el4a OEM batteries

Will Gill

Will Gill

Will Gill

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Joined
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Hi guys

quicky Q for ya, got my mb-d10 grip for my extra 2fps and true to form forgot to read what I actually needed to facilitate said 2fps....namely an el4a battery and charger. Had a very quick hunt around and a nikon branded solution is weighing around £150-£200 and a no brand equivalent is available for £30

money isnt really an issue but if I can get the same solution for a tenth of the price I'm obviously all over it, or is it as I expect too good to be true?

thanks :)
 
Which camera Will? AFAIK, any batteries in the grip will give you the extra fps shooting, it doesn't need to be the EL4a does it? I'm using 8xNiMH AA batteries and I thought I was getting the extra performance.
 
its a d300, awesome if you are right, I have a load of eneloop batteries doing nothing!

I was sure you needed the bl-3 battery door thing and the el4a battery, anyway to confirm?
 
From http://imaging.nikon.com/products/imaging/technology/scene/21/

Watanabe:
The MB-D200 takes two types of batteries—AA or EN-EL3e. The new MB-D10 takes these two types, as well as the EN-EL4a and EN-EL4 [collectively referred to below as EN-EL4a]. The principal change is that the camera’s functionality has been improved as a result of the higher voltage achieved through the use of these batteries. If an EN-EL4a battery or AA batteries are used, the frame speed increases from 6 frames per second to 8 frames per second.
Click to expand...

So I think its right that you will get the boost with AA. To be honest though, I don't find AA batteries last a huge amount of time. On a D300 with a VR lens, a very rough estimate is that I get about 1000 pictures. The D300 also can't tell how much charge is in the AAs (which is stated in the manual). It shows them as full until you get down to around the last 20 pictures, where it shows half and then drops to the internal battery. If it wasn't for the insane cost of that EN-EL4a charger, I would have gone for that instead which I've heard lasts "forever".

Also, bear in mind that if you intend on shooting using the full 14-bit image option, you still don't get more than about 2-3 fps even with the battery pack attached. You need to drop to the standard 12-bit to get the full rate.
 
The AA batteries will work, but I would suggest getting hold of a EL4a (Or third party copy) as they last for aaaaaaaaaagggggggggeeeeeeeesssss! The default D300 battery isn't bad, but compare it to a EL4a and you'll notice a difference.
 
awesome thanks for the feedback guys, 3rd party el4a it is then with the AA battery pack as a reserve in my bag

with regard to the 14bit image option are you referring to L RAW picture size or something else?
 
Will Gill said:
awesome thanks for the feedback guys, 3rd party el4a it is then with the AA battery pack as a reserve in my bag

with regard to the 14bit image option are you referring to L RAW picture size or something else?
Click to expand...

Steady on hold chap, no need to fire yet! :)

I use an MB-D10 on my D700, and prior to that it was on my D300.

8 x AA Eneloops will get you the jump in fps, and Eneloops last for ages. I really don't recognise the AA drain symptoms mentioned above, not with Eneloops at any rate. I agree that lesser AA's are more of a problem.

I would seriously re-consider spending on a battery door, charger and EN-EL4 batteries (or equivalent) to achieve the same result...
 
I've used the eBay 'no name' EN-ELA4 batteries and can confirm they're as good as the official (which I also have).
 
I just used the official Nikon unit which caused no problems at all, I hadvn't noticed any difference between the two batteries for length of charge etc, so you should be good to go:)
 
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