Sony NP-FM50 Battery

[jitspoe]

Must... resist... long... rant...

K, short and to the point:
1) Is it normal for the life span of one of these batteries to drop to like 5 minutes after a year or two? (Shows like 270 mins after a full charge, but I get the low battery warning after taking about 5 pictures).
2) Do I have to shell out 50 or 60 bucks to get a new one, or are there some cheaper off-brand ones that will work?

 

[technogeeky]

Get the Sony one. It's worth it.

Yes, it's normal. But they shouldn't be lying about their charge. The batteries are said to have a 1000 cycle life.

 

[jitspoe]

Well, the first battery sure didn't seem worth it. :\ It's too bad they didn't just use AA batteries or something that I could replace cheaply.

 

[jitspoe]

I found another battery that would work: Lenmar DLSM50. Anyone know anything about it? I'm trying to locate some reviews (if there are any).