EN-EL14 - Nikon's D3100, D5100 battery

[KreGg]

Hey, I have a Nikon D3100 camera. I have read it can take around 550-650 shots with one charge.
I find the battery to be pretty good.

But I would like to know how long does this battery holds up in bulb mode?
I was looking to try some star trail photography, and for that I would have to leave the camera shutter open for many hours. Anyone knows how long it can stay running when long exposing?
Thanks.

 

[tirediron]

Digital cameras, especially consumer models are not well suited to astro-photography or extremely long exposures due to the heat-induced sensor noise that builds up the longer the sensor is active. I have no idea what a reasonable limit for your camera would be, but I would research that before I began. I have a feeling that your sensor might suffer damage even before the battery "ran dry", and certainly the noise in the image would likely render it useless.

 

[KreGg]

Oh good that I asked this here...I will do some better research on this topic. Do you have any idea how much is considered safe for normal entry-level DSLR sensors?It does have the bulb function, but I have read some Canons limit to 30min eposure (though you can bypass this limit).So i'm guessing 30min should be on the safe side?Thanks!

 

[KmH]

How long is safe depends to some extent on the ambient air temperature.

Digital cameras designed for long exposure astrophotography have cooling systems built in. Astrophotography Cameras

By doing 'image stacking' star trails can be imaged with many much shorter exposures instaed of one long exposure. Stacking and Processing Astronomical Images

Stacking Images with Photoshop

astronomical image stacking - Bing

 

[Patrice]

Nikon makes ac power supplies that are perfect for this application.

 

[KreGg]

Thanks KmH, i was indeed looking for the stacking method.
I think I'm gonna give this method a try one of those days.
The bigger downside from this method would be shortening the shutter release lifetime, like time lapses. But I guess it can last quite much and I won't be doing this for a living, every day.
So 30 seconds exposures, through 60 minutes, would make my camera shutter work 120 times. Not that it would really make a huge difference in the long end.

 

[tirediron]

If you really want to do super-long exposures, check out Craig's List, pick up any one of several hundred decent film cameras and a few rolls of Ilford FP4 or Fujicolor Superia.