CCS digital camera batteries, NP80, NP60, Fuji, Toshiba

+ Larger Font | - Smaller Font

Batteries for Digital Cameras

In addition to the batteries we stock, we can also order just about any digital camera or camcorder battery, including the Fuji NP-100, the Nikon EN-EL1 (currently in stock) and camcorder batteries for Panasonic, Sony, RCA, Sharp, etc. If you don't see it here, just email.

Toshiba M4/M5/M70, Fuji MX series (1700/2700/2900/4800/4900/6800/6900), Kodak DC4800, Ricoh RDC-6000 and RDC-7 do not take standard batteries. They use a special Li-Ion battery. (Kodak Klic3000, Toshiba model BT-1 and BT-2, Ricoh model DB20, Fuji model NP-80 (and NP-100, which is slightly larger for the older MX600, MX700).

Who makes these batteries?

We really don't know. Fuji was using these in their MX cameras a year before Toshiba started using them in the PDR-M4 and about two years before Kodak started using them in the DC4800. Does Fuji make them? Our distributor told us they didn't and we have reason to believe it. 1) If Fuji invented these batteries themselves, why does the MX-600 use a slightly different size than the MX-2700? Since both batteries have the same basic design and the same power, why would Fuji invent and manufacture two different kinds? 2) Why would Toshiba, Ricoh and Kodak choose to make some of their cameras require a non-standard battery made by their competitor? Can you see IBM using non-standard Apple parts in their computers? 3) Why have dealers pretty much run out of stock on Fuji and Toshiba labelled batteries for months while Kodak can still be found? Wouldn't Fuji first make sure that they had enough supply before making them for competitors? 4) Why were Fuji's and Kodak's batteries labelled 1100ma, while the Toshiba BT-2 was labelled 1300ma? If Fuji made these for Toshiba, why are they making a better one for their competitor than they make for themselves?

The evidence suggests to me that my distributor is correct when he says that another battery manufacturer makes these batteries for all of these companies. These batteries were designed to solve specific problems. AA type batteries, even good rechargeables, don't last very long. The newer devices coming out, with CD players and LCD screens, require more power that lasts longer. Someone had to come out with a battery that was small enough, light enough and powerful enough to keep these devices running. It also had to be able to be recharged to full power numerous times. These LI-Ion batteries (and there are several designs) were the answer. Fuji contracted with the manufacturer to supply Fuji-labelled NP-100 batteries for the MX-600 and MX700. After Fuji started using these, an improvement in the process allowed the manufacturer to shrink the battery. So the smaller NP-80 version made it into the MX-1700, MX-2700, MX-2900, MX4800, MX4900, MX6800 and MX6900. This is the version that Toshiba, Kodak and Ricoh adopted for their cameras. Each camera manufacturer wanted to distribute the battery with their matching label. (Just like most digital cameras come with a smartmedia card or compact flash card that carries the name of the camera manufacturer - not the smartmedia manufacturer. There are only about three companies that actually manufacture the smartmedia cards. Other companies just license their label.) Similarly, these are all the identical battery regardless of the label.

Over time, the process improved even more and the output was raised. Some companies chose to keep the same label. Toshiba chose to come out with the BT-2 label, boasting 1300ma. It has become just about impossible to find the BT-2 batteries. We had orders going back months that never arrived. Other suppliers have told us that there are rumors that Toshiba has discontinued using the BT-2 label because it led to confusion. Toshiba digital cameras (and even newest M70s we received) came with the BT-1. Customers are afraid to buy the BT-2 because they are not sure these will work. (Note: they will.)

Is the rating important?

mA is a measurement of how much power can be produced over time. A 6 volt battery with an mA rating of 600 will last half as long as a 6 volt battery with an mA rating of 1200. So yes, technically there is an advantage to choosing a battery with a higher mA rating. But with the specific batteries, those that are marked are somewhere between 1100 and 1300. This is a very slight difference (if there even is a difference). We have asked this of several "experts" and the answer we have been given is that it is similar to the average miles-per-gallon estimates shown with new cars. "Your mileage may vary." An article in Digital Camera Magazine once reviewed several external power units that you can clip to your belt and connect to your digital camera via wire. These devices were rated from 1800ma to 2700ma. The reporter discovered, using real laboratory condition testing, that there was no discernable difference between these devices. Every one of them, despite the different ratings, produced the same amount of power for the same amount of time. When he questioned the manufacturers, he got the same answer we did. Ma ratings are not an exact science and there is room for fudging. Toshiba chose to rate their BT-2 at the maximum output under optimal conditions. The manufacturer originally chose to give a more conservative rating. Fuji, Kodak and the Toshiba BT-1 were rated when they were first produced and some of the companies haven't bothered to change the labels. So we won' try to claim that any battery is better than any other. The bottom line is that they all seem to work identically.

