again, this one came from the same authorized vendor as the others I bought. Unfortunately, those batteries are on vacation right now with my friend, but upon their return, I'm going to see what they look like and how they compare to mine and those posted here.

The batteries that I have both have the 4 notches on the hologram and I fully trust that they are genuine.

By the way, I'm glad that Joseph was able to get his money back!

From my point of view, it is worth paying the premium to get the genuine versions. The possible savings are not worth the risk or losing peace of mind. Compared to the cost of the camera, lenses, etc. it is only a small premium to pay.

Ralph.

I work for Hitachi and I know for a fact that Nikon triple source their batteries, just like we do. Its corporate policy so we always get a good price, and have security of supply if one supplier is having problems. We always have one Japan domestic supplier plus at least one overseas supplier. We are not in the battery making business, nor are Nikon. Its almost certain that Nikon have a China supplier and I think one in Taiwan or Thailand. We, ourselves, have supplied Nikon from time to time with components.
The term "genuine Nikon" just like "genuine Hitachi", is a misnomer. Just like us, Nikon will place orders from parallel suppliers for batteries made to Nikon spec. So the flow through original packaging can vary from third party contractor to contractor depending on what batch is in inventory at the packaging plant. Examining the markings will give you no clue as the spec for markings changes from time to time as does the plastic moulding.
If you buy a Nikon branded battery and its faulty, just send it back to the source for international warranty replacement. Its no big deal. The supplier, wherever they are, get a credit from Nikon or whoever, and ships you a new one.
Now "counterfeit" is another matter entirely, but most manufacturers know who they are. We do. These guys operate under the laws that exist in each country. Its very hard to stop. When was the last time you heard about a counterfeit Rolex manufacturer getting successfully sued? Its a fact of life. In fact, a lot of manufacturers like minor accessory counterfeiters, because it actually increases sales. They sort of carve a niche market for those who might have bought a different brand if they could not source similar but cheaper accessories. A good example are the Photix MB-D10 clones. They work, they not as good. But Nikon is not going to try to put them out of business. It all means more D300/700 sales in the end.
Just a point I have made on here before: You Americans seem to get all your nickers in a twist about so called "grey marketing" and "made in China" vs Japan, vs the US. Get over it. Its called the international economy and all multinational corporations, like ours and like many of yours too, make stuff all over and also source components all over. Thats why we all adhere to agreed standards for "International Warranties". If a US camera dealer tries to avoid assisting a warranty claim on a genuine Nikon product, just email Japan or corporate in the US. Its illegal NOT to honour international warranties. The warranty comes from the original manufacturer, not the reseller. He is just a trans-shipper.

Stephen wrote:
Thats why we all adhere to agreed standards for "International Warranties". If a US camera dealer tries to avoid assisting a warranty claim on a genuine Nikon product, just email Japan or corporate in the US. Its illegal NOT to honour international warranties.

Hi Stephen!
I bought my D90 plus 16-85 lens from Adorama Greece (a subsidiary of the American Adorama) which is not the official importer here but what people would call a "gray market" importer. Of course camera and lens came with all International Warranty papers etc from Japan, I also have the receipt from Adorama.
Now you mean that if my camera or lens is broken witheen the warranty period, the official Nikon importer in Greece *must* repair my camera for free even if it's not imported by him and if he refuses to do so he is commitig an illegality?

Thank you.

Folks, this thread is about Nikon EN-EL3e batteries, especially counterfeit ones. Nikon does not provide any warranty for batteries.

If you would like to discuss issues related to gray market products and international warranties, please do so in the appropriate threads on that topic or, if necessary, start your own thread. As a moderator for this forum, I would appreciate it if we can stay on topic in this thread (and for that matter in any other thread).

Hello.
I live in the UK and the price for a genuine Nikon EN EL3e battery from one of the cheapest outlets is £65,that's $105 +-. I bought one from ebay and the battery says made in Japan,but on close inspection I don't see the 4 notches on the hologram. Other that it looks genuine.I'm afraid to say that it looks identical to Josephs photo. So I am guessing that I have been caught.
Ray

Okay:

Now can somebody explain why this battery from a highly reputable dealer, can be an EN-EL3e compatible, and not work in a D90 or D300?

And I found what appears to be an identical battery for nine bucks elsewhere !

EDIT: And elsewhere has a 9.23 six-month rating from resellerratings.com! I may buy one of these...

Les, perhaps the same reason why my Sony-compatible battery all of a sudden became incompatible with newer camcorders: http://photo.net/nikon-camera-forum/00TjvS
Again, every time you buy a 3rd-party battery, you are at Nikon's mercy that they can make it incompatible with each new generation of cameras or even firmware upgrades.

