Digital SLR Batteries

If you've had your DSLR for very long, you may have noticed that digital cameras burn through digital SLR batteries much faster than the old SLR cameras did.

If you are just buying a new camera, it's a good idea to pick up one or more spare batteries so you can be shooting instead of sitting around waiting for your single battery to recharge (...or worse yet, when you realize that you don't have your charger or an outlet).

If you are ready to buy a new battery check out our DSLR Battery Guide now.

Types of Digital SLR Batteries

Most digital SLR cameras use Lithium Ion (Li-on) batteris which are rechargeable and have very little to no "memory" which means you don't have to run them completely empty before recharging them.

DSLR batteries often have a mAh or milli-Ampere-hours rating and the higher the rating, the more photographs you'll be able to squeeze out of the batteries (I covered this in the EN-EL9 vs EN-EL9a review).

Should You Buy Extra Digital SLR Batteries?

Two words - "Hell Yes".

When I was photographing the Grand Canyon at sunrise, I learned the hard way that cold weather sucks the juice out of batteries like nobody's business. Two batteries went dead... in the middle of the shoot.

I had to drive several hours to Flagstaff to buy several aftermarket replacement batteries (Energizer) and a Power Inverter that I could plug into my cigarette lighter. The replacement batteries, which weren't cheap, lasted about half as long as my Canon batteries before dying completely (as in "time to toss those babies in the trash")...

I learned two lessons:

1. Carry spare batteries
2. Buy batteries from the manufacturer of your camera

Digital SLR Batteries & Battery Grips

Some DSLR cameras can handle a digital SLR battery grip. These grips usually store two batteries and have extra controls on the grip itself (like a shutter release and some control dials to set your aperture and shutter speed).

In addition to being able to go longer between battery swaps, a battery grip is great if you are photographing models or doing portraits because the additional controls make it more ergonomic to reach the shutter release when you're holding the camera vertically.

I recommend them if you want to avoid straining your wrists and joints if you do portrait or model photography.

Table of Digital SLR Batteries by Camera

Manufacturer	Model	Battery	Battery Grip
Canon	Rebel XT	NB-2LH	BG-E3
	Rebel xTi	NB-2LH	n/a
	Rebel XSi	LP-E5	BG-E5
	20D	BP511A	BG-E2N
	30D	BP511A	BG-E2N
	40D	BP511A	BG-E2N
	5D	BP511A	BG-E4
Nikon	D40	EN-EL9	n/a
	D40x	EN-EL9	n/a
	D50	EN-EL9	n/a
	D60	EN-EL9	n/a
	D70	EN-EL9	n/a
	D70s	EN-EL9	n/a
	D80	EN-EL3e	MB-D80
	D200	EN-EL3e	MB-D200
	D300	EN-EL3e	MB-D10
Olympus	E-330	BLM-01	n/a
	E-410	PS-BLS1	n/a
	E-420	PS-BLS1	n/a
	E-500	BLM-01	n/a
	E-510	BLM-01	n/a
	E-520	BLM-01	n/a
	E-3	BLM-01	HLD-4
Pentax	K100D	4 AA	n/a
	K200D	4 AA	n/a
	K110D	4 AA	n/a
	K10D	D-LI50	BG2
	K20D	D-LI50	BG2
Sony	A100	NP-FM55H	n/a
	A200	NPFM500H	VG-B30AM
	A300	NPFM500H	VG-B30AM
	A350	NPFM500H	VG-B30AM
	A700	NPFM500H	n/a

I hope that helps you find the right Digital SLR batteries for your camera.