Battery consumption on a Z9 with 800mm S PF

[McStamp]

While a fully loaded battery usually is worth a full day's work, I had emptied a battery using my Z9 and the 800mm S PF after some 450 shots. What are your experiences? Is this normal, because autofocusing this big lens comsumes more? I was out for birds, thus having long distance and closer items. Still I was astonished to see such a low number of shots. I was working between 640 and 1000 ISO, could this be a reason?

 

[John Navitsky]

how long was the camera powered on for those 450 shots?

 

[JAS]

Took maybe 2000 shots in the past three days - all with the 800 lens and showing 60% battery remaining.

 

[McStamp]

how long was the camera powered on for those 450 shots?

say 8hrs

 

[John Navitsky]

say 8hrs

so i'm guessing you are running with a power saving config.

on other lenses, i get 5-6 hrs of runtime (but i have power saving disabled).

so i guess if it's poor performance mostly depends on if you have an apples-to-apples comparison with how you shoot using a different lens

 

[McStamp]

so i'm guessing you are running with a power saving config.

on other lenses, i get 5-6 hrs of runtime (but i have power saving disabled).

so i guess if it's poor performance mostly depends on if you have an apples-to-apples comparison with how you shoot using a different lens

Yep. Sounds the wise thing to do. I was hiking, stopping to shoot, hiking aso. Must check that. Thx!

 

[Warren D]

I never noticed a difference between my F mount 600 EFL and the 800PF. With the Z9, the VR is on when the camera is on (the 800pf doesn't have a VR switch). I always shut mine off between shots, I find the start up time to be quicker than the wake up time. Might be appropriate to state which lens(es) you have been using for comparison.

 

[JAS]

I never noticed a difference between my F mount 600 EFL and the 800PF. With the Z9, the VR is on when the camera is on (the 800pf doesn't have a VR switch). I always shut mine off between shots, I find the start up time to be quicker than the wake up time. Might be appropriate to state which lens(es) you have been using for comparison.

My reflex is to switch the camera off when lowering it from my eye, then switching it on as my thumb move to BBF when raising the camera to my eye. Given how slow I am in general, I don’t reallyu miss many shots this way wither.

 

[John Navitsky]

My reflex is to switch the camera off when lowering it from my eye, then switching it on as my thumb move to BBF when raising the camera to my eye. Given how slow I am in general, I don’t reallyu miss many shots this way wither.

doing action, this is how i do it -- i disable all the power saving, and manually power off after the action, power up and engage the action.

if the camera is on, i want it hot, i don't want it trying to save power. if i don't need it right now, i simply power it off.

it doesn't mean you're slow. the z9 powers up fast enough that this is a reasonable approach even with fast action.

 

[NorthernFocus]

On/off switch must be broken

 

[GrandNagus50]

No chimping!

 

[Mark Garfinkel]

Nikon original battery or 3rd market? Have you recalibrated the battery?

 

[pe1125]

Check out this thread on DPreview, "Z9 vs batteries" https://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/4699255

Marianne Oelund has done detailed measurements showing power utilization of the Z9. Her posts are a "must read" for Z9 owners.
Peter

 

[NorthernFocus]

... Her posts are a "must read" for Z9 owners.

Well maybe not for all Z9 owners but certainly for those with insomnia.

 

[DaveR]

Well maybe not for all Z9 owners but certainly for those with insomnia.

Lol. I've always been happy with the battery consumption with my Z9 and Z800mm. I carry a spare battery with me but have never had to use it.

 

[McStamp]

Nikon original battery or 3rd market? Have you recalibrated the battery?

original, not recalibrated. would not the battery indicate if this would be necessary?

 

[Mark Garfinkel]

original, not recalibrated. would not the battery indicate if this would be necessary?

Generally yes, recharge but not in the camera. When using the battery in the Z9, remove the battery every so often. Your checking for overheating. Same problem contact Nikon.

 

[Anjin San]

My reflex is to switch the camera off when lowering it from my eye, then switching it on as my thumb move to BBF when raising the camera to my eye. Given how slow I am in general, I don’t reallyu miss many shots this way wither.

That’s what I do as well…it is on while I’m shooting and off when I’m moving…and both the Z9 and 7II turn on fast enough for me. Like Dave I have a spare bttery but have never used it.

 

[McStamp]

Generally yes, recharge but not in the camera. When using the battery in the Z9, remove the battery every so often. Your checking for overheating. Same problem contact Nikon.

yeah. I have three spare and two bodies, so in a day of work I change it anyway and have sort of a turn in using the batteries. Thx for yr advice.

 

[MatthewK]

Going to start turning off the Z9 when it's not up to my eye; one, for battery savings, but also because the vertical grip switch keeps getting accidentally turned on, and I get home to find a few hundred extra pictures were taken while it was hanging at my side I didn't think this was going to be a problem for me, but apparently it is. Terrible design, going to have to tape it now. I've since stopped using Silent Mode so that I can at least hear if the shutter is being accidentally discharged. So yeah, that's eating into battery life a bit as well haha

 

[EricBowles]

I'm surprised your battery life was not better. Most people are getting days of use on a single charge. If you are viewing and watching a subject for extended periods, the actual number of images may not reflect camera use.

I would not expect you need to turn off the camera. You might switch to EVF only so the rear LCD is not activating by mistake and switching back and forth with the EVF.

 

[Krümelkraft]

The number of images you can take with one battery can vary from 0 to a lot. It really much depends on what you are doing BETWEEN the shots.
What's really drawing power is using the EVF/monitor.

 

[pe1125]

Well maybe not for all Z9 owners but certainly for those with insomnia.

I should have said "worth reading Marianne's posts if you want to know about battery life on Z9" and not my original overll broad suggestion (especially for the entire thread.)

 

[Roy]

While a fully loaded battery usually is worth a full day's work, I had emptied a battery using my Z9 and the 800mm S PF after some 450 shots. What are your experiences? Is this normal, because autofocusing this big lens comsumes more? I was out for birds, thus having long distance and closer items. Still I was astonished to see such a low number of shots. I was working between 640 and 1000 ISO, could this be a reason?

ISO does not effect battery life.
Heavy use of the back screen might.
I can see a long lens using more power to move all those big elements.
There are several things like GPS that can be turned off to save power ...

 

[EricBowles]

I think the numbers I heard were something like a battery life of 2 hours of having the camera fully active. So if you are looking through the EVF for long periods without taking a shot, it uses almost as much power as making a photo. The camera is very good with battery life if it is going to sleep when no photo is made.

There are a few other settings that can make a difference - like GPS, Bluetooth, or wifi remaining active. Airplane mode helps with that a lot. Hunting is an obvious issue if it is for extended periods. Using the focus limiter switch helps with hunting.