Z8 Battery charging via USB Power delivery.

[Miyamoto]

Has anyone had any success with this? Besides the Nikon-supplied USB cable, I have tried multiple (6+) cables and AC Adapters and all but one fail. The only combination that works is my iPad 12 charger/cable combination. The Nikon manual says the supplied cable doesn't work but for a mere $99.43 (CAN) Nikon will send me one that will. Do I really need to go to Apple and get a cable/adapter to be able to charge the Z8 battery via the USB Power delivery?

I have a

ACASIS Swappable High-Speed SSD Storage & 10-In-1 Hub, Docking Station, NVMe SSD Enclosure, CM073​

you buy it with the pd power adaptor and the hub works and as long as the cable is charge and data then it works. it works on my z8 with the charger and a usb c that comes with it. all my other cords can work off the hub. I built this for travel with a mini fan for the reader and the hub. I think the focus here is that the power sourse has a usbc and its pd. The pd power source is less than fifteen can$. GAN CHARGER MODEL PE-GAN65WD

USB-Power Delivery (PD) is a fast-charging technology based on the USB-C standard. Certain Apple® and Android smartphones/tablets and various laptop brands support the technology, which provides much higher performance than standard charging methods.
Is PD the same as USB-C?


The key difference between USB Type-C and USB-PD is that USB Type-C is a reversible USB connector that has a small form factor, while USB-PD is a power delivery protocol that allows for up to 100W power delivery.

its all about the power delivery.

 

[Steve W]

Seems silly, but not all cables can deliver power and transfer data efficiently and/or equally. For instance, the OEM cable that came with my M1 MB Air charges my laptop just fine, but it’s slow compared to other cables I own when copying RAW files from a media card to external SSD’s connected to the laptop for backup purposes.
There are cables that can do both. Go to Amazon and search “PD power cables”. You’ll find dozens of USB C cables that can deliver 60 or 100 watts of power (you’ll need a charger that can support that much power though) and transfer data up to 10 gbps speeds. Most are not that expensive and they all should work with the Z9/8 for battery recharging and data transfer purposes.

As oils ain’t oils, neither are cables.

 

[dabhand16]

Seems silly, but not all cables can deliver power and transfer data efficiently and/or equally. For instance, the OEM cable that came with my M1 MB Air charges my laptop just fine, but it’s slow compared to other cables I own when copying RAW files from a media card to external SSD’s connected to the laptop for backup purposes.
There are cables that can do both. Go to Amazon and search “PD power cables”. You’ll find dozens of USB C cables that can deliver 60 or 100 watts of power (you’ll need a charger that can support that much power though) and transfer data up to 10 gbps speeds. Most are not that expensive and they all should work with the Z9/8 for battery recharging and data transfer purposes.

I've found with different cable types that some cables are charging cables only and will not transmit data at all. Now if I specifiacally want a data cable I'll search for a data cable. Also not all power cables are equal.

 

[Geoff_G]

Thunderbolt 4 Cables are 'do everything cables' but they cost more.

 

[Roy]

Thunderbolt 4 Cables are 'do everything cables' but they cost more.

Even Apple is going towards USB C PD these days ...

 

[Joe R]

The included Nikon UC-E24 cable will NOT charge my Z8. For an overpriced amount of $29.95 this is really a rip off. I have another cable that works, not sure of the brand as I got it a while ago. It is a USB-c to USB-c cable. It was not an expensive cable. All know is I tested it with my Lenovo laptop. I can plug this cable into the USB-C port on my PC or into USB-A port (using a USB-c to USB-A adapter) and it charges the battery. So, it does not appear that a USB-C to A or A to C adapter will mess up charging. I also have a basic Samsung charger, the 5V 2.0 A little charger that came with my Samsung S22 phone. It is probably slower, but it charges the Z8 just fine. as long as I use that (good) cable. I tested 4-5 of the other USB-c cables that I already had and none of them worked, even the ones that were supposed to be high speed.

 

[Roy]

The Z8 and Z9 cable needs to be a USB C PD (power delivery) cable ...

