Is This Battery A Fake??

[WakkoWarner]

I recently purchased a new battery for my A65.  I have an oldert NP-FM500H that seems to last longer when photographing than the new one does.  I will post a few pictures here of my original (I know that Sony may have changed the labels somewhat between my old one and the new ones), so that hopefully someone can tell me if the new one is fake or not.  Let me know.  Thanks.

 

In the first two pics, my original battery is the top one.  In the second two pics, the first one is my original serial number, the second one is the new one.

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

[WakkoWarner]

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

[WakkoWarner]

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

[WakkoWarner]

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

[WakkoWarner]

If you need any other pictures, let me know and I will take some more.  The other thing that is different is the letter C that is between the positive and negative markings on each one.  On the original, the C is very clear and looks like a C.  On the new one, the C takes up 3/4 of the circle.

[LiveShots]

The blue sticker Li-ion is fake... 

Also Sony has the circular Recycle sign, Fake is a Trash can

[Chrissie]

Apparently there are tons of differently labelled genuine/cloned types in circulation. Just enter NP-FM500H into a search engine and look at the image results.

In a German-speaking forum someone came up with the information that you can tell by an embossed 5-digit code on the back side, between the two sticky labels. Genuine Sony follow a pattern, where the second digit encodes the year of production, the third digit the month, like this:

Quote

XXXXX

2. digit – number:  
7 - 2007
8 - 2008
9 - 2009
0 - 2010
……

3. digit – letter:  
A – Januar
B – Februar
C – März
D – April
E – Mai
F – Juni
G – Juli
H – August
I – September
J – Oktober 
K – November
L – Dezember
 

which would make your top sample, having a code of Y7L4D a genuine one from December 2007, and your bottom sample, having a code of K2OOF a non-match, i.e fake.

Link to German post. (post #106)

 

 

[WakkoWarner]

Thank you.  I figured that it was a fake.  The percentage meter would only start out at like 95% on a full charge, then drop to under 50% after only like 20 pictures, then if you turned the camera off and on, it would jump back up to 80% (or more).  The seller says they are getting them from a warehouse in California. 

I guess I wil have to order one from B&H Photo or Adorama and hope that their supply chain is legitimate (the packaging on the B&H site looks identical to the ones from eBay).  I do have a couple of aftermarket batteries from Newmowa, but they don't last as long as the factory batteries do.  Does anyone know of an aftermarket battery that works properly and has good life?? The Newmowa ones never read properly on the percentage.

 

P.S.  I just checked the second battery that they sent for my to try (in case the first one was defective), and it has the same exact code stamped on it.  I don't know if the rest of those codes are like a serial number or not.

 

P.P.S.  I just looked at the code under higher magnification and the digits after K2 are actually DD.  Not that this will mean it is a real battery, but that they are learning to fake the codes better.  I emailed Sony support to see what they have to say about it.

Edited October 22, 2020 by WakkoWarner

[LiveShots]

I buy a lot of stuff from B&H, never had anything fake.

[Pieter]

11 hours ago, LiveShots said:

Also Sony has the circular Recycle sign, Fake is a Trash can

My genuine Sony battery (came packed with camera) also has that trash can symbol. Likely one is for the European market (trash can) while the other is for the North American market. On the two batteries it also shows that they're both intended for different regions.

[WakkoWarner]

I have confirmed that the battery purchased off of eBay is indeed counterfeit.  I went ahead and ordered one from an authorized retailer (Samy's) and it arrived today. The differences in the packaging are obvious, as are the differences in the batteries themselves.  You have seen the counterfeit in the images above, so here are the images of the genuine battery (The first pic is of the counterfeit packaging - the rest are of the genuine battery):


 

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

[WakkoWarner]

You would think that a site that is about cameras would allow larger file sizes.  Here are the other two pictures:
 

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

[LiveShots]

Seeing the packages side by side, the differences are obvious. But if you only had one to look at it would appear genuine.  E-bay can have some good deals but they need to get rid of all the fake stuff, though I’ve seen people order from Amazon and end up with fakes too.