Nikon offers free battery exchange for D500 owners

Yes ofcourse.
They sold you these batteries as EN-EL-15 and they don't deliver anywhere close to what Nikon promise.
1200 shots per battery with the D500, no matter if you own or borrow the D500 or maybe will buy it in the future. It's the law.

4 days agopermalink

Hive Mind

Seems like a wise move for such an important launch product. Good to see Nikon not nickel-and-diming its loyal user-base.

4 days agopermalink

MikeFairbanks

They'll trade it for a newer battery. No charge.

5 days agopermalink

AngularJS

Does it mean instead of 1240 shots it'll be around of 1140? As a Sony user I'm barely hitting 240 on one charge. Nikon spoils it's users :)

5 days agopermalink

88SAL

Suppose with mirrorless were always runnin g some sort of screen

4 days agopermalink

Ednaz

That's interesting. At a Nikon event last year, a couple of their technical team wondered why I put years on my batteries, since "the EL15 hasn't been changed since it came out and no matter how hard it's used, doesn't seem to fade." I've got some 2012 batteries that DON'T give me the same lifespan now, so I know that they weren't right... Now this...

5 days agopermalink

Old Cameras

They're batteries, how long did you expect them to last? All batteries begin to fade after a certain amount of time AND/OR a certain number of charging cycles. I would expect to replace them periodically. Li-ion tech has changed a lot recently and Nikon does not make batteries. This is a heck of a generous offer on their part imo.

4 days agopermalink

RedFox88

Nikon is including 3 year old batteries? ! LOL!

5 days agopermalink

RedFox88

This mean the d500 was delayed 3 years?!

5 days agopermalink

Mnemon

They don't. Re-read the article.

5 days agopermalink

Nick Brundle - Photography

it's astonishing how many people lack reading comprehension skill here.

Or is this just intentional trolling?

5 days agopermalink

Hive Mind

Laziness always exceeds trolling. Never under-estimate laziness, it's what makes us human.

4 days agopermalink

Sean65

Nothing to do with reading comprehension. No one reads articles. Headline then straight to comments. Get with the times man.

4 days agopermalink

This is no big deal. Great customer service!
The problem people are experiencing with the Lexar UHS II and Transcend cards could be a little more worrying. Only time will tell....

5 days agopermalink

Zerixos

Please, first read the article. Their offering new batteries for the old ones already own by Nikon users, not the one included with the camera. Its not a recall of a fault product but a service for the people already owning a higher end body with en-el 15 batteries.

5 days agopermalink

You can never satisfy the internet experts. I am guessing within 2-3 days there will be an article somewhere saying that D500 has a battery recall

5 days agopermalink

ChrisH37

I think this news story could see a record for people not reading/understanding the words contained within before shouting off about recalls in the comments!

We're doing pretty well already...

5 days agopermalink

Agreed. Most of it can be put down to plain stupidity, some to bone idleness and not being willing to actually read the article.

The rest is plain old trolling of the type often seen when a truly fantastic product appears, causing dedicated fans of other brands to desperately try to find something to attack.

5 days agopermalink

AbrasiveReducer

Nikon doesn't even make batteries. So, if there is a flaw, it's the fault of the supplier.

5 days agopermalink

Yeah right. The supplier suddenly changed the specs on the battery, changed 2 numbers on a sticker, while keeping the same model number to not dump the price on the old EN-EL-15 . I tell you one thing if you are a Nikon user, don't buy original EN-EL15 cause Nikon don't tell you if it is the new or old model until after you bought it and expect that retailers want to clear the shelfs of the old batteries that don't live up to the D500's specsheet.
An original battery that can't deliver the promised charge and Nikon users don't understand how lousy it is. Nikons customers are amazingly loyal !

5 days agopermalink

Toccata47

Is this the third high end release that has either been recalled or required field service, in a row?

5 days agopermalink

Dave Braun

No not really it is a problem with old battery design in new camera. Seams to me to be very fair to replace batteries that could be well on the way to being worn out.

5 days agopermalink

Suntan

This isn't a recall. This is a gracious gift to replace customer's *old* batteries that they bought prior to the D500 being released.

