D800 Battery Pack

RoyBoy

I've recently bought a D800, and a MS-D12 Battery Pack, for the extra power also purchased the EN-EL18a battery and the BL-5 Battery door, the problem I have is that when attached to my camera, the camera screen only shows the MB-D12 and not the battery thats in the unit, is this a problem that anyone has experienced before? Any information would be helpful.
Thanks

funtagraph

You need to check via the "Info"-Button on the back-LCD. The Top LCD doesn't show both batteries (in camera and in battery pack), but is showing a "BP" (battery pack) indicator. Check page 298 in your manual. On the rear LCD should be the name EN-EL18A left of the lower battery symbol

RoyBoy

Thanks for the info funtagraph, when I go into the main menu and into the setup menu, down to battery info D800 highlighted with a yellow box, it shows 97%, no of shots 0, battery age (0-4) with the word new in a battery shape and a scale from 0, I believe thats to show power left. And on the right of that MB-D12 in white, and -- were the no,of shots is an -- were battery age is, I've also noticed that when putting the battery in the camera, the little green indicator light does not turn green,like it does when putting in the memory card, or the camera battery.
Roy

RoyBoy

High being new to this forum, I've accepted an answer ( only nm, on as a reply ) can I change my answer from accepted ? So that I still get some help and advice, or do I have to re-post.

PB_PM

Not sure if you can take it off.

I edited my previous post because I realized what I had said was not relevant.

Msmoto

@RoyBoy

Just keep looking, I am certain someone will add more to this thread.

paulr

If the D800 and D810 are the same battery grip On the D810 when I use the BL-5 with a En-El18 Battery {D4 battery} When I go into Menu _ Battery, both batteries show and indicate how much power is left, You can prioritise which battery you use first. I would have thought the EN-EL18A multi battery holder would work the same. so something is not working correctly

Pistnbroke

What happens with an En-EL 15 in the grip ..you must have the tray to try it ?....With two batteries in situ you should have two yellow blocks one for each battery .and with one battery .grip or camera one yellow box. You did not say if it is a genuine Nikon Grip ..expect problems if it is not ...

funtagraph

Well, the OP wrote about "MS-D12" and the genuine grip is MB-D12. I guess, he meant the genuine one.

No extra tray needed for EN-EL18a, but a separate battery door to close the grip. Again, as he wrote. The D4/D4s battery is a huge thing. I can't help since my opinions to those grips changed from "very good for portraits" to "overly expensive and with no extra value" and poor knobs/buttons/wheels which don't feel the same as the ones on the body.

The weight of the grip and the costs equal to 2 or three extra batteries and if my bag has space for the grip, it will certainly have more space without it for the extra batteries.

@RoyBoy wether you "accept" an answer or not, doesn't stop others from commenting. I never saw a plus in "accepted" as each replay has some information to offer.

I'm curious: What was your reason to buy this expensive EN-EL18a? Charger is extra, but maybe you have a D4, too?

RoyBoy

Hi Guys thanks for all the advice. Yes I did mean the MD-D12, the reason I bought the EN-EL18a, some times I like to out with just my camera, so having the bigger battery seemed like a good idea, I know the EN-EL18a works I took it back to the camera shop I bought it from ( an excellent shop in Carmarthen) and we tried it in a D4 and it works fine, we tried the battery out of the D4 in my grip and nothing, I have no problems with the MB-D12 showing on the LCD if it's got the camera battery in it, then I can go into menu settings and tell it to use the battery pack first and I have the two yellow blocks, both battery % and life left in them.

paulr

RoyBob A D4 Battery should work in a D8xxx Grip with a BL-5 extension end. I use both cameras D4/D810 and use the D4 battery in the D810 grip for Live view macro work, This way i can get through a full day without swapping batteries.

RoyBoy

I know that they should work paulr, the grip works fine with all the other insert/batteries in it, but just not the 18a with the BL-5 extension?

Ironheart

The EN-EL15, which I assume is the battery you have in your D800 is a 7.0V battery. The EN-EL18a is a 10.8V battery. The MB-D12 grip might supply these different voltages on different pins, so I would remove, inspect, and re-install the grip, paying close attention to the connector and pins on both the grip and the camera.

What happens if you try and run the camera with only the 18a? You may have a bad voltage regulator in the camera.

RoyBoy

Hi Ironheart, I can't run the camera with just EN-EL18a, I've tried to set the camera up to run the battery pack first, but when in the set up menu, the MB-D12 shows up on the screen but no indication of a battery in it, yet if I put the EN-EL15 in the battery pack I can then tell the camera to use the MB-D12 battery first no problems.
I can't see what sort of connection is made between the MB-D12 and the camera, because they are male, female types, with the male being on the MB-D12 with a small protective wall around it,

PB_PM

It's possible that the contacts for the EN-EL18a, inside the grip itself (not on the battery), are not functioning correctly. You might want to try exchanging the grip or getting Nikon to inspect it.

spraynpray

In my experience most grip related faults are due to the connector.

Vipmediastar_JZ

Sorry to hijack.
I just got the EN-EL18a as well. It is fully charged, set to lithium on the menu and once in the nikon oem grip it says it is only 60% charged. Trying to recharge it takes under 2 minutes so I know that it is charged. page 374 on the manual says to calibrate if needed. My question is this normal to only show 60%? I haven't tried to calibrate it since I don't have the setup with me at the moment.

Ironheart

You have to look in the D4 manual to find the calibration instructions, page 440:

Calibrating Batteries
The MH-26 battery charger is equipped with a battery calibration feature. Calibrate the battery as required to ensure the accuracy of the camera and charger battery level displays. If the calibration lamp for the current battery chamber flashes when a battery is inserted, the battery needs to be calibrated. To begin calibration, press the calibration button for the current chamber for about a second.

Vipmediastar_JZ

Thanks. I didn't even think to look at the D4 manual. BnH contacted me saying that it is most likely a defective battery if it only shows 60% fully charged. Look like I'll have to exchange it.

Ironheart

I'd try calibrating it first, what can it hurt?

Vipmediastar_JZ

I did try on the charger and that didn't help.

Ironheart

Did you let it finish? The calibration can take up to 8 hours.

Vipmediastar_JZ

I tried it several times. The improvement was 61% now. Hopefully the replacement is good.