Third Party GH5 Batteries Tested And Compared DMW-BLF19 

I've used Wasabi powers batteries in 5 different cameras over the years and have never had a problem. I definitely recommend them. I also bought the Newmowa for my GH5 and they work fine as well.

In the video you say 50$ Panasonic battery. Here in Europe one cost 100$ ... what a difference

$45 for the official battery? WHERE?

That could explain why one of my SD Cards got corrupted. Thanks for the video!

How are the batteries now?

I had 3 third-party batteries for my Canon T3i and after 4 years of usage, all 3 had barely any battery life left in them, while the original battery was still going strong. I even had a battery swell up and stuck IN my T3i. Had to wiggle it out, but the camera almost broke because of the battery. Lesson learnt...

Great video Lee! Thanks for taking the time to make these. I know even a simple video like this takes a lot of time to put together. Cheers man!

Thank you for this video! Straight to the point and your test is dead on!

Greetings from the future. In 2022 I am still using the GH5. Wasabi Power batteries are fine until the temperature goes below, say, 39 degrees Fahrenheit. And if you have a big power sucking lens on, like the Panasonic Leica 50-200mm, the camera freaks out. To stop the continuous shutter snapping, monitor flashing freakout, all you can do is pop out the battery. So you look in your bag for a Panasonic branded battery, put it in and voila. It works, no problem. I considered the voltage (7.2 vs. 7.4) and amps (mAh 2000 vs 1860), and it's not relevant. It's just the quality of the battery. You can only reliably use the 3rd party batteries in normal temperatures. I haven't done much in extreme heat, so I can't speak on that. I'd imagine it's not an issue.

I'm curious how the batteries are doing now, nearly a year later. Do they still have the same capacity/performance as they did in April?

I had 4 Wasabi batteries for my Canon camera and exactly 2 years after I bought them they all stopped charging...or rather they would say they were charged but when placed in the camera they wouldn't work or would only last about 30sec. My original Canon battery still works fine... basically I will never buy Wasabi batteries, it would have been cheaper to pay more for a battery I know will last longer.

Don't use the dual charger. It has a really rubbish design flaw. It have only 2 charging pins (+ and - ) and don't check the batterie temperature when it charges the batteries. Thats the reason they die after a couple of months. Use the OEM charger equipped with 4 pins (the T pin is the temperature sensor). Just my 2 Cents ;-)

Thanks for this. I tried a few 3rd party DC dummy adapters & had similar compatibility issues. IndiProTools works for 5-sec, then GH5 shuts down automatically w/ error message. Returned it to Amazon. Then tried a Gonine DC dummy adapter and that works!

Been using the Wasabis since the GH4 and they last about 20% less than the official Panasonic battery, they also seem to require sometimes dual insertion into the camera after it doesn't register them in some cases, other than that they still work fine after 2 years. Thanks for this great test!

I think the main difference between the OEM batteries and third party batteries is the software support. Batteries as we know today are smart and just as @fstoppers mentioned the low battery condition is programmed into the software for OEM batteries but for the third party manufacturers, they have no access to the core OS kernel. And thats why the abrupt blackout at the end of the charge cycle.

FYI, this also happened with the GH4 and third party batteries. got one in a package deal from Adorama. no issues with the oem Panasonic battery...

I had the the same problem with the dot1 batteries. thanks for making this video.

Thanks for the review. How about a long term review of those 3rd party batteries with the GH5?

1 point that you did not say, the Wasabi comes with 2 or 3 year warranty! I had an issue and I just called Blue Nook the USA seller of Wasabi to Amazon and they sent a replacement. They won't last 3 years but good to know it has a USA seller for warranty.

I use nothing but third party batteries (Wasabi, Patona, STK) in my cameras (X-T2, GH4, 5D3) and have never had any issues with any of them. Photography isn't my day job, but I do shoot professionally. It's not a matter of being cheap, it's about value. For the cost of a single OEM battery, you can get 6-10 third party batteries. If you need quite a few batteries, then it's pretty much a no brainer for me. You're absolutely right if you think third party batteries aren't as good as OEM ones but are OEM batteries 900% better? Because they cost 900% more for about 10% more "performance". As for people that find their batteries stop charging...I've never had that happen to any battery whether it's OEM or third party. I think you're just doing it wrong.

Any update on the battery testing and which batteries are still working?

Had a similar problem with my Panasonic GH4, which uses the same type of battery. What happened was that I got a message that prompted me to turn my camera off and then on again. The same would happen just about every time I hit the trigger. Then I noticed it only happened with my 45-200mm lens. And then I noticed it only happened with the extra batteries that I bought. These extra batteries looks like the originals. But were quite a bit cheaper, so probably not the real thing. The thing is, that an original DMW-BLF19 battery is about $100 in Sweden. So I really had a good reason to find a useful replacement.

I have had great battery life with Wasabi and Kastar batteries for my GH3 and GH4. However, NONE of my batteries (Panasonic OEM, Wasbi, Kastar and others) have given me more than 75 minutes of recording time. I have two brand new Panasonic batteries, and they are no better than the 3rd party batteries I am using. I presume battery life is shortened with using the internal image stabilization, but wonder if there are other settings that impede battery life. BTW, I have continuous AF and WiFi disabled. Any suggestions on what may be depleting my batteries so quickly?

