Tip - How to Make a DSLR Battery Run 4 Times Longer - DIY Photography

If you ever do long time lapses you know how important battery life is. Nothing can spoil your day (or night) like a timelapse gone bad with a drained battery. This post by JP Danko (Check his awesome demo reel at the end of the post) shows a clever and relatively safe way to extend the battery life of a DSLR camera. Our usual disclaimer applies, you have to know what you are doing, or else the thing may explode. No kidding. If you are not sure, seek help with your local electronic club. Shooting time lapse photography – or very long exposure astro photography, requires a lot more battery life than a single charge on the camera’s regular battery. We use Nikon D200 and D300s which use Nikon EN-EL3e lithium ion rechargeable batteries. However, there is no good commercial option to use a supplementary external battery. The approach presented herein would also apply to other DSLR cameras – most of which use a similar battery.