Urgent - help needed conserning EN-EL4 and D300!

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G IF-ED

06/22/2008 07:10:32 PM · #1

Once more I came to you for help.

This time it's serious.

I've bought a Nikon D300 with the MB-10 Grip, and a couple of EN-EL4 from hahenel with a MH21 charger.

The problem is that the charger says that the battery is charged to 100%, and when I insert the battery in the MB10 the indication for the grip power only apears for about haf a sencond and then it reverts to the EN-EL3 brom the D300 body and says that no power is left from the grip.

Does hany of you guys have any experience with this batteries or other non nikon type? I have this ones for my D70 and no problem has ever occured.

Please any info is wellcome!

ralph

Nikon Z9

06/22/2008 08:04:29 PM · #2

you've cleaned the contacts ?
you may be suffering from DBS (see/search nikoncafe for more info)

DarkRider

Nikon D300

06/22/2008 08:26:33 PM · #3

Do you have the grip batt set to be used first?
The order can be changed in MENU dshooting/display d11?

and if you check battery info in setup menu it will tell you stats for both so you can see if your camera is recognising both or not....

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

06/22/2008 08:33:46 PM · #4

Yes, I've configured it to use the MB-10 battery first.

And in the battery info menu it recognises the battery but it says that its 0% left

jeger

Canon EOS-5D

06/22/2008 08:44:50 PM · #5

My friend had a similar problem with his camera. I will try to find out if he was able to fix it.

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G IF-ED

06/22/2008 08:54:31 PM · #6

Originally posted by jeger:

My friend had a similar problem with his camera. I will try to find out if he was able to fix it.

tank's. Much aprecciated!

DarkRider

Nikon D300

06/22/2008 09:01:12 PM · #7

Have a look here and I hope it helps....

//forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1039&message=26537844

Message edited by author 2008-06-22 21:01:36.

jeger

Canon EOS-5D

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

06/22/2008 09:02:30 PM · #8

Ok. My friend has a D200. When he used his long lens on the camera, the battery readings would be a lot lower. If he changed the lens, the problem would go away. Perhaps the long lens requires more power? I'm not sure.

This probably isn't very helpful, but that's the best I could do :D

neophyte

Nikon D810

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8G IF-ED

06/22/2008 09:22:24 PM · #9

Originally posted by jeger:

If I remember correctly, that was a lens contact problem.

Anti-Martyr

Fujifilm FinePix S5 Pro

06/22/2008 09:47:40 PM · #10

I'd just use a set of AAs. I have Sanyo Eneloops in my MB-D10 and they run forever, as well as they are significantly cheaper than the D300 batteries.

I guess that's not really help, but it's a good option should you not find an answer to your problems :/

It seems as though Nikon's D300 firmware is really buggy, between the screen issue I'm experiencing, that other guys (sorry I forgot your name XD) issue with Kingston CF cards, to your battery issue. This is kind of disappointing because it really is a fantastic camera.

jeger

Canon EOS-5D

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

06/23/2008 08:59:56 AM · #11

Originally posted by neophyte:

Originally posted by jeger:
Ok. My friend has a D200. When he used his long lens on the camera, the battery readings would be a lot lower. If he changed the lens, the problem would go away. Perhaps the long lens requires more power? I'm not sure.

This probably isn't very helpful, but that's the best I could do :D

If I remember correctly, that was a lens contact problem.

Thanks!

togtog

Nikon D300

Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II

06/23/2008 12:54:32 PM · #12

Ah, fancy this thread. Ok here is the deal, I have close to first hand experience with this.

Several of Nikon's recent cameras now feature counterfeit battery protection. They claim the market is flooded with defective Chinese batteries rebranded as being Nikon's which are damaging hardware.

For this reason they enabled a check via the third pin of the battery to identify it. In addition this terminal also provides the current charge level. Most of the non-brand batteries have not been able to emulate the control circuit so the camera shuts off to protect itself.

I had the same problem with an EN-EL3, it was labeled as compatible with D200 however was being sold as a D300 accessory since both models take the same battery size. Seems most resellers either don't know, or don't care.

I have to say that BuyDig.com was understanding of the problem and did not charge a restocking fee to return it, however it seems they are still selling them as D300 compatible. :/

My advice, return the off-brand batteries if you can and go with Nikons. Especially with such an expensive camera you shouldn't need to worry about overvolts or compatibility.

Good luck!