While DSLR battery is overall still ahead of mirrorless camera battery life, there are tweaks that you can do to make it last even longer. But this time around, we’re not talking about tweaking the LCD screen settings or anything like that. Photographer Chris Winter came up with a cool hack involving an external battery that mounts into the hot shoe and fools the camera completely.

In the video below, he explains how he used a DC coupler to trick the camera into thinking that it was plugged into a battery or power source of some sort. With that in mind, he hooked the camera up to an external battery that provided power via that type of terminal. What he found in real life use is significantly extended battery life.

Granted, at the same time he put a giant battery around the size of a portable hard drive on top of the camera. Another option would be to get a battery grip (many third parties make them) that stores two batteries. If you don’t mind having a giant battery on top of your camera though, then this shouldn’t be a major problem at all. Just remember to get arms for the camera to allow you to mount other accessories.

A solution like this is best for DSLR videographers over photographers unless you’re using the Live View LCD screen. Overall, it’s an excellent solution for photographers shooting a timelapse.

Chris’s video on How to Increase Your DSLR Battery Life is after the jump.