NIKON
D200 EN-EL3e BATTERY & METERS
The
battery system is based on the new EN-EL3e Lithium ION battery.
Nikon has tested this battery out to 1800 images, which means
that the average user, in real life, ought to be able to get
from 500 to 1000 images between battery charges.
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Nikon
D200 Battery Meters & the new EN-EL3e Battery |
The
Nikon D200 has an intelligent power management “Fuel
Gauge” that constantly monitors the battery's remaining
power in 1% increments. This is similar to the D2x again.
It has a similar screen to let you see the battery's charge-level,
how many shots you've taken on this battery's charge, and
also how much “life” this battery has before it
needs to be disposed of. Nikon calls it a "Charge Life"
gauge, and it has five-steps from "0-4." I consider
it very important for professional use; otherwise one would
have a harder time knowing that the battery is nearing the
end of its useful life.
The
Nikon D200 is not compatible with the similarly-sized black-colored
EN-EL3a battery. Instead it uses the EN-EL3e battery, which
has a distinctive gray color. According to Nikon, the camera
has "Recognition Software" to give a warning if
a non-compatible battery is inserted in the camera. I truly
would be afraid to ever use a non-Nikon brand battery in this
camera.
MB-D200 BATTERY PACK WITH VERTICAL
SHUTTER RELEASE
The
Nikon D2x provides an extra shutter release button that makes
vertical shooting much more convenient. The Nikon D200 has
an optional "Battery Pack" available that not only
gives extra battery capacity to the camera, but also provides
the vertical shutter button and command dials.
The
MB-D200 battery pack also tends to add weight to the camera,
and when this is combined with the balanced shutter mechanism
makes the images potentially sharper than lesser cameras.
In addition, the Battery Pack adds a dimension of what I call
"Snoot Factor." When you add the battery pack the
Nikon D200 actually is bigger and probably heavier than the
Nikon D2x. That's a BIG snooty camera! Whip this baby out
down at the beach and all the point and shooters will gather
around in awe.
