Lens help

[Steve Axford]

Zoom lenses are good with video - it gives you quick options. Use a tripod. It's amazing how bad hand held video can look.

[arthurking83]

.... It's amazing how bad hand held video can look.

And how fast image stabilisation can deplete the battery!
First off, the video capture itself is killing the battery, then (most likely) so is AF and metering, so to have IS on as well just compounds the problem even further.

My D800E killed three batteries in a day(two fully and one to less than 20% capacity) and that day involved about 2 hours of actual work which consisted of only 20-ish 2-5min snippets.

Not being prepared for the video shoot(it was sprung on me 30 sec after I arrived!) I didn't have time to arrange a proper microphone.
I have a cheapie shotgun mic that would have at least helped, but had I known days/weeks beforehand I would have acquired both a better quality shot gun mic AND a remote wireless type too(and used whatever was appropriate for the conditions).

Video was basically a walk around with a TV presenter talking/interviewing. The format was supposed to be small 2-5min snippets (of and for the relevant and interested parties).
Of all the issues I had(ie. not being prepared) the sound issue(in that my only option was the onboard sound capture) was the only one I regretted. Hell of a time trying to clean it up in post.