For those shooting with a D500 and may have experience shooting both the 15a and 15 Nikon batteries, is there really a big, noticeable difference with the newer 15a batteries? I have four 15s, but notice when shooting video that LiveView realllllly drains the batteries quickly; I might be able to get 30-40 mins of continuous LiveView use. It's quite a bit better using the same batteries in my D750.

EN-EL15a vs. EN-EL15 in D500... really a big difference?
#1
Posted 18 August 2018 - 08:03 PM
#2
Posted 03 September 2018 - 10:39 PM
I am using mixture of 15 and 15a on recently acquired D500 like you described. I don't use liveview but noticed my battery drains a lot faster than
when it was used with D800 & D7200. Usually battery last long for fullday/3 dives but I could only do 2 dives with D500.
I took my camera and batteries to local Nikon service center and find camera is working fine but I had wi-fi/Blutooth function on for wireless file transfer
and that was main cause of fast battery consumption. They said camera is looking for my other bluetooth device(which is my cell phone) in full speed
and drains battery.
Ever since, I am using 15a as main battery & 15s just as a backup and make sure I turn off wi-fi/Bluetooth before I go dive.
Sam
D500/D5 in modified Nexus housing
and EOS-1DS Mk3 in Seacam.
#3
Posted 10 September 2018 - 06:33 AM
I have a Nikon original 15 and a Nikon 15a. They seem equal. The bluetooth is a pain. It doesn't follow directions, giving me the on message when I turn off the camera even after I've changed the settings to off. My camera lasts fine underwater but drains the battery when it's off and in my camera bag between dive weekends. Even after update, my Nikon snapbridge doesn't work well with my i-phone. Works fine, then doesn't work at all. Doesn't turn on and off when told.
D500 NA-D500, D300 MDX-D300, 2X YS-D1, Tokina 10-17, Nikon 60AF D, Nikon 105mm AF-D, Nikon 35mm f2.0, L & M Sola 800/1200
Nikon F100 w/Sea & Sea NX100 Pro