3rd party batteries (EN-EL15c) for Nikon Z8

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NWGuy

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Wondering if there is any guess if and/or when Nikon will allow the Z8 to use 3rd party batteries. Using the EN-EL15c. With the Z6ii, it initially required Nikon batteries only, then, later was able to use 3rd party (at least the BM brand). So far, unable to get the BM brand 3rd party battery to work on the Z8. Any one able to use 3rd party batteries? If so, which brand? Seems Nikon is doing the 'Gillette' marketing (cheap razors, crazy expensive blades) of charging crazy for what we need to get the cameras to work.
 
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NWGuy said:
Seems Nikon is doing the 'Gillette' marketing (cheap razors, crazy expensive blades) of charging crazy for what we need to get the cameras to work.
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I suspect that Nikon has enabled some means of checking the battery to determine a) is it a genuine Nikon branded battery and b) if it’s not a Nikon battery is it certified to meet Nikon specifications. A substandard or faulty battery can cause catastrophic damage to the camera. There are 3rd party batteries for the Z9 that work fine. I know that because I borrowed one from a fellow Z9 photographer on a trip earlier this year.
 
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NWGuy said:
Wondering if there is any guess if and/or when Nikon will allow the Z8 to use 3rd party batteries. Using the EN-EL15c. With the Z6ii, it initially required Nikon batteries only, then, later was able to use 3rd party (at least the BM brand). So far, unable to get the BM brand 3rd party battery to work on the Z8. Any one able to use 3rd party batteries? If so, which brand? Seems Nikon is doing the 'Gillette' marketing (cheap razors, crazy expensive blades) of charging crazy for what we need to get the cameras to work.
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I’ve been using SmallRig brand batteries in my Z8 since I purchased it in February. No problems thus far.
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1785881-REG/smallrig_4332_np_el15c_usb_c_rechargeable_camera.html/?ap=y&ap=y&smp=y&smp=y&lsft=BI:6879&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAAD7yMh1eGtU1_UIU8wfZ-LtlSIDOc&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI-OGj_a-RhwMV_Ut_AB1J5wJ_EAQYAiABEgIJHvD_BwE

Compatibility​

Including compatibility with the following cameras, but not limited to:
Nikon Z8, Z7 II, Z7, Z6 II, Z6, Z5, D850, D810, D810A, D780, D750, D610, D500, D7500, D7200

NOTE: This battery is not compatible with Nikon Zf.
 
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There are certain 3rd party batteries that work with the Z8. I can't remember the brand since I sold my Z8 and all those batteries, but they are out there.

It's not so much as Nikon disallowing it, as it is the 3rd party manufacturer needing to have the correct contacts and whatnot.
 
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nmerc_photos said:
There are certain 3rd party batteries that work with the Z8. I can't remember the brand since I sold my Z8 and all those batteries, but they are out there.

It's not so much as Nikon disallowing it, as it is the 3rd party manufacturer needing to have the correct contacts and whatnot.
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The contacts are trivial. They’re just mechanical details. I think the camera is either reading DRM encoding from the battery (which means there’s a royalty payment) or it‘s checking voltage & amperage consistency in some unique way.
 
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JAJohnson said:
The contacts are trivial. They’re just mechanical details. I think the camera is either reading DRM encoding from the battery (which means there’s a royalty payment) or it‘s checking voltage & amperage consistency in some unique way.
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whatever it is, it's past my knowledge of battery technology

but some 3rd party manufacturers definitely have it figured out :)
 
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My Nikon D810 EN-EL15 will not work in my Z7ii because it does not have the upgraded circuitry Nikon decided was needed for in camera charging. Later cameras Require later batteries.

Wasabi, Small Rig and the other big 3rd party manufacturers know this and have made changes. Any EN-EL 15c should work in any EN-EL 15 camera.

Not all 3rd party batteries are good.
 
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NWGuy said:
Any one able to use 3rd party batteries? If so, which brand?
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I use the Patona Platinum for EN-EL15c in my Z8 and I am happy with them. According to the spec and label they have a slighlty different chracteristics:

EN-EL15C: 7,0 V, 2280 mAh, 16 Wh
Patona: 7,2 V, 2400 mAh, 17,3 Wh

I dont't have them long enough to be able to make a statement regarding durability for this particular model, but so far I've had no problems with them what so ever.
I use Patona batteries already quite for quite a while already since DSLR times (can't recall exactly, but it must be almost 10 years) and never had problems with them, neither with EN-EL15 replacements nor with EN-EL18 replacements. The latter I used quite a lot with my D4s and my gripped D850, before i switched to mirrorless and for the Z8 had to go back to EN-EL15.

The only "problems" I can recall were incompatibilities of older models with newer comera generations, but this is more due to the fact that Nikon changes their chip coding for the batteries with new camera models being introduced than a consequence of something being wroing with the "analogue" part of the battery. But this is something that can happen even with Nikon batteries. I don't have a Z9 and thus don't use EN-EL18 anymore, but my friend told ma about incompatibility issues with older types of original Nikon EN-EL18 batteries. He simply couldn't charge the older EN-EL18 batteries with the latest MH-26 supplied with the Z9.

Using the Patona EN-EL15 for shooting, I can't see any difference in behaviour, everythings works fine. Neither early discharge, nor functional errors or error messages from the camera. The capacity difference IMHO lies within the tolerance in power consumption caused by different shooting behaviour (more or less display, switching camera off versus standby,...)
Charging is the same, no matter whether I use the Nikon charger, a USB travel charger or charge them in the camera via USB. They simply behave like a normal EN-EL15.
 
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I have a drawer full of off-brand batteries that I never used after the first or second time out. Don't be like me. :) $59.95 US for Nikon EN EL15c batteries is a great deal compared to most company's brand name batteries. Spend $3500 for a Z8 then go bargain hunting to save $20-30 bucks on batteries? If I get that Z8 one of these days, I'll get the "real deal" batteries. :)
 
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I have one of the SmallRig EN-EL15c batteries, I liked the USB-C charging. Alas I have had to stop using it. I was getting complete Z8 camera lock ups with it. The camera would freeze with the monitor on, turning on and off had no effect. Only way to reset was a battery pull. It has happend 4-5 times now and always with the SmallRig battary. Something is not 100% compatible between the Z8 and the SmallRig EN-EL15c. Never had this issue with Nikon batteries.
 
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