I have a set of rechargeables. But am thinking about a backup set to carry, of throw-aways. Does anyone have any experience with AA cells? My instruction book says use only Alkaline AA "LR6" batteries. What are these? Anything truly special? Places such as Costco have Duracell AA alkalines. but are they "LR6" type? Can they be safely used? Or is there truly a need for electronics/camera specific batteries??? Boxcab E50
When I had my Olympus camera they called out for their batteries which had a name similar to the one you call out. I used the lithium photo versions of the AA batteries. Standard Alkaline ones do not have the "juce" for camera work. You can get them any where (usually)and they have a good life for a backup set. Steve
Boxcab, I think LR6 is the generic term for the AA battery size. I think they are recommending Alkalines, as they perform better and longer in the photo applications. I picked up a 36 pk of Energizer AA's (for my kid's Gameboys) for $12. Another option would be an extra set of rechargables with a higher mAh, such as 1700-2500. Harold
I have eight rechargeable AA batteries for my digital camera (Canon A40). I put four in the camera, and keep the other four charged in my camera bag. When I change the batteries, I put the old batteries directly into the charger overnight (which does a complete discharge/recharge cycle, so it takes a minimum of 12 hours). With the amount of pictures that I take, this lets me go several weeks between charging cycles, and I'm always ready if they need changing. Canon recommends NiMH rechargeable, and they work well for me. I've found that the regular, non-rechargeable don't last anywhere near as long as the rechargeable batteries, so I don't use throwaway cells.
I'm mainly looking to know what can be used in a pinch. We always have some alkaline AA cells around the house. And I thought of tossing a set in the camera bag, as an emergency backup. I'll need to check my NiMH batts, to see their rating. My plan is to pick up another set of rechargeables. Boxcab E50
When we've used regular cells, the camera ate through them quite a bit faster than with the rechargeable cells. They'll work, they just won't last anywhere near as long.
I would advise you to get a card reader. The one thing that sucks juice more than anything is using the camera to read the card into a computer through USB or firewire. Some camera's come with extanded battery packs. The Canon Rebel has a battery grip that really helps keep the juice flowing. Very much worth having.
Ken, my "Steenking" Gateway came with two rechargeable Chinese AA's rated at 1800mA-h. They lasted for about 10 pix. I tried throwaways and the camera wouldn't even turn on. Bought some Sunpak 2300mA-h and they do pretty well. I can get 20-30 pix before the 18 hour recharge. LR6 is Chinese for rechargeable AA. Fortunately the POS came with an external power supply, so I can download into the computer. I think if I had to depend on the batteries to do that I wouldn't even be able to see a photo. This particular camera is DEATH on batteries. I'm looking for a new one.
I'm presently using lithium batteries in my Kodak digital- bought a package of 8 at WallyWorld, and keep a set or two handy when I go railfanning. I'm guessing I can get 120 pics out of a set of batterites before I have to replace them.
I also have a SunPak charger and 4 AA cells. Can't recall with absolute certainty. But believe they are 2300's. The batteries that were in the camera, when I got it, were "UltraLast." Alkalines from NABCorp. (North American Battery Corp.) They lasted for almost four months. Including leaving it on by accident, for two weeks.... Got about 100 shots with them! I checked their web site, and cannot find these listed as available. Strange? It'll never happen again! Boxcab E50
All I can say is that good batteries are worth every penny you pay for them. I have two Nikon DSLRs--with Nikon Lithium-ion batteries--and they are good for about 500- 1000 shots. That's without flash, as I use external flashes. I do have a spare battery. I think they are about $35 each, but I never have to worry about them. I've never had a camera even close to shutting down. I've had to use the spare in the field exactly once in three years, and even that was not critical. Leaving the camera on doesn't seem to affect the batteries at all. My wife has a nice Sony point-and-shoot. With the supplied rechargeable batteries, it's good for less than 100 shots before it goes dead, with very little warning. She is continually frustrated. The batteries wear down even when the camera is turned off. If it were more of an issue (she can always grab one of mine), I'd be looking for the highest output AAs I could find.
BC50 said Am unfamiliar with any model of a card reader. It is a little credit card size thingy that allows you to read the picture storage device in your camera. You remove the pictures storage device (card) from the camera and put it in the card reader. The card reader has to have a cable connected to something else to read it. That is usually a USB cable going to the USB port on the computer. I download my pictures from the camera this way; I never screen the pictures while they are in the camera. Also, the card reader device comes in various types; lots of printers have them so you can print directly from the camera to the printer. They cost about 30 US$ or so. Hope this helps. When I am posting to the photography forum, TB is in big trouble! I am sure others can be more precise on this. [edit] About one year ago, the only place I could get 2000 mah batteries was Singapore. Now, 2500 mah is the norm. Technology, I guess. [ September 18, 2005, 08:26 AM: Message edited by: sapacif ]
Flash, you are correct in your response. My PC even has a built in card reader on the front panel for various cards.... very handy! Harold
Thanks! Until this thread I'd never given a second thought to AA batteries. Now I know why the ones in my mouse last only about a month.
I've been eyeing the NiMH rechargeable units out on the market but do not understand why they are only rated a 1.2V instead of normal 1.5v their alkaline counterparts. That's quite a difference on a 4 battery pack (4.8v vs 6.0v) and even worse on my older motordrives that use 8 or 10 AAs.
Anyone have experience with the "Duracell Ultra Digital" AA cells? Alkaline non-rechargeables. My wife came home this weekend, and brought me a package of these. Boxcab E50
All rechargeables of the "cell" type (e.g., AAA, AA, C, D, etc.) that are not lead acids come in 1.2V only as that's the nature of their design/chemistry. In almost all electronic equipment that slight voltage dip won't be any problem at all. All the R/C nuts (myself included) will use nicads or NiMH over AA any day and we don't add a cell to increase the voltage. Their flat discharge curve makes up for the slight decrease in voltage.
For card readers, make sure you get one that is USB 2.0 (assuming your PC has USB 2.0 ports). The download speed is day and night between the original USB and USB 2.0.