# D80 battery life?



## scottmandue (Apr 12, 2016)

Long time 35mm guy getting my toe into the digital world, figured a inexpensive used D80 would be a good starter.
Picked it up yesterday, came with bag, two lens, two batteries. I had a bunch of errands to run so I didn't have much time to play with the camera, but of course when I did have a few minutes I chased the cats around and snapped a few shots just to get a feel (a little overwhelmed by all the buttons so just left everything in auto).
I got off about 35 shots most with flash (shooting indoors) and after that the battery (seller said she charged both batteries) was down to one bar, is that normal? 
I see batteries on Amazon are $22 for two so I guess not that big of a deal.
Also the battery door seems to pop open with out warning in normal handling, could be my fault for not sliding the button to secure but is that a normal?


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## table1349 (Apr 12, 2016)

Make life easier, the camera more comfortable to hold and the battery life last longer.  
Amazon.com : New Battery Grip For Nikon D80 D90 MB-D80 & More with IR REMOTE! : Digital Camera Battery Grips : Camera & Photo


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## robbins.photo (Apr 12, 2016)

I'd probably charge the batteries fully yourself, then test it.  If your only getting 30-35 shots even with flash assuming the battery is actually fully charged then my guess would be the battery probably needs replaced.

You can also replace the battery door if it bothers you enough,

Nikon D80 & D90 Battery Chamber Unit Cover/Door USA

Not recommending Ebay or this seller persee, just the first that came up when I did a search for D80 battery door.  The old one will pop right out, you pop the new one in, good to go.

Oh, welcome to the wonderful world of digital.


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## KmH (Apr 12, 2016)

Nikon En-EL3E batteries on Amazon are $34.54 each
Nikon EN-EL3e Rechargeable Li-Ion Battery for D200, D300, D700 and D80 Digital SLR Cameras - Retail Packaging


35 shots might be all an old battery can deliver, particularly if the batteries are 3rd party el cheapos.
Flash, the meter, using the rear LCD, an AF-S lens, and using VR all eat up battery power.
The flash unit all by itself eats up a lot of battery power.

There are menu settings you can chose that will mitigate wasting battery power.

Don't preview every shot, have the meter turn off sooner, only use VR if your shutter speed is under 1/500, etc.

From the D80 User Manual:
"Battery Life
The number of shots that can be taken with a fully-charged EN-EL3e battery (1500 mAh) varies with
the condition of the battery, temperature, and how the camera is used. The following measurements
were performed at a temperature of 20 °C (68 °F).

*Example 1*: 2,700 shots
AF-S DX IF ED 18–135 mm f/3.5–5.6G lens; continuous shooting mode; continuous-servo autofocus;
image quality set to JPEG Basic; image size set to M; shutter speed ⁄ s; shutter-release button pressed
halfway for three seconds and focus cycled from infi nity to minimum range three times; after six shots,
monitor turned on for fi ve seconds and then turned off ; cycle repeated once exposure meters have
turned off .

*Example 2*: 600 shots
AF-S DX IF ED 18–135 mm f/3.5–5.6G lens; single-frame shooting mode; continuous-servo autofocus;
image quality set to JPEG Normal; image size set to L; shutter speed 1⁄250 s; shutter-release button
pressed halfway for fi ve seconds and focus cycled from infi nity to minimum range once; monitor
turned on for four seconds after each shot; built-in Speedlight fi red at full power with every other shot;
next shot taken after exposure meters have turned off .

*The following can reduce battery life*:
To ensure maximum battery performance:
• Keep the battery contacts clean. Soiled contacts can reduce battery performance.
• Use EN-EL3e batteries immediately after charging. Batteries will lose their charge if left unused.
• Check battery status regularly using the Battery info option in the setup menu ( 107).
The battery level displayed by the camera may vary with changes in temperature."


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## Dave442 (Apr 12, 2016)

When I first started out in digital I went through batteries very fast. A lot of that was from spending a lot of time learning the menus. The older cameras like the D80 are especially fast a draining the battery if using the rear screen a lot. But even then 35 shots is very low, it should be in the 500 to 1000 range.

The camera uses the EN-EL3e battery, the D80 should have the Battery Info in the Menu under the Wrench Tool and it will show a rating of 0 to 4. When it gets to 4 the battery needs to be replaced. This screen also shows the battery charge in % and shows how many shots have been taken on the current battery charge.

