has anybody tried D300 with MB-D10 for 8fps?

[bkaushik]

Hi folks,

With quite a few D300s around, i was just curious to know if any of u guys have tested MB-D10 on D300 & weather it really shoots 8fps as claimed (ofcourse under assumption of having suffitcient high shutter speed to shoot)...

Ur hands on experience in this regard will be very useful info & much appreciated.

Hoping to hear from u guys ...

rgds,

 

[j_b_l]

Yeah, Harrison did try this...try to PM him (AFS here). He has a YouTube video on it...but I don't have the link.

 

[Sandro Bravo]

Hi folks,

With quite a few D300s around, i was just curious to know if any of u guys have tested MB-D10 on D300 & weather it really shoots 8fps as claimed (ofcourse under assumption of having suffitcient high shutter speed to shoot)...

Ur hands on experience in this regard will be very useful info & much appreciated.

Hoping to hear from u guys ...

rgds,

It works pretty well, as fast as the D2Hs would be....but with a 17 (RAW) shots buffer instead of 50...:tongue:

 

[PWPhoto]

Yeah, Harrison did try this...try to PM him (AFS here). He has a YouTube video on it...but I don't have the link.

here it is ....


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqHMe5h7KqI

 

[photoshooter]

I have shot hockey , with it 3 times, works great, very fast.

 

[AFS]

I've shot everything from high school soccer to animals to NCAA division I tournament volleyball with this combination and it works great! It really does get you 8fps, unless you activate auto ISO in which case you get 7.5fps. The difference is hardly noticeable.

 

[bkaushik]

Thank you all for the feedback. Just helped me to decide upon to buy the MB-D10 grip along with the D300. Will be purchasing both shortly :smile:

rgds,

 

[Commodorefirst]

yep,

16GB of trumpeter swan shots last weekend at 8 fps, pretty nice, and that was with both double AAs and the EnEl4a,

Cheers,

Wade

 

[Geof]

Wade,
What's your experience with the AA's? Are you using rechargeables? How long have they lasted?

 

[Commodorefirst]

Wade,
What's your experience with the AA's? Are you using rechargeables? How long have they lasted?

Only using regular alkaline AA, they lasted for me about 400-500 shots at 8 fps then dropped to 6 for a pretty long time, got a lot of time from them but not a lot at 8 fps. I must say, however, one bad cell and the entire lot is switched over to the internal battery.

I have also used lithium AAs, too, and they lasted a nice long while too, no numbers though because I didn't keep track compared to the Alkalines, but do know they were a lot longer at 8 fps. Once again, one bad cell and the pack doesn't work well. I had to use a battery tester to find the battery that was bad from the factory with low voltage even in the lithium packs too.

I don't own AA rechargeables yet...... I plan on using the EnEla from my D2Xs that I kept.

Cheers,

Wade

 

[Joudbren]

Wade,
What's your experience with the AA's? Are you using rechargeables? How long have they lasted?

I'm having great success with NiMH AA's in the grip. Even the Nikon D300 manual is quoting 2500+ shots on a charged set of batteries. Regular Alkaline AA's have a steady down-sloping power curve as they discharge which is why the drop down to 6fps as they discharge.

NiMH batteries have a totally different discharge curve that tends to stay pretty linear and flat and then a sudden drop off in performance once they get to the end of their charge. As a result NiMH AA's in the D300 should easily maintain 8fps for most of their charge.

I've also seen posts in other groups of some users getting over 3000+ shots! One thing to watch out for though is the battery meter, it doesn't show the remaining shots or battery life when using the AA's. I believe it will always show full power and then half power and then gone. No worries for me with the shot capacity they have and an extra set of NiMH AA's is easy and cheap to carry.

I'm using Powerex 2700's in mine but you may also want to look at the new Sanyo Enerloops. They are rated as 2000's but they have new NiMH technology that only slightly discharges over time unlike regular NiMH. That means you can leave them in your flash unit for instance unused for 6 months and when you go to use it, the charge will still be almost full. Regular NiMH would have gone flat in that time. Not an issue for me as I keep everything charged but still nice technology.

Also, I can highly recommend the Maha/Powerex chargers. Still the best and I just picked up the 8 cell unit, the MH-C801D. 8 independent microprocessor controlled charging circuits and fast charge, slow charge and conditioning modes all built in. Amazing device that will maximize the performance and life of your rechargeables. Mine also had 8 x AA 2700 Powerex batteries included in the box with a nice 8 cell carry case. Perfect for the D300!

P.S. With the new Airline Lithium battery regulations the NiMH AA option is now even more tempting especially if you travel. Now my camera, flash, and portable Hyperdrive storage device all use the same NiMH batteries. Perfect!

P.S.S. Whatever AA's you use, don't forget to set the appropriate battery type selection in the D300's menu system. Page 285 in the D300 manual.

Cheers!

 

[Geof]

Thanks for the AA reports guys.

I haven't had the need for speed yet but I was most likely going to go with rechargeables. I knew Alkalines wouldn't hold up to 8 fps long and an 8 pack of Lithiums is about $20 (I just happened to wander by them in BB and I don't know if they can be had for less). At any rate the NiMH info is good stuff. I'll note that for a future purchase. Thanks!

 

[drphibes]

I have just bought myself the D300 grip with 8 AA batteries. One question I have is are there any particualr settings that you need to alter to make the D300 shoot at 8fps or does it do this automatically with the grip attached ? I see there is a setting for battery order and would I be right in thinking you need to set the battery order to use the grip first to get the 8fps ?

Thanks

Drphibes

 

[Electromen]

Go to D10 in the menu and choose your battery type for the MB-D10.

 

[MParker]

Do I understand rightly, that the 8 fps you get is in 12-bit mode and that in 14-bit mode the frame rate slows to 2 or 3 fps?

 

[this is me]

Not to hijack the thread but how do you measure fps?

 

[drphibes]

Go to D10 in the menu and choose your battery type for the MB-D10.

I have found the setting you speak of so now I have set the MB-D10 to be the first battery will this make the D300 go into 8fps mode when I put the shooting button to ch ?

Thanks

Drphibes

 

[Electromen]

I have found the setting you speak of so now I have set the MB-D10 to be the first battery will this make the D300 go into 8fps mode when I put the shooting button to ch ?

Thanks

Drphibes

D10 has more to do with the battery meter being more accurate. If it's set wrong the meter may show a dead battery before it's actually dead.

Setting the camera to Ch will set the camera to shoot at the highest fps rate the power source will permit. Using 8 AA is one option.

Another option is using an EN-EL4a battery or an EH-6 AC 110v power adapter.

You can also use a large battery like a Quantum Turbo 2x2. I have this battery and I'm waiting for the D300 cord to become available.

So give the camera more power, set the dial to Ch and it will shoot at 8 FPS. No other settings are needed.

Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

 

[drphibes]

Thanks for your help. I have opted for the 8AA route due to the price being a lot cheaper than the EN-EL4a battery.

Cheers

Drphibes

 

[nags]

To achieve the 8fps with the grip I know you need either the EL4 or the AA's. But what about the battery in the camera? Do you leave the standard battery in there and use 2 EL4's in the grip?