Olympus BLS-5/BLS-50 battery

Hi,

I have Olympus E-PM1 setup with Olympus housing with Zen dome port and single YS-D1 strobe.

I have used the strobe always in manual mode with camera flash power set to lowest and LCD screen of camera

used for shooting.

This was used camera setup and came with 2 third party BLS-5 battery. Intitial days of diving

the battery used to last me for almost 2 dives of 45-50 minutes. But now it has started to bloat up

and don't even last for some 50 shots.

Now for the replacement battery, I see the cost of OEM olympus batteries are 3-4 times than the third party battery.

Question is, If I buy OEM BLS-50 battery, approximately how many shot will it last with flash ON.

And is there any particular third party brand which is close to OEM battery performance?

Thanks in advance

Vimal

I have the same problem- used camera E-M5 with a third party battery that seems to die quickly. I don't have that problem with the Olympus battery on my EPL-5. Stay with the Olympus battery-IMHO in this case, the price reflects what you get. I've used the Olympus battery for a few years and it still holds up well. Hope this helps.

Thank you for the input. I have found same problems with my topside camera(canon 5diii) third party battery too which died off after less than a years use. Whereas the OEM is

still going strong.

I was wondering how much shot I can get with original olympus battery with flash ON. Will it last 2 boat dives without changing the batteries ?

Though it was mentioned in many sites as approx 330 shots, not sure if that was with flash ON data.

If someone has any similar data with other models of olympus BSL-50 battery it might be comparabale I guess.

I have no problems getting 80 shots out of a single OEM battery w strobe on. The battery prices are pretty high, but I found an extended grip w battery on sale, so I ended up paying not much more over an OEM battery, and I find the grip quite useful on land.

I can get 2 dives in when shooting macro. Wide angle, i can get 3 in since i tend to take fewer pics and a fair number of them are with the flash off.

Thank you for the info on the OEM battery.

I don't mind buying non-OEM batteries, I don't seem to notice any issue with Ex-Pro batteries off Amazon. I can get ~280-300 shots out of a battery (No flash,EM5 W/A) which is more than enough for 2 dives in a day. Back in the room I'll alternate to the OEM one for day2.

Thanks for the info. Will definitly help in deciding on the battery...