Continuous/dummy battery

The Black Oil

Hey,

I've a Nikon D7200. I was hoping to hook it up to my iMac, to have better camera for Zoom calls as the 720p webcam isn't the best. Think it would be good for job interviews too, which can be 45 mins or so and probably more than what the camera battery can manage.

I tested it recently for the connection, not an actual call. Zoom could see it grand. I spent some time on Youtube looking at what others have been doing. I was half familiar with the idea of dummy batteries, but never really looked into them before.

Are they safe to go for? A bloke on Youtube had a pretty comprehensive review and said to be mindful of voltage. Other Youtube videos said nothing about this, or where your model might need the battery compartment door shut. I don't want to buy the wrong thing.

There seems to be no shortage of stuff on eBay from China. Hopefully, I won't be working from home for much longer, however, am looking at a few webinars for 2021 and better video would be good.

https://www.amazon.com/Andoer-EN-EL15-Decocded-Battery-Connector/dp/B07BCB7NK6

The Black Oil

I got sorted. Had to buy a few more bits and pieces in the end. The dummy battery on the link above didn't work because I only I had 5V or 12V adapters lying around from old external HDs, mp3 players, etc. The official camera battery is 7V. Universal adapters didn't work. Didn't want to risk 12V in case it would damage the camera, even with a dummy battery.

I bought (all online)

1. A DC coupler from here that I don't use now, and thought might work with the first dummy battery, but it might come in handy for something else.
2. A USB/HDMI video capture adapter such as this.
3. A dummy battery with a charger pack attached - SinFoxeon EH-5 Plus EP-5B AC Power Adapter Kit from Amazon.

Hooked items 2 and 3 up and ran a HDMI cable, adjusted Zoom settings and today was my first hour long with the camera, rather than the webcam.

Metric Tensor

I have a much older camera (D90) and due to no HDMI out I couldn't use it in this manner but when I searched there seemed to be some concern online about DSLR sensors not being designed for continuous operation over extended periods. (In my case it would be on from 9-5 a few times a month)

I have no experience at all in the area and others online said it was no problem. I just said I'd drop the info here in case it's something you want to check up.

The Black Oil

I did notice the rear screen felt quite warm. I two video calls on Saturday, we'll see, and a few more next week.

I'll look what you said, though - thank you.