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This page is now obsolete. Its replacement is here.
In 2010 I had surprising problems with replacement BLM-1 batteries for my Olympus E-30. I got my first Olympus camera in August 2007, and immediately bought a second battery for it on eBay. The original Olympus battery and this second battery never gave me any trouble, though clearly it's getting a little old now.
I got my present camera in May 2009, and with it a new battery. That battery is still going strong. I sold the first one along with the camera a few months later.
By early 2010 is was becoming apparent that the oldest battery (which I later gave the number 2) was getting old, so I bought a new one on eBay. It never seemed to have the same charge as the other one, but it worked. Until October 2010. Then it just died: the charger refused to charge it (flashing red LED).
OK, they don't cost much. I just bought a new one (number 5). Got it, charged it, took 36 photos—and it died! This was a particularly cheap battery, only $1.13 plus postage. I reported the problem to the vendor, who refunded my money, including postage, and ordered a new one from the same vendor who sold me battery number 2. It lasted longer: 776 photos before dying. This vendor sent me a replacement battery, which actually survived one recharge before dying as well, after powering a total of only 603 photos. But it was clearly inferior: the contacts were recessed too far and didn't make good contact with the charger.
Looking at this history, the first thing you'd suspect would be the charger. But the batteries didn't die in the charger: they died in the camera. I've also charged my old batteries in the charger with no ill effects, though clearly I've been charging the new ones more. I asked opinions on the German Olympus forum and got the feedback that it probably was the batteries: the material they're made from can be old, and it's the luck of the draw whether they work or not. In addition, now that Olympus no longer uses the BLM-1 battery, it seems reasonable to assume that the cloners aren't worrying too much about them.
That makes sense, and the way the batteries die also points away from the charger as the cause of the problems: they die suddenly with no warning. In addition, each has done so in different ways, and the poor contacts on the latest battery suggest that the quality is dropping.
Since October 2010, I've kept track of when I charged the batteries and how many photos I took with them. That can only be approximate, of course: in particular, it's difficult to keep track of how many were taken with flash. But the results are instructive. A well-charged original battery can take over 1700 photos, and in general you can get 1000 or so out of a replacement battery. This means that for normal use batteries can stay in the camera for months. Even now, where I'm taking over 1000 photos a month, a battery lasts for weeks.
On the other hand, there are indications that the batteries don't keep their charge very long. For example, battery 3 (original Olympus) was charged on 30 November 2010 and not used until 19 March 2011. It managed 166 photos before needing recharging, but after that it managed 910 and 1703 photos. So it seems counterproductive to have more batteries in service than necessary. I've taken to giving the batteries a booster charge just before the previous one is finished, and it seems to have improved things.
To keep track, I've numbered all the BLM-1 batteries I have ever had.
The spare battery for the E-510, later the E-30, received on 27 August 2009. It still works well, though at some point I had my doubts about the charge. Though the battery still seems functional, I have decided not to use it any more.
The battery I received with my E-30 in May 2009:
Once again, I have had no trouble with this battery.
A battery I bought in 19 March 2010 to replace battery 2. Unlike the others, it is a Lithium-ion polymer battery. The others are all Lithium-ion batteries. It also claims ridiculous charge capacity, 3.5 Ah instead of the normal 1.5 Ah or so:
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It certainly didn't ever appear to keep as much charge as the others, and it died catastrophically on 2 October 2010, less then 7 months after purchase: it just stopped working for no apparent reason. In the time I had it, I took about 6000 photos, so it's likely that it was only ever recharged once or twice.
The second replacement for batteries 2 and 4, received on 15 October 2010. It lasted for 36 shots and then died, again completely. The vendor refunded the price, including postage:
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Strangely, on 21 November 2010 I discovered that this battery was showing a charge again. After the renewed death of number 7 on 22 November 2010, I put it in the camera again. It managed another 22 photos before I retired it.
A battery from the vendor of battery 2, received on 19 October 2010. Since 2007 the battery markings have changed, which may mean a different supplier:
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By comparison with the others, it lasted a long while, 776 shots. But then it died in exactly the same way as the other two.
A replacement for battery 6, from the same vendor, received on 10 November 2011. It has problems with the contacts: I often have to push it against the charger for it to make contact. I've measured the depth of the contacts from the surface of the battery, but at about 1.1 mm it's no different from the Olympus battery.
The real problems are elsewhere, though. It doesn't retain much charge. On the first charge it managed 318 shots, on the second only 285. Yes, LiIon batteries require several recharges to achieve maximum capacity, but this is the same type as number 6, which managed 776 photos before dying. In addition, this one is showing signs of dying already. I couldn't recharge properly the second time, though the battery was still functional. I used it again and got another 54 photos out of it before it died again.
A replacement for battery 7, from the same vendor, received on 30 November 2010. It looks the same as the previous two, but is apparently from another supplier. It has now lasted for three years, but it doesn't seem to have quite the capacity of the next two.
One of a pair of batteries with forged Olympus labels, received 9 December 2010:
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The vendor made it clear before purchase that they're not original Olympus, but I'm not very impressed. They have both survived three years, and they maintain a charge that is midway between number 8 and the original Olympus batteries.
The other of the pair of batteries with forged Olympus labels.
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