david_achille Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 Hi, I'm currently looking at buying the MB-D10 grip, but I am not really sureabout the battery choice. I am buying it for long range power requirements andportrait photo taking comfort not for frame rate increase. I have choice of either the ENL3e battery as extra battery or the Sanyo EnloopAA (X8) batteries (which is a cheaper alternative). What should be THE best compromise? ThanksdachilleBEAU BASSINMauritius Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed_Ingold Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 AA NiMH batteries don't have enough capacity for camera use. Stick with the Li-Ion batteries recommended by Nikon. Personally, I'd forget the MB-10 grip. It adds weight and effectively eliminates the use of a tripod due to the often wobbly connection to the camera. I use the vertical grip in my D2x (and others) because it is there. I have no problem shooting in the vertical mode with my F3, F100 and Leica, which do not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rene11664880918 Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 "Personally, I'd forget the MB-10 grip. It adds weight and effectively eliminates the use of a tripod due to the often wobbly connection to the camera." that used to be the case with my D80 but the MB-D10 fits so much better with D300 and so far it doesn't come loose. I real like that on the D300 + MB-D10 combo! Rene' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dan_beauvais Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 Is that wobbliness conjecture, or hands-on experience with the D300 and MB-10. I am amazed at how solidly mine connect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david_achille Posted February 25, 2008 Author Share Posted February 25, 2008 When talking about wobbliness again, I have battery grips on both my F65 and N80 film bodies and the fit is not perfect. With the MB D10 after a brief look at a local Nikon dealer at it feels different. David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eric_mudama1 Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 "AA NiMH batteries don't have enough capacity for camera use. Stick with the Li-Ion batteries recommended by Nikon." Huh? I'd think that 8x 2700mAh Sanyo cells would be pretty good. The EN-EL4a cell is 11.1v/2500mAh, while the EN-EL4 is 11.1v/1900mAh, meaning a pack of those Sanyos should give better longevity than any other option. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david_achille Posted February 25, 2008 Author Share Posted February 25, 2008 Thanks for the information Eric, what about the penalty? David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peter_koralis Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 Found the following info here: http://nikonglass.blogspot.com/2008/01/im-currently-residing-in-remote-village.html "As it is, the D300 can do 6fps easily and for my needs, I don?t see much difference between that speed and 8fps. Thankfully you can still have access to such high speed shooting without the need to buy the extra battery and charger. The MB-D10 battery pack comes with an AA holder which can produce that performance when using alkaline, lithium and rechargeable batteries." "I just used a freshly charged set of Duracell NiMH 2300mAh batteries and the D300 constantly produced 8fps. The meter shows them nearly empty from the start but they last for quite a while (500shots)." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jose_angel Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 IMO the MB-D10 is great for use with big lenses and for vertical shots (especially with that big lenses). It adds confort and better grip. About the best compromise, I like to have at least two ENL3e to have a replacement to be used on the camera without grip (you can use it on the MB-D10 also). After that, I would buy NiMH batteries to be used on the grip (and on the speedlights). I wonder about the lasting of 8 NiMH vs original Lithium ENs. What Eric says makes sense, but Nikon testing even by CIPA standards shows very different results: a 8 batteries rack give the same number of shots than one EN-EL3e. They doesn`t specify which batteries have used for their tests. Althought I usually use NiMH 2400mAh AA bateries on the grip, I haven`t tested it. My impression is that it gives a bigger number of shots, but NiMHs loose charge faster that ENs. About wobbliness, all detachable grips like all detachable things lacks abolute rigidity; Is this wobbliness big enough to be considered a failure? IMHO not. Of course, it isn`t as rigid as the F3+MB-12 combo or a full sized pro body, but works. The MB-D10 is a very good grip, almost at the same level of the F6 which I consider the best grip ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juan_parm_nides Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 I use my MB D10 with Sony AA NiMH 2700 mAH batteries. More than 600 shots only with AA batteries, still without using on board battery camera, and I expect 100 or 200 shots left, maybe more. Not bad for a 28 Euros energy cell. Juan Parmenides Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
douglas lee Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 Regarding MB-D10 on the D300 -- I own the combo. It does not wobble. I don't know how it could be any better, fit wise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djthomas Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 As far as using the D300 with the grip on a tripod, I use a Kirk L-Bracket for the camera/grip combination and find this arrangement very solid and stable with no wobble at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
