O
Well-known member
One of the reasons I have bought two in the first place, There is no reason for Nikon to charge as much as they do for the genuine charger, over charging is one thing, gouging is another.
Is a MB-D18 and necessary accessories worth the cost?
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One of the reasons I have bought two in the first place, There is no reason for Nikon to charge as much as they do for the genuine charger, over charging is one thing, gouging is another.
O
Well-known member
Sony lent me the A9 and 2 lenses when it was first released, I spent 4 weeks with it, I was open minded and objective.
Honestly like so many people I wound the 20fps back to 10, I shot Only Jpeg fine, I gave back the Sony gear, it was a complexed menu, issues in the wet with condensation.
several other issues.
20 fps is overkill, you may as well video it LOL, the IQ is not as nice as Nikon. 20 fps is more marketing, like more pixels sells more cameras.
If I wanted a pure speed machine with good IQ it would be the 1 DX mk 3 or the Nikon D5 or D6......I ask my self how often do I need tracking. The answer I don't even use it.
I shoot old school and love it.
Slooby
Member
Can someone explain to me why there is an increase in frame rate with the extended battery grip?
O
Well-known member
If you look at the specifications on the standard battery EN ElL 15a it is a 1900 MHa 14 Wh, 7.0v 1.90/ah battery, when you look at the D4s EN EL 18a battery its 2500 MHA 27Wh 10.8v 2.5/Ah, if you look at the differences its basically a lot more power, cranking power, or instant punch in power to respond quicker as well as less fall off in continuous out put. I think it looks like 30% plus more kick. The D4s / d5 battery has so much more grunt as it needs to drive 11 to 12 FPS and often on big heavy glass elements where lens drive motors need lots of grunt to obtain focus speeds and frame rates.
You see lots of people think its important to have those extra 2 frame rates on the D850 and let me tell you its a bonus not a huge one but still a nice bonus, and that's fine, but the real key is instantaneous and repetitive or high continuous FOCUS AQUSITION SPEED and accuracy, pow pow to ZAP ZAP so to speak LOL.
Only an opinion
OZ down under
Pistnbroke
Active member
Not quite etchinghouse ..there is a different chip in the EN EL 18 to activate the higher frame rate.
D
Deleted member 115
Guest
I have the Nikon grip for my D850 with a RRS L bracket. I only have EN_EL15A/B batteries though. I would order the charger and 18s but the grip is in the cabinet 99% of the time. I just prefer no grip personally.
<---- not a pro
<---- not a pro
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Deleted member 115
Guest
I take it You think an EN EL18 might speed up the autofocus on my slow 200-500 lens?
jst1moor
New member
Hello all,
I did finally order and received my Vello BG-N19-2 grip, Wasabi battery, charger and door the day before Thanksgiving. I went outside in the backyard today to give it a test run. Yup it works, Yup, I get 9 fps, Yup, the AF seems faster. They certainly all feel and look like quality products.
Will I get that awesome magical shot by having the extra 2 fps? That remains to be seen, however, I now have the opportunity to be able to grab that shot at a much reduced cost over the Nikon branded accessories.
Thank you to DRwyoming and ALL of the rest of you for your valued input.
May you all be blessed with that magical moment on your next outing!
I did finally order and received my Vello BG-N19-2 grip, Wasabi battery, charger and door the day before Thanksgiving. I went outside in the backyard today to give it a test run. Yup it works, Yup, I get 9 fps, Yup, the AF seems faster. They certainly all feel and look like quality products.
Will I get that awesome magical shot by having the extra 2 fps? That remains to be seen, however, I now have the opportunity to be able to grab that shot at a much reduced cost over the Nikon branded accessories.
Thank you to DRwyoming and ALL of the rest of you for your valued input.
May you all be blessed with that magical moment on your next outing!
jst1moor
New member
Yup, seems a bit louder.
fulltimewanderer
Well-known member
Think you will really enjoy the feel of the camera and the ease of going vertical. Not to mention the first time you get a shot that you may missed. Enjoy, take care, and stay safe.
O
Well-known member
Ok here is what the grip dose for me,
1) things are punchier faster more responsive, more grunt from the D4s D5 battery. If its a perception then its a dam good one LOL as I like it.
2) if I have a choice, for sports action I prefer with than with out, no question.
3) I can get far more battery life out of the D4s D5 battery with that extra horse power LOL, I can jump a plain to the Gold Coast in QLD from Sydney, take the 200-500, D850 with D4s battery and Grip, one light mono pod and that's it. Nothing else, not even a charger. Zip.
