To begin with, if you're looking at this battery, you might have a D200. If so, you have no choice in the matter. Whether it's 1 star or 5, if you don't buy this battery you have a $1,700 paperweight (and yes, I'm the proud owner of a D200 in non-paperweight mode).
Second, the battery is not what's at fault here. The D200 is an energy monster. It sucks these poor little guys dry like a starved man at a all-you-can-eat. (This is the price of the incredible functionality offered by the D200. If you want longer bettery life, you'll have to give up MUCH of what makes the D200 the powerhouse it is.) The EL3e performs wonderfullly in the D70/50, providing slightly longer life than the recalled EL3a (the third contact on the EL3e is for the D200 only. The 70 & 50 both ignore it).
Bottom line: There is nothing wrong with this battery. If you have a D70 or D50, buy with the assurance it will take many, many shots on a single charge. If you have a D200, buy because you have to then realize that *you* determine how long the battery lives. A VR lens will cut an already "short" battery life even more. So, you can complain about the battery being the issue or the D200 being the issue. Only the latter is correct. If you want long battery life, go back to the D70.
Personal rant: The D200 is worth the reduced battery life in so many ways that I'm actually annoyed with those that complain about this. Sure, the battery could last longer, but why stop there? I'D like 20Mp, ISO speeds to 3200 with no noise at all, a 10-400mm VR lens tack sharp at all apertures with f/1.4 throughout. But you know what? Not gonna happen. The D200 provides FAR more capability than what you actually paid for (just ask D2X users), so stop whining about short battery life. There's no such thing as the perfect camera. The D200 comes so close, however, it's almost sacriligious to whine about it. By all means, let's teach Nikon a lesson! How dare they give us this camera at 2/3 of what they could *easily* sell it for and not give us 800 RAW's/charge? >:(
And FWIW, you most certainly CAN get 1800 JPG's from one charge, You just have to do it like Nikon did. Yes, their tests are unrealistic in that respect, but if you're so upset about it, return the camera and let someone who will appreciate it have their turn...
PS To "Dwarfbug" why did you give the *battery* 2 stars? These reviews are exactly that: reviews. Speak about the product in question. Don't just respond to someone's review and drop 2 stars with no explanation why. And also speak about something you know. There is no recall on the D200. There is a recall on the EN-EL3 which will not work in the D200 anyway. It is a D50/D70 battery and is replaced with either the EN-EL3a or the EN-EL3e (the "e" being a pretty sweet deal (some even resell them to D200 users a buy TWO 3rd party EN-EL3a's (Targus, etc))). Nikon EN-EL3e Rechargeable Li-Ion Battery for D200, D300, D700 and D80 Digital SLR Cameras
This battery is backwards compatible with the D50, D70/70s, and is used in the D80 and D200. So if you have any Nikon DSLR and want a second battery, you want to get this one so that when you upgrade your camera you can use the battery.
This battery has built-in circuitry that tells you the actual charge status of the battery, and it is accurate. This is a big deal; *if you are using the D200 or D80* it lets you know when your really do need to switch batteries or charge up. This is the first battery I've seen that is accurate in this regard. Kudos to Nikon. (This feature does not work in the D50/70/70s but the battery otherwise works fine).
The new Nikon EN-EL3e battery is a slight update for the Nikon EN-EL3 provided with earlier dSLR models such as the D70. It adds a contact that allows new cameras to determine how much charge is left in the battery. The battery is grey to distinguish it from the black EN-EL3.
The EN-EL3e is backwards compatible with the EN-EL3: you can put it in your D70 or D50. The reverse is not true.
The number of pictures that the battery gives you depends on a lot of factors, including shooting style, LCD usage, and of course, camera. (The 2.5" LCD on the D200 will use up the battery much quicker than the smaller D70.) It is sufficient for a day of shooting. Unless you are using a D200 in some professional capacity, in which case, you'll probably be investing in at least one backup battery.
The real question is whether to buy the Nikon brand battery as opposed to one of its cheaper competitors. The answer comes in two parts. First, do Nikon brand batteries do the job well, and, second, are independent-brand batteries a cost-effective alternative?
As for the effectivness of the Nikon batteries, I have been using them in my Nikon D70 for over a year. I carry a backup but have almost never had to use it. The batteries have worked flawlessly all this time. I went on a 7-day climbing trip without having to change. The only time I ever ran down a battery in one session was using flash to shoot all the recipients at a large awards banquet.
As these batteries are not cheap, you may be tempted by attractive prices on off-brand batteries with output claims: "1700 mAh!" beyond that of the Nikon battery. This raises the second question, are the Nikon batteries worth the extra money or would an off brand be worthwhile? The answer is clear. With some products, off brands will perform about as well for far less money. But this is not the case with lithium-ion batteries.
For one thing, the off-brand's performance claims are exaggerated. Direct comparisons show that, despite their more modest claims, brand name rechargable batteries actually outperforms their imitators.
More importantly, the off brands put your camera at risk. If a Nikon brand battery were to damage your camera, Nikon would replace both. With the off-brand, you would be out of luck. This is not an idle "what if." Lithium-ion batteries are dangerous if something goes wrong. The batteries (actually battery packs) are full of safety circuits and other measures; that is why they are expensive. And even then, Nikon recently had to recall thousands of lithium-ion batteries due to a fire hazard. If this happened with a recognized company that has its own cameras at stake, what are the risks with a no-name manufacturer that markets a product for an eighth the price and has little to lose if something goes wrong?
Just buy the Nikon battery. It is the only sane way to go.'
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