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What was Fuji's Intention?

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Dayo

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I wonder what could have been the intention behind why Fuji decided to break the battery and grip compatibility with the Nikons.

I think the S5 would have been a more attractive proposition if they had not done this.

--
http://dakanji.com

'I make statements based on fact not predictions.'
KMSEA: 12:33:17 PM, Saturday, November 12, 2005 (GMT)

'Human nature being what it is and unlikely to change, these events will
no doubt be repeated in the future.'
Thucydides 400 BC
 
I thought the grip was compatible, only the batteries aren´t.
--
Greetings from Germany,
Pam
 
Can someone please confirm - if I buy an MB-D200 (or a 3rd party version) do I have to buy EN-EL3s as well or can you put the NP-150 in the grip?
 
andylong42 said:
Can someone please confirm - if I buy an MB-D200 (or a 3rd party
version) do I have to buy EN-EL3s as well or can you put the NP-150
in the grip?
Click to expand...
no, you HAVE to put NP-150s in the grip. Nikon batteries won't work.

Although I did come across a grip the other day from the 'ownuser' brand that seemed to suggest it has interchangeable cartridges that allow loads of different li-ion batteries from all sorts of manufacturers to be used.
I guess you just don't get the proper battery meter and it treats them as AAs ?
 
a) whether there might be some technical reason for a different battery -- as Matt suggested
0r
b) whether the incompatibility was Fuji's idea -- or Nikons.

Either way, I imagine the issue did hurt S5 sales to Nikon users somewhat.

--
With kind regards,

Robert05 (AKA Fleming)
http://www.pbase.com/robert_in_sc
 
Fleming said:
I imagine the issue did hurt S5 sales to Nikon users
somewhat.
Click to expand...
Definitely. A lot more people would have seriously considered it if these issues were not there ... Sort of like a D250.

--
http://dakanji.com

'I make statements based on fact not predictions.'
KMSEA: 12:33:17 PM, Saturday, November 12, 2005 (GMT)

'Human nature being what it is and unlikely to change, these events will
no doubt be repeated in the future.'
Thucydides 400 BC
 
The battery grip IS compatable - only the batteries aren't. Fuji have actualy added a microchip to the S5s battery (and presumably inside the camera itself) to stop us using the D200 batteries.

The only obvious reason would be for profit - a rather cynical excercise admittedly, as the two manufacterers batteries are exactly the same in every other respect.

But then again, Maybe fuji knew that with a 'niche' camera, they needed all the profit they could get to justify continuation of the S Pro line... and we shouldn't really complain if it means development of an S6 ;)

------------------------------------------
http://www.darrenball.co.uk
 
I am a bit confused here.

As puddleduck recommends the nikon batteries and the next post Big Ga recommends the fuji batteries?!

If someone could please clarify the right answer (from experience) that would be great thanks a lot.

Kind regards

Steve
 
Hi Steve

I think you've mis-read my post, because I am not recommending Nikon batteries!

This is what I said - "But you need to use NP-150s (or clones) for Fuji, and EN-EL3e for D200, grip or no grip."

To be crystal clear - you MUST use NP-150s (or 3rd party NP-150 clones) in an S5 Pro. Doesn't matter if you have the grip - its either NP-150 or the AAs.

Use Fuji batteries for the S5 Pro, Nikon batteries for the D200 / D300 and never the twain shall meet.

-Andy
SteveBarry said:
I am a bit confused here.

As puddleduck recommends the nikon batteries and the next post Big Ga
recommends the fuji batteries?!

If someone could please clarify the right answer (from experience)
that would be great thanks a lot.

Kind regards

Steve
Click to expand...
--
-Andy

Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/andydrake
 
I have heard that taping over a contact (the middle one?) allows a D200 battery to be used in an S5 Pro, but without a battery life meter. Never tried it myself and it would be at your own risk.

Anthony
puddleduck said:
Use Fuji batteries for the S5 Pro, Nikon batteries for the D200 /
D300 and never the twain shall meet.

-Andy
Click to expand...
 
Anthony said:
I have heard that taping over a contact (the middle one?) allows a
D200 battery to be used in an S5 Pro, but without a battery life
meter. Never tried it myself and it would be at your own risk.
Click to expand...
If this works anyone will unse normal EN-EL3 (the one to use with D100/70/50) without chip&code in S5 - this is definitely NOT the case, you can test it by yourself without doing any damage. The camera simply won't power up.

--
regards,
Dietmar
 
The Charger is a dumb unit - in fact it's the same as the original D100 charger only in a slightly slimmer case (MH-18A introduced with the D70S or D200) so doesn't read the chip in the battery anyway so will charge Original D100 ones (EN-EL3 no Chip) , hi-power D70S ones (EN-EL3a), Chipped D200 ones (EN-EL3e) and Fuji ones .. ... . It's probably charge, Olympus, Pentax, Canon and Sony batts of the same voltage too if you sellotaped the wires on ..

--
Please ignore the Typos, I'm the world's worst Typist
 
DeeBall said:
The battery grip IS compatable - only the batteries aren't. Fuji have
actualy added a microchip to the S5s battery (and presumably inside
the camera itself) to stop us using the D200 batteries.
Click to expand...
first yes, second: no.

The grip is a piece of wires and plastic with only simple analog electronic circut inside to switch between the 2 batteries, and this circuit does not take care of the battery coding.
DeeBall said:
The only obvious reason would be for profit - a rather cynical
excercise admittedly, as the two manufacterers batteries are exactly
the same in every other respect.
Click to expand...
Funny, nearly all blame Fuji for the different chipcode in the batteries. Ever thought that it was Nikon not willing to give Fuji it's battery chipcode? The code and its handling is part of the camera part with firmware A which never changes on the S5. If some wants to avoid the battery limitation he has to change the firmware.

Furthermore, Fuji did not like the plastic feel of the Nikon grip and decided to design an own, more professional one. They never released it since Nikon forced them not to do. Guess why? D200 users won't buy BG200 anymore but the Fuji variant because it is the better one:)

--
regards,
Dietmar
 
puddleduck said:
I think you've mis-read my post, because I am not recommending Nikon
batteries!

This is what I said - "But you need to use NP-150s (or clones) for
Fuji, and EN-EL3e for D200, grip or no grip."

To be crystal clear - you MUST use NP-150s (or 3rd party NP-150
clones) in an S5 Pro. Doesn't matter if you have the grip - its
either NP-150 or the AAs.

Use Fuji batteries for the S5 Pro, Nikon batteries for the D200 /
D300 and never the twain shall meet.

-Andy
Click to expand...
Oh yes, sorry Andy I did - can't get the staff!
Thanks for the clarification.

Next question is the grip any good? I have one for my D100 and I am not over the moon with it.

Thanks again

Steve
 
From Thom Hogan's S5 Pro review:

My S5 Pro came from the factory with a significant defect: it can't detect batteries. This turns out to be both a plus and a minus. Because the third pin seems to be disconnected, I can actually use D200 batteries in my S5 Pro! The downside is that I get no battery status and the camera stays active all the time. Rather than send the camera back to the factory to be fixed, I just learned to live with it (I turn the camera off when not shooting with it, plus just carry an extra battery at all times since I can't reliably predict when I'll run out of juice).

--
check out my blog at http://anthonyonphotography.blogspot.com
 
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