I take my Sombrero, sun cream in the pocket, I wear board short swimmers, flip flops, a white tee shirt, That's it.
I can shoot a surfing coopetition for 2 days, fly home there is still 25 to 30% battery life left. You gather I am not a spray and shoot person.
4) I set my camera at 1/3200 to 1/4000 in manual, f7.1 float the iso to 6400, minus ev 07 or -1, Matrix, 25 point focus points, leave the settings pretty well like that for the whole trip, I relax, focus on composition, I have a swim 2 or 3 times each day while my mate looks after my camera on the beach, Done. Note other trips and locations that suite, I take my 300 2.8 VR II with a 1.4 and 2 x convertor, I am fast, versatile, agile and creative as I am not worried about the gear. if the break on high tide is in close the 300 at even just 2.8 is insane.
5) The non genuine grip, while it works for many people, I found the Nikon grip a bit stronger and connectivity wise flawless even during high humidity moist beach environment.
I took my after market grip back.
6) Weight wise for non sports action or non mono pod tripod shooting I prefer with out grip obviously.
Only an opinion
OZ down Under
D
Deleted member 115
Guest
Right on!
Thanks for taking the time to give a good reply. I do have a Nikon brand grip but did not order the D5 battery because I was not worried about the frame rate. I didn't even consider the extra power to the lens or I would have ordered it.
I will have to order the extra parts right away and hope it helps the auto focus(can't get worse). I honestly don't mind the extra weight. The grip just feels weird in my hands but, I will get used to it, if it helps.
Calson
Well-known member
On a trip last year to the Pantanal I was using D850 cameras, one with the battery grip and one without it. I did most of my shooting with the camera with the grip and with the EN-EL18 batteries. What I liked about the grip was the many more shots I could get with the EN-EL18 battery. I could shoot for two days solid and still have plenty of reserve juice in the battery. Much easier to charge the single battery every few nights than to have to charge multiple EN-EL15 batteries and have to keep watch over them so I could replace a fully charged battery with the next one that needed to be charged.
At this point the 9 fps is important but so is the much greater number of shots per battery. I also understand Steve's comment about not knowing what you may have missed. I shot a sequence of a coyote hunting a vole and when I reviewed the sequence later I knew that there were important shots in the squence that I missed. Same applies to birds in flight where the wing position changes second by second.
At this point the 9 fps is important but so is the much greater number of shots per battery. I also understand Steve's comment about not knowing what you may have missed. I shot a sequence of a coyote hunting a vole and when I reviewed the sequence later I knew that there were important shots in the squence that I missed. Same applies to birds in flight where the wing position changes second by second.
O
Well-known member
100% spot on, so its not perception in my mind LOL.
I find the D4s is clearly faster in every way, love that camera, its just sharp fast accurate, just light on resolution making me to glass dependent more than i would like at times.
When i looked at the D850 dynamic range, colour accuracy, detail, versatility, the amazing IQ and cropping ability, tilt screen, i was happy to com-premise on the D4s d5 Speed, The D850 i recall is good for 200k actuation's, the D4s D5 400k...... 2 x D850s balances that out.
I feel the ultimate dream speed for me on 45mp is 12FPS genuine.
I shoot 99% in Jpeg Fine and only on critical matters Tiff.
Oz Down Under
Pistnbroke
Active member
Be wary of quoting older D4 EN EL 18s intended for the D4 . They dont have the right chip and you wont get 9fps
O
Well-known member
Yes you are correct, thank you, i have been careful in only quoting the D4s /D5 EN EL 18a battery its 2500 MHA 27Wh, that's the only battery to get, A TYPO Correction (18 C) should read (18) which is for the D4 and is only 2000 MHA sadly many people retailing batteries will sell you what ever they can.
Buyers need to be careful as you say, there are so many different generations A, B, C.
My original post was
If you look at the specifications on the standard battery EN ElL 15a it is a 1900 MHa 14 Wh, 7.0v 1.90/ah battery, when you look at the D4s EN EL 18a battery its 2500 MHA 27Wh 10.8v 2.5/Ah.
A TYPO Correction (18 C) should read (18) which is for the D4 and is only 2000 MHA sadly many people retailing batteries will sell you what ever they can.
Buyers need to be careful as you say, there are so many different generations A, B, C.
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Graham Clark
gc-graphs
All of my EN-EL18c's are 10.8v, 2500mAh and 27Wh.
