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Learn Digital Photography with Sandro Dzneladze

Top Tips to Buy a Camera Battery Charger

Category: Photography Tips
Written on Oct 05, 2010 by Sandro Dzneladze
Top Tips to Buy a Camera Battery Charger

It’s the one of the most important parts of your digital camera, and besides the sophisticated technology that allows you to capture great photos and push the boundaries of your creativity, your camera battery life is what you should be looking at when you go to buy a camera. You don’t want to be left hanging in the middle of an important assignment or be at the mercy of a low battery level during a fun holiday trip at an exotic and exciting locale, so it’s best you choose your camera battery and charger wisely.

Digital cameras come with two kinds of batteries – the cheaper ones have AA batteries while the more expensive ones come with the Lithium ion kind and its own charger. With the former option, you don’t want to spend hundreds of dollars on replacing your batteries every now and then, so you invest in the rechargeable kind. Now the only thing you have to do is find a good charger for your batteries and you can put your worries aside.

Besides obvious use in digital cameras, rechargeable batteries are of great use in other camera accessories. I personally charger around 16 AA NiMH batteries a day, for use in my lightning kit – which includes 4 speedlights. So, charger is an important accessory for any photographer with any amount of camera gear.

9 Tips to consider before you buy a charger

  • If you’re looking to replace your original charger, the one that came with your camera, look for the same brand from your camera manufacturer’s site, or choose an equivalent from a third party vendor after checking specifications and reviews to ensure that your battery will be charged effectively. It’s best to buy direct from a store rather than online because you can test out the product before taking it home.
  • Otherwise, if you want a charger for your AA batteries, first check for compatibility with your batteries.
  • Decide if you want a charger that can hold four or more batteries – if you use your camera frequently, you might want to keep a spare set handy and so invest in a charger that can handle 6 or more batteries in one go.
  • If you travel the globe, check if your charger has adapters that plug into both 110 and 220 volt outlets.
  • If you’re not comfortable with chargers that plug directly into the wall, choose one that has a cord and connects to the power outlet through an AC adapter.
  • Buy a charger that switches off automatically when your batteries are fully charged.
  • Read reviews before you buy to ensure that you buy a charger that charges in the fastest possible time. These will cost more, so if you’re not too particular about charging speed, go in for the cheaper versions. Also, never invest in “quick” recharges that are under an hour; these charges never last long and your batteries don’t remain in peak condition. In general, most good chargers take between 2 and 7 hours to charge your batteries completely.
  • Some people prefer chargers that can handle both AA and AAA batteries simultaneously.
  • Some chargers come with displays that show you the values of charging current, discharging current, time elapsed, accumulated capacity and terminal voltage. So if you’re interested and don’t mind paying the price, go for one of these models.

Best Battery Chargers

For your convenience, I’ve put together the list of Best Battery Chargers on the market.

  • La Crosse Technology BC-9009 AlphaPower Battery Charger
    This charger is top rated on websites like Amazon. The LaCross BC-900 will charge AA and AAA batteries at the same time and offers up 4 separate LCD displays so you can watch as each battery becomes fully charged. There are 4 modes to choose from and the heat monitor prevents overcharging and “burning out” the battery. The unit comes with 4AA and 4AAA rechargeable batteries so there is nothing left to buy.
  • Maha Powerex MH-C9000 WizardOne Charger-Analyzer
    This is highly rated AA battery charger that costs about $55 on several websites. Maha battery chargers have a solid reputation and they are very reliable in charge times and being able to recharge low AA batteries. The MH-C9000 is more than a recharging station for your AA’s, it will charge condition, analyze, cycle, form, and discharge. Displays the voltage and battery capacity on the LCD screen. There are up to 30 selectable charging and discharging speeds. Owners say the Maha is “powerful”, “versatile” and “reliable”.
  • Rayovac Universal Smart Battery Charger
    The Rayovac Universal Battery Charger does a superb job with a variety of battery types – great for rechargeable AA, AAA, C, D, and 9-Volt Batteries.

This guest post is contributed by Becky Patterson, who writes on the topic of Becoming a Photographer. She can be reached at beckypatterson89[@]gmail[.]com.

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