If your Olympus camera came with instructions to only use Olympus batteries, relax-they're just trying to scare you into buying their overpriced batteries. Since these batteries can be recharged many hundreds of times, they'll save you a pile of money compared to disposable batteries.īy the way, as with most batteries, it doesn't seem to matter much what brand of NiMH cell you buy, as long as it has the current rating you're looking for (the higher, the better). Radio Shack and most large hardware stores sell these, but you can get a better deal at ZBattery, where they sell various brands of NiMH cells in the 2,000-2,700 mAh range for as little as $2.75 apiece (even less in quantity). Nickel metal hydride (NiMH) These are the highest-capacity rechargeable AAs, and generally the best ones to get for a digital camera a set of NiMH batteries should be good for at least an hour or two of continuous use. If you're interested in detailed technical information about NiCd batteries, chargers and technology, take a look at the NiCd Battery FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) web page. NiCds are cheap, but they perform so poorly in cameras that they're just not worth bothering with. Nickel cadmium (NiCd) This is the oldest type of rechargeable battery, and is no longer recommended, since NiCds have only a fraction of the capacity of NiMH cells. Even Rayovac recommended against using these batteries in digital cameras, and as far as I can tell they're no longer on the market. Rechargeable alkaline Now a historical curiosity, Rayovac's 1995 "Renewal" battery was a low-capacity alkaline battery that could be recharged-but only a dozen or two times, and it lost storage capacity each time you recharged it. Even the improved versions of the venerable alkaline battery should be used only as a last resort. In digital camera applications, Duracell's "Ultra" and Eveready's "advanced design" Energizer still trail well behind lithium, NiMH and high-capacity NiCd cells. Several manufacturers have introduced high-current alkalines that are claimed to overcome this problem-but they don't. Why the poor performance despite the good specifications? Standard alkalines have a high internal resistance, which means that in low-current applications (like personal cassette players) they do well, but when it comes to a high-current device like a digital camera, they just can't deliver the juice fast enough. They're cheap, but they don't do too well in a digital camera: a set of four alkaline AAs may only last fifteen to twenty minutes, despite their high power rating (see table below). With that in mind, let's look at your choices:Īlkaline These are the most common nonrechargeable batteries. Alkaline batteries are the sole exception to this handy rule of thumb: they have high mAh ratings, but deliver very short operating times. 2,000 mAh batteries would give you twice as much time, and so on. In that case, if you had a set of 1,000 milliampere-hour (mAh) batteries in the camera, you could figure on getting about an hour of running time out of them. What does that mean in practical terms? Well, cameras vary in their power usage, but let's say your camera uses about 1,000 milliamperes (mA) when it's running with the LCD lit (see Martin Rommel's real-world current consumption figures for the QuickTake 200). This is a measure of how much electrical current a battery can put out-and for how long. Batteries are rated in milliampere-hours (mAh). Before I summarize their characteristics, here's a quick word about power ratings. Which one is best for you depends on your shooting style (more on that later). When it comes to AA batteries, the kind many digital cameras use, you have your choice of almost half a dozen "families" or types. You just have to know what to ask for, and that's what I'll talk about here. You can drain a set of AAs in as little as fifteen minutes! But don't despair-there are batteries that can keep your camera going for hours. Let's be blunt: digital cameras can use up batteries at an appalling rate, especially if you choose the wrong kind of batteries. Last updated 11 April 2008 Types of batteries Digital camera AA batteries The Digicam AA Battery Page
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