Do I Need to Bring my Digital Camera Charger?

[scotters]

I am buying a Canon PowerShot SD300 that comes with a lithium ion "rechargable" battery. Does this mean I need to bring my charger with me (seems like a pain in the ass)? Or are there replacement Li Ion batterys overseas for all these cameras (if so how expensive)?

What's your experience with cameras & batteries?

[Joker]

Though I don´t think that my iPod counts, my battery died somewhere between Miami and Costa Rica. I have a battery backup but it sucks the life outta AA´s.

Current cam uses AA batteries, so i travel with a good supply of them. I would advise that if you have access to rechargeables, bring the charger. Murphy´s law dictates that right when you need to take the pic, the battery would die anyway...

[scotters]

How did you get your profile to say Official T-Punk Pirate??? I've never seen that before.

[chelseafc05]

^yeah but lithiums last longer then regular AA alkaline batteries and i think there ment for camera's..... even tho there a bit more expensive... id just spend the extra $$ and buy a few packs of lithiums rather then carry around a charger.. as for the cost of them well in australia there $12 for a pack of 2 just have a look at ya local electronics shop or supermarkets(if they have em, most of ours dont) you ,could prolly find the cost of them online somewhere...

[chelseafc05]

fuckin hell scotters your post got in the way

have to have 500+ posts or be recognised to change ya title..

[bassgirl79]

how big is your charger i took mine travelling with me and wasnt a problem at all just put the battery on charge at night when i was asleep and the camera was ready to go in the morning. this seems better than spending travle money on batteries u dont really need

[omisan]

Take the charger - you can't buy Li-Ion batteries too easily... Like Joker said, many cams will also take AAs nowadays, but you get way better life out of the Lithium one that came with your camera.

[voyd]

The Canon rechargers are small. I'd bring a spare battery and just be sure to recharge one every night (only takes ~2 hrs). That's what they're designed for...and it sure as hell beats buyng new batteries every day!!! In fact, I don't even know if you can find non-rechargeable batteries for the Canon Powershots - as they are customized for that series (like most other subcompact cameras).

[@dam]

Little cameras like that take proprietary batteries, so you won't be able to find them. If you do find them, they'll be like $50 and need to be charged.

However, often times on ebay you can find replacement batteries for only a few dollars. I've had good luck with the "Sterling Tek" brand on my Canons. I tried another brand...i-somethingorother, and while they work fine they seem to self-discharge quickly if unused.

I'd just get some cheapier batteries, or take the charger. The charger should be dual voltage (mine are for my SD500 and S400), so you only need an adapter- not a full-on voltage convertor.

[voyd]

Holy guano, that's an ureal price for an NB-3L!!!
$12.95
So, these have worked good for you? Wow, I know where I'm getting my next one then...

So, while we're on the topic, what about SD (Secure Digital) Memory Cards?

[@dam]

Is that the Sterling Tek price? Not quite unreal, but reasonable. I have Sterling Tek batteries for my old S400 (bought batteries when camera was 2 years old, so batteries were clearance) for, get this- 6 cents each (plus $2.50 shipping)! Quality was excellent, too.

When I went shopping for my SD500 batteries (NB-3L), I went to that other site... i-trimming I think it was called. They charged about $2.00 each plus $3.50 shipping. Pretty good for a brand new camera. They seemed quite good initially, but after they've been sitting for a week or two, they seem to only be good for ~45 shots before going dead. It isn't worth complaining about though. It would cost more time and money and hassle to ship back than it is worth. This might just be an early production glitch. and these batteries may well be made in the same factory that sterling tek uses- who knows. Worth a shot for the price though.

[@dam]

Oh yeah- for memory cards I just go to Costco. I try to wait for a coupon. They come with a voucher for 20 free prints. I'm bringing 4x 1 Gb high speed San Disk cards that I got for $72 each on sale there. Hopefully I'll be able to make CDs as I go so I can take a few back upon my return (they're still unopened in their packaging). I buy my cameras there too. Even if they aren't always QUITE as cheap as online, their return policy can't be beat- no need to buy an extended warranty.

[voyd]

Wow, well I guess NB-3L prices have dropped a lot in the last few years. It used to be a good deal if you could get them for under $40!

I just got a 1 gig SanDisk SD card at Best Buy for < $50 after mail-in rebate. Not sure what speed it is, though. I think it was this one:

[@dam]

Well, this isn't the Canon brand battery. You'll still pay a lot for those. These are generic knock-offs.

My memory cards are the highspeed San Disk "Ultra II" cards, so we probably got similar deals.

[micdans]

If you bring the adapter, aren't the plugs different in other countries? If it's true, do you bring the converters?

[micdans]

I've also thought for storing pictures...

Transferring straight from the camera to ipod. I think it works, but haven't tried it yet.

[@dam]

The adapter is a tiny little thing that allows you to plug your american appliance into a foreign receptcle. The convertor is what takes the foreign 240 V 50 Hz power and converts it to 120 V 60 Hz american style power. The convertor may or may not have adaptors built in.

Your battery charger, however, is probably dual-voltage capable. In other words, it essentially has its own little tiny converter built right in. Read the little lable on the back, and if it lists the two types of power mentioned above, then all you'll need is an adapter to pull it in.

Ipods can store photos on the fly. After purchasing four memory cards, I realized I was damn near being able to just buy an iPod! I looked into it, but decided against it. A relative just started using her iPod for photo storage, and nearly lost all of her pictures from Bhutan! The hard drive was just wearing out (it wasn't that old, either). Also, transfering a gig onto the iPod will drain the entire battery and takes quite a while. If you fail to transfer all of your pictures, you don't have the option of just selecting the few you missed once you've recharged. The concept of storing your photos on an iPod is great- I just don't think the reliability and user-friendliness is quite there yet. Maybe the next-generation iPod will be better. What I wound up doing is buying 4 1 gb memory cards. They are still in their original packaging. Hopefully I'll be able to make CDs of my photos as I go along (make at least two copies before erasing the memory card), and then I can return my unopened memory cards when I get back. That option is the cheapest and probably the safest choice (well- safest next to doing CD's and opening all of the memory cards)

[LostFarmboy]

To store my photos i just took a USB memory stick with me, it worked a treat....for a while, then for some reason it just stopped letting me store pictures on it, dunno why, it wasn't full or read only, i had to reformat it before i could use it again. So, with the memory stick out of action i had to just burn my photos to CDs when my card was getting towards full, this is probably the simplest and cheapest approach to storing pictures while travelling.



...and scotters, take the charger.

[nemesis331]

where could you get an adaptor that would fit various products or do you need specific ones for everything?

[chelseafc05]

Originally posted by voyd@Jan 10 2006, 01:26 AM
Wow, well I guess NB-3L prices have dropped a lot in the last few years.* It used to be a good deal if you could get them for under $40!

I just got a 1 gig SanDisk SD card at Best Buy for < $50 after mail-in rebate.* Not sure what speed it is, though.* I think it was this one:

[snapback]97556[/snapback]

i bought one of them the other day......$120 australian. reduced from $150 ..