Jim Bianco

Does a battery grip increase the shots per frame on the nikon D610 camera?

photoman43

NO. It is 6 fps, with and without the grip.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

I can't imagine how it would (might) increase the FPS on any camera...
The camera can only shoot & store so fast.

BebuLamar

On some camera it does. Writing speed and buffer size is one limitation but shutter cocking and mirror flipping is another. More power in some models can make it goes a bit faster.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

+1? +2? (Obviously it would depend on the camera.)

Rongnongno Loc: FL

Up to three. Not really significant, but sometimes it might make a difference.

User ID

Exactly. Unlike film transport, theres no physical job to "power thru". Frame rate is all about processor clock speed, write speed, and buffer capacity. More supply of electricity wont change those.

Rongnongno Loc: FL

bikinkawboy Loc: north central Missouri

The manual for my D800 lists the frame rate varying between 4-6 FPS depending upon camera settings, the type of batteries being use, if the batteries are low or as being slower at lower temperatures.

This makes sense to me. Semi conductor operation is based upon voltage (electrical pressure) whereas electric motors, electromagnets and other things that produce physical movement are based upon current (also called amperage and is the heat or energy part of electricity).

Cold temperatures affect most batteries. Not so much the ability to produce voltage, but more so the ability to produce current. In addition, some batterie materials are able to produce more current than others. An ordinary alkaline battery is able to generate more current than cheap carbon pile batteries. Some devices (like electric shavers) absolutely must have alkaline batteries and literally won’t run on carbon batteries, even brand new ones.

There’s a lot of mechanical things going on inside a DSLR, mirror up and down, shutter operating, the focus motor, vibration control, aperture and so on. All of those things are current dependent. So yes, the type or number of batteries that are powering the camera can affect mechanical operations. The electronic processing part? Unlikely.

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

It may seem counterintuitive, but a number of cameras increase the frame rate when a battery grip is added. Off the top of my head, the Nikon D700 (Thomas902 mentions it in his current for sale ad) and my Fuji X-T2 with the Fuji VPB-XT2 vertical battery grip (increases from 8 to 11 fps), just to name a couple.

As to why, I can only guess. As the load on the CPU and buffer memory increases, so does the current draw, and the manufacturer/designer is optimizing frame rate vs battery life (the CPU and memory may not be running at max speed to conserve power), The extra battery capacity allows the camera to run the processor and memory at max performance regardless of power consumption and still retain reasonable battery life. Also, DSLRs (and MILC cameras with mechanical shutters) use current at a higher duty cycle as the fps increases. But again, that’s only a guess.

Scruples Loc: Brooklyn, New York

The purpose of a camera’s battery grip is to weigh it down, you begin to have second thoughts about your hobby.

Seriously, the battery grip holds an additional battery. Therefore more photographs can be made. It will not increase the speed of the camera. You don’t switch out another battery prematurely.

Personally, I feel that a battery grip is to impress others that you have the largest camera around. In reality, NO!

BebuLamar

On certain models of cameras it does increase speed.

Harry0 Loc: Gardena, Cal

According to my Nikon Manual, it does. From @5.5 to @6.
I can't tell the difference.

mrozzoo Loc: Illinois

Having vertical grips AKA battery grips.... yes, some cameras do get a faster frame rate. But the two best reasons for a battery/vertical grip are...

* extra battery

* in my opinion, is the use of turning/spinning the camera vertically for portraits/vertical compositions/images.
when my 70-200mm workhorse lens is in use... being able to rotate from horizontal to vertical is a major plus. Especially on a monopod or tripod.

PS. I don't care if it looks bigger.... as long as my paycheck is bigger from better photography.

just do what works for you..... enjoy

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

From what I've found online, the camera decides on the speed - not the battery.

Surprisingly, with most power tools, a larger Ah battery produces more power than one with a lower Ah rating. Same voltage, but more umph.