Fujifilm NP-W126 Li-Ion Rechargeable Battery

I have to give this battery five stars because it is an original Fuji device, and therefore comes with the specified performance (i.e., no guessing and gambling with off-brand replacements that may not work as well, as long, or as consistently). Having said that, there are some third-party brands (see below) which seem to work reasonably well in comparison to this original battery, and for less than half the price. This makes it difficult to make decisions on battery purchases, particularly when one is traveling, because one would not want the battery to operate poorly while on a trip, and yet, purchasing multiple original manufacturer batteries is very expensive.It would seem that a good strategy is to bring two of the original Fuji brand batteries, and then supplement with two or more third party batteries. This is the strategy I use, because two original Fuji batteries should give me a majority of coverage for the day's shooting, but if I need more, I have the third party batteries as a backup. And although the price of these batteries is high, it is still not as high as some other manufacturer's brand batteries (but, of course, many of those are much larger, with a larger charge capability). So, in spite of the high price, I have to rate this battery with five stars.Third Party Equivalent:Thus far, I've had no trouble with Wasabi Power Battery (2-Pack) and Charger for Fujifilm NP-W126 and Fuji FinePix HS30EXR, HS33EXR, HS50EXR, X-A1, X-E1, X-E2, X-M1, X-Pro1. For roughly half the price of one original Fuji brand battery, you get two Wasabi batteries, plus a wall charger and a car charger (and a European wall plug adapter). Moreover, the charger design of the Wasabi is what the original Fuji charger should have employed: no heavy cable, but flip out prongs. Most reviewers report good results with these batteries, and so far, I've had no issues with them.One minor quibble ...There is one thing that I have to quibble about with these batteries (and this applies to both the Fuji and the third party batteries): no plastic battery case is supplied! I scratch my head in incredulity each time I interface with these batteries. Why is not a plastic, snap closing case supplied (as is the case with batteries from Nikon, Canon, and Sony)? This five-cent part would protect the batteries when in a pocket, a pouch, or a suitcase (even when stored at home), keeping the metal contacts covered, and preventing rubbing on the face of the battery (which may eventually wear off the printing showing model number, amperage, voltage, etc.). Fuji here supplies a flexible synthetic pouch that is a tad thicker than a zip lock bag, but it does not seal, and its utility is not that great. What's more, the third party batteries also do not come with a plastic case, and I have tried in vain to find the cases themselves for sale anywhere. What's with this? People who shoot with the Fuji X-mount system are really into these cameras, but why this obvious oversight? It's the strangest thing. I have resorted to using small zip lock bags to enclose each battery, but this is cumbersome and not as effective as a small, latching plastic case made for the battery would be.

So far, it holds a charge, it makes my camera run. It does its job. Since I came from the Canon Powershot/##D SLR and Panny LX-5 worlds to the Fuji X-world, there are two small things that are slightly negative:1) Unlike the NP-W126 battery that came with the Fujifilm X-E1 Kit, this Fujifilm OEM replacement battery does not have the orange arrow to indicate which directly to insert the battery. Another review has noted this insertion marking issue as well. It may be more of a design issue with the X-E1 instead of the NP-W126 battery, but some of my other digital cameras have batteries and battery compartments that are designed so that the battery can only go in the correct direction. Fujifilm depends on the arrow without any other physical safeguards. IMO, the design could be better.2) There is only a flimsy vinyl pouch to store the NP-W126, unlike Panasonic and Canon who include plastic battery protectors to prevent the electrical contacts from touching anything else when it is not in the camera or charger. This vinyl pouch is not a dealbreaker, but other camera manufacturers have a better battery protector.In the defense of the NP-W126, occasionally you will see an attractive price on Amazon for the Official Fujifilm OEM version of the NP-W126. If so, it is worth paying this price for the OEM battery since you have probably already paid a lot of money for the Fujifilm X-series camera already.

As you'll note from reading the reports on the much cheaper battery kits that promise equivalent performance: they don't. At best they provide significantly fewer hours of use for power-intensive cameras like the X-Pro1; at worst, they lose charge so fast that when you pull them out of your pack to switch them in for a dead one, they, too, are dead! Nothing worse than being in the field with no battery. This is the genuine item, though its packaging is slightly different, and its battery life and charge-hold is equivalent to the one that came with your Fujifilm camera.

Authentic brand batteries. Work as they should.

Fuji batteries continue to work flawlessly. This replaces a third-party battery that 'puffed up' after charging and no longer fits in the X-Pro 1. Buy the real product.