Nikon battery question

[TheGoofster]

I was wondering if anybody knew about how long the battery in a Nikon D3000 (which I believe is the same battery used in the D40 / D60 / D5000 cameras) lasts when fully charged?
For example, if I were to take it to the MK, and spend all day (about 10 hours) shooting hundreds of pictures (about 500 - 600), would it hold a charge the entire time? Or should I go ahead and order a second battery to have ready as a backup?
Or, if I use the camera for a while each day (about 2 hours) and take 50 - 60 shots, about how many days (more or less) should I expect the battery to last on a charge?

Also, about how long does it take to charge the battery (figuring it is pretty much out of charge, to be fully charged)?

Thanks for any info.

 

[spinetnglr]

I have a Nikon D40 and it holds a charge pretty well. I used it the last time I was in WDW in '07 and had no problems shooting a whole day on one battery. I would charge it each evening though. Here at home I could go days without charging it if I was only using it for an hour or so each day. I now use a D300 and its very good on battery life too. No problems shooting a full 8gb card with raw files on a single charge. Its nice to have a second battery just in case something happens to the one you have but barring any problems you shouldnt have any trouble shooting a full day on a full charge.

 

[YesDear]

Believing that Nikon battery technology has improved a great deal in the last few years I would assume that D3000 would do well. I can easily shoot the whole day without changing a battery with my D300

That beind said I always keep a spare with me.

 

[Icemann]

I too have a D40 with that battery,I've shot upwards of 600 pictures in one day with a fully charged battery.If the battery is almost dead it should take no more then 90 minutes to fully re-charge it.I also have a spare battery just in case.

 

[ssanders79]

I can go very long periods on a single charge. It will really depend on how much you use your LCD and flash. I set my LCD to the shortest shutoff time.

 

[oregondaddyof2]

I would always carry a spare on me... I just got back from WDW a few weeks ago, and I have a D60... I had a fully charged battery in the camera, and I had 3 spares with me.... I never want to miss a shot because of a battery issue...

 

[NateNLogansDad]

Last night I shot 1544 pictures on one battery in my D5000 and it still looked like it was on a full charge. Keep in mind, like the PP said, I may have had the LCD on for a total time of 1 minute and not one flash was fired. If I had actually deleted the files already on the card, maybe I could have tested it a little better.

 

[TheGoofster]

Thanks everyone!

Sounds like I should be good to go with a full charge, but like everyone says, I will probably go ahead and get a backup battery (or two) as well.

 

[Suburbanmom]

I would definately have a backup. My backup did fail last week. My primary battery is still going strong, thankfully because I had 3 jobs this week and I'm glad I checked my backup prior to depending on it. I have a new battery on the way...found it at Amazon at a good price, and went with a real Nikon one, not an off brand.

 

[TheGoofster]

I would definately have a backup. My backup did fail last week. My primary battery is still going strong, thankfully because I had 3 jobs this week and I'm glad I checked my backup prior to depending on it. I have a new battery on the way...found it at Amazon at a good price, and went with a real Nikon one, not an off brand.

Actually, I was wondering about that as well. Is there a big difference between an actual Nikon battery and an off brand? I've seen some off brands on Amazon for pretty good prices, and was wondering if it would be safe enough (or wise) to get one as a back up to my main battery? Or should I spend some more and get an actual Nikon back up?

Has anybody actually had a chance to compare the two types? Do you get longer life from a Nikon battery? Longer charge? Or is it really more of a "just in case, it's better to go with the name brand" kind of principal?

 

[cat83]

I have both my original Nikon battery for my D60 and a spare off brand (which I got somewhere for less than $20)...they both perform extremely well. I have noticed no difference between the two.
Most times, when I go to switch, I don't know which one is in the camera, because both of them last quite long. I just did two days worth of shooting for a few friends- about 2000 shots each day. One battery one day, the other the next- and each of them lasted the entire day (and probably could have gone on longer)

 

[Suburbanmom]

Actually, I was wondering about that as well. Is there a big difference between an actual Nikon battery and an off brand? I've seen some off brands on Amazon for pretty good prices, and was wondering if it would be safe enough (or wise) to get one as a back up to my main battery? Or should I spend some more and get an actual Nikon back up?

Has anybody actually had a chance to compare the two types? Do you get longer life from a Nikon battery? Longer charge? Or is it really more of a "just in case, it's better to go with the name brand" kind of principal?

It may be just me, but I prefer my Nikon battery to the off brand I have had over the years. The off brand always worked good enough (until last week), but I always thought the Nikon one performed a little bit better...lasted longer, charged faster, etc). Also the off brand needed to be warmer. If it was cold outside, it tended to drain quicker. I never did any scietific testing or anything, it's just what I thought.

The new Nikon battery I just bought from Amazon was only $37.91 with free shipping, which I don't think is a bad price. I looked up the off brand I bought at Best Buy last year and it is over $50.00. I'm pretty happy.

 

[Icemann]

Actually, I was wondering about that as well. Is there a big difference between an actual Nikon battery and an off brand? I've seen some off brands on Amazon for pretty good prices, and was wondering if it would be safe enough (or wise) to get one as a back up to my main battery? Or should I spend some more and get an actual Nikon back up?

Has anybody actually had a chance to compare the two types? Do you get longer life from a Nikon battery? Longer charge? Or is it really more of a "just in case, it's better to go with the name brand" kind of principal?

Never had a real reason to compare the two I have.One is the Nikon and the other is one I picked up on the internet from YOUBATT for 13.65 plus 5.23 for shipping.IMHO I can't tell which one is in my camera because the camera acts the same.The only problem is that some Sony and Panasonic cameras won't work with anything but their batteries

 

[bleeps]

I use a D40x, and I always carry a fully charged back-up battery (and I also always carry 2 add'l memory cards). One charge usually gets me a couple of days' worth at WDW, but I don't like to take chances and as others have pointed out, how you use the camera makes a difference in your battery life.

I use smaller capacity memory cards, so that I'm not putting more than about 400 images on a given card. All kinds of reasons for this, including upload time and 'damage control' (if one card gets lost or damaged -- not that it's happened yet, but it could), then I'm not losing more than about 1/2 a day's photos.

Hope this isn't off-topic, but I also do NOT delete photos off the card as I go. I have read that continual shooting/deleting can corrupt a card. This does also save battery power, so I guess that's back to the topic!

 

[safetymom]

I find my Nikon battery holds a charge better than the off brand I got off Ebay.