solar charging a Nikon D500 battery

[david_simon]

Can you solar charge a Nikon D500 battery? I am going to be in a lodge in the Amazon for a few days and I do not think it has reliable electricity. Anyone know of any portable solar panels/chargers that can do the job?

[Sandy Vongries]

Buy another battery or two?

Otherwise a search solar chargers for Nikon camera batteries brings up a variety of options.

I never travel with less than 3 extras - across a few days, could usually get by without charging anything.

[ben_hutcherson]

I have one of these and have successfully charged EN-EL15s along with a bunch of other Nikon batteries with it https://www.amazon.com/Kodak-863-9544-Universal-Digital-Battery/dp/B00737GI9U

 

This runs on a USB cell phone charger, and I suspect(but can't confirm) that something like this would work with it https://www.amazon.com/RAVPower-15000mAh-Flashlight-Splashproof-Dustproof/dp/B073P5D9KD/ref=zg_bs_2407762011_13?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=B88E76VGNF496J1TD32K

 

With that said, I don't have a D500 but have two other cameras that use EN-EL15s, a D600 and a D800. The one that came in my D800 read "4" on the battery health monitor(Nikon battery health goes 0-4, with 0 being new). I still have that battery, and it's still perfectly good for more than a day of shooting at my speed. I think I paid ~$30 for the last new Nikon brand EN-EL15(bought on Ebay), and at that price I'd almost rather just stock up on them than try to get a solar charging solution to work.

[Ed_Ingold]

If there is a USB charger for D500 batteries, then you can use a solar recharging panel. Many chargers have a 12 vdc adapter for an automobile. Otherwise carry several spare batteries to carry you through.

 

Again, if you can charge batteries from an USB source (5 vdc), including in the camera, consider buying one (or more) high capacity battery packs. I have several ANKER units with 20,000 mAH capacity, enough to charge an EN-EL15 batter about 4 times. They're about twice the size of a deck of cards.

[mark_stephan2]

This is what my wife and I do. I use a D800 and she uses a D7100 so we can share EN-EL15 batteries. We also carry 6 inexpensive EN-EL15 clones. The clones last for several days of light use and they are cheaper than the oem batteries. The clones were purchased from Amazon and they are PowerExtra 2200 mAH. We also use a cigarette lighter adapter for power to charge in the car if we need it. After reading the OP's original post I looked into the solar charger and I think I'm going to get one. That would be very useful in the field to charge iPhone batteries.

[mike_halliwell]

The D500 has some overly protective software that 'resists' (and refuses to use) some clones so make sure they carry the fully decoded label.

 

Even though I have mains power, I like to solar charge mine "because I can"! :cool:

 

I use a USB EnEl15 charger sold on UK Amazon with :-

• ASIN: B071JLYKTR
  

As it's a double charger, I use a ~9" x 6" solar panel (~1000mA) with a voltage converter built in to make 5v USB.

 

However, this is the un-sunny UK so I have a 20000mA powerbank as back-up when away from the mains.... which of course I can solar charge too..:)

[rodeo_joe1]

+1 to recommending a 'Powerbank' device as backup. Take the stated mAh capacity with a pinch of salt though. You have to remember that Li-ion cells are only about 66% efficient, and take 1.5 times their stated power to fully recharge.

 

I.e. you need about 1500mAH charging capacity for every 1000mAH of battery life.

 

The idea of simply buying a bunch of third-party en-el15 clones is probably the most cost and space efficient solution. A solar panel capable of enough current to charge camera batteries in any sensible time isn't going to be small. Even if it's foldable.

[ShunCheung]

I know nothing about your destination in the Amazon, but I wonder whether you’ll get a lot of sunlight. A few extra en-el15 should be the safest approach.

[BeBu Lamar]

How do you get to the lodge? Do you have to walk or you have car? If you can carry lots of stuff in a vehicle perhaps carry a large 12V battery to charge your battery.

[ShunCheung]

How do you get to the lodge? Do you have to walk or you have car? If you can carry lots of stuff in a vehicle perhaps carry a large 12V battery to charge your battery.

That was essentially what we did in Botswana (in southern Africa). The safari vehicle had an inverter with a US-style outlets. If you have access to a vehicle daily, that is one option. Keep in mind that you may need to share the vehicle, and therefore the outlets, with other passengers. I usually travel with other people from the US and Canada so that I bring one or two cheap extension cords, maybe $2 from Home Depot. That can solve a lot of problems.

 

However, I think carrying extra batteries is the simplest and safest solution to bridge you over for just a few days. I was in Botswana for over two weeks such that I had to recharge camera batteries and the laptop.

 

I am afraid that it is iffy to depend on solar charging in a rain forest.

[mike_halliwell]

Whilst not wanting to muddy the waters (!)...

 

Last time I traveled from the UK (Heathrow) to US (Charlotte) I had a somewhat frustrating time explaining that 8 x EnEl15 was not excessive. As it happened, I had had all the cells and my partner had both the chargers... Note to self.....;)

 

Some airlines had/have a limit on carrying 'separate' lithium batteries. It's a bit quirky as they don't really seem to 'see' the big 90+WH Lithium batts in laptops.

