Back in the days of film and manual cameras, a dead battery was only a minor inconvenience. But with modern digital cameras, a dead battery brings things to a grinding halt.
The Nikon D7500 has pretty good battery life with basic shooting, although it goes down drastically if you’re using the back screen a lot, using lenses with vibration reduction, or shooting in very cold conditions. So there are definitely times that having a spare battery on hand can come in very handy so that you don’t get caught out with a dead battery and camera that can’t shoot.
Spare batteries are also the only way to add capacity on this body. There are no battery-grip contacts on the D7500, and Nikon never made a grip for it — the D7200’s MB-D15 doesn’t fit. The third-party “grips” you’ll find listed for the D7500 are hand grips and L-brackets, which add no power and no vertical shutter release.
The D7500 takes the EN-EL15a battery and ships with the MH-25a charger, and Nikon rates it at around 950 shots per charge. So here’s a rundown of some of the best options for picking up replacement batteries and chargers for the Nikon D7500.
Nikon original batteries and chargers
Nikon original battery: EN-EL15a
The battery that comes with the Nikon D7500 is the EN-EL15a. It’s the same model used in some other Nikon cameras, such as the D850.
The older EN-EL15 batteries will also work, so if you’ve got those on hand from other cameras, you can go ahead and use those. But if you have a choice of buying the EN-EL15a or the EN-EL15 in the Nikon original batteries, go with the newer “a” version. They’re more efficient and they have improved protection against an overheating problem that led to a voluntary recall of some older batches of the EN-EL15 batteries. (You’ll often find that after-market alternatives drop the “a”).
The newer EN-EL15b and EN-EL15c work in the D7500 as well — Nikon lists both as compatible — and the 15c is the version you’re most likely to find new now. What they won’t do is charge inside this camera. Those batteries can be charged over USB, but only in bodies built for it, such as the Z models with Nikon’s EH-7P adapter. The D7500 has no in-camera charging at all, so the battery always comes out and goes into a charger.
It’s also worth buying from a reputable retailer. Just as with memory cards, there are counterfeit batteries on the market in some places.
Buy from: B&H Photo | Amazon | Adorama
Nikon original charger: MH-25a quick charger
The battery charger that comes with the D7500 is the MH-25a Quick Charger. It replaced the older MH-25, and if you already have an MH-25 from an earlier body, Nikon says that will charge the D7500’s battery too. It’s a single-battery charger that can be plugged directly into the wall or via a standard power cable.
After-market batteries and chargers for the Nikon D7500
The Nikon original batteries work well, but they’re not cheap. So some other manufacturers have stepped in to offer good-quality alternatives at lower prices. The batteries have fundamentally the same specs — some of them are rated for slightly higher capacity up to 2100mAh rather than the 1900mAh of the original Nikon battery, but they do fundamentally the same thing without offering any extra features. But some of the third-party chargers do offer different configurations and features that can come in useful.
There are a number of manufacturers who make cheaper aftermarket batteries, and in my experience some of them are very good. But some are definitely better than others. The ones below are all from brands I’ve used personally and have had good experiences with their products.
There is a risk worth knowing about when deciding whether to use after-market batteries. Many of today’s cameras have the capability to detect information from the battery itself on the battery’s manufacturer. That opens the possibility that the camera manufacturer can, through a firmware update, disable the use of third-party batteries. Not every camera manufacturer does it, and for now third-party batteries are working in the D7500. But it’s worth knowing that it is at least a possibility. The saving grace is that most third-party batteries are relatively inexpensive.
Wasabi Power EN-EL15
Wasabi Power specializes in cost-effective alternative batteries and power supplies. Having used many of their batteries in recent years, I’ve found them to produce excellent products at compelling price points. You can buy several of their EN-EL15-compatible batteries for the price of one Nikon original.
It’s also sold in a 2-pack.
Buy at: Amazon
Watson EN-EL15 battery
Watson is one of the brands owned by B&H, and I’ve found them to produce good products. This is a straight replacement for the EN-EL15 battery, although it is higher-priced than the Wasabi one above.
Buy at: B&H Photo
Wasabi battery and charger kit
This includes two of the Wasabi batteries mentioned above as well a 2-battery charging doc. It charges via USB (and includes the micro-USB cable).
Buy at: Amazon
NITECORE UNK1 charger
This is a small, very portable USB charger that works with EN-EL15a batteries. And it’s actually a dual charger — there’s a dock on each side of it — but only one side is for the EN-EL15a batteries. The other side is for EN-EL14a batteries. So if you’re shooting with more than one Nikon camera model and use both EN-EL15a and EN-EL14a batteries, it’s a dual charger, but if you’re shooting only with a D7500 then it’s a single-battery charger.
Because this charges with the USB standard, it opens up more flexibility than the AC-only options. You can charge it with a standard USB-AC wall adapter. You can plug it into a USB car charger. And you can plug it into mobile USB powerbank for true on-the-go charging.
It also has a small LCD screen that gives you status information, etc. It doesn’t come with a battery
I’ve previously posted a detailed review of this charger. One of the things I like most about it is its size. It’s about half the size of the original Nikon MH-25a charger, which might not matter all the time, but when I’m packing very light for a travel shoot every little bit counts. And for that reason, it has become a go-to charger in my travel kit.
Buy at: Amazon | B&H Photo | Adorama
Watson compact AC/DC charger
The key feature of this charger is its compact size. It’s a single-battery charger with a flip-out AC plug to go into the wall and also comes with a DC car charger. The USB port on it is an output, so you can use it to charge other devices.
Buy at: B&H Photo
Watson Duo Charger
The Watson Duo Charger is a modular system that can charge two batteries simultaneously. The genius of the system lies in the modular plates. You can mix and match plates for a whole range of modern camera batteries.
This is my favorite charging dock at home. It’s a little bulkier than some others, so I don’t tend to pack it when traveling. Some time ago I posted a detailed review.
When buying, make sure that it’s coming with the plates you want, because it’s sold with a bunch of different configurations for different batteries. You can also pick up the plates separately.