Les: the same dealer has one from the company that is.
/www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/533277-REG/Impact_ENEL3EQ_ENEL3E_Rechargeable_Lithium_Ion_Battery.html#features
it has a Q added to the name EN-EL3eQ and costs $ 8.00 more.
So the question becomes what does the Q stand for and what does the 300 & 700 need that the others don't

"When a genuine EN-EL3e is merely $40 in the US, it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to save a few dollars." - Shun Cheung

I see a lot of angst, distress and perhaps borderline paranoia on this subject. :-)

Generics and counterfeits exist because "genuine" proprietary batteries (from any camera / electronic goods manufacturer) are grossly overpriced and overvalued for the tangible goods that are actually provided to the consumer. Especially considering that the Nikon battery is sourced from, in all likelihood, the very same third party(s) at a tiny fraction of the dealer wholesale cost. If the OEM batteries were wholesaled to dealers at a fair market value (fair to Nikon and fair to the end consumer), then the market for generics and counterfeits would not exist or would be significantly curtailed. In that respect, Nikon batteries are no better than OEM inkjet cartridges. 75% of the retail cost is the paper label stuck to the side of the product.

Count yourself lucky in the USA that prices are more reasonable, but like Ray in the UK, we Canucks to the north are royally gouged on the "real deal". Canada's largest photo retailer sells the EN-EL3e for $90CAD (~ $80USD - looking around the web at sites of other smaller Canadian dealers, that appears to be the full list price, i.e. no discount). That's 16% of the value of my used D200 that I picked up last winter, and 8% of what a brand new D90 sells for here. Does anyone really think a microchip, some molded plastic and bits of metal, and a few grams of Li-ion chemistry really represents approximately 10% of the value of a mid-range DSLR camera body?

"Now can somebody explain why this battery from a highly reputable dealer, can be an EN-EL3e compatible, and not work in a D90 or D300?" - Les Berkley

I'm guessing Nikon deliberately made a change to the D90/D300 bodies or firmware to foil the use of generics and to maintain the artificially high margins for the OEM batteries. There has obviously been no internal change to the actual EN-EL3e battery itself (unlike the change from EL3 to EL3e), since original EN-EL3e batteries from earlier bodies (D80, D200) will apparently still work 100% perfectly in current bodies. Nikon would like us to believe that only "genuine" EN-EL3e's are safe to use, but in reality that is probably much closer to pure fiction than actual truth. If Nikon did not perpetuate this fallacy, generics would certainly still exist, but there would be almost no market for counterfeits, which consumers buy because they truly believe they must use a "genuine" battery.

FWIW, I use both a "genuine" EN-EL3e and a generic battery (sold as such, with the warning it is incompatible with the D300) in my D200. I see no difference in performance, and I'm no more worried about the generic cell having a catastrophic failure than I am worried about the "real deal" failing.

"I threw the batteries out and they still gave me a full refund."- Joseph Leotta

I'm glad that you got a refund, as you were mislead and the vendor deliberately misrepresented the goods. And I hope that you recycled them rather than just tossing them in the trash (which seems a bit extreme to me), as you probably have done more harm to the environment than you would have done to your camera by using them. ;-) :-)

I have a small security company that installs alarm systems - we are constantly recycling used alarm batteries and the batteries went in with those.
I would have kept them if they were generics. Being counterfeit you just don't know what shortcuts they took when they made them. If you cheat a little, why not cheat a lot.

hmmm, lesson learned, it appears.

btw, after looking closely at Matt's battery, it has one thing all the others dont have... if you look at the top it says "Nikon Corp., Japan, Made in China." the authentic ones dont say made in China, at least none of my four En-EL3e's do.

incidentally, i bought a non-Nikon charger through Amazon which is actually better than the MH-18a and considerably cheaper. it's smaller, with a folding plug (no cord), a handy grip on the side, and works just fine.

Very informative thread, thanks to all the posters.
But my real appreciation goes to Michael Freeman. His comments on manufacturers gouging the consumers are right on, in the US and elsewhere. (As an aside, it may be a wash for all of us, considering that we pay a heck of a lot more for meds here in the US. And BTW, I don't think that the pharmaceuticals are *losing* money selling at lower prices in Canada.) It is up to the consumers to make their own decisions based on their financial situations, their risk tolerance, and their due deligent research. We live in a dangerous world. Heck, crossing the street has risk.
While I'm no expert on counterfeiting, I do know for a fact that many counterfeits come directly from the factories manufacturing the genuine parts. It does not take much to "acquire" the items right off the assembly lines (and perhaps only those rejected for "defects"), and slightly alter the labelling before selling them on the streets. Many counterfeit clothing/handbags are done this way. It would not surprise me that Joseph's eBay batteries came from such a source. The seller's response could therefore be genuine, and certainly heads and shoulders above the other eBay cheaters.
It would be much more difficult and costly to reverse engineer and set up your own factories, not to mention the risk involved. Consider the batteries' cost and volume. It is difficult for me to imagine a counterfeiter taking this harder approach and ending up with any meaningful profit margin. The ROI would make no sense. If we are talking about $100 bills, that's a different story.
Michael is the *only* one here sharing his experience using both genuine and generic batteries, which is *the* bottomline. Where did you get them?

