Nikon recalls D800, D7000 batteries after risk of burns

Nikon’s new D800 and D7000 DSLR cameras are quickly gaining popularity but it appears there are some issues with the batteries bundled with them. According to an announcement made by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, the batteries on these cameras are prone to short circuiting and causing burns. The recall isn’t for all the batteries, but specifically for Nikon EN-EL 15 batteries with the E and F model numbers on them. This character is the ninth of the 14 characters that are used to denote the model number. The cameras were sold in Canada between February and March, 2012 and in the U.S. between March and April, 2012. Some 5,100 cameras are said to have been sold in the U.S., 1,100 in Canada and some 195,000 around the world.

Identifying the faulty battery

The D800, is a new FX-format model, offering a 36.3 million pixels sensor as well as a variety of value-added functions, and is available in a compact and lightweight body. In addition to a new Nikon FX-format CMOS image sensor and the new EXPEED 3 image-processing engine, the D800 is equipped with a new 91K-pixel (approximately 91,000 pixels) RGB sensor that supports the Advanced Scene Recognition System. The camera is also equipped with a number of new functions, including Dual Image-Area Full HD D-Movie which lets users record movies using either the FX-based movie format or the DX-based movie format. In addition to the D800, Nikon released a supplementary model for professionals who demand higher resolution and D-SLR versatility: the D800E. The D800 and  D800E were made available at an MRP of Rs.149,950 and Rs.164,950, respectively.

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The D800 - the more affordable, full-frame sensor DSLR

The other model, the D7000, is currently priced at Rs.57,700. The Nikon D7000 comes with a 16MP sensor and Nikon bundles an 18-105 VR lens with the D7000, just as they did with the older D90. The ISO range extends from 100 right up to 6400 on the higher side. The D7000 also has two SD (SDXC) memory card slots and the camera comes with a large three-inch LCD display that has a resolution of 921,000 dots. The D7000 has a glass pentaprism for viewfinder frame coverage of approximately 100% and magnification of approximately 0.94. It has a high-speed continuous shooting of up to 100 shots at approximately 6 fps, besides a very precise and durable shutter unit that has passed testing for 150,000 cycles. The camera has Live view functionality and video recording capability of resolutions right up to 1920x1080 at 24fps.