Wasabi PowerBattery (2-Pack) and Charger for Olympus BLN-1, BCN-1 and Olympus OM-D E-M1, OM-D E-M5, PEN E-P5

I purchased the Wasabi dual battery kit for an Olympus OM-D E5.The kit consists of two batteries, a charger with a flip down plug, an adapter for the flip down plug to fit round bladed outlets, and a car charger.Initially I had some difficulty with the charger - the charging light was always green, rather than red for charging and green indicating that the charge was complete.I contacted Blue Nook (the vendor) and their representative noted that they were temporarily out of stock of the charging units. He put me on a waiting list and a couple of weeks later a new charger arrived. In the interim I had used the 'defective' charger and it seemed to charge the batteries, but I was concerned that it would overcharge them since the indicator light wasn't functioning properly.The replacement charger had the same problem. I contacted the Blue Nook representative and he was befuddled, he had not heard of this issue prior to my first call. He did note that some units needed to have the contacts pulled out ever-so-slightly so as to make better contacts with the battery, but that did not seem to be the issue in my case. The only thing we could think of was that I needed to run the batteries down a bit more before attempting a charge. (Lithium cells do not have 'memory' issues as did the old NiCad cells, and I formed the habit of frequently recharging my Nikon D300 cells which I carried on with the Wasabi cells).I ran one of the Wasabi cells down to the point where the 'low battery alert' was being shown in the OM-D viewfinder. When plugged into the Wasabi charger the light finally turned red indicating it was charging. (As noted in other reviews, these batteries are not "chipped" so the battery gauge in the OM-D E5 may not reflect the actual state of charge in the battery).Apparently there is a threshold of power draw that causes the indicator light to turn red; anything beyond that threshold does supply power to the battery (I'm theorizing here, because the charger did charge the battery even before I got the red light to come on) but in a 'maintenance' trickle charge with the indicator light being shown as green.Once I had that issue sorted out the batteries work just fine. Note that the OEM battery will also charge in the Wasabi charger (however the reverse is not true - one cannot charge the Wasabi batteries in the OEM charger). The OEM charger has a power cord, whereas the Wasabi charger has a flip down plug. If one has ready access to a wall plug the flip down plug is better; if one has to fiddle around behind furniture to access a wall plug the OEM cord style has the advantage.Compared to the cost of a single OEM battery, and considering that one receives two batteries and an automobile adapter in the kit, I consider this to be quite a bargain for under $30 U.S.The folks at Blue Nook were very helpful in sorting out my difficulties in getting the kit working, and very responsive both by email and telephone.I believe the OEM battery does last longer (I have not done a "battery shot count" for each battery type) but since the Wasabi cells are so inexpensive when compared with the OEM cells one can have considerable power "in reserve" in the form of spare cells.Of course the cells are quite small and very light, so carrying spares is not onerous.I am very pleased with the product, the price, and the service received from Blue Nook.Recommended.EDIT: 18 months later - the Wasabi batteries are still running fine in my OM-D E-M5; I use them interchangeably with the OEM battery and have had no issues.EDIT: 5 years later - one Wasabi battery will not hold a full charge; the other has swelled after the latest charge and will not fit into the EM5 body. Used in rotation with the original Olympus battery (still fully functional), the Wasabi batteries came within a month of lasting 5 years.I've put in an order for two more - and they are now less expensive than my original order. Not bad, not bad at all.

I purchased these for an OM-D-EM5 ll. These inexpensive batteries work great. They fit the camera and the optional grip without a problem and the charger is much nicer to use since it does not require a cord. These batteries get the best charge using the Wasabi charger and the OEM battery gets the best charge in the Olympus charger. I have not had a problem with the charge indicator in the camera. It shows a full charge when you turn on the camera and when the charge gets low, the indicator comes back on and flashes red just as it should be. I have only had these batteries for a few weeks, so I can't comment on their longevity. But so far so good. Two batteries and a charger that comes with a cord for use in your car at half the price of one genuine Olympus battery, it's a no brainer.Update: I've now had these batteries for 9 months and they are still working just as well as the when I first got them. I honestly can't tell the difference between the Wasabi and the Olympus batteries. I do remove them from the charger within 30 minutes after being fully charged after reading some users posts about swelling. I'm not saying that's the cause, but leaving them in the charger for hours after showing fully charged may not be good. I would buy these again.

I purchased this package of two Wasabi BLN-1 batteries plus charger in April 2012 because I needed spare batteries for my Olympus OMD EM-5. I had used Wasabi batteries in the past with good results, Olympus OEM batteries were out of stock, and the price point of $12 v. $55 per battery was compelling. Since then, I have used the Wasabi batteries interchangeably with the Olympus OEM battery. I have shot more than 40,000 exposures on these batteries – they now power both my EM-5 and EM-1 – and they continue to perform every bit as well as the Olympus batteries: no difference in number of exposures, holding a charge, nor performance in hot or cold conditions. The charger is an added plus: it is more compact than the Olympus charger, it incorporates a collapsable plug, and it charges both the Wasabi batteries and the Olympus OEM batteries (while the Olympus charger will only charge Olympus batteries). Furthermore, the battery saddle on the charger is interchangeable on a universal base, allowing me to use the same base to charge several different types of batteries. When travelling, I only take the Wasabi charger; it has performed admirably in multiple countries with varying voltages and electric grids. I have no reservations about recommending this product.