Monday, August 19, 2013

Thumbs up: Vivitar extra capacity EN-EL15 battery

I have to give credit where it's due; the Vivitar extra capacity EN-EL15 battery works very well. Lasts a long time, just like the Nikon one does. I was miffed that Nikon went to a new battery, but the long life of these batteries in the D7100 is rather amazing. Banging off 1000 shots at a time, even with chimping and VR use, is amazing. On the other hand, the Vivitar VIV-PG-D700 is worthless, as is Vivitar's repair service. The plastic gear inside the thumbscrew assembly which attaches the grip to the body can be easily stripped. Vivitar will not offer a replacement gear, even though the grip can be taken apart and the assembly could be replaced. In short, if you need longevity, buy a used Nikon MB-D10 instead. It did run the camera in its high-speed mode when powered by 8 Sanyo Eneloop batteries and didn't generate any electronic faults with the D300 interface, so I suppose that's one mark in its favor. Vivitar, spend a few bucks more per unit for metal gears please!

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