5 days agopermalink

How can someone be this biased against a brand is beyond me? How do you call this a "recall"?
For "God's" sake, they are giving people new batteries for their old batteries!!

5 days agopermalink

Are Nikon fans blind sheeps or what ?
Here we got a company that has backwards compability as one of their main selling points, yet they sell two different specced batteries under the same model name. This is nothing short of a fraud against retailers and customers and you call this "giving away batteries for free" ?
Nikon should replace ALL EN-EL15 no matter if someone has bought the D500 yet or not, that includes all EN-EL15 on the store shelfs too ofcourse. That is a small price for this fraud.

5 days agopermalink

@cookedraw.

There is no issue with backwards compatibility. The Li-ion20 spec battery which has been supplied for 3 years works perfectly in all the older models that use EN-EL15 batteries.

You really should try to understand the issue before commenting, that may cause people to take your comments seriously and stop regarding you as a clueless troll.

5 days agopermalink

He is not here to understand. check his history. He is a habitual troll.

5 days agopermalink

Ofcourse it is a backwards compability issue if I can't use the 1900mAh charge in the camera the battery model is made for. It is not only an issue for D500 users. It is an issue with the CIPA-rated shots per battery, the specification, for retailers , resale value and more. That is the price for selling different batteries under same model name.
Whatever, all I need to do is to collect old EN-EL15 batteries and show Nikon a receipt on my second hand bought D500... I don't have to own the D500 I , I only need to show them a receipt, right ?

5 days agopermalink

Toccata47

I see. Thanks for clarifying this.

4 days agopermalink

Revenant

If I've understood this issue correctly, it's only when used in the D500 that the older version of the battery doesn't work according to specs. So it's not a question of lacking backwards compatibility, but rather a question of not being able to guarantee forwards compatibility.
Why would you be eligible for a replacement if you don't own the camera model that causes the problem?

4 days agopermalink

You wouldn't be eligible. It would be fraudulent.

The issue is indeed one of forward compatibility, something no manufacturer ever guarantees.

Nikon are doing this as a goodwill gesture, they are not required to do it.

Unfortunately some people are incapable of understanding that, and are berating Nikon for basically doing a good thing.

4 days agopermalink

Johannes Zander

So I have 8 Li-ion01 batteries. Buying 8 original Nikon batteries new would cost me about 400 EUR. The price for original Nikon batteries is about 50 EUR each here. If I buy a D500 I kind of get a voucher for replacing my old batteries for new ones.
Since I already thinking of getting a D500 Nikon is pushing me to buy one with this exchange offer. Is this a clever marketing trick?

5 days agopermalink

barrym1966

So why did Nikon supply brand new cameras with years old batteries? How many years old are some of the components inside the body then?

5 days agopermalink

Nikon didn't supply old batteries.

The batteries they are replacing are the older Li-ion01 versions that customers have bought 3 or more years ago with older cameras.

The new version has been supplied with new cameras and as OEM for the last three years.

This is an extremely generous gesture to ensure compatibility for customers that bought previous versions of the battery.

5 days agopermalink

You're not a smart person, aren't you?

5 days agopermalink

barrym1966

I have man flu dont pick on me lol

5 days agopermalink

renault5

'no charge' , oh the irony!

5 days agopermalink

A good one, man :-)

5 days agopermalink

AbrasiveReducer

At last, a sensible comment.

5 days agopermalink

HB1969

It's a "pun" not irony but +1 for the comment anyway :)

5 days agopermalink

The Nikon defect and exchange / service policy has started.........next will be few defects in the D500 body itself..........not going to buy the D500 before 2 years......

5 days agopermalink

this is not defect, they are exchanging 3-5 years old battery with new ones. Buying a battery never guarantees it would be compatible with future models. Companies all the time release new models with new batteries, making the older ones non-functional. Nikon is actually being extra generous here.

It seems some people can not live without negativity and whining

5 days agopermalink

few nikon original batteries provided with the D500 are showing more then 50% battery drainage after few shots with the camera.........hope you understand now.........

5 days agopermalink

SnappyUK

Link to story supporting your claim? I find it hard to believe that Nikon would have the old battery stock lying around to supply new D500 bodies with them.