 

[MotoPixel]

The included Nikon UC-E24 cable will NOT charge my Z8. For an overpriced amount of $29.95 this is really a rip off. I have another cable that works, not sure of the brand as I got it a while ago. It is a USB-c to USB-c cable. It was not an expensive cable. All know is I tested it with my Lenovo laptop. I can plug this cable into the USB-C port on my PC or into USB-A port (using a USB-c to USB-A adapter) and it charges the battery. So, it does not appear that a USB-C to A or A to C adapter will mess up charging. I also have a basic Samsung charger, the 5V 2.0 A little charger that came with my Samsung S22 phone. It is probably slower, but it charges the Z8 just fine. as long as I use that (good) cable. I tested 4-5 of the other USB-c cables that I already had and none of them worked, even the ones that were supposed to be high speed.

I've never seen a situation where a Z9 or Z8 could be charged with any combination of cables/adapters from a USB-A port since there is, to my knowledge, no such thing as a USB-A port that conforms to PD specifications and therefore the camera will not initiate charging or powered operation from the USB-C charging port. The cable that Nikon supplies is for data communication, not charging. With non-PD charging sources, the green indicator light will flash twice and the go out, but the orange charging indicator never illuminates.

All of the various USB-C to USB-C cables I have will work for charging, even the cheap ones that were supplied with some random device, but many of those only support lower data rates.

 

[Joe R]

I've never seen a situation where a Z9 or Z8 could be charged with any combination of cables/adapters from a USB-A port since there is, to my knowledge, no such thing as a USB-A port that conforms to PD specifications and therefore the camera will not initiate charging or powered operation from the USB-C charging port. The cable that Nikon supplies is for data communication, not charging. With non-PD charging sources, the green indicator light will flash twice and the go out, but the orange charging indicator never illuminates.

All of the various USB-C to USB-C cables I have will work for charging, even the cheap ones that were supplied with some random device, but many of those only support lower data rates.

I just double checked my info (above). Using the one (1) good PD cable that I found I had. It is a USB-C to USB-C. cable, no markings on it. Using a USB-C to USB-A adapter, I plugged it into the USB-A port of my laptop. After 5 min, my battery in the Z8 went from 91% to 95%. I do not know what the cable is, it has no markings on it, but the adapter is a cheap one I got on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BWJ6C6JT/?tag=backcogaller-20 . I think you just got lucky with all your USB-C to USB-C cables working . Most of mine, even if supposedly high speed to NOT work. Of course, when I got them ( a while ago) I did not know I should get a PD cable. Didn't even know there was such a thing, although I did know that some cables were just for power & not data. I did not know there were different rated power cables.

 

[Gosuosuo]

you will need a USB C-C cable that supports PD, some PD wall charger/power band may provide a cable with it. Nothing fancy, a CAD$9 cable will do the job. DONT go to apple, their charger may not be PD compatible, Amazon is a better place

 

[ajrmd]

I just double checked my info (above). Using the one (1) good PD cable that I found I had. It is a USB-C to USB-C. cable, no markings on it. Using a USB-C to USB-A adapter, I plugged it into the USB-A port of my laptop. After 5 min, my battery in the Z8 went from 91% to 95%. I do not know what the cable is, it has no markings on it, but the adapter is a cheap one I got on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BWJ6C6JT/?tag=backcogaller-20 . I think you just got lucky with all your USB-C to USB-C cables working . Most of mine, even if supposedly high speed to NOT work. Of course, when I got them ( a while ago) I did not know I should get a PD cable. Didn't even know there was such a thing, although I did know that some cables were just for power & not data. I did not know there were different rated power cables.

Here’s some information which you might find useful: https://www.testandmeasurementtips.com/whats-new-in-usb-power-delivery-3-0-faq/

Most USB (A or C) cables listed on Amazon will include power delivery characteristics. I don’t endorse single brands and since my cables are used for “everything” from charging laptops to drones, I tend to use higher power USB C (>100 w) ones such as this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09ZL4N9DW/?tag=backcogaller-20

 

[Joe R]

Here’s some information which you might find useful: https://www.testandmeasurementtips.com/whats-new-in-usb-power-delivery-3-0-faq/

Most USB (A or C) cables listed on Amazon will include power delivery characteristics. I don’t endorse single brands and since my cables are used for “everything” from charging laptops to drones, I tend to use higher power USB C (>100 w) ones such as this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09ZL4N9DW/?tag=backcogaller-20

Good information. Thanks for the reply.

 

[Carl_S]

As oils ain’t oils, neither are cables.

