Eneloop batteries

Before the wedding this past weekend, I have been using the Duracell pre-charged rechargeable batteries for my Speedlight flash gun.  These Duracell batteries are exceptional.  They perform as expected and I can always rely on them--unlike the rechargeable Energizers I bought a few years ago.  These Duracell batteries are the low self-discharge type whereas those Energizers were the normal rechargeables.

If you read about these Duracell batteries, you are likely going to run across the Sanyo eneloop batteries.  I always wondered how good the eneloop are.  For the wedding shoot, I thought I might need four sets of batteries--I have two flash guns, so two sets per flash gun.  I was going to purchase two additional Duracell batteries but then thought I'd check with Canada Computers to see if they have any Duracell on sale.  Lo and behold, I came across the Sanyo eneloop batteries, a special edition 8-pack for $24.99.  Not cheap but cheaper than the Duracell.  These Sanyo eneloop are the second generation batteries, able to recharge up to 1500 times.  Time will tell.

I have already used these eneloop batteries in my SB-900.  They worked great.

Case for AA batteries

I am looking for a small case to carry extra batteries (I have 17 rechargeable batteries in total) and other small camera accessories on my belt or in my pocket for easy access. I am thinking of buying this:

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Case-Logic-MEQB-1M-Eva-Hardshell-Small-Digital-Camera-Case-Blue/10297714

For $8, it's pretty cheap uh?

For a cheaper alternative, there is this DIY battery case:

http://www.diyphotogear.com/AA%20Battery%20Case.html

However, there is no belt clip or carabiner.

BTW, about those Duracell batteries I just bought ... I used them yesterday (after the Energizers failed to work) -- these Duracells worked great.

Rechargeable batteries for my SB800

I had to throw away a couple of rechargeable Energizer 2500mAh AA batteries that I used in my SB800 speedlight. Below are the two batteries I threw away. Notice the white blotches on the side wall of the batteries and white powder residues on the edge of the negative terminal. I don't know what caused the white blotches and the residue -- the negative terminal is made of one piece, like those pressed aluminum cans of Coke, so it's not like something leaked out. In any case, I threw these two batteries away and bought some new Duracell 2000mAh Pre-Charged rechargeables. These Duracell rechargeables behave like the Sanyo Eneloop rechargeables in that they will maintain 80% of their charge for up to a year, unlike normal rechargeable batteries.

Just to be clear ... you should not mix the different types of batteries when used in the speedlight. I will keep the Energizer set separate from the Duracell set.



For more information on the Duracell Pre-Charged Rechargeables: http://www.duracell.com/en-US/product/pre-charged-rechargeable-batteries.jspx

Batteries, once again

A while ago, I wrote about third-party batteries. I mentioned how unreliable third-party batteries have been. In particular, an EN-EL3e battery I bought worked for only a few rechargeable cycles. What a waste of money. In photography, you get what you pay for. That statement is very true but I wonder if I had not given those batteries their proper dues.

I just found out that Nikon released a new firmware for the D80. I had the original firmware 1.01 on. The latest firmware, version 1.11, was supposed to fix a problem with the battery indicator (see below). I wonder now if my battery problem had not been related to this bug, where even though the third-party battery was full, the D80 thought the battery was drained. My conclusion at the time was, faulty battery. I am not so sure after seeing this firmware update. So, I will recant for now as it might just be a firmware bug. Well, my D80's firmware is up-to-date now. It is unfortunately I cannot test that third-party battery anymore as I had completely dissected it already.

From Nikon's description of the firmware update:

Modifications enabled with upgrade of A and B firmware to 1.11

• An issue that, in some rare circumstances, caused the battery indicator to blink, regardless of actual battery charge, has been resolved.
  

How strong is the SB-800 ?

I suppose specs is specs. Specs are just numbers. I wondered what those numbers really mean. I wondered how much current the Speedlight SB-800 produces. I mean, it is strong enough to render a totally black room into a light-filled space at twelve noon. I read somewhere you should not leave the four AA batteries in the SB-800 speedlight while not in use. I wondered why. Batteries could leak, it said. Really? Well, I did not believe it and am not so sure I believe it. However, there is strong evidence that the speedlight can give you a good jolt.

In the upper left corner is a picture of a couple of AA batteries from my speedlight. There are definite burn marks. In fact, all my AA batteries used in this speedlight have burn marks on the negative plate. I guess it is like welding. A electrical current jumps across two electrodes and if strong enough will weld metal together. If not strong enough, it will just burn the contact points.

Now, the burn marks are not just soot. After wiping the burn marks as clean as I can, I can see definite puncture mark into the negative metal plate of the batteries. I think I know what people are saying about leaking then. If used long enough, the puncture mark may eventually drill through the plate and burn into the cell compartment.

Well, I will not remove the batteries but will check them after every session.

What's in a camera battery?

What's in a camera battery? After my Cuba trip, I decided it was time to dissect the third-party EN-EL3e that has been nothing but a nightmare.

So here I pried it open. I used a blade to cut along the glue line between the bottom and top covers. If you do this, be careful not to cut too deep. After cutting a slit, it was still hard to remove the top cover as it was glued to the batteries.

There are two blue cylindrical batteries inside. Each battery carries 4 volts. They are joined in serial fashion to give 8 volts. The photo shows two dark bands of sticky glue.

There electronic circuit board seen in these picture control the actual output and communicate battery information to the camera. It could cut out the current as well. These two blue batteries are perfectly fine. They do register 8 volts total but the output from the circuit board is nil. I had suspected that some logic board in the battery is faulty. It looks like my suspicion has been confirmed. Why though? No idea. Cheap, third party battery. In photography, you really get what you pay for.

The blue batteries stand the same height as normal AA batteries. However, these blue batteries are fatter as seen in the last photo below.

One thought came to mind. What if I remove the logic board? It could work but it could destroy my camera too, and how would I recharge the batteries? Would they need the logic board? The recharger knows when to stop recharging -- how? These questions will remain unanswered because I am not about to test it out. Removing the logic board could damage my camera. While the battery information is not too important, I think the board does regulate the voltage and current output. I am not sure and am not about to attempt it. :)

For now these blue batteries could serve as emergency batteries for flash lights or something like that. Their voltage output is rather high but usually the flash lights take 2 or 3 AA or AAA batteries. They amount to 3 to 4.5 volts, so these blue batteries could still be useful. When they go depleted though, I wonder how they can be recharged. I could stick them back into its original battery case with the logic board and charge them in the normal Nikon battery charger, I guess.

Backup battery or not? Part 2

Just a quick update on third-party batteries. I mentioned in the last post that my EN-EL3e battery for my Nikon D80 started working again after I found it, well, dead. I was able to shoot maybe about 100 photos but yesterday it suddenly died on me, again. Totally non-dependable for any special occasion. I do not recommend buying those cheap, third-party batteries. If you need a backup battery for you Nikon, buy the real stuff from Nikon. If it is Canon, buy the real stuff from Canon.