 

I think this came about because of exposed terminal cells could theoretically short out and start fires. Fair enough.

 

However, they did let me keep them, but they managed to instill a feeling of 'pushing my luck'.

[ShunCheung]

Back in September, 2002 (almost exactly a year after September 11), I had like 100 rolls of film on a flight from San Francisco to Sydney, not to mention four camera bodies and many lenses. Airport security interrogated me for a while why I needed so much film. It was still very sensitive since it wasn't that long after September 11. I was in Alice Springs, Australia on September 11, 2002 and watched the TV coverage of the one-year anniversary.

 

I have hand carried about 10 EN-EL18 and EN-EL15 batteries on a few flights. Never had any issues.

[Ed_Ingold]

There should be no problem if the batteries are kept separate and their contacts shielded. There are also limits on the battery size, expressed as the equivalent metallic lithium content, which you are unlikely to exceed with still camera batteries - 100 watt-hours at last count. I have a large, Anton Bauer video battery which has 90 watt-hours at 14 vdc, just under the limit. A heavy duty USB battery pack might be 20,000 mAH at 5 vdc (100 watt-hours).

 

The rules don't seem to apply to internal batteries, which can be very large for laptops and tablets.

Edited November 5, 2018 by Ed_Ingold

[ben_hutcherson]

All the "new" cameras I've bought-both Nikon and 3rd party-have come with a plastic cap that fits over the terminals. I consider it fairly durable, as I've also bought plenty of used batteries that came with one in perfect condition.

 

I make a habit of using them when carrying batteries loose in my camera bag. The contacts on batteries like the EN-EL15 variants are "buried" pretty deeply in the body of the battery, but some older ones like EN-EL3(e)s(as used in most mid-range cameras from the D100 all the way up through the D300s and D700) had big, wide open exposed contacts on the bottom.

[ShunCheung]

The contacts on batteries like the EN-EL15 variants are "buried" pretty deeply in the body of the battery, but some older ones like EN-EL3(e)s(as used in most mid-range cameras from the D100 all the way up through the D300s and D700) had big, wide open exposed contacts on the bottom.

Those exposed contacts was exactly why the EN-EL3 family batteries are considered unsafe in Japan such that Nikon could not introduce any new cameras based on the EN-EL3 after like 2011 or so. The D7000, introduced in late 2010, is the first Nikon camera that uses the current EN-EL15 with contacts well protected.

 

I seriously doubt that you'll have any problem with airport security if you have half a dozen EN-EL15 batteries in your carry on, especially if one or two of them are installed inside a camera or grip.

[Sandy Vongries]

I use thick rubber bands around each spare battery to hold the cap on. When the battery is full charged the band goes around the center if used and uncharged, around the edges. Effective and simple.

[ben_hutcherson]

Those exposed contacts was exactly why the EN-EL3 family batteries are considered unsafe in Japan such that Nikon could not introduce any new cameras based on the EN-EL3 after like 2011 or so. The D7000, introduced in late 2010, is the first Nikon camera that uses the current EN-EL15 with contacts well protected

 

That's interesting, but not that surprising to me. The D1-series batteries had exposed contacts, but they were NiMH. You DO NOT play with Li-Ion batteries, and for the most part the interchangeable ones in just about all applications(I'm thinking of laptops in particular) used the "comb" type contacts as seen on the EN-EL15 and other Nikon batteries. Apple laptops going back to the PowerBook G3 Lombard(1997) and G3 Clamshell(1998) used Li-Ion and "combs."

 

I think the original EN-EL3 was only used on the D100 and the D70, while the EN-EL3e had a really long life in the D70s, D200, D300, D300s, D80, D90, D700, and probably a couple of others I'm forgetting. The Fuji Finepix S5 also used a variation of it that's physically the same size and electrically compatible, but has a firmware lock to keep it from using Nikon brand batteries(the reverse doesn't seem to be true-I haven't extensively tested it, but I've not had trouble using Fuji batteries to power a D200 or D300).

 

In any case, Nikon's next Li-Ion battery after the EN-EL3 series was the EN-EL4a. This was released with the D2 series cameras, but continued right on up into the D3, D3x, and D3s. It could also be used the MB-D10 grip with the right adapter, which is compatible with the D300, D300s, and D700. The EN-EL4a battery also has what I'm calling "comb" hidden contacts.

 

As a side note, Finepix S5 will work fine with a Nikon brand MB-D200, although you need to put Fuji batteries in the grip as it complains even if one of the two is a Nikon battery. It WILL work with the AA tray installed in the MB-D200, although obviously battery life is quite poor with that set-up. On a whim, I tried taping over the center contact on an EN-EL3e, which seemingly just provides data about the battery. The camera powered on, but was NOT happy about that and refused to work, much as what happens when you install an EN-EL3e either in the regular grip slot of the S5 or in the MB-D200. It would have been nice if Fuji had released a firmware update to allow the use of Nikon batteries after they exited the DSLR business, but no such luck...

