Nikon Coolpix S8200 accessories

I have a new Nikon Coolpix S8200 camera. Overall I like it much better
than my old camera, a Sony Cybershot DSC-W150. The backlight setting,
for example, is much clearer.

It came with no memory card, just one battery, and no stand-alone
battery charger. It did come with a battery charger than can be used to
charge the battery in the camera using the USB cable.


First, the memory card. The reference manual and the website list 4
"approved" manyfacturers: Sandisk, Toshiba, Panasonic, and Lexar:

http://support.nikonusa.com/app/answ...-coolpix-s8200


They also say that the cards must have a speed rating of at least 6. I
tried to find these cards online. Many of them do not report their speed
rating. There are also lots of cards from comanies like Intel & Kingston
and some from companies I never heard of claiming to have the Toshiba
chip.

Should I stick with the approved cards? How do I find out their speed
rating? Does it matter if a SDHC card says it is not compatible with SD
devices?

I think a 4GB or 8GB card should be plenty for me. Even at the maximum
16MB resolution, I'd get about 250 photos on a 4GB cars and 500 on an
8GB.



Next the battery & charger. Nikon sells one for $40:

http://www.nikonusa.com/Nikon-Produc...e-Battery.html

I couldn't find a stand-alone charger.

But for ~$20, I can get 2 batteries, a stand-alone charger, and a car
adapter:

http://www.amazon.com/Wasabi-Power-B...6095727&sr=8-5

http://www.amazon.com/EN-EL12-Lithiu...6095727&sr=8-3

They claim to meet or exceed the Nikon specs. Are these safe to use?




The camera comes with a very good leather carrying case. It's just a tad
too big for a pocket. Amazon has this one, which appears to be smaller:

http://www.amazon.com/Navy-Blue-Prot...6095727&sr=8-4

Has anyone had any experience with this or something similar?



Thanks

But for ~$20, I can get 2 batteries, a stand-alone charger, and a car
adapter:

http://www.amazon.com/Wasabi-Power-B...6095727&sr=8-5

http://www.amazon.com/EN-EL12-Lithiu...6095727&sr=8-3

They claim to meet or exceed the Nikon specs. Are these safe to use?

Jennifer,

The likely answer is "yes". I've used 3rd-party batteries in Nikon and
other brand cameras and had no problems. I avoided the very cheapest
batteries sold on eBay, though.

It wasn't completely clear whether both of the chargers you listed would
work directly of AC mains, the first one listed an AC possibility, not the
second.

I have no direct experience of either brand or supplier.

Cheers,
David

On Mon, 9 Jan 2012 10:24:16 -0000, "David J Taylor"
wrote:

But for ~$20, I can get 2 batteries, a stand-alone charger, and a car
adapter:

http://www.amazon.com/Wasabi-Power-B...6095727&sr=8-5

http://www.amazon.com/EN-EL12-Lithiu...6095727&sr=8-3

They claim to meet or exceed the Nikon specs. Are these safe to use?

Jennifer,

The likely answer is "yes". I've used 3rd-party batteries in Nikon and
other brand cameras and had no problems. I avoided the very cheapest
batteries sold on eBay, though.

It wasn't completely clear whether both of the chargers you listed would
work directly of AC mains, the first one listed an AC possibility, not the
second.

Oh, good catch. I completely missed that detail. The second one is for
the auto adapter only. Thanks.

I have no direct experience of either brand or supplier.

I found the stand-alone charger on the Nikon website. You have to type
"mh-65" with the "-". It's not smart enough to fine it with just "mh65".

http://www.nikonusa.com/Nikon-Produc...y-Charger.html

I also found it on B&H Photo for $10 less.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search...tialSearch=yes

Rdeading the review, I found that I overlooked another little detail.
This charger does not plug directly into the wall. It comes with a
separate power cord. Ugh.

I think I'll go with the Wasabi, which does plug ito the wall.



I wonder why these chargers aren't designed to work both as stand-alone
and in the camera? Why can't they design a charger that plugs into the
wall, has a cradle for the battery to charge stand-alone, and also a
cable to charge inside the camera? Seems like that would be the best of
all possible worlds. ;-)

I wonder why these chargers aren't designed to work both as stand-alone
and in the camera? Why can't they design a charger that plugs into the
wall, has a cradle for the battery to charge stand-alone, and also a
cable to charge inside the camera? Seems like that would be the best of
all possible worlds. ;-)

Jennifer, the way I tend to work is to have a fully charged battery in the
camera at the start of the day, and one or two spares (also fully charged)
just in case. Typically I will be away from my base for the whole day
without the ability to recharge. At the end of the day I will take the
battery out of the camera and charge it overnight, and use the
fully-charged one I had with me in the camera for the next day.

Actually, the number of times I've needed to change batteries during the
day has become less and lees and the more modern cameras have lower power
consumption. So previously having an in-camera charging facility would
have been of no interest, but today perhaps you do have a point!

Cheers,
David

"David J Taylor" writes:

Actually, the number of times I've needed to change batteries during
the day has become less and lees and the more modern cameras have
lower power consumption. So previously having an in-camera charging
facility would have been of no interest, but today perhaps you do have
a point!

A few weekends ago, I shot 1400+ pictures at an athletic event. I was
running VR constantly, and AF-C. I chimp fairly heavily, including
having auto-display on (I can glance down and see the histogram
instantly if I have even half a second).

