MB-D80 AA battery life

DjBeau · Feb 16, 2009

Hi

Nikon claims that one can take up to 2500 pics on one charge of the EN-EL3e battery for the D80. But how many pictures can one take with six standard 1500 milliampere AA batteries in the MB-D80 battery grip? Any experiences?

Captain IK · Feb 16, 2009

There are so many variables to that question, I don't think one can give an accurate answer.

Flash or no flash?
ambient temperature? indoors or outdoors?
Time between shots?
LCD on...for how long? Do you review every shot?

I think battery life is different for everyone depending on their style of shooting and conditions at the time of shooting.

JerryPH · Feb 16, 2009

VR lenses affect that number too... as do things like:

- Do you chimp a lot?
- Do you use AutoFocus a lot?
- What file sizes is your camera set at?
- Is your storage card fast or slow?
- Do you use the in-camera noise reduction?
- Is your battery new or old
- Is it the original OEM or a 3rd part battery?

... and a few dozen more.

Under *OPTIMAL* conditions, one may get 2500 pics, but I doubt many people live in a world where optimal conditions continually exist. If you got 1200-1500 out of the battery grip, I would be happy if I was you. Now, a battery grip is for more than just holding that battery, it's also all about comfort in the hand and how it balances the camera when using a heavy lens. It is also about the convenience of having the controls in a more logical position when holding the camera in portrait orientation.

DjBeau · Feb 16, 2009

Of course there are numerous variables and the standard EN-EL3e will propably only last somewhere between 500 and 1500 in field conditions. But maybe somebody has some experience regarding the use of AA batteries in field conditions. Is it about the same duration, way less or maybe even more?

kundalini · Feb 16, 2009

Do you think you'll really need more than a thousand shots out of the grip in one session? If so, buy a couple extra sets and carry them with you. Might as well get the 2900ma version while you're at it. Same goes for the body battery, have a spare on hand.

JerryPH · Feb 16, 2009

kundalini said:
...buy a couple extra sets and carry them with you. Might as well get the 2900ma version while you're at it. Same goes for the body battery, have a spare on hand.

Sage advice for anyone! Normally I don't go over 500-600 a day when shooting, but when I am in wedding mode, 2500 is easy to do. When I got my D700, I made darn sure that I had more than enough capacity for that without needing to recharge a battery. Three EN-EL3e and one EN-EL4a, I should be good for 4500-5000 pics before needing to see a battery charger.

Bigpopa · Feb 16, 2009

I run the 2650mah rechargeable duracells in my D60 grip and I have had to recharge them once since christmas when I got my camera.........

DjBeau · Feb 17, 2009

All god advice, but none of it really answers my question.
The thing is I'm going on a 15 days trek without the option of recharging due to a complete lack of electricity. So I need to know how many batteries to bring. Don't wanna bring too many due to weight. And of course not too few. So I simply need to know what the durability is compared to the standard battery.

blash · Feb 18, 2009

DjBeau said:
All god advice, but none of it really answers my question.
The thing is I'm going on a 15 days trek without the option of recharging due to a complete lack of electricity. So I need to know how many batteries to bring. Don't wanna bring too many due to weight. And of course not too few. So I simply need to know what the durability is compared to the standard battery.

When I was in Israel hiking along just taking random shots (call it 100 shots a day I guess), no VR, no flash, no battery grip, I lasted for a few days on that one battery. So I'd say buying another 3 rechargeable equivalents would probably do the trick for you, so if you're going to use AA holders then I'd pick up probably 12 or 16 batteries. I have no idea what kind of shooting you plan to do and with what frequency so your mileage will vary.

DjBeau · Feb 18, 2009

Well, it's in the Himalaya but in May, so it won't be THAT cold. But I'm shooting 6-8 minutes exposures which take a lot of battery. But I think I'm gonna go with some 3000 milliampere AA lithium batteries which are supposed to last up to 8 times as long as alkaline (probably 4-5 times in field conditions...). Then I won't have to bring that many.

TUX424 · Feb 18, 2009

you can have to many batteries that wont even add 1/2 lb or u could not bring enough batteries and have lbs and lbs of photography gear that you cant use
I would say take as many batteries that you can fit.

blash · Feb 18, 2009

DjBeau said:
Well, it's in the Himalaya but in May, so it won't be THAT cold. But I'm shooting 6-8 minutes exposures which take a lot of battery. But I think I'm gonna go with some 3000 milliampere AA lithium batteries which are supposed to last up to 8 times as long as alkaline (probably 4-5 times in field conditions...). Then I won't have to bring that many.

So long as they're *just* 6-8 minute exposures, and even then considering the cold, I wouldn't know. What I do know is that digital cameras will break themselves if you try to set up hours-long exposures, like for astrophotography, since the sensor gets too hot, and no, the extreme surrounding cold does not cancel out the heat the sensor will make.