I've never seen a situation where a Z9 or Z8 could be charged with any combination of cables/adapters from a USB-A port since there is, to my knowledge, no such thing as a USB-A port that conforms to PD specifications and therefore the camera will not initiate charging or powered operation from the USB-C charging port. The cable that Nikon supplies is for data communication, not charging. With non-PD charging sources, the green indicator light will flash twice and the go out, but the orange charging indicator never illuminates.

All of the various USB-C to USB-C cables I have will work for charging, even the cheap ones that were supplied with some random device, but many of those only support lower data rates.

Hi. I had the same frustration and eventually tried a few setting changes. I found turning OFF the option to allow WiFi or Bluetooth whilst off resulted in the charge light operating as expected

 

[htom]

I'm using a 20W Apple charger along with an OtterBox USB-C to USB-C charging cable, which is a USB 2.0 / USB PD type. As mentioned earlier, when charging, the camera should either be turned off or, if turned on, the standby timer must be disabled (set to off).

 

[Chris Dees]

In my case (Z8) the camera charges in all positions (on/off/standby).

 

[joe43]

Some of this has been covered in various replies, but to tie all of it together in one place let me list a few items...

First off, the power source must be USB-C PD compatible, meaning it has the circuitry to negotiate charging with a PD type device, which the Z9 and Z8 are. They will only charge from a PD type charging source.

I know of zero PD compatible charging devices that have a USB connector other than Type C, so you can't use a Type A to Type C adapter to adapt a USB-A type charger to USB-C and expect it to work. Just to be clear, that does not mean that the devices don't have other ports, it means there is no way to adapt other ports to be PD compatible.

PD compatible charging devices include modules to plug into mains supplies from 120-240VAC, some power strips are starting to include them. 12VDC chargers include cigarette lighter plugs, some inverters for 120VAC include PD ports, though those are rare. Many of the larger "Power Banks" released over the last few years have PD compatible USB-C ports in the mix.

Compatible chargers with USB-C PD ports come in various power ratings and Nikon requires a 15W minimum power rating. If you get a charger of whatever type with dual ports, I'd recommend 30W or higher if you want to charge two cameras at once or one camera and another USB powered battery charger, like the MH-33 that comes with the Z9, which by the way also requires a PD compatible charging source.

I have an older RAVPower dual battery charger that came with some EN-EL15B batteries that I bought for my D850 and D500 some years ago. That charger has a Micro USB port for power and I've confirmed that I can charge the EN-EL18C batteries in it.

As for USB-C cables, I've never run across a USB-C cable that won't charge my Z9 when connected to a PD charging device, but you have to be very careful regarding cables for high-speed data transfer. Look for cables rated for 10Gbs or higher...though higher won't help speed transfers from the camera directly, as it's limited to USB 3.1 Gen 1 transfers of up to 5Gbs. It may speed up your data download from a card reader that has a USB 3.1 Gen 2 or higher interface if your PC has USB 3.1 Gen 2, USB 3.2 Gen 2 or USB 3.2 Gen2x2 interface.

I hope this being all in one place is helpful. Please feel free to correct anything I've said that you feel is in error!

Cheers!

This post is a long version of what I was going to write. For my Z9 battery, the Charger and the cable do matter. I charge the battery outside of the camera with the battery charger supplied by Nikon. The PD charger and cable I use for it were purchased separately. I used information at B&H website for my Z9 under Accessories to see what chargers and cables they listed. I suggest you do the same thing foryour Z8. My PD charger is a wall charger with three ports. I believe it is rated at 60W or greater. My Z9 charger requires a USB C cable.

 

[EricBowles]

One more thing to watch for is the specific ports on your PD power bank that can be used for power delivery. I believe that you need 15-20W ports or higher for fast charging. On my PD power bank only two of the ports supported fast charging. No USB-A ports support fast charging even though they may support regular charging. It might take 6-8 hours to fully charge a camera battery with regular charging, and fast charging is a couple of hours or less. For fast charging, you also need high capacity cables.

 

[Roy]

One more thing to watch for is the specific ports on your PD power bank that can be used for power delivery. I believe that you need 15-20W ports or higher for fast charging. On my PD power bank only two of the ports supported fast charging. No USB-A ports support fast charging even though they may support regular charging. It might take 6-8 hours to fully charge a camera battery with regular charging, and fast charging is a couple of hours or less. For fast charging, you also need high capacity cables.

I'm OK with slow charging - the batteries will last much longer.
But an occasional fast charging is handy when you need it ...