does it make sense to use rechargeable batteries?

Some of my cameras use AA (lomography instant wide), some AAA batteries - Nikon N2000, some - CR2.

 

Does it make sense to use rechargeable AA or AAA batteries, because voltage of those is 1.2, instead of 1.5, normal batteries provide.

 

So I've heard it is not recommended to use old car batteries till the day they die, because low voltage can damage car electronics.

 

Is it the same with cameras?

shell i add that i never use flash?

 

so don't consider that usage in your responses.

Most 'modern' cameras are entirely designed to be compatible with rechargeable cells. Some actually won't work properly with alkalines and have very poor battery life if disposable batteries are used.

 

Read the manual. It usually tells you which types of battery can be used. The exception would be old kit designed before the 1980s when rechargeable cells weren't quite so common... or cheap to buy.

So I've heard it is not recommended to use old car batteries till the day they die, because low voltage can damage car electronics.

 

- Never heard that one. There's some complete BS written on the internet.

Some of my cameras use AA (lomography instant wide), some AAA batteries - Nikon N2000, some - CR2.

 

Does it make sense to use rechargeable AA or AAA batteries, because voltage of those is 1.2, instead of 1.5, normal batteries provide.

 

 

The only time I ran into this was with a P&S that used only 2 AA batteries.

The slightly lower voltage of the NiCd vs alkaline was just enough to make the NiCd not work as well.

Does it make sense to use rechargeable AA or AAA batteries,

"It depends" on your camera your usage profile and the batteries you are choosing not all rechargeable batteries are the same or equally suitable.

Conventional high capacity & high current NiMhs vexed quite a lot of occasional shooters during the early days of digital with their tendency to rapidly self discharge. They are awesome for a hard working flash when they got charged within two or 3 days before the gig. Any other use case is frustrating; i.e. there won't be much usable capacity after 4 weeks. - Recommendation: Get Enelooops, to have a better suited compromise! - They self discharge less and claim to have remaining capacity after a year. (I use them in all my AAs eating digitals and my flashes, although they won't recharge them as swiftly as the conventional NiMhs).

 

Agreed with [uSER=2403817]@rodeo_joe|1[/uSER] especially upon the car batteries with a huge disclaimer.

I've heard it is not recommended to use old car batteries till the day they die, because low voltage can damage car electronics.

Is two chunks of wisdom packed into the wrong(!) words.

Vehicle electronics don't care about the Voltage; if it is no longer enough they won't work, that's all. But this is only true for a parking vehicle i.e. "engine off". I absolutely don't recommend running an electronics stuffed vehicle with a bricked battery or no battery at all. It 's wiring might be designed to depend on the battery smoothing out the dirty output of the magneto or generator. Looking at my idling Honda I see the headlight flickering visibly. - It is obviously circumventing the battery and wired directly to the magneto (I can't use it with engine off) and suppose something more sophisticated than a light bulb might not be content with flickering Voltage / power whatever.

 

I don't know your cameras but consider Eneloops (if you have a chance to use them elsewhere) worth trying.

Some of my cameras use AA (lomography instant wide), some AAA batteries - Nikon N2000, some - CR2.

Does it make sense to use rechargeable AA or AAA batteries, because voltage of those is 1.2, instead of 1.5, normal batteries provide.

 

When a AA runs down, it will drop below the 1.2v nominal voltage of a NiMH battery, and things still work, so I would not worry about it.

I use AA NiMH batteries in many places where I use AA batteries.

Some late 80s/early 90s cameras have been known to give a low battery warning when used with rechargables, but they'll usually work happily until the battery dies. The only real caution with that is that you don't have a lot of forewarning for when the batteries are ACTUALLY going to die.

 

One of the ones that comes to mind for me is the F4, which unlike a lot of other cameras of the era was actually designed with AA rechargeables in mind. The battery check has two LEDs, and for alkaline it tells you that both will light. It says only one will light with Ni-Cds(and presumably NiMHs). IIRC(it's been a while since I changed the batteries in either of mine) there's also a switch in the battery compartment for you to specify which you are using.

It is obviously circumventing the battery and wired directly to the magneto

 

- Magneto!?

Cars haven't used magnetos as generators for over 60 years. They use an alternator with a built-in or separate voltage regulator these days. An alternator needs a working battery to provide the stator current to work in the first place. Once it's generating current it becomes self-sustaining.

 

A faulty alternator simply won't charge the battery and the car eventually won't start.

 

Incidentally, my first digital camera absolutely devoured alkaline AAs. I could only get about 20 shots out of a set if I was lucky. It had to be fed on rechargeables to get any sensible battery life out of it.

Edited December 28, 2018 by rodeo_joe|1

Magneto!?