5 days agopermalink

http://thenewcamera.com/nikon-d500-and-battery-problem/

5 days agopermalink

Aha. A very credible source of news, which actually collects news from various other sites. Article starts with

"According to some latest reports coming from Nikon D500 users the camera is showing issues with the third party battery as well as with Nikon original battery (drainge problem)

Multiple reports coming different forum but the major source is dpreviewforum in which many of Nikon D500 camera owners reporting that camera showing some batteries issue with the third party batteries....."

So now it's Nikon's responsibility to ensure compatibility with third party batteries. Where are the reports about new batteries?

5 days agopermalink

..........With a fully charged Nikon EN-EL15 battery in my D500 after 5 shots it showed having a 64% charge level remaining. The problem may be in the reading of the charge level being inaccurate or there may be something internal to the camera that is draining the battery. With a similar problem with the D300 a firmware update fixed it...........

4 days agopermalink

Mark K

I doubt local Nikon will replace all my Nikon batteries...a lot bought before D500

6 days agopermalink

jesus_freak

Nice goodwill gesture, but you wonder how this will impact their already dismal financials.

Chance are high that most D500 owners are repeat Nikon customers, and have at least one old EN-EL15 battery eligible for the exchange. Nikon needs to recover as much margin as possible, and I doubt they budgeted for a widespread battery exchange.

6 days agopermalink

Old Cameras

Nikon should NOT be exchanging old batteries for free. Future compatibility of a battery - something they do not manufacture - should not be guaranteed. They're cheap, they wear out, and no one should expect them to last forever or work with a camera that has yet to be designed. Ridiculous.

6 days agopermalink

ZorSy

This is such a hogwash - When I bought D7100 with 2 OEM Nikon batteries, I contacted Nikon as both genuine batteries have different markings: one having writing 'Sony E-D' next to PSE circle, the other one Nikon. "All good" they said as this was an early release of D7100...Second to this, these batteries tick off one 'bar' per year (camera battery indicator) therefore will be 'rejected' by the camera in due time (programmed obsolescence) despite no changes in battery performance (number of shots). They are both 01 series - so unless I buy D500 I am a sucker and have to live with this 'discharge profile' nonsense. As we haven't noticed it, Nikon!

6 days agopermalink

Richard Costin

The batteries don't get 'rejected' by the camera. The meter in the menu just shows the current battery state for your reference. Also the discharge profile 'nonsense' only effects the D500 camera with older batteries so if you don't have one it's a non issue. Chill dude.

5 days agopermalink

ZorSy

@Richard, there are 2 bars left - so let's wait. My D80 batteries are still on 'new' after all those years. As said, I have not noticed any batteries issues or loss of performance (the same shooting habits) so what would be the point of bars getting down tack on the year? I'm not stressing much about this but being in E-industry I know well what programmed obsolescence is about. My D7100 will not generate revenue unless some 'consumables' wear out. Though, I must say Nikon batteries last much longer than (in my case) Panasonic.

5 days agopermalink

En-El15 that came with my D7000 in 2011 still works fine. They are may be 20% less efficient than before. I still use them for around 3 days and 600-700 shots without charging

5 days agopermalink

Richard Costin

@zorsy
"Let's wait."

For what?

1 day agopermalink

ZorSy

@Richard - those 2 bars to come down to 1 and then 0. Just for sake of saying 'replace me'... Because D7100 is the first model which brought this 'counting a bar per year' scheme... I'll let you know in 2 years, then.

1 day agopermalink

Richard Costin

Hi ZorSy.
Those bars don't stop the battery/camera working when it gets to 0. It is just is a readout of the lifecycle/health of the battery. Not sure if it's based on a count of charges or voltage readout but the battery doesn't suddenly stop working based on the readout given. It's a guideline rather than a petrol tank gauge.

The D3 definitely had the battery health bar and I am pretty sure the D2X and D200 had that too, very old cameras, nothing new to the 7100 era. I have a few D3 batteries at 0 and they still work fine, albeit not as well as a new one of course.

Also on a separate note, 2 years regular use out of a Li-Ion is not too bad.

