Suggestions, problems and queries.

[Nemesis]

All the Best Yorkie.

[Hugo]

I'm pleased to hear that, would you please pass on our best wishes to him.

[Merddin Emrys]

Wonderful!

[hollins]

Not able to post photos at the moment. Thank goodness, I hear you all say!  Comes up with a blank screen after the download.

[Hugo]

I was looking on Amazon to buy a battery for my camera and saw some batteries that were not made by my camera manufacturer but were a lot cheaper.
The only thing is that after the model name it said " EXACT DECODED"     What exactly does that mean and could the battery be used with my camera?

[Ian]

What it means is that the battery is a copy of the original one right down to the microelectronics all batteries now have on them. But they're copies and Lithium batteries have something of a ropey track record with regard to copies and fire risk.

[Nemesis]

Perhaps I have been lucky, but I have had a 'copy' battery for my old Coolpix camera for a long time and had no problems.

[Hugo]

Thanks very much Ian and Nemesis, there was quite a difference between the cost of the batteries.    The manufacturers own brand was about £30.00 t0 £40.00 dearer than some others and I couldn't see how the difference was justified but didn't understand what was meant when  they said  "exact decoded"

[squiggle]

Lithium ion batteries are basically a bit dodgy to start with. They have a few features including built in electronics to make them safe.

There have been cases of fire and major recalls with branded batteries but I guess the risk of  getting something of poor manufacture is greater with the generic batteries.

Another argument against the use of generic batteries is that there may be warranty problems if an equipment breakdown could be attributed to an "original" battery.

One more can be that they may have a shorter life and/or not perform as well. One may consider though that even if these problems do exist, the difference in cost more than compensates for this loss.

Personally, I do use a generic battery in both my Pentax DSLR and Fuji bridge camera and have had no problems.  That's just me though - someone else may reasonably prefer to avoid them.

[DaveR]

I've used a mixture of genuine and generic camera batteries over the years. The genuine ones are always far more expensive but do seem more reliable, in my experience.

[squiggle]

I'm posting this on behalf of my mother who I believed tried to register here on Friday/Saturday as she wanted to join in the walking thread.  She got the "waiting approval message" but has heard nothing further.  I guess there could be all sorts of reasons for this and appreciate that the forum would not be the best place for some types of debate.

As I can find no other place for me to get in touch I do wish to make this comment though.  I am aware that duplicate identities can often be a reason for rejection.  My parents and I live at the same address and our IP address is the same so it is possible that something like this has been flagged.

[Ian]

Yes - I spotted the duplicate and approved your mother, S. As it was your IP I assumed it would be okay.  If she logs in with the details she provided she;ll be very welcome. She ought to have had an email, but it might have gone amiss with the weather :-))  I was getting a few problems last week on the internet.

[squiggle]

Yes - I spotted the duplicate and approved your mother, S. As it was your IP I assumed it would be okay.  If she logs in with the details she provided she;ll be very welcome. She ought to have had an email, but it might have gone amiss with the weather :-))  I was getting a few problems last week on the internet.

Thanks.  She's just tried a log on and it's OK.

[Merddin Emrys]

It still says 'Christmas is coming' at the top of the page, a truly horrifying prospect at the best of times! Could it be changed to spring, Summer,  Easter? 

[DaveR]

It still says 'Christmas is coming' at the top of the page, a truly horrifying prospect at the best of times! Could it be changed to spring, Summer,  Easter? 

Christmas...has gone.