En-El18 /a /b what are the differences???

[Frank Fremerey]

199€ per original EN-EL18b up from 99€ for the 18 without letter. Is it worth it? Is it necessary? Does the speed up of the D850 only work with the 18b? There are good replacement batteries for D4 D4s D5 from specialist companies dealing nothing but batteries, but will they work in the D850? I have very good experience with replacements from Patona for my Fuji...

[David H. Hartman]

Frank,

I have a Watson replacement battery for my D800. It came with the camera as a bonus. I've had no problems with it. Still I don't recommend any battery but the latest Nikon recommended for a the particular model. Think of the cost of the latest as a percentage of the total cost of the camera and it's bound to be trivial.

Dave

The difference might make a difference now or it might in the future. I don't have any idea what the difference might be between the models noted.

[Akira]

According to the Japanese Nikon website, all EN-EL18, 18a and 18b MB-D18 are compatible with MB-D18.

The capacity of 18 "without the letter" is rated at 2000mAh, and 18a/b, 2500mAh.  The voltage is rated at 10.8V for all versions.

I don't know why Nikon changed the model from 18a to 18b.  But so long as they are all compatible, keeping two 18's could be better than one 18b for the virtually the same price.