It's a shame that I have this camera - that takes great pictures sitting in the shelf because my phone takes "good enough" pictures.
I bought this new for about $150 about year and half, and it's a great camera.
take note, this takes 2 AA. Some people hate it, but i love it that it does.
I prefer AA's. Can't someone come up with a standard Li-ion battery? (...possibly even AA sized?) We take 4 or 5 cameras on vacation. Each needs its own dedicated charger & batteries. I also like to carry spare batteries, which means 4 or 5 instead of sharing 1 or 2. Plus I'd even feel better if I had a spare charger for each because if that fails or you lose it, the camera because useless and you'll never find one in a in Utah. AA's you'll find anywhere.
^ NiMH power density hasn't gone up much recently. They tried but the self discharge rate became unacceptable so now many are sticking with lower capacity LSD like Eneloops.
The best option for a camera is a proprietary Li-Ion battery unless the unlikely alternative becomes 2 x 14500 Li-Ion cells.
It may seem less convenient but 3rd party replacement Li-Ion packs are fairly cost competitive at about $5 or $6 each, especially when you consider they have roughly 50% more capacity than the same volume and weight NiMH or in other words, they allow the camera to be smaller.
My problem isn't with the cost of Li-ion batteries (since I buy 3rd party). It's needing to bring so many different batteries, spares, & chargers for multiple camera, AND the fact that the camera is completely dependent on a battery & charger you can't buy on vacation. 14500 cells have the right idea - we just need a smaller version to keep camera size small. Can't someone come up with a standard size? ...Like every generation of batteries did before Li-ion (even the odd-ball J battery)? What is so darn hard about that?
^ There is a smaller standard Li-Ion size called (Edit:) 10440 which is modeled after AAA cell size. The thing is manufacturers don't like to make consumer products where the user has access to swapping cells that are the same size as akaline and NiMH because people might get confused about which type a product takes.
However I don't think 14500 is too large, in volume it's not even as large as the typical point and shot proprietary Li-Ion battery pack, just a different shape that's longer and cylindrical.
Even so I agree that some kind of standardization needs to improve for not only cameras but other devices like cell phones and tablets such that we regain control over swapping in more commonly available cells.
Then again, it's not that big a deal to me. A spare camera battery is pretty small and many recharge with the battery in them using the same USB cable used for a phone and other consumer electronics. Some also allow tethering an external battery pack that can power the camera for a very long time while simultaneously recharging an internal battery, so if anything the power options have gotten better for my needs.
^ There is a smaller standard Li-Ion size called 14400 which is modeled after AAA cell size. The thing is manufacturers don't like to make consumer products where the user has access to swapping cells that are the same size as akaline and NiMH because people might get confused about which type a product takes. However I don't think 14500 is too large, in volume it's not even as large as the typical point and shot proprietary Li-Ion battery pack, just a different shape that's longer and cylindrical. Even so I agree that some kind of standardization needs to improve for not only cameras but other devices like cell phones and tablets such that we regain control over swapping in more commonly available cells. Then again, it's not that big a deal to me. A spare camera battery is pretty small and many recharge with the battery in them using the same USB cable used for a phone and other consumer electronics. Some also allow tethering an external battery pack that can power the camera for a very long time while simultaneously recharging an internal battery, so if anything the power options have gotten better for my needs.
wow... so much knowledge of batteries..!
Well this is my take, the size, and power may not be able to standardize, - i'm thinking about cell phones here; but i do think they can make standard chargers!
Ditto. It's a great advantage since you won't have a problem powering the camera if you accidentally run out of charge. This is often overlooked. Caveat - get top quality AA rechargeables. It's a must.
Comments & Reviews (13)
I bought this new for about $150 about year and half, and it's a great camera.
take note, this takes 2 AA. Some people hate it, but i love it that it does.
The best option for a camera is a proprietary Li-Ion battery unless the unlikely alternative becomes 2 x 14500 Li-Ion cells.
It may seem less convenient but 3rd party replacement Li-Ion packs are fairly cost competitive at about $5 or $6 each, especially when you consider they have roughly 50% more capacity than the same volume and weight NiMH or in other words, they allow the camera to be smaller.
However I don't think 14500 is too large, in volume it's not even as large as the typical point and shot proprietary Li-Ion battery pack, just a different shape that's longer and cylindrical.
Even so I agree that some kind of standardization needs to improve for not only cameras but other devices like cell phones and tablets such that we regain control over swapping in more commonly available cells.
Then again, it's not that big a deal to me. A spare camera battery is pretty small and many recharge with the battery in them using the same USB cable used for a phone and other consumer electronics. Some also allow tethering an external battery pack that can power the camera for a very long time while simultaneously recharging an internal battery, so if anything the power options have gotten better for my needs.
AAA sized lithium ion battery is called 10440.
Oops! Thanks for the correction.
Well this is my take, the size, and power may not be able to standardize, - i'm thinking about cell phones here; but i do think they can make standard chargers!
Ditto. It's a great advantage since you won't have a problem powering the camera if you accidentally run out of charge. This is often overlooked. Caveat - get top quality AA rechargeables. It's a must.
Unfortunately, the price just went up this morning.
Thank you!