1 day agopermalink

justmeMN

The D500 was announced in 2016, and some of them came from the factory with pre-2013 batteries? If so, it sounds like Nikon has inventory management problems.

6 days agopermalink

You really got that from the article???

Nikon is exchanging all the EN-El15 batteries bought 3 years earlier. That means if I buy a D500 now, I could exchange my 5 year old EL15 battery that came with D7000 for free.

6 days agopermalink

yes cause they did not include the EL15 with your d7000.
Nikon included the EL14.and.a.half. with an EL15 sticker.
Read the text for gods sake.
Wow, you can now replace it for free if you buy a camera for $2500 . NICE !

5 days agopermalink

Turbguy1

NOW I see why the price of a D500 is so high...many for "changes" ahead.

In any event, I'm certain it's a great cam!

Thank goodness it doesn't use airbags!

6 days ago*permalink

Sir Corey of Deane

It wouldn't need airbags with the negativity windbags here!

5 days agopermalink

My D800 came with a EN-EL15 Lion01. If I buy a D500 today would I be able to exchange the old battery for a new generation one ?

6 days agopermalink

Revenant

Yes, that's correct.

5 days agopermalink

you don't need to buy the D500. You need to send it to a D500 owner, then he sends it to Nikon and Nikon sends it back for free. You only need to pay postage to and from the D500 owner. Nice customer service !

5 days ago*permalink

Jim Kaye

I think they're just doing what they should do. But they not only require a valid receipt for the D500 -- they also require that you register the camera with Nikon (which means give them your name, phone number, email address, and D500 serial number). They would have most of that information anyway to process the battery exchange, but it's an annoying process. I waited more than 20 minutes to speak to a customer service rep about this initially. Then when the promised email with instructions to upload a scan of the receipt hadn't arrived after 3 hours, I spent another 20 minutes waiting to speak to another customer service rep about the same issue (who insisted that I had to verify and/or "update" my phone number, address, and email address even though only 3 hours had passed since my last encounter). You'd think in this era they could simply post clear instructions for getting the battery exchange on their web site and not force people to wait to talk to someone about it!

6 days agopermalink

Awful. All they need to do is to take a look at the battery, if it is the faulty battery , replace and it and shut up. I doubt it is legal to demand a receipt for a camera to replace a faulty battery.
I got a faulty battery from another company, they jus looked at the battery and replaced it without a receipt. Nikons customer service is horrible !

5 days agopermalink

The battery is not faulty. The Li-ion01 works with the camera it was supplied with. As does the Li-ion20, which is also backward compatible with all models that use the EN-EL15 specification battery.

If you have bought a D500 you can get the Li-ion01 batteries, which will likely be at least 3 years old, replaced with brand new Li-ion20 specification absolutely free.

You keep saying backwards compatibility but seem incapable of understanding that what Nikon are actually doing is assuring FORWARD compatibility, something they are legally not obliged to do.

I suggest some careful reading might help you understand better, as you patently haven't got a clue.

5 days agopermalink

You don't understand that Nikon cheated to keep the price up ?
According to D500's specsheet the EL15 do 1,240 shots (CIPA).
That is the specs of the EL15 battery too. Got nothing to do with if you own the D500 or not. Battery don't live up to the specsheet so it is not fully compatible.

5 days agopermalink

It's you who doesn't understand...

The D500 comes with a Li-ion20 spec battery which performs as specified.

That battery is the ONLY one that has been available for the last 3 years. You cannot buy a new Li-ion01 battery, nor has it been supplied with any new camera for at least 3 years.

If by chance you own a Li-ion01 spec battery from an older camera, Nikon will exchange it for nothing.

This is exceptional customer service, ensuring FORWARD compatibility for D500 users. Something they are not required to do by any definition of consumer law.

Everyone else has worked this out, have you always been a bit slow on the uptake?

5 days agopermalink

You don't understand how it works. When they change the specs they are supposed to change the model number so retailers and customers can order the right part. Like EN-EL-15a for example.
The only reason to not change it is to keep the price up on the old model. It is false advertising and they must replace this ofcourse. It's the law.