Is there any difference between BLF19 and BLF19E?

Well after a year and a bit what is the verdict?

Newmowa batteries had started causing my GH5 Screen to glitch in random situations, leding me to think my sensor was dead. Nor even turning on/off the camera worked, so I had to manually extract the battery and put it inside again. This is after 3 years of profesional use. I don't know if I'd buy it again.

I find it odd. Why can't I see the date of this video? Please let me know. I want to know the date?

Thank you man!

If you shoot professionally always use the OEM batteries. If you are a hobbyist then battery failure is likely to be less of an issue ( although it's still annoying ) and 3rd party options will save you some money. The biggest issue is if a battery were to swell and get stuck inside the body or even leak. You can kiss your warranty goodbye unless you were using the approved OEM battery at the time 😯

I like this kind of video. It's always interesting. But I learnt that being cheap on the gear is generally not a good idea. I never bought third party batteries and I never will. I hear too much bad stories about 'em. The consequences are not the same as if you bought a cheap version of something else.

But you lost all of the footage from card or one single file which was still recording while battery died?

The problem i've been having now with the wasabi battery now is that as of Firmware version 2.2 on the GH5, the camera now shuts down at random now saying the battery isn't accepted by the camera. More than likely a voltage issue. its unfortunate because Panasonic batteries are expensive.

What is the mAH rating on these batteries?

Top comparison !!! Thanks !

Hello thanks for the video...would you recommend a usb powered supply to use with a dummer coupler for long term battery life?

Their is a Promaster battery as well that I got off Hunts Photo Video. If only the Panasonic branded batteries were no more than $40.

Now keep all those batteries and see how much they can hold their charge in a couple of weeks. I'm sure the genuine panasonic one will be the best one.

Can anybody tell me why there are no more panasonic or even watson batteries available? Its like I am the only person on the internet who thinks its insane that they are "backordered" until October on Adorama, BH, and Amazon. Hopefully someone has an inside scoop on what is going on. Not to mention I cannot find the NewMowa batteries that you recommend Lee. What Gives?

Ii own the newmowa with the usb charger no problems there. i can even power the charger form a battery bank or my laptop on the go

Works for the g9?

you said two of the batteries cut off, other than 1Dot did the other battery corrupt the file?

What you mean "camera die" are you lost the camera forever? it's damaged or what?

I was watching this to see about heat, i have two running right now - exact same type though, one seems to be heating up and the other is not. ii do not know what causes this and there fore do not know if I am going have trouble with one or the other of these, seems to me though that heat is not good. Would have been cool to confirm this, I will keep checking around , maybe someone else has done that part of the test.

What video resolution were you using for these tests?

crap, I had just bought the 3 pack Dot 01's :-( hope they work ok for me

Test the Peter Hadley battery..real top-quality..even better than the original..

I'm fairly positive Newmowa and Wasabi batteries are identical.

I have just ordered a battery off eBay from a company called VHBW-tec. It was a battery for an old Panasonic NV-R11 which I am restoring. Is VHBW legit? Also does anyone know if Panasonic still make batteries for cameras from the late 80s early 90s. Thank you.

what is the difference between blf19 ..... blf19e ...... and blf19pp ? does anyone know?

Anyone know if the Kastar battery is a good choice?

Lithium ion batteries should not be discharged completely (thats the worst thing to do to damage the life of the bettery), do not keep them stored fully charged for a long period, also do not store them fully charged in a hot enviroment (interior of a car in summer) Lithium Polimer (most drone batteries) are even more unstable and dangerous.

don't use Newmoa - if you use with a monitor, shooting HLG, it will cut out and change aspect ratio midshoot as the battery can't handle powering both

thanks!

My wasabi's failed after a year.

nice one

update pls?

and Patona batteries ?

is it Bad to Charge the GH5 Batteries when they are only and 1/4 or 1/2 Charge left in them or should they be totally Drained before recharging them ? thanks

I would avoid 3rd party batteries, never had good experiences with them. Not only do they run hotter, they definitely don't last as long. All the DSTE batteries I've bought degraded to the point they're almost useless within 1yr, regardless of i only used them 10 times or 50. Please provide an update as that's the most important part of this video, thanks!

I've used wasabi's for years in my gh4's and never had any issues. they all seemed equal over time to the originals. Their chargers also charge the originals.

Camera rig with external power bank???

what about gh5s?

Any news about these batteries after 1 year of use?

Third-party batteries are disappointingly short-lived, and OEM batteries are disappointingly expensive.

LOL now $70 Dollar battery

BLA BLA BLA

I don't trust this channel f stoppers. Not only is the date oddly missing but it never answers any comments or questions. Not my kind of channel.

I do not understand why one buys a reasonably expensive camera and then cheaps out on the batteries! I only use Canon LP-E6N batteries in my (Canon) cameras. To have thousands of dollars of gear and then worry about a few bucks saved on batteries to me is just nuts; note, I am an amateur and will not disappoint anyone but me if a shoot gets trashed.

Not worth going cheap with a non brand battery. For the 2 commenters that said they could buy a lens for about $500 dollars I don't know what kind of glass your getting. It's not professional Nikon or Canon lenses :-)