D1x advice

[Dave Murray]

I have a pair of D1X cameras that I greatly enjoy using. The batteries, replaced immediately upon purchase don’t last as long as I’d like. 
When I replace them, it will be a full frame D3. That way, when I pop a 35mm lens on, I get a 35mm fov and not one of 52.5mm. That’s my only complaint. The rear screen is adequate for me but others squint at it. It’s poor compared to the new Canon 1300D I bought my grandson for his 12th birthday. If it would lengthen battery life, I’d turn it off. 
Anyone know how?  

[jose_angel]

Dave, if I understand you correctly, it's about to lengthen the battery life. 

I actually don't know how; not an issue for me just because I prefer to use the AA battery adapter with good NiMh batteries. I still use very old cameras this way, no worries about dedicated batteries.

I used to use a D3 for a time, and a great D700 up to its end (some buttons stopped working so I had to buy a new camera). If it wasn't for that, I'd still be using it these days. 

 

 

[BeBu Lamar]

 I can't buy genuine Nikon battery for it any more. I bought a Watson battery but it doesn't last long. Self discharge rate is also very high. I can charge it fully and not using it for a couple weeks the battery is dead. 

Jose which AA adapter do you use? I didn't think there is one for the D1X.

[Greg M]

Same story for the OEM battery for the D3/D3s. B&H still shows it on its site as “backordered”, but its been unavailable for a while and I’m assuming at this point they’ve just not updated their site to read “discontinued” or removed it entirely.

I now have two Watson batteries for my D3s. They definitely hold a charge longer than two weeks but I’ve not tested them for shots per charge, etc. at least someone is supporting these fine cameras to some extent.

Edited November 14, 2022 by Greg M

[jose_angel]

BeBu, your question has made me realize that although I have AA trays for almost all the cameras I had, they were all "short body" ones... cameras with built-in battery grips use to be too small to fit AA trays on them! (except the F5).

Never owned a D1X, but I assume it applies. Wrong advice on my part.

My idea was to keep all cameras I buy for a lifetime; I use to buy all accessories I think I`ll need in a future, so I always buy AA battery trays. My oldest one with "problematic" batteries is the F6 that I keep using with the tray (lithium batteries are expensive!).

Reality is that sooner or later I sold all digitals with a couple exceptions. I learned that they don't last as long as I expected. I try to remember that I sold the D3 right after the D700 release.

Edited November 14, 2022 by jose_angel

[Sandy Vongries]

Even my Stage 4 (close to replace) Nikon D3 batteries hold a charge well and will do more work than a pair of smaller newer Nikon batteries.  I have a couple of Kastar, one good and one not. There are a wide variety, Nikon and many aftermarket currently available for sale online if you search.

[bgelfand]

2 hours ago, BeBu Lamar said:

 I can't buy genuine Nikon battery for it any more. I bought a Watson battery but it doesn't last long. Self discharge rate is also very high. I can charge it fully and not using it for a couple weeks the battery is dead. 

Jose which AA adapter do you use? I didn't think there is one for the D1X.

When I purchased my D750 from BH, part of the "package" was an extra Watson battery, in addition to the Nikon battery that came with the D750. I usually keep the Nikon battery in the camera and the Watson lives in my camera bag. Even after months in the bag, when I pop it in my camera it shows full charge or very close to it. I think you have a bad battery, or if it is in the camera, some sort of short. If it is out of the camera, do you store it with the cover on the contacts? If so, it the cover clean, no moisture or dirt inside to short the contacts on the battery.

[robert_bouknight1]

Years ago, I went "back" to a D1x when the newer camera I had (D2hs maybe?) was stolen and I did not have much $.  The D1x seemed the best used price to performance ratio at that time.  That D1x served me well, even at lofty for the time ISO 1600+/- shooting indoor sports, as long as I used NEF files and used an exposed grey card for white balance setting.  A faster frame rate would have been nice.  After using that D1x for a few years, I think I replaced it with a D300 before getting a full frame D700.

 

I have given up on batteries for it.  When I take the antiques out for fun to see if they still work, I use a Nikon 120V adaptor.  At one point, I bought some sort of Li-ion battery that seemed to have the correct voltage and size and then hacked open a dead battery pack to try to concoct a more modern battery setup, but never finished the project.  Those pieces are in a box somewhere buried after a move.

 

 

Edited November 15, 2022 by robert_bouknight1

[Rick Helmke]

Batteries are still available for the D1X, I’ve bought a few in the last year or so and they’re a lot cheaper now. When it was my primary body I got about 175 shots per charge. The photojournalist complaint was the cost for spare and replacement batteries on a yearly basis. I still shoot it at times.

 

Rick H.

[John Seaman]

I think the biggest problem with getting batteries for old DSLR's is that even though they are available as new, they have probably been in storage for years.

[ShunCheung]

One of the main issue with the Nikon D1 (1999) series DSLRs, including the D1H and D1X, is that they are so old that they use Ni-MH batteries, not the modern Li-ion batteries. Nikon quickly switched to Li-ion when they introduced the D100 in 2002, using the EN-EL3, followed by the larger EN-EL4 for the D2H. It has been Li-ion ever since.

For consumer/prosumer bodies, starting from the 2010 D7000, Nikon has been using EN-EL15 family batteries. The latest incarnation is the EN-EL15C, but any Nikon EN-EL15 family batteries can work with any Nikon body that uses EN-EL15 batteries. For some, it could be fun to play around with "ancient" DSLRs, but personally, I don't see the point for using bodies that do not use the current EN-EL15 or EN-EL18 batteries. The electronics are just too old.

[hapien]

I have not used D1X but I assume that menus are not that different from D1H. In CSM MENU there might be Image Review setting, choosing OFF turns off monitor while shooting. Then in CSM MENU there might be Monitor Off setting where one can set time monitor goes off.

[glen_h]

I bought a D1X last year for $40.  (Not including battery and charger, which I already had.)

Yes, it is the Watson battery.

I almost got around to replacing the cells in the original battery pack,

but the Watson one isn't so expensive. 

I did buy replacement cells, which are an unusual size, though not so hard to find.

 

They are all NiMH, which have a self discharge rate not as bad as NiCd, but maybe not

as good as Li-ion. 

 

I have found, sort of in general, that battery use time increases after a few charge/discharge cycles.

Not quite a systematic study, though. 

 

As I remember, the view screen stays on some seconds after each shot.

Likely not the biggest battery drain.