5 days agopermalink

There is no wrong part available. The EN-EL15 version on the market for the last 3 years and supplied with new cameras for the same time are fully compatible with ALL EN-EL15 cameras.

5 days agopermalink

The old EN-EL-15 are still on the market, both new and used and no, they are not fully compatible. They are nerfed.

4 days ago*permalink

I just got back from my local Nikon dealer who has only Li_ion20 batteries in stock. He hasn't seen a Li-ion01 for 3 years.

If anyone still has the Li-ion01 in stock then it's over 3 years old and shouldn't be bought on the shelf anymore.

You are just making stuff up.

4 days agopermalink

pkcpga

I think it's very nice that Nikon is exchanging out old batteries that are long out of warranty for new ones, most companies would not extend this exchange on 3-5 year old batteries.

6 days agopermalink

EthanP99

Most companies dont package super old batteries with their cams..

6 days agopermalink

I don't think Nikon packs the old battery which is out of production since 2013 with the new D500 the issue must have to do with people who has old EN-EL15 which is not 100 percent compatible with the D500 power profile

6 days agopermalink

@EthanP99

You clearly have no idea what the issue is here.

Nikon changed to the Li-ion20 spec 3 years ago, up to the D500 there was no comparability issue with any Nikon that used the EN-EL15.

The batteries that Nikon are offering to exchange for free will be around 3 years and possibly up to 5 years old. So someone who bought a D7000 in 2010 and still has an original battery lying around can send it in for a new Li-ion20 version.

This is an extraordinarily generous offer in my opinion, they most certainly don't have to do it as they will be amply covered by their expressed right to change specifications.

I have a couple of the old li-ion01 versions which I have had for years, I personally won't be sending them in as I feel I got good value out of them from new.

To send them in feels like I am taking advantage of Nikons current over-sensitivity to these trivial issues, blown up out of all proportion by forums like this.

6 days agopermalink

Not really, if using the old battery may cause problem then it is the responsibity of Nikon to recall the old ones - it happens every where to various insdustries, especially automotive. The fact that it only has problem when using with the D500 - that allow Nikon to selectively replace the old ones only the for D500 users.
If I have a D500 I surely will send my one ones in and take no risk that one day I may forget and use the old battery with the new D500.

6 days agopermalink

fmian

So they change the internal specs of a battery without changing the fitting, and then design a camera that doesn't operate to spec with the old battery, but lets you fit it in there anyway.. is that right?

I mean.. wouldn't it be easier just to issue and update to the manual saying that you'll get XXX battery life with a certain battery revision and YYY battery life with another?

6 days agopermalink

This not the first time Nikon does this - The old EN-EL3 was replaced by the EN-EL3e - the batteries have the same shape and the same voltage - the EN-EL3 has 1400mA the En-EL3e has a marginally more capacity at 1500mA. The only different is that you can use the new EN-EL3e on the old Nikon body such as D70 but the the old EN-EL3 can not be inserted into the new Nikon body such as D300s. In other words the EN-EL3e is backwardly compatible. Fast forward to 2013/16 the EN-EL15 version 01 still can be used in the newer Nikon body such as D500 with reduced capacity due to electrical discharge profile - otherwise electrically and physically no different to that of the EN-EL15 version 20, But it is nicer to have the latest version so Nikon is basically give you a free exchange - old for new. The only condition is that you must be an owner of a Nikon D500 bought through a Nikon authorised dealer. Must check with Nikon Australia

5 days agopermalink

fmian

So.. kind of like the crazy compatibility variations with F-mount lenses then?

5 days agopermalink

This is way worse. It is normal to change model number so retailers and customers knows what they buy. Here they changed the specifications and they kept the model number to not dump the price on the old version...
This is nothing short of a fraud and the specification of D500 is 1,240 shots (CIPA).. this is not true cause that is for EN-EL15 , not the EN-EL15 with some cryptic text on the battery. How can I know what model I buy, I can't so it is fraud.

5 days agopermalink

EthanP99

Its not an official nikon launch without a recall or exchange.

6 days agopermalink

mgblack74

Because Nikon makes batteries....?

6 days agopermalink

Seriously!!! Some people just negative!!

6 days agopermalink