Nikon Blogosphere News: 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