Nikon Spare Batteries for the J1 and V1

Covey22

Hall of Famer
Nikon being what it is (i.e. costly :eek: ), I feel obligated to report on any cost-saving measure that actually are practical. For this system, batteries can be a somewhat steep initial investment. Other than the original OEM versions that came with my cameras, I also bought into some generics for the J1 and the V1.

The J1 can be very hoggish about batt life - mostly because you're powering that rear LCD the whole time, for both viewfinder framing and feedback. When I reviewed the camera for SC, B&H sent us only one batt with the demo unit, and it died just after I got all the neccessary article shots while I was in the field. The charger was at home two hours away. :rolleyes: I bought two additional generic EN-EL20s - they came in cardboard boxes with minimal instructions. The J1 does not report on battery status, so it's a fairly straightforward LiON cell that is easily recreated by third-parties. The generics and OEM all last about the same period, so to me, it's indistinguishable. The generics were about half the cost of a real EN-EL20, pretty good savings.

The V1 is a different beast. Because of commonality with the D7000 and the D800, this battery has some reporting capabilities to the camera that feed back condition and relative "recharge life." When I had a D2 series camera, that reporting technology had just entered Nikon's battery family and most of the popular third-party brands really weren't able to easily recreate that. We're now effectively a generation and a half down from that time and the generic makers seem to have a handle on it now. The Power2000 EN-EL15 reports it's status just like the Nikon and lasts comparably. It was about 40% cheaper, which at USD60 for the real deal, is a pretty penny.
 
After getting so few shots from mine (couple hundred) I have decided to hit ebay for some generics... thanks for the post. But, when you say reporting battery status... is that more than the icon with the diminishing charge? I've never had the pleasure of having anything better than that.
 
After getting so few shots from mine (couple hundred) I have decided to hit ebay for some generics... thanks for the post. But, when you say reporting battery status... is that more than the icon with the diminishing charge? I've never had the pleasure of having anything better than that.

Hi Sue - in the Menu system, if you click on the Setup icon (wrench), there is a selection item called Battery Info. For the battery currently in the Camera, it will show Charge Remaining and a Battery Use rating of 0-4 - the latter basically being "What's the Condition/Lifetime left for this battery." For brand-new batts, it should show 0 and for batts on their last legs, a 4 which means you should dispose of it. Page 160 of the manual also has cautions that low temps tend to temporarily "age" the battery's condition - which is true because LiON batts in general hold a charge less longer in the cold. Hope this helps.
 
Hi Sue - in the Menu system, if you click on the Setup icon (wrench), there is a selection item called Battery Info. For the battery currently in the Camera, it will show Charge Remaining and a Battery Use rating of 0-4 - the latter basically being "What's the Condition/Lifetime left for this battery." For brand-new batts, it should show 0 and for batts on their last legs, a 4 which means you should dispose of it. Page 160 of the manual also has cautions that low temps tend to temporarily "age" the battery's condition - which is true because LiON batts in general hold a charge less longer in the cold. Hope this helps.

Thanks! Yes it does :)
 
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