Sony A1II Fake batteries with the latest cameras

[DJT]

In 2019 I switched to Sony, got myself a couple of 3rd party batteries to go with my A9. I immediately got the warning about using a non genuine battery. Concerned I may miss a shot when this warning popped up (shooting wildlife and sport) I decided to buy myself 2 "genuine" Sony batteries. I had no further issues or warnings, batteries have worked fine for the past 6 years. Then in June I decided to get myself the A1 MK 2. When I put one of my Sony batteries in that I was using in the A9, I started to get warning messages about non genuine batteries. Puzzled, I did a little research only to find the ones I purchased 6 years ago were actually counterfeit Sony batteries (not 3rd party or genuine Sony ones) and the A1 MK 2 didn't like them at all, where as the A9 had no issues with them.

On Saturday I decided to use one of the non genuine ones in the A1 MK 2 as I was shooting all afternoon at a sporting event and also going out on a photo walk Saturday evening. I put the non genuine battery in and immediately got the warning message. I acknowledged it and carried on shooting. After about 2 or 3 minutes I got a "Battery Exhausted" message up and that was that (all my batteries had been fully charged before going out.) I ended up running down the pitch to my camera bag to quickly put in a genuine battery and continue shooting the game. When I got home I put the battery into my A9 and it works fine, saying it has 81 % charge remaining.

So, it would seem that possibly the newer Sony cameras/latest firmware are less tolerant of non genuine batteries. Just a heads up to anyone considering buying non genuine batteries.

 

[Jeffrey]

Sony DOES NOT like other manufacturers items like batteries or lenses to be on their cameras. They intentionally make it difficult for you and restrict performance. Have you tried using the Sony 1.4x on a non Sony lens? Or shooting top speed bursts with a non Sony lens?

 

[Phil Vetra]

In 2019 I switched to Sony, got myself a couple of 3rd party batteries to go with my A9. I immediately got the warning about using a non genuine battery. Concerned I may miss a shot when this warning popped up (shooting wildlife and sport) I decided to buy myself 2 "genuine" Sony batteries. I had no further issues or warnings, batteries have worked fine for the past 6 years. Then in June I decided to get myself the A1 MK 2. When I put one of my Sony batteries in that I was using in the A9, I started to get warning messages about non genuine batteries. Puzzled, I did a little research only to find the ones I purchased 6 years ago were actually counterfeit Sony batteries (not 3rd party or genuine Sony ones) and the A1 MK 2 didn't like them at all, where as the A9 had no issues with them.

On Saturday I decided to use one of the non genuine ones in the A1 MK 2 as I was shooting all afternoon at a sporting event and also going out on a photo walk Saturday evening. I put the non genuine battery in and immediately got the warning message. I acknowledged it and carried on shooting. After about 2 or 3 minutes I got a "Battery Exhausted" message up and that was that (all my batteries had been fully charged before going out.) I ended up running down the pitch to my camera bag to quickly put in a genuine battery and continue shooting the game. When I got home I put the battery into my A9 and it works fine, saying it has 81 % charge remaining.

So, it would seem that possibly the newer Sony cameras/latest firmware are less tolerant of non genuine batteries. Just a heads up to anyone considering buying non genuine batteries.

I'm shooting an a1 and have a couple of SmallRig battery's and get the same message every time I turn on the camera. I have no problems with battery life, even in the cold -15*C. Granted they don't last as long as the Sony ones. I always carry a couple of spares.

 

[Chris 3754]

Wow! The real issue is that you paid for genuine Sony batteries and received fakes. Any chance you have recourse with the seller, probably not after six years, but you never know with a local camera shop if that was the case.

 

[iamdlewis]

So, it would seem that possibly the newer Sony cameras/latest firmware are less tolerant of non genuine batteries. Just a heads up to anyone considering buying non genuine batteries.

I have two Newmowa batteries that I got when I had an A9 7 years ago. Both the A1 and A1ii flash the warning both will shoot a while with them. I only really use those batteries when I am doing stuff in the house because they always got a little less time than the Sony ones but now that they are 10 years old they are showing their age. They have been worth it and the duel charger I got with them, though not quick, has been excellent.

