The Aftermarket Panasonic GH3 Batteries arrived about a week ago. It took just a little over two weeks for shipping, and the first test was to see if there was a battery meter displayed in the GH3. As you can see below there is a battery meter being displayed.
The second thing I did was to place them on my Panasonic OEM Chargers. The green light was on to indicate charging and after about an hour, the green light was off indicating it was fully charged. I threw another set on the chargers and all appears normal so far.
I'm sure a few people are curious about these aftermarket batteries, so I decided to run a little test. During my time lapse test, the aftermarket batteries lasted 3.5 hours with continuous shooting every 3 seconds. The DMW-BLF19 OEM Battery lasted about 5 hours 40 minutes. Obviously the OEM batteries give more run time, but at a cost of about 8x more than the aftermarket. For myself i'm happy with these results, but whether you want to use aftermarket batteries, i'll leave that up to you. I ordered these via eBay and can be found (Here).
Aftermarket Panasonic GH3 Batteries with Charger
JPFilmer
For what it's worth, I purchased two of these back when the article was first published.
One of them worked well at first, while the other would never hold a charge from day one. I wrote to the seller several times and he kept telling me, "you just need to cycle the battery a few more times before it will hold a proper charge"; he stalled me long enough for the window to close on opening a paypal dispute, and the battery has never once taken or held a charge.
The other battery which worked well at first has now recently stopped holding a charge. Got roughly 30 good cycles out of it before it started failing.
Overall, not worth the money or the trouble. Will definitely spend the bucks to buy the OEM replacements this time around.
Johnny
Awesome, thanks so much, Emm!!!!
Emm
Post author@Johnny - This is the exact seller I purchased from, and now looks like they have an aftermarket battery grip too: GH3 Battery
Johnny
Hey Emm!
Can you please link me to the exact battery you bought via ebay - I clicked the link provided in the email, but it shows multiple batteries - or are the all the same?
Thank you 🙂
Emm
Post author@Swiss - Strange. I've been using 4 of these long before NAB2013, and still shooting on the GH3 everyday. I would contact the seller.
Swiss
I bought 2 and both are not charging with the GH3 charger: the light turns off after a few minutes like it's charged but it's not...
VanWeddings
awesome! wish i had waited for this test before getting an OEM spare, but will definitely get these now.
Tez
I ordered the same exact batteries for my Gh3, they were delivered to my door in exactly 7 days, they work great, the battery meter work, and I can use my factory Panasonic charger with no problem. I ordered three for $55 my ebay here is the link https://www.ebay.com/itm/171009875688
Emm
Post author@Anthony - I'm using them everyday now, so we'll see what issues I run into. I'll try to do something where it's all video based until the battery dies.
Anthony
The real test fir the video-focussed GH3 is how long can you shoot and will it properly sense the low voltage to 1) stop recording, and 2) properly write the end of file before shutting the camera down.
A test with photos is nothing. You may, at the most, lose one image. A test with video is something else entirely- without the proper file closure, you lose the entire clip. Possibly a half hour, an hour, or more.
This is what we need tested.
Louis
Thanks for the info! It's great that you took the time to do a test and share the results.
Henry
I recognise the savings, but personally the risk of using non oem batteries in a $1200 camera is too high for me. I've dabbled with non oem batteries in my sub $200 point & shoot camera, but I can't risk it with my GH3.
It's probably easy for me to say since I only need 1 extra battery costing $80. It may be a dilemma for some of you, a saving of $70 versus the increased risk to your cameras electronics.
I like the peace of mind knowing I have a tried & tested battery that won't void my manufacturer's warranty.
Martin D.
Great test ...always good to have one or more backup batteries.
Any recommendations for a GH2 battery? ...I don't have a GH3 yet.
Also, what are your recommendations for photo lenses for GH2/GH3? ...not for video, but "photos" ...with autofocus. I didn't know if there were any current deals to be had. Like to hear your opinion or redirect me to a past link ...I will search your site again.
Sotiris
You are the best, Emm rocks
John
Nice! Thanks for posting. Definitely worth it. Even though one oem battery usually lasts me a whole day of shooting 🙂