[Ed_Ingold]

NiMH counts against limits for lithium metal or equivalence. Furthermore they have low internal impedance, and even small batteries can put out hundreds of amps if shorted.

[mike_halliwell]

+1 Ed!

 

I accidentally shorted a fully charged 18650 Li-Ion battery with a knife point. The plastic sleeve had frayed where it rubbed on the battery pack door and stopped proper contact with the terminal. So I trimmed it off with a sharp scalpel.

 

Trouble is I managed to touch the centre peg at the same time as the body. The metal body is the other terminal!

 

There was an almighty 'crack' and a flash and the scalpel blade lost the last 2mm.

 

Battery seems OK, but I'm now a little more careful with potential shorting situations....;)

[ben_hutcherson]

Furthermore they have low internal impedance, and even small batteries can put out hundreds of amps if shorted.

 

Lead acid batteries are similarly "notorious" for their low internal resistance. Of course most photographers don't use them any more(I have one in the Metz flash I use on my Hasselbad, but I don't know that they've ever had much use outside flash applications) but they're still ubiquitous in cars and you can do some serious damage if you're not careful.

 

I'm big into British sports cars-and MGs specifically. The MGB, my vehicle of choice, has one or two batteries buried in a "well" behind the seats(before 1974 or so, the factory fitted two 6V batteries in series, but almost everyone uses a single small 12V behind the right hand seat these days). We had a discussion online not too long ago about which cable to disconnect first, and of course the correct answer is the ground(earth) cable-and on a car made before 1968 this might or might not be the negative cable. There are plenty of stories about folks arc welding a wrench to the battery box by disconnecting the hot side first and inadvertently touching the sheet metal while doing so. Of course, that can happen on any vehicle, but the battery box design on the MGB combined with the fact that a less than observant person may not realize when they're dealing with a positive earth car can combine to make the situation even more likely.

[Andrew Garrard]

I've generally learnt that 18650s are a bit scary. I worry a bit about how many of them I have floating around for flashlight use (I have some flashlights that pull a lot of power, somewhere upwards of 7A, and went through several different kinds of "high current" 18650s to get ones that work; it turns out, almost anything but the ones from the flashlight manufacturer do!)

 

I've occasionally scratched at the contacts on a Nikon battery (for my D700) to try to remove any sign of oxidation.

 

Just to add to the discussion:

 

I find a business card box to be the right size for a couple of EN-EL15s. Since I often also take a few cards on business trips, I can pack them fairly solid, and just put an elastic band around the whole thing. It's a little protection, if the bag gets whacked.

 

A grip with big batteries in it should last a long time (although the big plastic BL-5 "battery compartment cover" makes me worry about charge density). You might have less trouble convincing airline security that four of those is reasonable than 8-10 EN-EL15s, if you don't mind carrying a grip. I suspect they're unlikely to look too closely at the specs and play "count the constituent 18650s".

 

That said, I just checked BA's web site. On rechargeable lithium batteries They say you can have one in the device, 4 spares per person, and no more than 100Wh total. An EN-EL18C is 2500mAh/27Wh, so three plus one in the grip. An EN-EL15a is a further 1900mAh (but only at 7V, so "14Wh"), plus the one in the camera. In checked baggage you're not allowed spares, only whatever's "in the device" - although IIRC there are other limits on what you're allowed to leave in hold baggage. My understanding is that there's a trade-off in safety - in the cabin you'll notice a fire before it gets very far, but if the hold baggage catches fire it's (I'm told) possible for the plane simply to dump it.

 

Finally, if you're prepared to take a grip with you, don't forget AA batteries. You might be able to get the flights over with, then just buy a bulk load of AAs - and disposable lithium AAs are sufficiently available that you'd get a lot of life from them. They also made a huge weight difference to my SB-600/F5/Pentax 645 usage.

[Andrew Garrard]

Lead acid batteries are similarly "notorious" for their low internal resistance.

 

:-) It can come in useful. One company I worked at, we received some circuit boards with an incorrect connection on one of the internal layers of the PCB. We could change the connection by soldering an additional wire, but that left the problem of how to cut the connection without damaging the rest of the board. Solution: the technical director heading out to the car park with some wires and a car battery. I presume they managed not to melt a hole in the board doing this...

 

I'm always a bit nervous with my jump leads, despite the low voltages involved. Volts jolts, mills (milliAmps) kills, as I was trained. Things are much less entertaining than the good old days where mains voltage went through PC power switches, and if you turned the computer on with a wet hand, you'd be informed of this quirk. :-)

[sallygreen]

Hi!

Here is a review about portable solar chargers bestadvisers.co.uk/solar-chargers.

I use 4 panels one for my camera and small variant for my phone. Satisfied with it.

I have got Nikin D550.

[mike_halliwell]

Nikin D550

Nikon D5500 maybe or Nikon D500?

 

Could be either!

 

Great link though, thank You!

[sallygreen]

D

Nikon D5500 maybe or Nikon D500?

 

Could be either!

 

Great link though, thank You!

Sorry, my mistake

I've missed 1 zero, Nikon D5500