In any case, the best thing to do is pick up one or two new batteries and another charger and a couple new Lexar or SanDisk SD cards.


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## Watchful (Apr 12, 2016)

Lowering the screen brightness and turning off auto-review will help as well. Use live view less and viewfinder more.
That's a fat kitty.


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## scottmandue (Apr 12, 2016)

The batteries are Nikon, but the camera (and I presume batteries)  old, checked the shutter count this morning... 37,000! 
Nice to know the battery door is an easy fix... however loving the extra battery grip in the first response, but does it really take two months to deliver?
Thanks again everyone!


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## table1349 (Apr 12, 2016)

There are many vendors of those grips in including nikon.  Check around and you should be able to find a decent one in your price range that won't take long to get.  Here is the Neewer version. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0..._m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1CVN6GBRAZGRSG9PYRNK


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## MartinCrabtree (Apr 13, 2016)

Be sure it's an old battery causing the issue. The D80/90 have a common problem that manifests itself as high battery drain. When the camera is turned off does the green memory card access lamp blink? Does the battery drain even if the camera is turned off? Always diagnose a problem before spending money and the results will be as desired.


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## scottmandue (Apr 13, 2016)

Camera does not appear to drain battery when off. A quick look over and I don't see any blinking lights... where is the green memory card access lamp located?


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## spiralout462 (Apr 13, 2016)

I have used Neewer grips in the past.  They are decent for the money.  It's a good option if OEM is hard to find.


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## Watchful (Apr 13, 2016)

The light is on the back of the camera on the lower right side, near the card access door.


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## scottmandue (Apr 13, 2016)

Okay, thanks everyone! What a great community! Found the memory access light, not blinking. Batteries seems to be holding charge when camera is off. Checked battery info, one battery is a 1 and one is a 4.
Went to eBay and picked up a bundle, Neewer grip, two batteries, charger, IR remote, for $60 from a local vendor (one week est. delivery). I also like the idea that I can use AA id need be and understand it is a China product (so expecting just okay quality), a few used Nikon battery grips are on eBay but hard to beat the price if he Neewer kit.
Thanks again for welcoming a newbee!


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## Watchful (Apr 13, 2016)

The country it is made in is less important than the standards they build to. Nikkor lenses are made in Tiawan, Apple products are often made in China. OK, bad example, Apple is crapple.


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## robbins.photo (Apr 13, 2016)

Glad to hear you got it all sorted out.  Have fun with the D80, even for as old as it is you can still get some pretty remarkable shots with it.


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## scottmandue (Apr 13, 2016)

Yep, after having some time to fool with it it has a lot of flexibility (that I haven't had time to work with yet) should be a lot of fun!


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## table1349 (Apr 13, 2016)

Simple rule.  Battery life is inversely proportional to your desire to get the shot.  High desire=short battery life.  A guy named Murphy came up with this rule.

Easy fix...................BUY ANOTHER BATTERY!  They are cheap insurance.


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## MartinCrabtree (Apr 13, 2016)

Wasn't wishing any bad luck on ya. Just wanted to make you aware of a possible issue and keep ya from wasting money. Now go enjoy the camera.


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## scottmandue (Apr 13, 2016)

MartinCrabtree said:


> Be sure it's an old battery causing the issue. The D80/90 have a common problem that manifests itself as high battery drain. When the camera is turned off does the green memory card access lamp blink? Does the battery drain even if the camera is turned off? Always diagnose a problem before spending money and the results will be as desired.





MartinCrabtree said:


> Wasn't wishing any bad luck on ya. Just wanted to make you aware of a possible issue and keep ya from wasting money. Now go enjoy the camera.



Well, couldn't resist wanting to buy something for my new toy  so now I will have four rechargeable batteries (upon further examination both old batteries seem to check out okay by using the cameras battery check function) plus the ability to run on AA batteries if necessary. Already planing to use the IR remote to shoot humming birds.


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## Watchful (Apr 14, 2016)

The most fun life offers you is learning new stuff. Lots of stuff.


