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I was thinking how good this would be for long recordings, where for example, you have the camera connected to a computer as an external camera, and then have it running through digicam control:

My question is, could you have one battery in a battery grip, whilst another is charging, and then when the first battery is running out, put the new one in and then remove the other one?

Obviously make sure that the camera still has a battery in it, but swap them out.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ If you're going to be running a computer for the long haul as well, you're likely near a source of mains power. Why not get an adapter and run the camera that way? \$\endgroup\$
    – Blrfl
    Commented Jan 18, 2016 at 12:17
  • \$\begingroup\$ @Blrfl my camera doesn't support ac power, only battery power, as it is a DSLR, and most DSLRs dont have that feature \$\endgroup\$
    – yoieyo
    Commented Jan 20, 2016 at 0:55
  • \$\begingroup\$ What make and model is your camera? If it's a Nikon or Canon, most (or even all) of their DSLRs can be powered by AC. \$\endgroup\$
    – Blrfl
    Commented Jan 20, 2016 at 1:25
  • \$\begingroup\$ @blrfl My camera is a Nikon D3300, it doesnt have a AC port, though I saw a mod where you take apart the battery to make it support external batteries \$\endgroup\$
    – yoieyo
    Commented Jan 21, 2016 at 3:00
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    \$\begingroup\$ No need to mod anything. One Nikon EP-5A and one EH-5 and you're in business. \$\endgroup\$
    – Blrfl
    Commented Jan 21, 2016 at 3:34

1 Answer 1

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It depends on how the battery grip is made. There are two factors to consider:

  • Can one battery be removed without disconnecting the other? Some grips have a flap type door that opens to reveal both batteries sitting side-by-side and still maintaining a connection. If a grip is this type, can the access door be opened without tripping a shut-down switch? Some grips can and some grips can not. The Canon 7D, pictured below, allows either battery to be hot swapped while continuing to run on the other.

Canon 7D with battery grip

  • Other grips have a removeable tray that houses both batteries. The tray itself has contacts that transmit the power and communications signals from the batteries to the camera. With this second type of grip it is not possible to install or remove a battery while the camera is being powered from the grip.

7D Mark II battery grip

Pentax DSLRs use a hybrid of the two examples above. The Grip, which uses a slide-out tray inserted into the end of the grip, only holds one battery. Unlike most other brands, though, the grip doesn't connect through the battery well inside the camera. Instead, one battery can remain inside the camera while a second battery is contained in the grip. As long as the internal battery contains sufficient charge, the battery in the grip may be hot swapped. But there is no way to hot swap the battery inside the camera, so once it is exhausted...

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Camera inside the camera? \$\endgroup\$
    – Michael C
    Commented Jan 17, 2016 at 19:01
  • \$\begingroup\$ Sorry, reworded: Good. I would add the case where a grip works while a battery is still inside the camera, so you can hot-swap the battery or entire grip even. \$\endgroup\$
    – Itai
    Commented Jan 17, 2016 at 21:42
  • \$\begingroup\$ I've not seen such a camera. Could you point me in the proper direction? \$\endgroup\$
    – Michael C
    Commented Jan 17, 2016 at 23:25
  • \$\begingroup\$ Sure, all of the Pentax K-7. K-5, K-5 II, K-5 IIs, K-3, K-3 II DSLRs use that type of grip, although the actual model differs. For K-5 IIs for example takes the Pentax BG-4 grip which takes a Lithium-Ion battery or 6 AAs, in addition to using the Lithium-Ion one in the camera. Apparently this is more common in mirrorless cameras, both Olympus E-M1 and Fuji X-T1 for example use the same design. \$\endgroup\$
    – Itai
    Commented Jan 18, 2016 at 0:51
  • \$\begingroup\$ Thanks for this! I'll probably get a battery grip some time in the future and just test it out to see if I can do this without the camera dying. \$\endgroup\$
    – yoieyo
    Commented Jan 18, 2016 at 2:34

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