Nikon D300 shooting at 8fps - a temporary solution to the Nikon BL-3 shortage for the MD10

WARNING: all photos taken with my phone cam (Nokia E-61i)

The Dinagyang Festival is coming up and I want to use my D300 with 8fps with the EL-EN4a battery.. but the Nikon BL-3 (battery door) is out of stock everywhere.. except ebay.. where they sell the door at 3x-4x the actual cost.

I did a litte research on alternative solutions to the BL-3 replacement and I found 2 links that seemed promising; First link from Nikon Cafe - DIY: Poor man’s BL-3 battery adapter for the D300
Second link came from Photo.net - No BL-3? No Problem

The first link I saw caught my attention but got me thinking since I wasnt fond of cutting up my gear or parts to make it work for other purposes and besides there was a “do at your own risk warning”

Too much chance of something going wrong with a hacksaw, and a electric oven since you cant really control the heat. This got me thinking for a few days.. Then a friend (Thanks Rosalie!) did a little research and found the link at photo.net a less destructive way of using the AA Battery (included in MD10 package) plate cover as a temporary solution.

Tools I used:

1) Precision Screwdriver - No. 00
2) Sponge - Find something close to opening size of the battery chamber of the D300
The one I got was lint free, soft and non abrasive. Measuring 17.5 x 7.5 x 3.5cm this made it easy for me all i had to do was to cut it since it fit right into the chamber.
3)Black Electrical Tape - To seal the Gap of the door. The sponge pushes the door out and since the door has nothing attached it to, it might be safer if you can tape it up to protect it from falling out in case of hard bumps. It will also help protect the chamber from moisture.

Here is the Photo Tutorial to get you started.

NOTE: This is only a temporary solution. Do this at your own risk

BL3 Temporary solution

unscrew the plate from the door on the AA holder

How to make BL3 Door Replacement

Making The D300 Shoot 8 fps

En EL4a Battery for the D300

my measurement of the gap came up to 3CM from the battery to the tip of the camera

Measuring the Distance Between Battery to Door

BL3 Replacement

Door Replacement for Nikon Cameras

Nikon D300 Photos

BL-3 Door Alternative Solution

to make sure the door doesnt fall off and to protect the camera from moisture, make sure you tape it up..

Patching up the Nikon D300

Buy BL-3 Replacement Door for Nikon D300

This concludes my temporary solution to the Nikon BL-3 Shortage..

NOTE: This is only a temporary solution. Do this at your own risk and dont come to me saying youÂ broke your camera.Â

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Randy Tamayo said on January 24, 2008 at 10:52 pm

Nice hack. I love the (duct) tape part. Very McGyver.
Attaching a lace/piece of string around the foam would help to pull it out to replace the battery I would think.
Another suggestion. Make the foam a little bit smaller than the battery compartment but lung enough to still push the battery to the contacts and double sided tape the foam to the Battery grip Cap (AA door cover). This way, you have the foam attached to the battery cover.
You can also put replace the AA plate with a piece of hard plastic (screw that also to the battery cover) and tape the foam to that piece of hard plastic. The hard plastic should be shorter than the required foam length in order to still push the battery. Then you ought to be able to lock the door w/o using tape.