Cars haven't used magnetos as generators for over 60 years. They use an alternator with a built-in or separate voltage regulator these days. An alternator needs a working battery to provide the stator current to work in the first place. Once it's generating current it becomes self-sustaining.

 

A faulty alternator simply won't charge the battery and the car eventually won't start.

 

Incidentally, my first digital camera absolutely devoured alkaline AAs. I could only get about 20 shots out of a set if I was lucky. It had to be fed on rechargeables to get any sensible battery life out of it.

 

I could certainly be wrong on this, but I've never heard of a magneto on a car being used to charge the battery. They're usually associated with ignition systems as a source of the high voltage used for spark plugs. Unlike Kettering and newer systems, they are self powered.

 

AFAIK, they've been gone on street cars for a long, long time(the Kettering system pretty well killed them by the 1920s), although my lawnmower and weedeater(both small two-stroke) use magnetos. A lot of piston airplanes uses them(often more than one) and I've heard of them still being used occasionally in car racing-or at least more recently than in street cars.

 

Generators/dynamos on cars went out of favor in the 1960s in favor of alternators, which generally are both more reliable and have a higher capacity for a given physical size. I'm planning on putting the original dynamo on my under-restoration 1958 MGA, but we'll see how long that lasts after it's finished.

 

Most of my automotive knowledge comes from dealing with my 1970 MGB, which still has a Lucas branded 45A alternator(it may be original to the car, don't know for sure). Like many cars of the era, it has an "ignition" light on the dash which comes on when the key is first switched to the "on" position. It's actually part of the alternator stator circuit, and is integral to that in a way that I don't understand. In any case, it lights when there's a difference between the battery voltage and alternator output, which of course is the case with the key on but the engine not running. Once the engine has started, the light won't go out until the engine hits 1200rpms or so(indicating, again, excitation of the field) but won't illuminate again unless the engine speed drops down to below ~500rpms or so. Of course, use of the fast idle cams in the choke linkage(which I have set to ~2000rpms) ensures that it GENERALLY will go out as soon as the engine starts.

 

In any case, I recall in the late 1990s my dad having an Agfa branded digicam. It was 640x480, used SmartMedia cards, and was generally a pretty miserable camera(I have an Apple Quicktake 200 as part of my Apple collection that seems to be more or less identical to it). At the time, I had a film P&S that I used frequently-I remember that my dad seemed to change batteries more often in his digital than I changed film in my camera(and I was mostly using 24 exposure rolls in those days).

Ben, the need to charge more often has come back, with the mirrorless cameras.

They suck power to run all that electronics.

Used hard, the battery in my EM1 will last about 4 hours, whereas my D7200 will run for 2+ DAYS.

I'm no car mechanic and maybe lost in translation. All I know: My 125ccm Innova's headlight will flicker while you push the kick starter with ignition off. It also has a battery to operate turn signals and it's electric starter. - So I assume it has a magneto and a generator too? - Same about my venerable Zündapp, which had to be ridden for 1h, to recharge NiCds for 5 to 6minutes of turn indicator operation. - Small bike wiring can sometimes be confusing. (And I am not much of an electrician either.) Recalling the ignition switches of 6V MZs there was a dedicated "magneto" setting for sure.

Small bike wiring can sometimes be confusing. (And I am not much of an electrician either.) Recalling the ignition switches of 6V MZs there was a dedicated "magneto" setting for sure.

 

I know nothing about bikes, but it sounds a bit similar to a Model T. The ignition switch has two positions-"battery" and "magneto." The normal procedure is to set it to "battery" to start it(whether with the crank or electric starter) and the switch to "magneto" once started. I'm not a big Model T guy, but IIRC the earlier ones used primary cells that had to be replaced occasionally, but once accessories like electric headlights(as opposed to carbide) came along you started seeing lead acids an a generator.

 

That's just one vehicle, though, although admittedly a very common one in the US.

Ben, the need to charge more often has come back, with the mirrorless cameras.

They suck power to run all that electronics.

Used hard, the battery in my EM1 will last about 4 hours, whereas my D7200 will run for 2+ DAYS.

 

- Not my experience using a Sony a6000 against a Nikon D7200 - both 24 megapixels and delivering roughly equivalent image quality.

 

The alpha6000 actually uses a smaller and lower capacity battery than the D7200, but still manages a very acceptable number of shots between charges or battery changes. In fact it's the D7200 that 'sucks power' when using Live View and thus giving similar functionality to the a6000.

 

Whatever. They both have far better battery life than my old Minolta Dimage 7i, or the Kodak EasyShare that I gave to my mother many years ago. Now those were battery-eaters!

