D80 battery life?

[scottmandue]

Long time 35mm guy getting my toe into the digital world, figured a inexpensive used D80 would be a good starter.
Picked it up yesterday, came with bag, two lens, two batteries. I had a bunch of errands to run so I didn't have much time to play with the camera, but of course when I did have a few minutes I chased the cats around and snapped a few shots just to get a feel (a little overwhelmed by all the buttons so just left everything in auto).
I got off about 35 shots most with flash (shooting indoors) and after that the battery (seller said she charged both batteries) was down to one bar, is that normal?
I see batteries on Amazon are $22 for two so I guess not that big of a deal.
Also the battery door seems to pop open with out warning in normal handling, could be my fault for not sliding the button to secure but is that a normal?

 

[table1349]

Make life easier, the camera more comfortable to hold and the battery life last longer.
Amazon.com : New Battery Grip For Nikon D80 D90 MB-D80 & More with IR REMOTE! : Digital Camera Battery Grips : Camera & Photo

 

[robbins.photo]

I'd probably charge the batteries fully yourself, then test it. If your only getting 30-35 shots even with flash assuming the battery is actually fully charged then my guess would be the battery probably needs replaced.

You can also replace the battery door if it bothers you enough,

Nikon D80 & D90 Battery Chamber Unit Cover/Door USA

Not recommending Ebay or this seller persee, just the first that came up when I did a search for D80 battery door. The old one will pop right out, you pop the new one in, good to go.

Oh, welcome to the wonderful world of digital.

 

[KmH]

Nikon En-EL3E batteries on Amazon are $34.54 each
Nikon EN-EL3e Rechargeable Li-Ion Battery for D200, D300, D700 and D80 Digital SLR Cameras - Retail Packaging


35 shots might be all an old battery can deliver, particularly if the batteries are 3rd party el cheapos.
Flash, the meter, using the rear LCD, an AF-S lens, and using VR all eat up battery power.
The flash unit all by itself eats up a lot of battery power.

There are menu settings you can chose that will mitigate wasting battery power.

Don't preview every shot, have the meter turn off sooner, only use VR if your shutter speed is under 1/500, etc.

From the D80 User Manual:
"Battery Life
The number of shots that can be taken with a fully-charged EN-EL3e battery (1500 mAh) varies with
the condition of the battery, temperature, and how the camera is used. The following measurements
were performed at a temperature of 20 °C (68 °F).

Example 1: 2,700 shots
AF-S DX IF ED 18–135 mm f/3.5–5.6G lens; continuous shooting mode; continuous-servo autofocus;
image quality set to JPEG Basic; image size set to M; shutter speed ⁄ s; shutter-release button pressed
halfway for three seconds and focus cycled from infi nity to minimum range three times; after six shots,
monitor turned on for fi ve seconds and then turned off ; cycle repeated once exposure meters have
turned off .

Example 2: 600 shots
AF-S DX IF ED 18–135 mm f/3.5–5.6G lens; single-frame shooting mode; continuous-servo autofocus;
image quality set to JPEG Normal; image size set to L; shutter speed 1⁄250 s; shutter-release button
pressed halfway for fi ve seconds and focus cycled from infi nity to minimum range once; monitor
turned on for four seconds after each shot; built-in Speedlight fi red at full power with every other shot;
next shot taken after exposure meters have turned off .

The following can reduce battery life:
To ensure maximum battery performance:
• Keep the battery contacts clean. Soiled contacts can reduce battery performance.
• Use EN-EL3e batteries immediately after charging. Batteries will lose their charge if left unused.
• Check battery status regularly using the Battery info option in the setup menu ( 107).
The battery level displayed by the camera may vary with changes in temperature."

 

[Dave442]

When I first started out in digital I went through batteries very fast. A lot of that was from spending a lot of time learning the menus. The older cameras like the D80 are especially fast a draining the battery if using the rear screen a lot. But even then 35 shots is very low, it should be in the 500 to 1000 range.

The camera uses the EN-EL3e battery, the D80 should have the Battery Info in the Menu under the Wrench Tool and it will show a rating of 0 to 4. When it gets to 4 the battery needs to be replaced. This screen also shows the battery charge in % and shows how many shots have been taken on the current battery charge.

In any case, the best thing to do is pick up one or two new batteries and another charger and a couple new Lexar or SanDisk SD cards.

 

[Watchful]

Lowering the screen brightness and turning off auto-review will help as well. Use live view less and viewfinder more.
That's a fat kitty.

 

[scottmandue]

The batteries are Nikon, but the camera (and I presume batteries) old, checked the shutter count this morning... 37,000!
Nice to know the battery door is an easy fix... however loving the extra battery grip in the first response, but does it really take two months to deliver?
Thanks again everyone!

 

[table1349]

There are many vendors of those grips in including nikon. Check around and you should be able to find a decent one in your price range that won't take long to get. Here is the Neewer version. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0..._m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1CVN6GBRAZGRSG9PYRNK

 

[MartinCrabtree]

Be sure it's an old battery causing the issue. The D80/90 have a common problem that manifests itself as high battery drain. When the camera is turned off does the green memory card access lamp blink? Does the battery drain even if the camera is turned off? Always diagnose a problem before spending money and the results will be as desired.

 

[scottmandue]

Camera does not appear to drain battery when off. A quick look over and I don't see any blinking lights... where is the green memory card access lamp located?

 

[spiralout462]

I have used Neewer grips in the past. They are decent for the money. It's a good option if OEM is hard to find.

 

[Watchful]

The light is on the back of the camera on the lower right side, near the card access door.

 

[scottmandue]

Okay, thanks everyone! What a great community! Found the memory access light, not blinking. Batteries seems to be holding charge when camera is off. Checked battery info, one battery is a 1 and one is a 4.
Went to eBay and picked up a bundle, Neewer grip, two batteries, charger, IR remote, for $60 from a local vendor (one week est. delivery). I also like the idea that I can use AA id need be and understand it is a China product (so expecting just okay quality), a few used Nikon battery grips are on eBay but hard to beat the price if he Neewer kit.
Thanks again for welcoming a newbee!

 

[Watchful]

The country it is made in is less important than the standards they build to. Nikkor lenses are made in Tiawan, Apple products are often made in China. OK, bad example, Apple is crapple.

 

[robbins.photo]

Glad to hear you got it all sorted out. Have fun with the D80, even for as old as it is you can still get some pretty remarkable shots with it.