 

[AlphaWorld]

In 2019 I switched to Sony, got myself a couple of 3rd party batteries to go with my A9. I immediately got the warning about using a non genuine battery. Concerned I may miss a shot when this warning popped up (shooting wildlife and sport) I decided to buy myself 2 "genuine" Sony batteries. I had no further issues or warnings, batteries have worked fine for the past 6 years. Then in June I decided to get myself the A1 MK 2. When I put one of my Sony batteries in that I was using in the A9, I started to get warning messages about non genuine batteries. Puzzled, I did a little research only to find the ones I purchased 6 years ago were actually counterfeit Sony batteries (not 3rd party or genuine Sony ones) and the A1 MK 2 didn't like them at all, where as the A9 had no issues with them.

On Saturday I decided to use one of the non genuine ones in the A1 MK 2 as I was shooting all afternoon at a sporting event and also going out on a photo walk Saturday evening. I put the non genuine battery in and immediately got the warning message. I acknowledged it and carried on shooting. After about 2 or 3 minutes I got a "Battery Exhausted" message up and that was that (all my batteries had been fully charged before going out.) I ended up running down the pitch to my camera bag to quickly put in a genuine battery and continue shooting the game. When I got home I put the battery into my A9 and it works fine, saying it has 81 % charge remaining.

So, it would seem that possibly the newer Sony cameras/latest firmware are less tolerant of non genuine batteries. Just a heads up to anyone considering buying non genuine batteries.

I'd note that a 6 year old battery, depending on how hard it has been used, may well be reaching its end of life, whether it's genuine or not. If you got 6 years out of your counterfeit batteries, maybe that's enough?

Some of us only shoot on weekends, so our batteries last a really long time. If the battery is rated for 500 full charges, then even if I charge it every weekend, I should get about 10 years from it (52 times a year...)

If you charge the batteries every second day, then 500 full charges is less than 3 years.

It might be worth the cost of a couple of new batteries just to get rid of the annoying warnings. Here in Australia the genuine FZ100 batteries are often on sale - right now I can get them for A$83 each (RRP is A$109) - that's under 41 GBP. I don't know what the price is like there.

Oh, and you should have received the nice new charger with the A1 II - I like being able to charge two batteries at once.

 

[Soundmike]

I'm sorry guys but if you can afford A1 mk2s you can afford decent batteries.

 

[DJT]

Wow! The real issue is that you paid for genuine Sony batteries and received fakes. Any chance you have recourse with the seller, probably not after six years, but you never know with a local camera shop if that was the case.

I got them from a very well known auction site. I went back and listed my purchases from 2019 and found them. However the seller is no longer registered so I guess there is no chance now, especially after all this time.

 

[DJT]

I'm sorry guys but if you can afford A1 mk2s you can afford decent batteries.

I thought I was buying genuine batteries 6 years ago. Since getting the A1 MK 2 I have the original A9 battery, the one that came with the A1 MK2 and have since purchased 2 more genuine ones, so I now have 4 genuine Sony batteries, 2 counterfeit "Sony" batteries.

 

[spudhead]

Ok so I bought what I thought was a genuine Sony battery about 4 years ago for my a9 at the time. Now it was fine and never came up with an error message, you know the one. until that camera had an update. It now shows on any Sony camera I put it in, it looks the same as original but it is not. Now my Son builds electronics in high end electronics market and I mentioned it to him at the time it started the warnings. He told me the camera will log the battery used in the memory of the camera each time it is used and if the camera fails while it is in the camera that info can be recovered by techs and guess what it might invalidate your warranty if you have one, hence the message. He tells me I would be amazed at the what can be put in the software of electronics. Just a theory but I would hate to be told that if I had to return a camera for repair

 

[DJT]

Although nobody has asked, I thought I'd share a picture of both the fake and genuine Sony batteries, just so you can get a look if you've never come across one. The biggest tell is the colour of the hologram sticker. It still says Sony but on mine they are a lighter, almost yellowish colour, where as the Sony ones are a much darker green, with the serial number being more easy to read.

 

[iamdlewis]

Thought it would be better to have a 2019 Sony battery to compare. It seems that in 2024 Sony changed the text on the batteries.

• Galaxy S23 Ultra
• 2.2 mm
• ƒ/2.2
• 405/10000 sec
• ISO 1000

 

[DJT]

Thought it would be better to have a 2019 Sony battery to compare. It seems that in 2024 Sony changed the text on the batteries.

View attachment 79362

Thanks for that - I didn't realise they'd changed the text - I just grabbed one from my camera bag and took the pic

 

[iamdlewis]

Thanks for that - I didn't realise they'd changed the text - I just grabbed one from my camera bag and took the pic

No problem. Though not sure anyone is going to know based on the images how you can tell a real from a fake. Mine came with my A7Riv and doesn't show a message with either A1 or A1ii.