Uniross VB104295

The VB104295 battery is a direct replacement for the Olympus BLM1 battery used in Olympus SLR cameras. At £65 for an official Olympus battery, these Uniross batteries cost a whopping 88% less at just £8.20 on Amazon UK. I bought five of these spare batteries to go with the one original battery on a 7 day African safari where I would have no access to electricity, and ever since I have used them interchangeably with the original as I have found there to be no perceptible difference in longevity or charge time which are the only factors I would consider relevant. With my Olympus E-3 I can take upwards of 900 exposures using one of these batteries at fast shutter speeds (the shot count goes way down on long exposures, but the same is true of the original battery). They look the same, they feel the same, the work the same, and they're an eighth of the price. You'd be a fool to buy an original BLM-1 instead of one of these.

The only thing to be wary of is that if one of these "unofficial" batteries were to somehow leak and damage your camera, you probably wouldn't be covered by your warranty. That's why I went with a trusted brand like Uniross as opposed to an unbranded model from Hong Kong which you can pick up on eBay for as little as £2. Two years of use so far and no hint of leakage or failure of any kind.