 

What does it matter anyway? When a couple of spare batteries take up less volume, and take less time to swap than a 35mm film cassette.

thank you all for advices.

 

i got eneloops and panasonic charger. will use it in mamiya backs and nikons. thank you very much.

 

i like when cameras use batteries like aa or aaa, because when your rechargeables die, you still have an option to find aa or aaa in virtually every shop in every village.

What does it matter anyway? When a couple of spare batteries take up less volume, and take less time to swap than a 35mm film cassette.

You'll have to carry a couple of chargers and something to connect them to a single wall socket on vacation or to wake up frequently during the night to get all your batteries for the next day charged. I am wondering when the realm of tourism will adapt to changing electrical needs. - like offering a 2A USB outlet per coach seat? 2 or 3 of them per bunk?

You'll have to carry a couple of chargers and something to connect them to a single wall socket on vacation...

 

- So?

 

Not everything has to be done overnight either. Take a spare battery out with you and leave another charging in the hotel/chalet/self-catering room. It ain't exactly a logistical challenge.

 

And the charger I have takes two batteries at once and works off a USB socket.

Some of my cameras use AA (lomography instant wide), some AAA batteries - Nikon N2000, some - CR2.

 

Does it make sense to use rechargeable AA or AAA batteries, because voltage of those is 1.2, instead of 1.5, normal batteries provide.

 

So I've heard it is not recommended to use old car batteries till the day they die, because low voltage can damage car electronics.

 

Is it the same with cameras?

 

For your application the NiMH batteries won't damage your equipment but I wouldn't use them. You may leave your camera sit for weeks or month without using them. The rechargeables would be dead unused.

The rechargeables would be dead unused

Try Eneloops BeBu. - They are quite amazing and promising to hold 70% of charge after sitting around for one year.

ou may leave your camera sit for weeks or month without using them. The rechargeables would be dead unused.

 

- Dead, but still able to be resurrected. Unlike certain cells advertised by an annoying bunny.

 

The only alkalines that I've had leak and ruin equipment have been made by a company that rhymes with 'rural sell'. Damned over-hyped and overpriced rubbish!

 

Buy Varta, Kodak, Panasonic or any other brand than bunny-batteries if you want leakproof cells.

In response to both Jochen and Joe! For the OP applications which don't consume a lot of power. I would use good alkalines because I want the cameras ready whenever I pick it up. I don't want to charge the battery first. I heard good things about Eneloops but they are quite expensive and a set of them cost many sets of alkalines which will last for years with the types of application the OP has.

. I heard good things about Eneloops but they are quite expensive

 

- Other brands of 'ready to use' NiMH batteries are available, at much lower prices. IME this type of cell will keep a useable charge for many months.

 

All of my speedlights are fitted with such cells, and not one of them is an Eneloop.... nor a bl**dy Duracell! (The bunny's rechargeables are crap too.)

i like when cameras use batteries like aa or aaa, because when your rechargeables die, you still have an option to find aa or aaa in virtually every shop in every village.

 

I did like the idea Fuji had with the FinePix S3. It shipped with four Fuji-branded AA NiMH cells and a Fuji charger, although will run(for a few shots at least) off alkaline AAs.

 

In 2019, the cells that came with the camera are probably dead, but anyone who wants to use one can find replacements anywhere. It also doesn't cost an arm and a leg to get spares either.

 

Of course why anyone would WANT to use one is a different question...the S5 has an improved version of the same basic sensor, but in handling, ergonomics, and pretty much every other way is a better camera(that still holds its own terms of both skin tones and dynamic range even 13 years after it was released) since it's a body that was built from the ground up to be a DSLR rather than being adapted from a film SLR. Of course, that comes with its own battery problems, since Fuji quit making the batteries a long time ago, and has a firmware lock-out on the ubiquitous Nikon EN-EL3e that's otherwise physically identical...fortunately I've found decent aftermarket ones.

Rechargeable batteries make sense if they will be used often. Then you just recharge the batteries.

If it is not used often, then you are spending more money for something that will get very little use. Then the cheaper alkaline batteries make more sense.

Rechargeable batteries make sense if they will be used often. Then you just recharge the batteries.

If it is not used often, then you are spending more money for something that will get very little use. Then the cheaper alkaline batteries make more sense.

The cheapest worthwhile alkaline AAs I can get cost £1 for 4. A well-known supermarket chain has recently started selling 2400 mAh 'ready-to-use' NiMH AAs for just under £4 for 4. So even if I only recharge them 5 times, I'm in pocket.

 

Nope, it's disposable Alkaline cells that don't make any economic sense..... especially if they leak and ruin a piece of gear.

Yesterday at Costco here in the U.S. is saw a fairly comprehensive Eneloop battery set for $29.