russ_konrad Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 The grip does add weight to the D300 but unless you are a weak 10 year old girl - it is a GOOD weight. Makes every longer lens that you have balance much better and actually adds to the stability of all your handheld shots. It also gives you the additional battery power to shoot well over 1000 shots without having to swap out batteries. Personally I use another ENL3e in the grip but I also have a set of lithium AA's in my bag for backup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marshall Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 Well, to be fair, I'm not sure I agree with the "10-year-old girl" line: there are plenty of times that I don't want to carry any extra weight, so off goes the grip. The rest of the time, I find the grip very manageable in weight, very solid, and it does both encourage me to think vertical when otherwise I might not, and makes it easier. As to the original question, in unscientific testing I have found that it lasts ok with NiMHs. I should test it somehow, but it didn't seem to favor the rechargeables even though technically they were higher capacity. The original battery seems to get more shots, but the AA rechargeables are still long-enough lasting when I need to get high frame rates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siggimatos Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 I have a question, not an answer... In the brochures from Nikon on the D300 it says the MB-D10 can be used with an extra EN-EL3e or also with EN-EL4a (standard bat-pack on the D3). My question is: If I use a EN-EL4a battery in the grip, do I then also need to acquire a separate charger for this battery? Are they sold together (battery and charger)? It isn't practical to carry TWO chargers around (either NiMH or Nikon) unless the EN-EL4a has so much punch you won't NEED to charge all the vacation... I'd welcome any knowledge on this. Thanks on forehand :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShunCheung Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 The EN-EL3 family and EN-EL4 family of batteries have completely different shapes and require different chargers. I have indeed brought both chargers onto trips since I had mixed D2X and D200 bodies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siggimatos Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 Shun: Is the extra capacity of the EN-EL4a worth the bother of another charger? How much is the difference from the EN-EL3, in practical use? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShunCheung Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 EN-EL4a batteries are about $110 each and the charger is also over $100. Unless you also have either a D2 or D3 body, IMO I would rather use 8 AA rechargable batteries inside the MB-D10 instead to get 8 frames/sec. It is very expensive to buy EN-EL4a batteries solely for the D300; I have made that point several times in this forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siggimatos Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 My interest is more directed at autonomy of use than frames per sec., as I frequently go with a backpack to shoot. Anyway I think you are right, indeed, about the EN-EL4a being too expensive as an extra battery for the D300. I'll stick to another EN-EL3e, when time comes to by the MB-D10. Thank you for your quick reply. I wouldn't wait much, 'cause here it is half past two in the night/morning and tomorrow work calls again... Thank you. Both for the swiftness and for sharing your knowledge; after all that's what a forum is all about, right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eric_arnold Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 hi david, i bought the grip in a cameta camera package for $270 with a charger and 8 2500 mAh AA's. the grip is $250 by itself, so that's $20 for batteries and charger vs. $320+ for essentially the same thing. your call. sure, you get better battery life with the Li-Ion batteries, but it's a tradeoff since AA's can work in my sb-600, my d80 grip, or even a flashlight in a pinch. also the AA's don't run out all that quick on a d300, which has at least 2x the battery life of the d200. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrick_viebey___orlando__ Posted February 28, 2008 Share Posted February 28, 2008 FYI, it only comes with the adapter to use the D300 or AA batteries. The EN-EL4a requires an additional adapter. Buying another D300 battery is ummm about the same cost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dusan_n Posted June 1, 2008 Share Posted June 1, 2008 Hey, Just to sum it up. AA batt in grip... except for giving you 8fps speed ..will speed up your autofocus!!. I dont know why but it works. The same with en-el4a. En-el4a needs additional- very expensive charger plus that 'dock' to use it with a grip... so its too much money and accessories to carry around. therefore I do recommend AA 2700mah Sanyo or Varta 2700mah Photo Accu - they last some 100 shots more. Moreover, if you already use flash (sb-800 in my case) its just one charger and a bunch of AA cells u can use... mb-d10 is VERY handy, firm and if you have such a gigantic hands as me, it is the only way to hold it for a long time in one hand. Weight? at least you wont forget ur holding it :-)) not too bad thou.. Enjoy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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