Some companies claim to offer cheap batteries that work with this camera however I read on the description for the Panasonic battery:
Panasonic DMW-BCG10E ID Secured Battery for TZ7 and TZ6,TZ10, TZ8 contains special technology which means that third party manufacturers cannot copy them.
I used a cheap battery in the TZ5 and it performed as well as the Panasonic one.
The official Panasonic battery seems overly expensive to me but is it the only type that works?
I emailed Bristol Cameras asking the same question since they sell a non-brand battery:
Your question was: I thought that Panasonic "secured" their cameras so that only panasonic batteries work. For example, the TZ7 would only recognise it if the firmware was downgraded to pre-v1.2. Can you confirm that this battery actually works in the new TZ10 please?
Answer is: Hi, yes these Hahnel batteries are chipped so they will work with the Panasonic TZ10. When ordering pop in the comments box that it needs to be compatible with the TZ10 and we can then make sure we supply one of the latest ones which is marked on the packaging as compatible with the TZ10 camera.
When I get the camera, I'll pop in there and try one out and let you all know what happens...
There seem to be mixed results, I would proceed with caution. See this thread for more information: http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/readflat.asp?forum=1033&thread=35117236&page=2
One guy says he got a third party battery (which the ebay auction claimed is correctly decoded), but it didn't work. Another guy claims he got a third party battery on ebay that worked.
No complaints from me, I use bestbattery.biz, and have i the past purchased TZ10 battery and works really well