I did that without exhausting the first of the three batteries I had
with me. This is with a Nikon D700. I really can't complain about that
battery performance!
--
David Dyer-Bennet, ; http://dd-b.net/
Snapshots: http://dd-b.net/dd-b/SnapshotAlbum/data/
Photos: http://dd-b.net/photography/gallery/
Dragaera: http://dragaera.info

A few weekends ago, I shot 1400+ pictures at an athletic event. I was
running VR constantly, and AF-C. I chimp fairly heavily, including
having auto-display on (I can glance down and see the histogram
instantly if I have even half a second).

I did that without exhausting the first of the three batteries I had
with me. This is with a Nikon D700. I really can't complain about that
battery performance!
--
David Dyer-Bennet, ; http://dd-b.net/

Most impressive!

What battery was that - the add-on MB-10 pack?

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikond700/page3.asp
http://a.img-dpreview.com/reviews/ni...wMBD10-001.jpg

Cheers,
David

"David J Taylor" writes:

A few weekends ago, I shot 1400+ pictures at an athletic event. I was
running VR constantly, and AF-C. I chimp fairly heavily, including
having auto-display on (I can glance down and see the histogram
instantly if I have even half a second).

I did that without exhausting the first of the three batteries I had
with me. This is with a Nikon D700. I really can't complain about that
battery performance!

Most impressive!

What battery was that - the add-on MB-10 pack?

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikond700/page3.asp
http://a.img-dpreview.com/reviews/ni...wMBD10-001.jpg

Well, I had the pack mounted, but with an EN-EL3e battery in it. It
didn't finish draining the battery in the pack and get into the battery
in the camera body (or I suppose I could have misunderstood the battery
status display, that's always an option).

--
David Dyer-Bennet, ; http://dd-b.net/
Snapshots: http://dd-b.net/dd-b/SnapshotAlbum/data/
Photos: http://dd-b.net/photography/gallery/
Dragaera: http://dragaera.info

Well, I had the pack mounted, but with an EN-EL3e battery in it. It
didn't finish draining the battery in the pack and get into the battery
in the camera body (or I suppose I could have misunderstood the battery
status display, that's always an option).

--
David Dyer-Bennet, ; http://dd-b.net/

Thanks, David. Whether one or one and a bit batteries, 1400+ shots in
still impressive.

Cheers,
David

On 1/9/2012 3:03 AM, Jennifer Murphy wrote:
I have a new Nikon Coolpix S8200 camera. Overall I like it much better
than my old camera, a Sony Cybershot DSC-W150. The backlight setting,
for example, is much clearer.

It came with no memory card, just one battery, and no stand-alone
battery charger. It did come with a battery charger than can be used to
charge the battery in the camera using the USB cable.


First, the memory card. The reference manual and the website list 4
"approved" manyfacturers: Sandisk, Toshiba, Panasonic, and Lexar:

http://support.nikonusa.com/app/answ...-coolpix-s8200


They also say that the cards must have a speed rating of at least 6. I
tried to find these cards online. Many of them do not report their speed
rating. There are also lots of cards from comanies like Intel& Kingston
and some from companies I never heard of claiming to have the Toshiba
chip.

Should I stick with the approved cards? How do I find out their speed
rating? Does it matter if a SDHC card says it is not compatible with SD
devices?

I think a 4GB or 8GB card should be plenty for me. Even at the maximum
16MB resolution, I'd get about 250 photos on a 4GB cars and 500 on an
8GB.



Next the battery& charger. Nikon sells one for $40:

http://www.nikonusa.com/Nikon-Produc...e-Battery.html

I couldn't find a stand-alone charger.

But for ~$20, I can get 2 batteries, a stand-alone charger, and a car
adapter:

http://www.amazon.com/Wasabi-Power-B...6095727&sr=8-5

http://www.amazon.com/EN-EL12-Lithiu...6095727&sr=8-3

They claim to meet or exceed the Nikon specs. Are these safe to use?




The camera comes with a very good leather carrying case. It's just a tad
too big for a pocket. Amazon has this one, which appears to be smaller:

http://www.amazon.com/Navy-Blue-Prot...6095727&sr=8-4

Has anyone had any experience with this or something similar?


Considering that I purchase few batteries during the lifetime of my
camera, I tend to stick to the OEM. The price difference over the life
of the camera is small. Even though the risk potential is also small,
there is little reason to take a chance.
I had a bad Nikon battery for my Coolpix. Nikon repaired the camera and
replaced the battery. With a third party battery, I would have been SOL.
Others have not had problems.



--
Peter

On Wed, 11 Jan 2012 10:22:38 -0500, PeterN
wrote:

....snip...

Next the battery& charger. Nikon sells one for $40:

http://www.nikonusa.com/Nikon-Produc...e-Battery.html

I couldn't find a stand-alone charger.

But for ~$20, I can get 2 batteries, a stand-alone charger, and a car
adapter:

http://www.amazon.com/Wasabi-Power-B...6095727&sr=8-5

http://www.amazon.com/EN-EL12-Lithiu...6095727&sr=8-3

They claim to meet or exceed the Nikon specs. Are these safe to use?

....snip...

Considering that I purchase few batteries during the lifetime of my
camera, I tend to stick to the OEM. The price difference over the life
of the camera is small. Even though the risk potential is also small,
there is little reason to take a chance.
I had a bad Nikon battery for my Coolpix. Nikon repaired the camera and
replaced the battery. With a third party battery, I would have been SOL.
Others have not had problems.

That's a good point. And if I amortize it over the number of photos,
it's really tiny. ;-)