This product is listed at $26--I found replacement Pentax batteries for as much as $46. Does this mean the quality for these are a quarter as good?
1185677
No, they definitely are not. They have been, so far, fantastic, and at least as good as the Pentax batteries that came with my K-5II
1468307
Well, I recently bought the Z950 and bought extra batteries after doing a little searching for batteries that were highly recommended by those who purchased them. They are not Kodak OEM batteries, but I found two--2 batteries brand new that match the Kodak specs. The two extra batteries were--believe it or not--$3.99 plus shipping--total of $8 and change. I charged and tested both batteries and they work as well or better than Kodak's batteries which sell for between $25-$30 EACH! Do a little bit of shopping and you can get these perfectly fine batteries that fit exactly the same as the Kodak batteries, and are giving me as many or more pics per charge. Hope that helps! Well, I recently bought the Z950 and bought extra batteries after doing a little searching for batteries that were highly recommended by those who purchased them. They are not Kodak OEM batteries, but I found two--2 batteries brand new that match the Kodak specs. The two extra batteries were--believe it or not--$3.99 plus shipping--total of $8 and change. I charged and tested both batteries and they work as well or better than Kodak's batteries which sell for between $25-$30 EACH! Do a little bit of shopping and you can get these perfectly fine batteries that fit exactly the same as the... » Read More Well, I recently bought the Z950 and bought extra batteries after doing a little searching for batteries that were highly recommended by those who purchased them. They are not Kodak OEM batteries, but I found two--2 batteries brand new that match the Kodak specs. The two extra batteries were--believe it or not--$3.99 plus shipping--total of $8 and change. I charged and tested both batteries and they work as well or better than Kodak's batteries which sell for between $25-$30 EACH! Do a little bit of shopping and you can get these perfectly fine batteries that fit exactly the same as the Kodak batteries, and are giving me as many or more pics per charge. Hope that helps! « Show Less
36857
You're right. Amazon's list price of $845.82 is way off. The local camera store, Cord Camera in Ohio, told me Canon's MSRP for the 580EX II is $439. But it's supply and demand. Try to find a 580EX or 580EX II flash on Adorama.com or B&H; (bhphotovideo.com) You won't. So it's 14% market-up from those that have them to sell. That's reasonable. What isn't reasonable is expecting an online stores to say your savings is -14%. Hence the mark up on the list price and the claim that you're saving 41%. If you can find this item in stock from a reputable seller at $350, pass along the web site.
614868
ePHOTOzine.com just published their full review of the K-5. Looks as if real-world performance matches the expectations raised by DXO. And the rest of the camera performs at that level. Hoya has succeeded in bringing Pentax along very nicely - this model competes very well indeed in the $1,000 to $2,000 price range. Canon and Nikon will have to work harder now and that competition is good for all of us.
171547
I'm using a 3rd party battery in my Pentax now and haven't had any problems at all.
1088008
Reader X,Thanks for the response. Check out Amazon for the batteries. Five Sony or Maxell for less than $3.25 or a couple import brands for $5, all with either free shipping, or eligible for free super-saver shipping.ww
845476
I bought a cheap one from Amazon. Not as smooth as a Nikon one, but not bad at all. About a quarter of the price.
360554
www.cameraaddict.com is advertising the silver one for $328 and the black one for $381, with free shipping, for anyone that is interested. I do not not have experience ordering from them but these are the cheapest prices I can find.
488619
I've been a Pentax shooter for over 30 years and one of the reasons is because all their lenses are compatible with all of their cameras - film and digital. If in doubt however, I would call them to confirm. Their customer support is really good.
243422
The photo quality seems real good to my eye, particularly for the price. I think it is worth it for you to try them out once. If it works for you it will save you a ton over time. If you don't like the quality you can still use them for everyday printing at a lot less.
230270
Sometimes with batteries you get what you pay for. I have this same set and they don't last very long, one battery communicates with my camera while the other does not. I don't think I'd recommend them. the manufacturer's batteries tend to be the best, but very expensive. Do some research to find the best third party if you're looking for a better price.
1451099
They're very decent for the price. I would say that when fully charged, they seem to last about as long as Canon brand batteries. The only issue is that after a few days of sitting around, the charge seems to go away. So just make sure you keep them charged up. (I'd say try to charge them the day you need them, and they should work well for you.)
1803121
One word: perfectly. I purchased a few of these and gave some of these batteries to my friends that owned Rebel cameras and they like them with no complaints. I am surprised they are still on sale.
1531926
I received mine over the weekend from Amazon, but have done similar research as you did for over a week. I've noticed the same thing as you do on the price increase. IMO I chaulk it up to supply and demand. I shopped around and found the prices to be generally very close amongst online stores, and no more $435's available except at one reputable NY store selling it at $439 just the other day, and is back-ordered. The thing is that with Amazon there aren't even other vendors selling this camera at any price, so it's completely up to Amazon to charge what it thinks is appropriate. Even the used prices (which are mostly by Amazon in this case) have risen by a large margin. However, the camera is fantastic! So it's still a value proposition in my case. Since I sold my M43 gear, this $500 price tag is downright low. Look at it another way, there are no M43 or DSLRs (bodies only) that shoot at 5.5 FPS with autofocus or 12 without that come in at less than a grand. The lens range and aperture are in the same situation, there is nothing in the inter-changeable lens world that come close without costing multiples of this FZ150. Seriously, an Olympus 28-200'ish mm equivalent M43 lens runs at $450; a Nikon 18-200 VR for APS-C sensor is at approx $900; a Nikon 28-300 VR for full frame is about $1k (while non of these open to f 2.8). True, those cameras have larger sensors and the lenses are quality stuff and can do different things (we're not totally comparing apples to apples here), but if this camera is right for you for what you do as it does in my case for what I intend it to do, which is for travel (light) and take photos of my son at baseball games, the price is a steal. Frankly this camera out guns my DSLR by a large margin and does 1080P video with fast accurate auto focus at 60p :) I cannot do manual video focus of sports - at any price! On the other hand, other options may be to wait and see, or buy used. I checked out eBay, no luck there (but Amazon pricing staff already know that).
609270
I would do it again without hesitation, I've had zero issues with this so far. There is difference in the feel vs Nikon's battery grip but no where near the difference in price! Small price to pay in my opinion - Hope this helps
1429308
YEAH,..TRUE dat,.... like ay other "High-end" name brand,just buying a part such as amere batery w/ the smae "NAME-stamp" on it COSTS BIG bucks,.....BUT you probably can find the EXACT SAME battery for it elsewhere for a OT CHEAPER,..such as RADIO SHACK, who has ALL battery types for EVERYTHING! (I but all my lithium batteries for my cameras, and cordless phones there.~JAI
919114
It cost me about $40 for the pair (about $25 for the VAR-A2 and about $15 for the VAR-G8), although I bought multiples of each, so I probably saved some on shipping per item. We are using the camcorders to record classes which are typically two hours in length. (The awesome thing about these camcorders is that you can drop the file straight to a Flash server and they will play.) Due to our particular needs, it was not practical to change a battery mid-class.