I get 9FPS out of the D850 plus they work fine in the D5 and D500 too
You can only see EXIF info for this image if you are logged in.
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Deleted member 115
Guest
I am looking for batteries and chamber cover online this morning. All Nikon brand I can find say "backorder"
O
Well-known member
Understand,
Steve is always spot on, and down to earth, gee he wouldn't want to make a mistake LOL, i can see him tied to a fence covered in molasses with calves all around him LOL.
The word opinion as i understand it means "absence of fact" LOL.
There are after market grips and batteries, they work and sometimes they don't, if your a professional making a living doing important shoots or going on expensive trips you only buy genuine PERIOD.
However I can completely understand going aftermarket, it makes a lot of sense finacially, I did with the battery charger only at $80, i bought 2, the one i got is very thin and stiff and fragile by compaison. The genuine Nikon charger is much better technically and seriously more durable, but just over priced.
Spending $15,000 on a Photography trip (which i don't do) and finding your $80 charger is overheating or shorted out as the copper coated connections that are micro thin and made from 100% recycled cheap low grade copper blend and on the ship to Antarctica where the voltage on board may fluctuate more than not, you then find that the regulator in your charger doesn't cope and so on, if this or similar trips is your application then its worth using genuine Nikon Items.
Say on the same trip, you come out of your warm cabin get into the Zodiac to see the ice cliffs and wild life and you find the camera doesn't turn on, you know your battery is charged, disappointment and shots lost you get back to your cabin and the camera after a while turns back on, HMMM
You disconnect the aftermarket grip and battery, put in the normal battery and all is good. Ok why, well being thinner in critical materials cold and heat cause contraction expansion, excessive heat cause budget plastic memory to distort........ the list goes on, You spent $15,000 plus to do photography and holiday, not R and D issues.
In this case what is the real cost saving in using non genuine product.....Only and example of several experiences from colleagues using non genuine products not just Nikon gear.
If your not doing expensive challenging trips then hey you may want to go aftermarket you can afford to replace them 4 or 5 times LOL
I personally have only had an issue with one aftermarket grip, returned, in my application 2 chargers i bought at $80 each is going fine.
O
Well-known member
I am looking for batteries and chamber cover online this morning. All Nikon brand I can find say "backorder"
Make certain its the 2500 mha 10.8 v
There is another issue to consider, you mention your 200-500 is very slow to focus or zoom ??? this could be 1) the sample you have 2) the camera settings.
It might pay to check Steve's full settings and just run through them and compere it step by step.
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O
Well-known member
All of my EN-EL18c's are 10.8v, 2500mAh and 27Wh.
I get 9FPS out of the D850 plus they work fine in the D5 and D500 too
Thanks for picking up the typo, it should have read 18 not 18 C, as the 18 only has 2000MHA please see edit above, thanks for drawing my attention to it.
O
Well-known member
Thanks for picking that up, i fixed the TypoAll of my EN-EL18c's are 10.8v, 2500mAh and 27Wh.
I get 9FPS out of the D850 plus they work fine in the D5 and D500 too
View attachment 10591
O
Well-known member
There is limited stock available in Australia.....i am told with more shipments due soon.
D
Deleted member 115
Guest
I’m looking at the en-el18c which appear to be on back order.
There are only so many settings you can use before realizing my Nikon 200-500 lens is much worse than my old Tamron 150-600 A011N in regard to autofocus
I wish I had just waited for the 500pf or bought a Tamron G2. Oh well
O
Well-known member
I have the 18 A and it works fine, what the difference between the A B and C is I don't know but when I put in the 18 A compared to the standard battery there is a clear difference, maybe some other people can advise of what is the actual technical difference is between each generation..
Lens, could it be you have a poor sample.
For me the thing I look for in all cases is Image Quality, colour synergy with the sensor, if I need deadly speed I borrow something like a D5 but that's not always the case as I am very happy with the D850, I always shoot it around 1/3200 1/4000 floated iso......when I sued it on the D4s and d5 I was very happy as well.
The other thing I look for in all lenses is the lowest magnification ratio, The Sigma or Tamron has A 4-1 magnification ratio, the Nikon 200-500 is an amazing 2.5 times magnification, the less magnification generally means better results so the theory goes, Example a 28-300 lens has a 10-7 times magnification an extreme example of a lens that is significantly more light dependant but still extraordinarily versatile.
The club birders love their D850 500 PF, however some said they miss the versatility more often than not. I guess it all matters on the aplication.
Maybe try another 200-500 and also rent a 500 pf for a day.........Good luck stay well