Lithium Ion Battery Good Option?
countrygurl587 asked:
I’m looking at buying a new digital camera soon, and am looking at the various options. Many seem to come equiped with the Lithium Ion battery. Is this a viable option? It seems that constantly having to charge a battery seems tedious, and keeps me constantly bound to a plug (when camping or in the wilderness, I couldn’t use my camera after the charge runs out). How long would charge last in a camera with use with, or without flash? Also, would I be able to use regular alkaline batteries as a replacement?
I’m looking at buying a new digital camera soon, and am looking at the various options. Many seem to come equiped with the Lithium Ion battery. Is this a viable option? It seems that constantly having to charge a battery seems tedious, and keeps me constantly bound to a plug (when camping or in the wilderness, I couldn’t use my camera after the charge runs out). How long would charge last in a camera with use with, or without flash? Also, would I be able to use regular alkaline batteries as a replacement?
I like alkaline batteries because it is easy to buy rechargeable ones…
It is easy and fast to recharge them…
Cheaper too…
Flashes are built in, and charges last a couple of days…
No you should not interchange the battery types…
The lithium batteries last longer than alkaline on digital cameras. The alkalines die so fast. With my experience, when I had rechargeable alkaline, it took forever to charge and then would die after a couple of minutes. With the Lithium, it charges really fast, like an hour, and it lasts a lot longer. Also, the regular type of alkaline (non-rechargeable)are the worst to use with digital cameras as the digital camera just eats up those batteries in a short period of time. Do an experiment with both types and see for yourself.
The lithium ion batteries that come with many cameras are excellent. On my Canon sub-compact, they advertise 270 shots, half with flash and half without. In my experience, that’s about right, and I can go out on a long trip on a single charge. They tend to be rectangular, not round like the usual AA batteries. They are rechargeable and use a non-standard charger that comes with the camera. The bad thing about them is that if they run out, you can’t run into a nearby supermarket and get AA batteries to keep you going until you get home. A no-name spare, if you want to carry one, runs about $50.
The alternative is AA batteries. They come in different types. Alkaline batteries are not the best for cameras because they drain too fast, especially if you use flash a lot. Lithium batteries have a decent life but are not rechargeable (these are lithium, don’t confuse them with the lithium ion batteries discussed above which are rechargeable). NiMH batteries can also be used – they are not quite as good as lithium, but they are rechargeable.
The good thing about these AA batteries is that they are more widely available, but they have shorter life than lithium ion, and because you need 2 or 4 of them in a camera, they make the camera larger and heavier.
Oohh, man, you have a couple of good choices.
Depending on your personality, you might be happier with a camera that takes standard sized AA or AAA batteries. That way you never need to worry about recharging them. Like you say, you can always carry more batteries when you go camping.
Standard sized rechargeable batteries don’t work very well in most cameras as they don’t deliver enough burst juice for the flash.
Here is an idea you might not know about: the Energizer e2′s are Lithium cells that come in AA and AAA format (there is a 9v too, but I have never seen it). These batteries are specially designed for digital cameras and last up to 7x longer than a good quality alkaline.
I actually use a different option. I have a Canon camera that uses the rechargeable Lithium Ion batteries. When I go camping, I take one of the etankers from upstart battery. I can charge my camera quite a few times before it goes dead. I can also use it for my cell phone… it’s like having a mini generator with you, hehe…