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## scottmandue (Apr 14, 2016)

Just a warning if you are shopping for battery handgrip, winwinexpert is advertising them as in stock (8 available 6 sold) but then I get a reply "please give us 5-7 days to ship and their email has an "we are out of town" auto reply.   I think I smell a rat


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## robbins.photo (Apr 14, 2016)

scottmandue said:


> Just a warning if you are shopping for battery handgrip, winwinexpert is advertising them as in stock (8 available 6 sold) but then I get a reply "please give us 5-7 days to ship and their email has an "we are out of town" auto reply.   I think I smaell a rat



Well if you ordered through Ebay just let Ebay know whats going on, if I remember right they only have like a 2 or 3 day window to ship and if they don't unless they specified otherwise in their ad then they are in violation of Ebay's standard shipping policy and you can have the order cancelled as a result.


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## scottmandue (Apr 14, 2016)

Thanks, called eBay and yes they give the seller 2-3 days before I can cancel. I have bought a bunch of stuff off eBay and have has really good luck. There are jsu t bunch of red flags on this purchase first I get _five_ of these emails in a row (seems like a robot to me):
"
*New message from: winwinexpert 


(40,008
	

)*
*Sorry to trouble you , but i have a bad news to inform you.*
*When we send the item out,we find the quality of the item is not good ,maybe they have been on the shelf too long ,so that we have to return them to our supplier. And now the good are on the way to us, so do you agree to give us 5-7 days more?*
*Is it ok for you?*
*We hope you can forgive us and accept our apologize for this problem.*
*Sorry to give you any inconvenience and troubles*
*Looking forward to your kindly reply.*
*Have a nice day.*

Then when I tried to respond I get:

*
winwinexpert is out of the office until 04/17/2016 and may not be able to respond to your message.

Message from winwinexpert:
Hello, this is Ronny
i am out for test ~(from 14 to 17),i will be back on 04/18/2016
So i can't respond you in time .but my colleague will help me to reply the e-mail .
There may be some misunderstanding ,because it was me handle all the message .
So hoping your understanding if there is any unsatisfied .
Once i am back ,i will try to solve your problem .
Hope your understanding .
Enjoy a wonderful weekend.
Thank you and have a nice day!
Ronny*

Every time I buy of eBay I feel like I am rolling the dice, because of that I have pretty much shifted to buying off Amazon.

I guess I won't know until Monday.


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## spiralout462 (Apr 14, 2016)

I have gotten away from Ebay and Amazon.  I go directly to the source these days.  Adorama and B&H are fantastic!  I can't say enough good things about their service, selection, and price.


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## scottmandue (Apr 14, 2016)

spiralout462 said:


> I have gotten away from eBay and Amazon.  I go directly to the source these days.  Adorama and B&H are fantastic!  I can't say enough good things about their service, selection, and price.



I hear what you are saying... matter of fact I order a lot from B&H for work... but when spending my own money it is hard not to be lured by low prices on eBay ($54 for battery handgrip + 2 batteries + charger + IR remote *Vs* B&H OEM handgrip $250-$350 *Vs* Adorama off brand handgrip + IR $60) . Amazon was fantastic when the just sold from their own warehouses but now they are using outside vendors they also have become somewhat unreliable.
Buyer beware!


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## MartinCrabtree (Apr 14, 2016)

I have the genuine Nikon item (MB-D80) for my D90 and love it. Past experiences with aftermarket (other than glass/lighting) has left me sour on it.


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## robbins.photo (Apr 14, 2016)

scottmandue said:


> spiralout462 said:
> 
> 
> > I have gotten away from eBay and Amazon.  I go directly to the source these days.  Adorama and B&H are fantastic!  I can't say enough good things about their service, selection, and price.
> ...


I've had real good luck on ebay but I'm careful who I buy from.  When I sort the listing, for example, I sort by distance first.  On most items I'm not interested in having them shipped from overseas, especially if it's a camera or a lens.

I check their feedback and actually read any negatives.  I prefer to deal with smaller sellers who have all positive feedback if at all possible.

So far at least never had a problem.  I'll usually also check keh to see if they have what I'm after in stock, if so I compare that to the ebay price.  I will often go with keh on some items unless the savings is great enough that it's really worth going the ebay route.

Sent from my N9518 using Tapatalk


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## spiralout462 (Apr 14, 2016)

scottmandue said:


> spiralout462 said:
> 
> 
> > I have gotten away from eBay and Amazon.  I go directly to the source these days.  Adorama and B&H are fantastic!  I can't say enough good things about their service, selection, and price.
> ...




I understand completely!  My problem with Amazon is terribly slow free shipping.  I'm to stubborn to pay for shipping and to cheap to subscribe to Prime.

It's almost like when you choose free shipping, they hang on to the item for a week as a penalty for not paying.


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