Customer Reviews

Nikon MB-CP11 Battery Pack for Coolpix 8800 Digital Camera

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you also have to buy NIMH AAs (or more AAs) and/or a charger. DO NOT BOTHER IT IS NOT WORTH THE MONEY. You are better off buying one or more (3 for me) EN-EL7s. The price is way too high to buy this without an existing NIMH AA infrastructure (even despite the much lower cost of NIMH batteries, about 35% by watt-hour unit)

If you are like me, and you have 2 2 amp (Ray-o-vac 1-hour) chargers and 3 dozen recharchable AAs already (GP most economical), it is better to get this and use your AAs as the same AAs also powers my gameboy, toothbrush, remote control hovercraft, CD MP3 player, etc... when i'm not using the camera and also it spares you a cord and an adapter in your travel luggage.

I wouldn't have paid full price for this but at a little more than the cost of a spare battery it was a good buy. I have two regular 8800 batteries but when traveling and away from a charger I wanted something I could fall back on and AA batteries are available anywhere. Another reason is I don't know how long Nikon will continue to carry the battery designed for the camera. I already have a JVC camcorder that it is impossible to buy a battery for, leaving me tied to the power cord it came with, as well as a few other appliances with propriatary "rechargeable" batteries that have expired and can't be replaced.

I attached the battery pack to my camera to test it out and using a mix of NiMh batteries was surprised at how long it lasted. As somebody already mentioned, with the battery pack on the camera is does not fit in the Coolpix carrying case, it does fit well in my Lowepro case I used to carry around my 35mm SLR cameras in. The batteries also add quite a bit of weight so you need to consider that if you are doing a lot of hiking.

With this battery pack, I can make more pictures then before without changing batteries. I also have a better grip while taking pictures.

I am used to using vertical grips with all my other Nikons. This adds an extra shutter release and zoom control to the camera. It also adds bulk to give the camera better balance in your hand. The only problem I've encountered has been losing the screws that hold the tripod mount. They just backed out in the field and I had to Super glue it. The camera is apparently discontinued, hence the ultra-low price for the base. The camera is useful as a backup, although I purchased it as something of a replacement for heavier 35mm systems in the field.

I am still using it, but only as a back up to a D80, which is an excellent camera and works with all my Nikon lenses (I ordered a base for it too!) I just ordered an extra MB-CP11 to carry for quick switches. The price makes it a wonderful buy!

Great item, quality and fit up to Nikion standards.

For less than $20... I thought this must be a piece of junk. But upon receiving and hooking it up to an old CoolPix 8800... I was quite happy and suprisingly impressed. Not only did it make my CP8800 look like a much coolerPix... this darn thing works! It made it much easier to hold the small camera. The vertical shutter feature is good for vertical shooting.

Besides, now all my Nikons have motor drive or battery pack setup. Cool indeed. He, he, he!

Before returning the heavily flawed Nikon 8800 (see my review), I started flirting with extras like this battery pack. It costs 170 bucks and is basically a very cheap feeling battery case with buttons for zoom and shutter. Said buttons feel EXTRA cheap. It's nice that nikon made this available (There is only an aftermarket version for my D70 which replaced the 8800), but a better job and lower price might have dropped the insult warp factor a bit. Even the guy at B&H laughed at it when he opened the box. Luckily the 8800 has good battery life anyway, so if you really don't need this, don't get it.
Capt RB

This is a great item, but the buttons don't work on the device. The battery pack does though

An excellent substitute for the custom batteries normally used for the camera. The use of nickle-hydride and normal AAs work very well

This is a well made battery pack that adds some heft to your CP8800. A wonderful camera, this battery pack adds to your ability to sty in the field longer. It takes at least 300 pictures with a fully charged set of NIMH batteries.

To install, you take out the Li-Lion battery and twist off the battery cover. Don't lose this cover!! I put mine in a baggie and stuffed it next to my spare Li-Lion battery in my camera bag.

You then push the pack into the battery cavity and screw the bottom pin in to the tripod place. It fits very neatly and solidly.

If you have a very close fitting camera bag, adding this unit may create a problem, but otherwise it will be a plus for you. It fits nicely in my hands and if you can find the battery cavity cover, you now have to sources of power. You can choose which one you want as a back-up.

Now being sold at B&H for $149, it is much more reasonably priced.