We tried a "real world" test, taking a "genuine" Toshiba BT-1 and BT-2, "genuine" Fuji NP-80, "genuine" Kodak Klic3000 and several generic batteries. We tried these in a Toshiba PDR-M5, Toshiba PDR-M70, Fuji MX-2900 and Kodak DC4800. For each test, we charged the batteries fully, placed them in the camera (and we traded them around, using the Fuji in the Toshiba and the Kodak in the Fuji, etc) and then used the cameras normally except that we left the displays on (since this takes a lot of power) and used the flash for every shot (we recommend using the flash even for outdoor shots. It eliminates shadows). Though we did not do this scientifically (we did not shoot until the batteries ran down to compare if one gave more shots than the other), we were able to easily fill a 64mb card in each test over a period of a day without running out of power. We did shut the cameras off when not taking pictures. Each battery then recharged to full capacity in under an hour. Our conclusion is that the difference, if any exists, will not be noticeable in real world use. I keep one fully charged generic battery in my PDR-M70 and a spare in the bag. Despite trips that lasted a whole day, I have filled my 64mb smartmedia card without once changing batteries.

Is there an advantage to name brand?

If you were buying a delicate electronic item, such as a television, digital camera or stereo, the name brand may be important. Often a generic brand does not yield the same quality picture or sound, or is made with inferior components. Even "solid state" items like batteries can be made cheaply. Often the generic AA batteries in the discount stores don't last as long as the expensive name brands. How good is a 25 cent battery going to be? Even some of the name brands, like Panasonic and Sony, disappointed us by how quickly they ran out of power. But there are times when there is substantial money to be saved by going generic and this is one of those times. 1) We have every reason to believe that these batteries are the identical ones selling under the brand name labels. The reason that Fuji and Toshiba batteries sell for higher prices is not that they are made better. It is because you are paying for the licensing for those labels. Some companies just add a higher licensing fee*. Kodak batteries and chargers are in every way identical to Toshiba and Fuji ones but sell for less. 2) Even if these are not being made in the same plant, these are not 25 cent batteries. The manufactuer is not being squeezed to save pennies and produce something cheap. The difference between a good battery and a bad one is somewhere between 25 and 50 cents. On a 25 cent battery, no one is going to spend 50 cents to make it better. These Li-ion batteries sell for enough money that the manufacturer will spend the extra 50 cents and make a quality product. It is easier than sitting on a stock of bad batteries no one wants. 3) Only two generic batteries were ever returned to us by customers who felt they didn't last as long. Of the two, one has been working fine and we have found no problem. We have had one "genuine" Toshiba that wouldn't charge and two customers reported that the "genuine" Fuji batteries that came with their cameras refused to charge after a few months. One Digipower battery was returned because it didn't seem to last as long. (So far no problems with Kodak.) Does this mean that certain brands are inferior or that Kodak is better? Absolutely not. Reports of one or two failed batteries is not statistically significant. There are many reasons why a battery can fail and most of these have little to do with the manufacturer. Even with name brands, when you are mass producing thousands of items, a few defective ones can slip through. We have sold more generic batteries than all of the others combined and have had only two returns. Since they are all warranteed for a year, no one will be stuck with a defective item. All our batteries carry U.S. warranties from companies located in New York, either from us, Kodak or Digipower. In any case, the failure rate for any of these brands is well under 1%.

* Just to illustrate a point, my wealthy aunt was once very happy to discover a designer gown selling for $540, about 75% off the "original list" of $2000. She purchased it for a family affair. When she arrived, she was shocked to find my sister (a more frugal person) wearing the identical gown. She expressed disbelief that my sister has paid so much money. My sister explained that she had found it for $180, a third off the "original list" of $540. It was in every way identical, down to the description of the materials used, except that it carried a different label of a second-tier manufacturer. My aunt congratulated my sister on her spectacular bargain. Just then, one of my sister's friends showed up, wearing the identical gown. This friend's father is a famous "bargain hunter," constantly on buying trips to replenish the stock of his chain of successful close-out stores. My sister's friend told her that her father had come across these dresses during one of his trips, marked down from their "original list price" of $180 to $90. Again, identical in every way except for the label, an unknown brand.

One of the customers of my computer services runs a mail order business selling imported electronics. He has boasted to me often how he would go to an electronics manufacturer in Hong Kong or Taiwan and buy the identical item selling under a name brand label at a substantial discount simply because it did not have the label. Many of the "counterfeit" items that are confiscated at the border are not really "countefeit" items. They are the identical items with counterfeit labels. The crime is not that someone copied the item, but that someone tried to cheat the brand name out of their licensing fee.

So when you are faced with the decision to go name brand or not, decide the following:
-is there a discernable difference in quality?
-will I be stuck if there is a problem?
-what am I risking and is the amount I am saving worth taking a risk?

With these batteries, the answers are: 1) there is no discernable difference in quality. We believe these batteries are identical to the name brand. 2) Since these batteries have a one year warranty, even in the event of a problem you will not be stuck. So we don't see any risk at all. We can guarantee that you will save money.