Digital batteries

[Richard Waller]

I thought that rechargable batteries were the answer for digital cameras. But they all seem to be labled as 1.2 volts and that is not enough to keep my camera going for long.

So I have bought some Energizer Ultimate batteries labled as being good for digital cameras. I gather Panasonic do some good ones too, but more expensive in my local shop.

And yes I do try and remember to turn off the display, which is no use in sunlight anyway.

[LoisWakeman]

Richard,

The voltage is not the issue - it is the total capacity, measured in amp hours (Ah).

I bought Ansmann 2000MaH AA batteries from www.digibattery.co.uk, and even two years on, they seem to keep the camera going for 100s of shots. (I don't use flash though). It may depend on the camera too - some are much heavier on the juice than others.

[ktinkel]

I thought that rechargable batteries were the answer for digital cameras. But they all seem to be labled as 1.2 volts and that is not enough to keep my camera going for long.

So I have bought some Energizer Ultimate batteries labled as being good for digital cameras. I gather Panasonic do some good ones too, but more expensive in my local shop.If you were using NiCad batteries and recharging before they are completely drained, you could be seeing the memory defect.

We switched to NiMH, which do not have that problem, and get much longer service from them. They do tend to be more expensive, but I think they are still the better bargain. We have used the same set in our phones for two years, and only now are they beginning to falter. Before that, we didn’t get a full year from the original NiCads.

[Molly/CA]

Much depends on the camera. With the same batteries, almost equally recently charged, my Canon Powershot A80 takes hundreds of pictures, with and without flash, with and without screen (which you have to use for closeups, among other things). The Nikon 950 takes more like dozens, with no flash and no use of the screen.

We use only NIMH rechargeables (I get them from

Thomas Distributing - Batteries (http://www.thomas-distributing.com/)

and have always been happy with their prices and service) and as longer-lasting ones become available get them for the cameras. The best have been Quest and Accupower 2300 MAH NIMH batteries. I don't like the supposedly longer lasting new Everready ones at all: they don't hold a charge while waiting to be used worth p-diddley, and they don't seem to last as long as the others. We have a Quest charger for the AA's and an (expensive) Accupower charger that does AAA's to D's and transistor batteries --I'd get the Quest if not running a bunch of stuff that takes other sizes all the time, I think. Smaller and handier. It is supposed to not overcharge (major cause of batteries losing their ability to fully charge, so we're told) and reduces to a trickle charge when done; you can leave a set in the charger until needed, supposedly.

NIMH's run out of juice very suddenly --no gradual weakening. So make sure you have a pack of newly charged ones handy. And always buy enough of a kind to make a set --mixing MAH or even brands (I think!) gives you less time.

[annc]

NIMH's run out of juice very suddenly --no gradual weakening.Don't they though! And with exquisite timing, in my experience.

I have two sets of Olympus Ni-MH batteries for my E-20, and never leave home without both sets fully charged - one set in the camera and the other in their carry case. I get almost a full day's photography out of a set, probably around 250-300 shots (I delete a lot as I go, so never really know how many shots I've taken in a day).