"Where did you get them?" - Robert K

Were you asking me? The genuine EN-EL3e was I presume original to the camera. The generic came from a USA based eBay seller with over 76,000 feedbacks over 10 years of trading, a 99.9% positive rating and a 4.9 DSR star rating over the past 12 months. He sells only generic camera and camcorder batteries, the related chargers, and a few memory cards. The batteries are sold with a 1 year limited warranty (limited to replacement cost only). No sleight of hand, deception or trickery is involved. The packs are explicitly sold as a generic " Battery to replace Nikon EN-EL3e" and " Battery is not 'name brand', but a high-quality equivalent " , with generic labeling and packaging.

Net cost delivered to my door was US$16.99 for one battery. That's a heck of a lot more palatable to me than the approximately $110CAD net delivered cost I would have to pay for an EN-EL3e from a Canadian retailer, or the $80USD net delivered cost for an EN-EL3e from B&H Photo. In the few months that I have owned the camera and batteries I have seen absolutely no difference in any respect between the genuine and the generic. One is in the camera, the other is my fully charged spare. I rotate them in sequence. I have absolutely no qualms about using the generic in my D200. I don't lay awake at night wondering if the generic is a time bomb waiting to destroy my camera. I don't believe the hype or hysteria that only genuine batteries are safe - either one has the same potential for failure.

Both lock into my MH-18a charger perfectly. Both seem to take the same amount of time to recharge. Both seem to discharge in a similar manner. The only difference that I can detect is that the generic is about 2g lighter and a slightly lighter shade of grey. I'm on a very tight budget, and for a saving (to me) of $63USD, I can live with that difference. YMMV. :-)

Forget the photo ...

Michael Freeman is certainly not the only person who posts about their experience with generic batteries. Right now we have another thread on a different generic EN-EL3e experience: http://photo.net/nikon-camera-forum/00TrnW
And if you are willing to look around, there are a number of threads on generic EN-EL4 experiences, e.g.: http://photo.net/nikon-camera-forum/00EjCS

I am not sure why genuine EN-EL3e's are so expensive in Europe and Canada, but in the US, you can order one from Amazon for about $37 with free shipping: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000BYCKU8/nmphotonet-20

If you visit photo.net's Adorama store and look for EN-EL3e batteries:
http://www.adorama.com/searchsite/default.aspx?searchinfo=Nikon%20EN-EL3e
You'll see different generic versions. Those that are not compatible with the D300 and D90 are cheaper, but the big question is whether the more-expensive generics will be compatible with future Nikon DSLRs?

Going back to the original comparison, you should look at the last letter and the 6th letter from the last (both are called "hiragana") in Japanese caution that are pronounced "to" (unvoiced) and "do" (voiced) respectively. They are essentially the same letters but "do" carries "double dot" to indicate that it is voiced.

Now, the "do" on the battery from china (suspected counterfeit) has only a "single dot" which doesn't exist in the Japanese. Also, the base line of the Japanese caution is not flat and the quality of each font is noticeably inferior to that on the genuine one.

So, I have no doubt that the battery in question is counterfeit.

P.S.
The fouth letter from the last (also "hiragana") in the first line of the Japanese caution (meant to be pronounced "de") carries a "single dot", too, and this is a wrong Japanese letter, too.

Michael, my question is indeed for you. Within this forum's posting rules, can you provide some hints to identify that eBay seller?

We block URL links to eBay auctions solely because we don't want people to advertise their sales in this forum. If Michael has a ligitimate dealer to share with us, I'll be happy to make the appropriate link appear in this forum. However, always under your savings and risks for buying non-Nikon batteries.

Shun, thanks for referencing the related threads. I should have been more clear that Michael is the *only" one making the comparison in *this* thread.
The posters in the other threads could have been more helpful by pointing out where they got their generics from.
"I am not sure why genuine EN-EL3e's are so expensive in Europe and Canada..."
The answer is simple. Corporations will gouge what they can within each location's regulations, trade agreements, etc. It has little to do with a product's developemt and manufacturing costs, or its demand. And guess who control the making of the regulations and agreements.

Robert, however, I am not aware of any reasons that Nikon users in Europe, Canada and Australia ... cannot buy genuine Nikon batteries from the US and Asia at more reasonable prices. You just need to be careful with the supplier.

I got burn once with a generic Sony battery which worked 100% fine until my wife upgraded her camcorder; I don't think I'll buy another generic battery again.

