Different Types Of Digital Camera Batteries

Alkaline - Low storage capacity, digital cameras eat these. In the long run, it's cheaper to switch to one of the rechargeable batteries listed below despite the upfront cost.

NiCad (Nickel Cadmium) - High storage capacity, but the traditional NiCad battery suffers from memory effect (you have to let the battery completely drain before you can fully recharge it or lose storage capacity).

NiMH (Nickel Metal Hydride) - It has more storage capacity than an alkaline, but less than that of a NiCad battery of the same size. However, a NiMH does not have the memory-effect problem - and it can be recharged more times than a NiCad in its lifetime.

Lithium-Ion - It is superior to NiCad and NiMH batteries for cameras because it holds its charge much longer, it can output several times as much voltage, and it is small (ideal for compact cameras). Unlike NiCad, it has no memory effect.



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Recycle Your NiMH Batteries

If your AA NiMH batteries stopped taking a charge don’t throw them away, they are recyclable. Instead, try contacting local recycling agency or waste management center to see if they can recycle your dead battery. The Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation - http://www.rbrc.org/. The RBRC has a locator to find battery recycling points across the USA and Canada.

Digital Camera Battery Tip

When your digital camera tells you that your batteries are dead, do not throw them away! Digital cameras are demanding on batteries, sometimes batteries that will not turn on a digital camera will work fine in other devices. You can save the batteries your digital camera eats up and use them on less demanding devices like a remote control.

Difference Between a NiMH and Ni-Cd Battery

What is the difference between a Nickel-Metal Hydride battery and a Nickel-Cadmium battery?

A Nickel-Metal Hydride battery (or NiMH) is a rechargeable battery similar in design with a Nickel-Cadmium battery (or Ni-Cd) but instead of using cadmium, which is an environmental hazard, it uses a hydrogen absorbing alloy for anode. A Nickel-Metal Hydride battery can have 2 to 3 times the capacity of an equivalent size NiCd , the memory effect is not as significant and it is less detrimental to the environment compared to a Nickel-Cadmium battery.

Digital Camera Battery FAQ's

Here are the two questions I get asked the most about digital camera battery terms, so I thought I would post the answers here.

What is "mAh"?- The term “mAh” stands for milliAmperehour, which is a rating used to show how much power an electronic device uses or how much power a rechargeable battery will hold.

What is “memory effect”?-Memory effect is when a nickel-cadmium (NiCd) battery is discharged to a level above a full discharge, that is, only "partially used", and then recharged to a "full" level. The battery then seems to lose power when it gets to the "partially used" point it was recharged at.

More battery info to come!

Digital Camera Battery Tips

Here are a couple tips on using and recharging your digital camera battery:

Batteries are discharged even when not being used, for this reason it is recommended to charge the batteries just before using them.

Do not mix new and used rechargeable batteries.

The battery is not water-resistant; do not expose the battery to water.

Battery performance decreases and the battery life is shortened in lower temperatures. When shooting in the cold keep your digital camera battery in your inside jacket pocket until you are ready to begin taking pictures.

Using the flash and zoom a lot will use up the life of your digital camera battery quicker.

If the poles of the batteries or the terminal of the camera becomes dirty the digital camera battery life will be shortened. Clean the battery poles and camera terminals with a dry, clean cloth.

Battery Reconditioning

Found this ebook on how to recondition Ni-Cd and NiMh batteries, which may be of interest to you if your digital camera battery seems to always be dead. Click Here to check it out!

Buying A Digital Camera Battery

Buying Digital Camera Batteries
By Steve Gargin

A digital camera battery is probably the most important digital camera accessory. Some digital cameras can consume power at an alarming rate, providing no more than a few hours of continuous shooting time before the battery is drained. Other cameras are renowned for the long life of their digital camera battery which allows users to snap away with barely a thought to power consumption. It is important to know how you intend to use your camera and what type of battery it needs.

There are two types of digital camera battery. The most widely available digital camera battery is a standard AA-size battery. The other type of digital camera battery is a rechargeable battery that is made by the manufacturer, otherwise known as a proprietary battery.

A proprietary digital camera battery offers the advantage of being lighter and more compact, but they are substantially more expensive, making the prospect of buying one or two backup sets much less appealing.

The alkaline AA-size digital camera battery usually has a very short life - less than an hour in extreme cases - when used in a digital camera. This type of battery makes an acceptable emergency backup, especially if you are travelling with your camera. However, the Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) digital camera battery can be used instead of the alkaline ones with a charger and this rechargeable NiMH digital camera battery has a substantially longer life at an affordable price.

Another type of AA-size battery is the non-rechargeable Lithium batteries and rechargeable Nickel Cadmium (NiCD) batteries. The lithium digital camera battery has a superior life to alkaline AA's and offers good cold-weather performance but their price and non-rechargeable nature make them less useful than rechargeable NiMH batteries. It is also important to ensure that your camera can take a lithium digital camera battery. On the other hand the NiCD digital camera battery offers the advantage of retaining their charge while unused, unlike NiMH cells, but have shorter lives and need to be discharged completely before recharging which can be extremely inconvenient.

The LCD screen of a digital camera is responsible for consuming the most power from a digital camera battery so it is worth only using the LCD when necessary to help conserve the battery life. Always try to carry at least one backup set of batteries, especially if you plan on being away from power outlets for an extended period of time. The universally-available alkaline AA-size battery can make a convenient emergency backup if your regular digital camera battery fails.

About The AuthorSteve Gargin is the administrator of http://digital-camera-reviews.helper-guru.com/dsc717/index.html which is a great website dedicated to giving free advice on Digital Cameras.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Steve_Gargin

Digital Camera Battery

Thanks for visiting my new digital camera battery blog! I will be adding digital camera battery tips and articles as well as digital camera battery reviews so please check back soon!