The Lemon Fool

I have an Olympus camera and am getting fed up putting batteries in it. Are 4 1.2V rechargeables going to work OK? I'm prepared to splash out on the 1.6V NiZn type plus charger if necessary but obviously don't want to throw money away. I've read an article saying they will be OK but just wondered if anyone has any practical experience with cameras and such batteries?

Sussexlad

Sussexlad wrote:I have an Olympus camera and am getting fed up putting batteries in it. Are 4 1.2V rechargeables going to work OK?

Without knowing the model we cannot say for sure, but Olympus seem to have designed at least some of their models to use rechargables.

Like many of Olympus' cameras, the D-520 Zoom does very well in the battery life department. This is particularly impressive, given that it runs from only two AA-sized batteries. Even it its worst case power-consumption mode, it'll give you well over three hours of run time from true 1600 mAh NiMH rechargeable batteries.

https://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/D520/D52A.HTM

And it says so in the D-520 manual...

This camera uses a CR-V3 lithium battery pack or two AA (R6) NiMH batteries, NiCd batteries, alkaline batteries or lithium batteries.

http://www.olympusamerica.com/files/oim ... ual_EN.pdf

See if you can Google the manual for yours.

LIDL currently offer packs of 4 AA; 4 AAA; 2 C or Ds etc for £2.99. I have previously used their AA cells and found they held a charge happily for months.

I don’t know how long the offer will be open, but they normally seem to offer things like that for a couple of weeks then they disappear again for months.

I'm sure most of us have their favourite brands but having gone through all sorts of rechargeables I would would offer the advice - don't buy cheap. I only use Eneloop ones now (Panasonic/Sanyo).

Thanks for the several replies. The instruction manual is here...

http://cs.olympus-imaging.jp/en/support ... 20uz_e.pdf

The camera is quite old now and perhaps the advice has changed but Page 66 says 'The following types of batteries cannot be used: Lithium battery pack (CR-V3)/AA (R6) manganese (zinc-carbon) batteries/AA (R6) oxyride batteries/AA (R6) lithium batteries' . Is that ruling them out?

Thanks again to all.

Should be fine. The normal rechargeables are Ni-Mh these days

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nickel%E2 ... de_battery

On page 66 of the manual it says....

The use of NiMH batteries is recommended.

Also recommend the eneloop batteries - I've been using them for over 10 years now (same ones) and they work. Capacity is down to about 1900maH (from an initial 2100) which, over 10 years, is pretty damn good.

Sussexlad wrote:The camera is quite old now...

I had (well, still do but it's gathering dust now) a distant predecessor of that model, the Camedia C-1400XL from c.1998. You should be fine...

Olympus wrote:CAMEDIA C-1400XL Digital SLR
Included Accessories - Four rechargeable nickel-metal hydride batteries. AC charger....

https://www.olympus-global.com/en/news/ ... 400xe.html

Thanks all. I'll give them a go.

I have been useing own brand " Good to Go" rechargeable batteries from "7 day shop" for many years. I have a collection of AA,AAA and PP3 and havn't bought a single use battery for years. The economics are overwhelming and I'm still amazed that most batteries sold are single use. They have a good life,hold charge in storage and after many years show no sign of deteriorateion.

Depends on the voltage requirement. I'd find a friendly camera shop and try rechargeables before buying.

From memory, throwaway batteries are 1.5V, but rechargeables tend to be 1.2V. You wont notice the difference in an electronic device, but things that have motors, sounds such as toys, they will drain much quicker.

However, some devices (including some cameras) can be very pernickety and specifically say not to use rechargeables.

Meatyfool..

Meatyfool wrote:From memory, throwaway batteries are 1.5V, but rechargeables tend to be 1.2V. Meatyfool..

Yes indeed, that was my concern. There is a rechargeable 1.6V battery but I've now taken a chance and ordered the 1.2Vs eneloops + a charger, so we'll see. I don't use it a great deal, so the quick changing of normal batteries was both annoying and a waste of money.

Sussexlad

Meatyfool wrote:From memory, throwaway batteries are 1.5V, but rechargeables tend to be 1.2V....

Zinc-carbon batteries start at 1.5v but very soon drop, reaching 1.2v by the end of their useful life. Rechargables start at 1.2v and hold that votage until they are almost fully discharged.

...some devices (including some cameras) can be very pernickety and specifically say not to use rechargeables...

True, but we were specifically asked about an Olympus camera here and as the quotes from Olympus manuals show, their cameras are designed to be able to use rechargables.

I don't claim to understand the 'no lithium' restriction for the batteries in the manual linked to, above, but notwithstanding that, after my son's camera ate AAs for breakfast I did a bit of research and Energiser Ultimate lithium (non-rechargeable) batteries pack a huge punch. if you've got a power hungry device (e.g. something with a motor) these do last a loooong time.

You can get them online for about a fiver for four and they are far more cost effective than anything else I've found.

AndyPandy wrote:I don't claim to understand the 'no lithium' restriction for the batteries in the manual linked to...

The restriction applies to those non-rechargeable Lithium batteries that are 3.7v and would burn out the electronics. Your Energizer Ultimate are designed to provide 1.5v so are safe to use as direct replacements.

Wikipedia wrote:Depending on the design and chemical compounds used, lithium cells can produce voltages from 1.5 V (comparable to a zinc–carbon or alkaline battery) to about 3.7 V.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium_battery

Sussexlad wrote:I have an Olympus camera and am getting fed up putting batteries in it. Are 4 1.2V rechargeables going to work OK? I'm prepared to splash out on the 1.6V NiZn type plus charger if necessary but obviously don't want to throw money away. I've read an article saying they will be OK but just wondered if anyone has any practical experience with cameras and such batteries?

Sussexlad

I didn't realise there were still cameras using AA batteries. 1.2v rechargeable will not last as long as regular ones though but will save you money. If you are fed up of putting batteries in your camera you will be doing it a lot more often with rechargeable.

Lithium AA batteries would be the best but they are more expensive than alkaline and won't last too much longer but do have the best life so you will be changing slightly less often.

Alternatively, you could look at cameras with lithium-ion batteries. My Panasonic Lumix is five years old now or something like that but the battery life is incredible it lasts a very long time. I hardly ever need to take it out and recharge it.

john10001 wrote:I didn't realise there were still cameras using AA batteries. 1.2v rechargeable will not last as long as regular ones though but will save you money. If you are fed up of putting batteries in your camera you will be doing it a lot more often with rechargeable.

Lithium AA batteries would be the best but they are more expensive than alkaline and won't last too much longer but do have the best life so you will be changing slightly less often.

I've bought the Ni-MHs now along with a fancy charger but haven't really had a chance to try the camera. I have cycled the rechargeables in my home handsets in the hope they will also last longer. I don't use the camera a great deal so I'm hoping it will work out OK. Thanks for the alternative suggestion.

Another vote for the Eneloops. The ones I use are Duracell Ultra. They work in a beard trimmer that none of the others ever would, and they keep their charge in two older cameras that are not used that often. They aren't expensive either, and are often on discount in supermarkets if you don't want to use Amazon.

- K