The Z5, Z6 II, and Z7 II use a new version of the EN-EL15, the EN-EL15C. This new version has a higher capacity (2280mAh versus 1900mAh). This new battery can be used with the older Z6 and Z7 cameras (and other Nikon cameras that use the EN-EL15), but provides more capacity than the battery supplied with those cameras. At the moment, there are no third-party EN-EL15C batteries available, which means that there are no third-party batteries that support in-camera USB charging and continuous power on the Z5, Z6 II, and Z7 II.
You can, however, use earlier versions of the EN-EL15 with the Z5, Z6 II, and Z7 II:
- EN-EL15 — powers the camera, cannot be charged via USB in the camera, doesn't support continuous USB power
- EN-EL15A — powers the camera, cannot be charged via USB in the camera, doesn't support continuous USB power
- EN-EL15B — powers the camera, can be charged via USB in the camera, does support continuous USB power on Z5, Z6 II, or Z7 II (but not on Z6/Z7)
- EN-EL15C — powers the camera, can be charged via USB in the camera, does support continuous USB power on Z5, Z6 II, or Z7 II (but not on Z6/Z7)
A note about continuously powering the Z5, Z6 II, or Z7 II with a EN-EL15C battery and the camera hooked up to USB: Nikon is using the PD (Power Delivery) standard. That means that any USB C charger that meets the standard can power the camera; you don't need Nikon's own charger. However, you do need to be aware that there are USB 3 cables out there that don't support this standard. Be very careful to make sure you're using a PD-complaint charger and a PD-compliant cable.
There are also third-party batteries that work like Nikon EN-EL15 or EN-EL15A batteries, which the Z5 can use.
- Nikon's official EN-EL15B
- Nikon's official EN-EL15C
- There are reports that a number of EN-EL15 third party batteries don't work on the Z5, so I've temporarily removed the listings of them until I can test
Quite a few chargers exist for the EN-EL15 batteries (and will charge all versions of the battery). I like the dual battery chargers that have level displays, such as these:
- Generic dual USB charger
- Kastar dual USB charger with batteries
- Generic single AC wall charger for travel
And you'll want something to carry your batteries in (and cards):
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