Z9 users: Backup Battery and CF Express Card Options

[Chad Huff]

I have a DotFoto battery as spare. It can not be recharged inside the Z9 but, due to the higher electrical characteristic, it has a longer duration in confront of the original one. moreover, it is also cheaper.

As CFexpress cards, I use the Prograde Gold 2.0 512gb, a Cobalt of 325gb and one Angelbird of 512 glb.
All works grate.

Thanks, I appreciate you resounding. I had good luck with the Wasabi Power battery on the D850. It worked just as well as the OEM... I'' probably try an off brand again for the spares.

 

[Chad Huff]

I just use my old D4 batteries as backup for my Z9 in case I need it - haven't yet so far. Sure they don't last as long as the Z9 battery, but they're 'free'

Do you have full functionality of the camera though? I thought the EN-EL18, 18a, 18b didn't give you full functionality in some areas? I could;d be wrong though

 

[Chad Huff]

***I just ran this test on three cards using CrystDiskInfo - ***

Very informative.

I didn't know how to set-up the cards to show in crystalmarkdiskinfo before, but it's easy

Function-Advanced Features-Advanced Disk Search - And they will appear just like any other drive!


Transfered a 91 GB folder with Movie files from NVME drive to card in Card Reader - Average Speed was 700 MB/s on the Delkin Black Cards and 675 MB/s on the Angle Bird

Delkin Black 325 GB Card - 56 Degrees
Delkin Black 128 GB Card - 56 Degreres
Angel Bird AV Pro SE 512 GB - 75 Degrees - Yikes! - Wow - And 5 minutes later the card was still at 60 degrees. - Wow this card is NOT good for video or high shot volume -

I felt all the cards afterwards and the Angelbird card was much hotter than the other cards. You could still hold it, but it was uncomfortable. Probably 10 degrees Celcius away from being too hot to hold.

I'm getting the Pro SX Cards tomorrow, so I'll test those the same way. If they are not better than the Delkin's I'll send them back - I only bought them because they are supposed to be cooler than the 325 GB cards, per the test above. But my theory about the 325 being hotter than the 128 appears to be incorrect. However, there COULD be a difference in camera when write speeds are at 1300 or 1400 MB/s instead of 700 MB/s.

I'm going to start a new thread on this so people can see this fresh and can test their cards on their own.

Thank you! Very helpful. I ended u ordering a 1TB Anglebird, we'll see how that goes.

 

[Johan Schmidt]

Do you have full functionality of the camera though? I thought the EN-EL18, 18a, 18b didn't give you full functionality in some areas? I could;d be wrong though

I haven't seen any issues using the Nikon D4 batteries (maybe there are issues with non-Nikon batteries?) - I use F-mount lenses with FTZ2 - maybe there are issues when using the Z lenses?

 

[DRM]

Also, when I had my gripped D850 I used the Wasabi Power EN-EL batteries as my backup power if the OEM battery was drained. They worked just fine for that. Has anyone tried their version of the EN-EL18D?

Thanks all!

I have had nothing but good experiences buying third party batteries in the past. When I got my refurbed Z9, the Nikon batteries were not readily available and had not yet received the price cut they eventually did. So based on the positive reviews of others I bought the Wasabi as a backup.

In my opinion, I got what I paid for. Nothing more, nothing less. The battery was less expensive than the Nikon one. But it also doesn’t hold a charge as long as the Nikon one does. If I needed the longest battery out there, I would buy the Nikon one. But as a spare to use every now and then, the Wasabi works fine.

 

[fredheidepriem]

I can understand that. I just dont really burn through batteries that fast, and the Wasabi batteries come 2 in a pack with a dual charger for $180 which is $40 cheaper than a single OEM battery... and I really only use them as backups.

I just bought a real Nikon 18D from Adorama for $150, so it appears the price for them is coming down as they become more available.

 

[EarthImages]

Photography Life just published a review of the speed of 12 memory cards in Nikon Z cameras.

The Fastest Memory Cards for Nikon: 31 Tested

I've updated my tests of the fastest memory cards for Nikon, now with 31 cards tested! This includes CFexpress, XQD, and SD cards. For the first time, I have also tested a card with support for the new CFexpress 4.0 standard (the ProGrade Digital 512GB CFexpress 4.0 Type B Gold).

photographylife.com

 

[nikonkelly]

I'm curious about what CF Express cards people are using besides Delkin Black ? I have a 356gb, love it, but the Welkin cards are quite expensive compared to some of the other options I see available. I am specifically interested in any experiences you all have with:

SABRENT Rocket CFX PRO​

Exascend Essential​

Both have high sustained write speeds, and a couple reviews I saw on YouTube mentioned they were running cool(ish) temps compared to other cards, but YouTube reviews are kind of "take it with a grain of salt" to me. Not everyone has Steve's policy of not taking the items for free or payment for the review, so first hand experiences here would help me.

Also, when I had my gripped D850 I used the Wasabi Power EN-EL batteries as my backup power if the OEM battery was drained. They worked just fine for that. Has anyone tried their version of the EN-EL18D?

Thanks all!

Last night, Friday, B&H were advertising a Delkin black 512 gig for 174 us. I got one a few months ago , and love it!

 

[Roy]

I'm curious about what CF Express cards people are using besides Delkin Black ? I have a 356gb, love it, but the Welkin cards are quite expensive compared to some of the other options I see available. I am specifically interested in any experiences you all have with:

SABRENT Rocket CFX PRO​

Exascend Essential​

Both have high sustained write speeds, and a couple reviews I saw on YouTube mentioned they were running cool(ish) temps compared to other cards, but YouTube reviews are kind of "take it with a grain of salt" to me. Not everyone has Steve's policy of not taking the items for free or payment for the review, so first hand experiences here would help me.

Also, when I had my gripped D850 I used the Wasabi Power EN-EL batteries as my backup power if the OEM battery was drained. They worked just fine for that. Has anyone tried their version of the EN-EL18D?

Thanks all!

The Nikon EN-EL18c is also a great value choice that doesn't lose any functionality ...

 

[fcotterill]

OEM batteries only, a couple of ENEL18c otherwise current d version

Recent coverage of ENEL18 versions

Z9 battery question / wasabi power BTR-ENEL 18 D/ anyone use ?

I see a really good price for these off brand batteries for my Nikon Z9 and was considering getting a two pack as back ups but not sure… anyone on this forum tried the off brand batteries ? Any reason why or why not to consider these ? So far I’ve just been using the one original battery and...

bcgforums.com

Compatible Accessories

onlinemanual.nikonimglib.com

 

[Roy]

Recent coverage of ENEL18 versions

Z9 battery question / wasabi power BTR-ENEL 18 D/ anyone use ?

I see a really good price for these off brand batteries for my Nikon Z9 and was considering getting a two pack as back ups but not sure… anyone on this forum tried the off brand batteries ? Any reason why or why not to consider these ? So far I’ve just been using the one original battery and...

bcgforums.com

Compatible Accessories

onlinemanual.nikonimglib.com

I use third party OEM batteries in battery grips but do not risk them in my Z9 etc.
When a battery fails (especially from overcharge) it expands destroying the camera.
If you really need to save money on Z9 batteries the EN-EL18c is a good alternative - same functions but a little less charge ...

 

[fcotterill]

I've also invested mostly in Delkin 128GB POWER CFExpress cards, besides 2 Lexar Pro. These Delkin cards give are decent performance for the price, for my needs in wildlife photography (I rarely record video). No problems in 18 months (in the case of the oldest cards).