"Within this forum's posting rules, can you provide some hints to identify that eBay seller?"

While I have no doubt that there are probably other sellers on eBay that provide good quality generic batteries, this was one of the very few that were US based. No need for a link ... just search for seller ID "orphanbiker".

"Robert, however, I am not aware of any reasons that Nikon users in Europe, Canada and Australia ... cannot buy genuine Nikon batteries from the US and Asia at more reasonable prices."

Shun - the answer to that is simple. Shipping costs. The minimum charge to ship to Canada from B&H for example is $25.55USD. Add to that the cost to clear customs. Add to that 5-13% sales taxes (since the generic was under $20, it arrived tax free). If I am buying other products from B&H and adding a battery to my cart, that $25.55 is not a big deal. If I want to buy one battery only, that adds 65% or more to the cost of that "reasonable price". Buyers from Europe and Australia would have even higher shipping costs and VAT.

So how do the guys in china do free international shipping. One thing about them, dounterfeit battery, excellent shipping service, the batteries arrived in 6 days. If they could ship battreies like this, why can't others?

Michael, why do you need to ship? Don't you yourself or have friends to go to the US once in a while? Most of the major Canadian cities are not far from the US border and a lot of my Canadian friends shop in the US reguarly. Batteries are tiny items and are easy to carry around.

I have European friends that mail order from B&H, etc. and have them ship to my place so that I can check it out first. When they come over, they either pick it up or I forward it to their hotel in another city.

In addition to the 3 EN-EL3e that came with cameras, I have only bought 2 more in the last 2 years. It is certainly not something you need to buy very often. The real question is whether you are willing to plan a little ahead and do some work to get genuine Nikon batteries at a reasonable price.

Michael, the seller's name is exactly what I'm looking for. Thanks. Posters in the other threads providing similar info would have been much more helpful.
Shun, as Michael pointed out, shipping (and tax?) can be a problem. Some people do make frequent border crossings for goods. There are actually "med purchaing tours" to Canada and Mexico from the US. Your question on why there is such a pricing disparity between borders is an important one, and not just about camera gears.

Ok, just received mine from China. Whether its geniune or compatable you judge, as I'm now confused. All I can say is, it arrived in good time with recorded post, it cost the equivallent of 18 Euro, the postage cost must cost at least half that !, it charged up ok without any explosions. I haven't worked it yet, but assuming it works, for the price I can't go wrong. It seems a different variation from all the above illustrated. Here's what it looks like.

oops, hopefully the photo appears here.

Andrew, here is a link to your image: http://i496.photobucket.com/albums/rr327/eurocypria/batt2.jpg
That battery has all the signs for a counterfeit. In particular, the Japanese characters are wrong as Akira pointed out. You wouldn't expect Nikon to have the equivalent of a typo in Japanese on their products.

Sorry, Shun, a bit of finger trouble combined with too much beer tonight. I'll get the hang of the picture posting one of these days. Probably is a fake, but I think we all accept that if its coming from China, it most likely will be, but, for the price paid, if it works I'll be happy. I noticed some glue residue in the middle of the hologram, which you can see, and i forgot to mention that it didn't come with any original packaging but just simple nylon wrapping around the battery.

"Michael, why do you need to ship? Don't you yourself or have friends to go to the US once in a while?"

Sure ... once in a while (as in every several years!). Even if I or friends/relatives traveled to the US every few months, if I need a spare battery now , what good would that do me?

"Most of the major Canadian cities are not far from the US border and a lot of my Canadian friends shop in the US reguarly. Batteries are tiny items and are easy to carry around."

Shun - please don't take this the wrong way, but that comment shows either a remarkable lack of knowledge about your northern neighbor, or else you just did not stop to think when you wrote that. I suspect the latter, so don't be offended.

Canada is roughly 10 MILLION square kilometers in area. Not all Canucks live along the 49th parallel. A significant portion of the population does not live in Montreal, Toronto or Vancouver. I myself am nearly 300 miles (approximately 6 hours) from the US border, and I am not by any definition "remote" or "isolated".

So believe it or not, I and many, many, many other Canadians need to have purchases like this shipped if we do not buy locally (at full list price). ;-) :-)

Michael, you missed my point. I meant why do you need B&H to ship your battery directly to you and charge you an outrageous shipping cost for one tiny item?

You can always have some friend bring it into Canada and then re-send it to you, or you can pool your battery purchase with a larger order (either by you or from a friend) to spread out the shipping cost ....

As I said, if you are willing to do a little work and plan a little ahead, there are very simple solutions, much better than purchasing generic batteries from unknown factories with unknown quality control and might not work with the next generation of cameras.

New thread on a similar topic: http://photo.net/nikon-camera-forum/00Tx0p