attention EE engineers and/or Nikon insiders

[joÃobraga]

Thanks for your answer rodeo_joe!

Ideally I would like a 6 volt battery that would fit inside the adapter; I guess a 0.2V under-voltage would not damage my lens nor fail to operate correctly, would it ? I assume nominal voltage is not an exact value, actual voltage varies with working conditions, battery age and charge, etc. I also assume under-voltage as less dangerous than over-voltage, am I wright?

[mike_halliwell]

I guess a 0.2V under-voltage would not damage my lens nor fail to operate correctly, would it ?

As long as there's enough juice to 'park' the prisms on power-off, it should be fine.

[rodeo_joe1]

Let's be clear. There's a difference between a battery terminal voltage, that varies with amount of battery charge and battery condition, and an electronically regulated voltage, which is not affected by battery condition in the slightest, but maybe marginally by temperature.

 

Such a regulator may also have a current limiting function to prevent short-circuiting and the like.

 

Having got that out of the way: the difference between 6 volts and 6.2 v is functionally pretty insignificant.

However, I'm not sure what kind of small 6v battery you have in mind that'll substitute for a regulated-down 7.4 v Lithium-ion source.

 

A PX28/4LR44 will in no way be adequate in terms of current capacity!

[mike_halliwell]

How about a 2CR5 lithium cell?

 

or are we talking 5 x AAA rechargeables or 4 'standard' AAA cells?

[joÃobraga]

I have no idea... I was watching the RCR123A 3.0V 900mAh Li-ion Rechargeable Batteries (2 of them for 6 volt), it's the smaller I can get while keeping some capacity (mAh). Would not fit inside without modification. Would last less than Nikon's but that's not a huge problem.

 

Is there a risk of lens damage if someone inverses the battery polarity by mistake? (this never happens when the power comes from the camera...)

 

Would you consider your suggestion of the EN-EL15 with 2 diodes to be safer operation-wise? Are there still risks of lens damage and how could I test them?

 

Thanks

[joÃobraga]

As long as there's enough juice to 'park' the prisms on power-off, it should be fine.

Sorry, I don't get what you mean

[mike_halliwell]

One of the 'oddities' of the VR prisms in early lenses was if you detached the lens without powering down the camera, the prisms wouldn't lock-up and would rattle in their housing, possibly harming the actuators.

 

Which 'large' VR lens are you planning on 'scoping'?

Edited December 21, 2020 by mike_halliwell

[andylynn]

$10 says this doesn’t work and that just supplying power to the pins that carry the voltage that drives all the lens’ mechanical parts is not sufficient to get working VR.

[joÃobraga]

I use it for birdwatching. The 300 PF f4 is small enough for hand held use. I have used it single and with 1.4x teleconverter, on a tripod. With 2x teleconverter it looses too much brightness, image becomes a bit dull. Than it depends if 30x magnification is too much to avoid shaking even with VR, it would be worth buying a 150 or 200mm, it would still give me more magnification than 10x with my binoculars. And I have all this trouble because I like to walk long distances without carrying a tripod.

[joÃobraga]

$10 says this doesn’t work and that just supplying power to the pins that carry the voltage that drives all the lens’ mechanical parts is not sufficient to get working VR.

 

Maybe you are right, but to me it is worth trying... I ordered a second hand defective lens today for testing (AF NOK, VR OK), so I already put $50 on this bet somehow :)

[rodeo_joe1]

Is there a risk of lens damage if someone inverses the battery polarity by mistake?

Durhh, yeah!

 

There appear to be no VR specific pins in Nikon's lens-body connector, so all the VR components would seem to be contained within the lens. The link given above also tends to indicate that VR only needs the application of power to the lens.

RCR123A 3.0V

There's a big difference between a disposable Lithium cell, and a rechargeable Lithium-ion one.

 

Why not just fit whatever adapter you have with a little power jack? Then the battery size and type becomes totally irrelevant.

 

FWIW. In-lens vibration control was around long before cameras were electronic. I've personally seen a system based on gimbaled prisms that simply worked on gravity. No servo motors and no power required!

Edited December 22, 2020 by rodeo_joe|1

[mike_halliwell]

You should be able to use a simple multimeter to see how much power the VR draws.

 

Any of the DC IN connectors can be intercepted to see current WITH and WITHOUT VR running.