Too many factors to worry about. I own 3 batteries, using one in the grip and the other two in the camera. Works fine and I never have found myself without power.
This camera demands having a charged spare battery .... as you will end up needing it. Especially if you are using the live view modes a lot. I tend to use live view for focusing when I have my tilt/shift on..... I currently have 1 spare battery to share between my D7000 and D800, and I am planning to get at least one more.
wow i dunno how these numbers are so terrible....i've got a D7000, using the same batteries as the D800, and i'm getting WELL over 1,300 shots on a charge....cant imagine the d800 is using THAT much more juice than a D7000....and i chimp like a BEAST, always AF-C, always raw...i'd be pissed if i was getting less than 1000 shots....
Shot a 7hr wedding with two batteries and came back with over 2,200 images and the 2nd battery was still more than a third full. Haven't noticed a huge drop in shots from switching from a D300 -> D800 (it's there but I've yet to go through more than 2 batteries in one day).
NathanHamler wrote:
wow i dunno how these numbers are so terrible....i've got a D7000, using the same batteries as the D800, and i'm getting WELL over 1,300 shots on a charge....cant imagine the d800 is using THAT much more juice than a D7000....and i chimp like a BEAST, always AF-C, always raw...i'd be pissed if i was getting less than 1000 shots....
The number of photosites more than doubled with no reduction in their physical size (reading a sensors isn't a free lunch and your processing/data transfer needs just jumped too). Not to mention that the mirror/shutter assembly are larger too. Why should we expect the same battery to last the same amount of shots?
cheeba wrote:
I get about 1100-1200 shots per battery - always AF, no LiveView, occasional chimping, ~25% of the images using VR.
This mirrors my M.O. and ~# of shots per charge. Remember, kids...3 complete charge/discharge cycles before the
EN-EL15 batt is going to be at it's best. My back-up's a D7K (so w/ just one spare I'm good for ~4,000 in a day if needs be)
trenchmonkey wrote:
This mirrors my M.O. and ~# of shots per charge. Remember, kids...3 complete charge/discharge cycles before the
EN-EL15 batt is going to be at it's best. My back-up's a D7K (so w/ just one spare I'm good for ~4,000 in a day if needs be)
Are you shooting jpeg or raw? Wonder if that makes a difference. I sort of don't want to read the whole thread. I'm afraid it will last longer than the battery.
Are you shooting jpeg or raw? Wonder if that makes a difference. I sort of don't want to read the whole thread. I'm afraid it will last longer than the battery. Both...RAW's to Storage Vault (if I ever need 'em) Lg Jpegs immediately to my website.
S Dilworth wrote:
Did you sign up six-and-a-half years ago just in case there'd be a battery-life question one day, sideswiped?
And there was! And you remembered your login password!
(Welcome, by the way.)
Wow, hadn't noticed I had been lurking for that long. I was still tooling around with my D70 back then.
I think I created the account to PM a user in the Buy & Sell forum.
Trenchmonkey make s a great point, you definitely want to cycle these batteries a couple times before judging them.
Back in June I made a trip out west with my brand spankin' new D800. Try as I might I could not find an extra battery due to the recall. I took my D300 with me too since I had multiple batteries for it but ended up never having to use it. The D800 seems fine to me. I was doing 800 to 1000 shots a day and never got much below 40% or so.
Remember, kids...3 complete charge/discharge cycles before the 
My back-up's a D7K (so w/ just one spare I'm good for ~4,000 in a day if needs be) 
Both...RAW's to Storage Vault (if I ever need 'em) Lg Jpegs immediately to my website. 