Digital camera accessories

[rookie]

Hi,
I wondered if anyone could help me.  I have just bought a Panasonic Lumix dmc-fz5 and wanted to purchase an extra battery.  I use Ebay frequently, so that was my first place to go.  There I found many, many discounted batteries for sale, but all were generic.  Prices were very cheap (comparatively) and I wondered if these were worth buying or should I stick to Circuit City ETC.?

Thanks for your time.  
PS I did buy an extra memory card from the local CC and got a fairly good deal, but still sooo much more than Ebay!!
 

[ShutterbugGail]

Hi Rookie and welcome to the Q&A Board!

I use generic batteries for my Nikon and they work fine. I didn't buy them on ebay but Sterlingtek, which many Nikon digital camera owners use. Not sure they have them for the FZ5 but you can check it out.

http://www.sterlingtek.com/polcamacpag.html

I've read of others who bought a cheap battery on ebay and were satifisfied. I think the Panasonic proprietary batteries are expensive, so it may be worth a try to buy one inexpsensive, no-name brand battery and see how it works out. Another option is to do a Web Google Search and see if you can but a Panasonic brand battery at a discount.

[Mike54]

Sterlingtek, which many Nikon digital camera owners use.

And a goodly number of Canon users as well. I've had no problems with mine.

[dddclan]

I have purchased two rechargeable batteries on EBay.  They do not last as long as the "factory" battery, but the price was right and I am satisfied with my purchases.

[ShutterbugGail]

Great.

Don't forget to condition your batteries every couple of months. If you don't have a battery charger that automatically does this, use the camera to let the battery completely drain, then fully recharge it.

Enjoy your new camera!