EN-El14 Batteries

Blinkey

Senior Member
Does anyone know why when looking for replacement batteries for the D3100, Some of the EN-EL14 batteries are for Coolpix P7000 only and are not supported by the D3100. They look the same and seem to have the same specs. Could I use them in a battery grip?...Thanks Gang
 

Berkerk

Senior Member
I believe that those are third party batteries you're looking at and not Nikon originals. The D3100 will only work with Nikon originals, so I'm guessing that the P7000 isn't quite so discerning.

I've read elsewhere on these forums that you can get away with having one Nikon and one third party battery in a grip, circumventing the battery check the D3100 performs.
 

Blinkey

Senior Member
Thanks for the Info Berkerk. I went back and read the instructions that came with my battery grip...Imagine that "Reading Instructions"....It confirmed your theory and stated to put the "Non-Nikon" battery in the left and the Original Nikon in the right. Perfect...I have 2 Originals now and have ordered 2 Non Nikon 1400 mah batteries....I'll keep ya posted.
 

Blinkey

Senior Member
Just received the non nikon 1400 mah batteries. They work great in the left side of the battery grip with the original nikon in the right side. Great at $17 for extra batteries.
 

Blinkey

Senior Member
I now have 2 OEM Nikon Batteries which are 1050 mah, then I purchased 2 of the 1400 mah non OEM batteries. With the battery grip it allows me to use one of each therefore I have 2 sets of batteries but $18 for a 1400 mha vs $50 for 1050 mha OEM. It will extended the # of shots some. Just a thought......
 

radanko

New member
But how many shots you could make with one Nikon original and extra replacement battery? Double comparing to single Nikon or less?
THX
Radan
 

fotojack

Senior Member
Nikon batteries are chipped, meaning they will feed information to your camera on its real state of charge and its probable lifespan. Third party batteries are NOT chipped. There's a reason they cost so little. No one likes to pay the Nikon prices, naturally, but in this case, you get what you pay for.
I can get a battery for my D40 for $30 (3rd party). The Nikon battery will cost me $90.
 

AMG

New member
When I received my D3100 as a gift last year it came with the EN-EL14 battery with Nikon logo stamped on it. So when I decided to purchase a back up I bought the EN-EL14 which is also stamped Nikon. No problems.
 

JohnFrench

Senior Member
I bought an extra battery, (still unused) from Hunt's Photo for under $40. It is the Nikon made for this particular camera. I was looking at battery cost for a Canon T3, they are a little more, $75. So in retrospect, I am not complaining about the cost of the extra Nikon battery I bought.
 

SMITHJ

New member
I'm not sure I agree. Other camera can tell me exactly what my battery charge is just fine without a chip. Likewise with the battery on my tablet and phone. I'm thinking this is more a mechanism to force people to buy only from Nikon. Kind of like HP chipping their ink cartridges so non-OEM ink won't work.
 

silvertip

Senior Member
I have a Nikon brand and a 3rd party battery for my D200. Both are Li-ion 7.4v 1500mAh. Both show the same info in the battery info menu, ie Bat. Meter( in % of charge left), Picture Meter (number of shots on the charge) and Charge life (0-4). Both batteries show 0 or new on the gauge. I usually take around 600- 700 shots per basketball game and still have 30-40% battery life left. I cannot tell the difference in the performance of the two batteries. The only difference I can see is the Nikon logo on one of the batteries.
 

Browncoat

Senior Member
I cannot tell the difference in the performance of the two batteries. The only difference I can see is the Nikon logo on one of the batteries.

Cheap batteries are not optimized for performance. They provide an inconsistent charge, which can cause surges that will wreak havoc on your camera's electronics. They generally don't charge to 100%, don't discharge correctly (you won't get as many shots per charge), are not as durable in varying weather conditions, and will ultimately need to be replaced sooner than Nikon batteries.

Some cheap batteries work fine. Most do not. That's the major fault with them, there is no consistency. You either get a good batch or a bad one because there is very little quality control.

Only you can decide if the additional insurance and reliability are worth the extra cost of a name brand battery. Personally, when we're talking about a potentially ruined camera...I'll pay the few extra bucks for a good battery.
 
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