Power to the People
Since the mid seventies cameras have become more and more reliant on batteries. State of the art cameras were fitted with TTL CDS metering whilst the run of the mill cameras still used slow selenium cells. Next came electronic shutters followed by auto-focus, built in flash and motor drives, the age of the fully manual camera was rapidly drawing to a close. Today almost all cameras rely on battery power to function, especially digital cameras. Photographers cynically thought Kodak had something to do with the development of the 3-5 frames a second motor drives – a great way to sell more film. Today you could be forgiven for thinking Duracell had something to do with the development of digital cameras, they are power hungry that think nothing of eating through your batteries.
Although many camera manufacturers have their own dedicated size batteries, these are fine until the camera is discontinued together with the battery, I have a couple of expensive paper weights on my desk! Nearly 65% of all cameras still use the popular AA size. The key advantage of the AA size is that you can pick up a replacement at almost every corner shop or garage throughout the world. The widespread use of the AA size ensures power will always be available.
Batteries are expensive, a pack of four high performance alkaline batteries cost approx. £3.00 A digital camera with the LCD display on, a few flash pictures and the batteries may only last for about 25 - 50 pictures before everything starts to slow down, by 100 – 125 pictures the power could be totally exhausted. Rechargeable Nickel Cadmium batteries promised to solve the problem, but due to their “memory effect”, the batteries are often more trouble than they are worth. If a NiCd battery is recharged before it is fully discharged the battery thinks it is charging a fully discharged battery, subsequent use will only yield a fraction of the power the battery is capable of holding, the battery memory can render a battery hopeless for long shooting sessions.
The other cost consideration is long term use. Good quality batteries such as the Uniross 2300 and 2100 NiMH battery can be recharged up to 1000 times. If you purchased 1000 quality alkaline batteries they would cost you approx £3000, a set of four high capacity Uniross 2300 NiMH batteries cost £13.99.
Nickel-Metal Hydride batteries do not suffer from the same memory problems as NiCD batteries, they maintain full power right up to the end of their charge and then lose power quickly. This can be a problem if you check your battery and it shows as being fully charged, but a good photographer always carries a spare set at all times – don't you?
I tested two fully charged Uniross 2100 batteries on a Microtek S1 digital camera and after 220 shots the two batteries showed no sign of losing power. The batteries were recharged, I then ran a model train around a track, the train uses a single AA size battery and it ran continuously for 1hr 12minutes before grinding to a standstill. The same train with a fresh Duracell battery ran for 45 minutes. In another test I powered a set of mini fairy lights with a set of four 2100 batteries and they stayed illuminated for 6hr 37min. Last Christmas the same set of lights were only lasting for about five hours using Alkaline batteries – dead fairy lights do nothing for the Christmas spirit.
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Ultra Fast Charger with in-car adapter |
Of course the main reason for using a high capacity battery is that you want to be able to take more pictures. A mixture of flash pictures and constant usage of the LCD monitor all use up power, the more power you have the more pictures your going to take. BatteryLogic www.BatteryLogic.co.uk supplied me with an Ultra Fast Charger. This is a compact style charger which will fully charge a set of batteries in 2hrs. The charger is an “intelligent charger” this means it automatically detects the state of the batteries and stops charging when they are full. I have chargers that do not have this feature and the batteries can be overcharged if you forget to turn the charger off. Batteries can be charged two or four at a time, there is a small selector switch just above the battery compartment. If charging two batteries you should use the left two slots. I found the batteries stiff to remove from the charger, this is deliberate as the charger also comes complete with an in-car charger which simply plugs into the cigarette lighter socket, the batteries will not pop out of the charger when you drive over the next pot hole. This in-car charger is invaluable when travelling from location to location, you should only use the charger when the car engine is running.
Verdict.
I have avoided going into too many technical details in this article/review. The Uniross 2300/2100 batteries are excellent and two sets are a must for any serious digital photographer. The Ultra Fast Charger is a neat design, well made and with the in-car charging facility it is also a must have. Both the 2300 batteries and charger will make an ideal Christmas present so tell your partner you don't need socks this year a set of Uniross batteries and charger will do nicely.
Price:
Pack
of four 2300mAh AA batteries £13.99
Utlra Fast Charger - includes in-car charger
and X4 2100mAh AA batteries £27.99
Highly recommended.
© Vincent
Oliver 2003 www.photo-i.co.uk
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