Best AA recharging for digicams?

[lesged]

I recently swapped my XA-2 kit for Pete's Oly C4000. Originally it was meant to become Claudia's personal digicam, but it fits so well in my big hands and allows me to manipulate buttons so much easier. So I gave my Canon A720 IS to her and I'll use the Oly C4000. Its vintage is 2002, with 4MP capacity, which probably was a high end of amateur line at the time. Guessing! Btw, 4MP is enough for me.

Whether it's because of an older technology or not, I find that it is power demanding. I get far less photos on a rechargable cycle with the C4000 than with the A720 or what I got with my former Nikon Coolpix 3100 and 990.

I've been using 2 Ray-O-Vac Hybrid 2100 mA, rechargeable AA batteries with the A720. The C400 and Nikon Coolpix 990 use 4 AAs. I got rid of the Coolpix 3100 and 990 because of battery covers issues.

I like the Oly Camedia C4000 very much and the lens is top notch. What do you folks recommend for an AA rechargeable system that will improve the length of time between recharging cycles for the C4000?

After not many photos, it seems the motor is straining when I use the tele/wide angle switch. TAt least that's my impression.

Any suggestions or comments are welcome,

TIA, Les

[martolod]

putting on my technical hat...
as far as i am aware the best system vs value for money currently on the market are
Nickel Metal Hydrate (Nimh) or the equivalent Lithium rechargeable batteries.
both are superior to to the old nicad.
now the best way to deal with them and to get the full life/performance out of is as follows:
forget everything you know about nicads as the opposite applies to these.
as soon as you finished using them for the day recharge them. as these batteries do not develop 'memory' they do not need to be completely discharged, in fact consistently discharging can actually damage them. Keep the batteries charged and give them a boost charge just before you use them to top them up. there are many brands on the market ; the ones i use and trust are Varta (oldy but goldy), energizer and duracell.
always buy 2 sets of batteries for your camera, just in case.
now due the the laws of physics the maximum charge you can stick into a AA is 2500mAh. there are batteries that are rated higher but ignore that...if you can(in theory) get the higher current out of the battery than you will do so only once....the battery will destroy itself in the process.
recently i went to a motor race  and i , my son connor and a friend of connors we used k100super, ist s and a ist D. all three had energiser 2500maH NimH in them. we each took around 1500 images for the day (autofocus and all..) and after a day's shooting we still had charge .(i was shooting in RAW, the 2 boys were shooting jpegs.)
IMO that is the way to go at the moment until the next generation of rechargeable batteries become available.

[lesged]

Thanks Kalle,

I bought a set of 4 Nimd Energizer AA batteries Saturday at Walmart that seemed a super bargain price $6.47. But there was no mA rating on the battery. The ones I and Claudia have been using on the Canon A720 were 2100mA Energized Nimd AA batteries and they were working fine.

My purpose in going to Walmart this morning was to exchange the no mA rated batteries for similar Nimd ones that were 2100 or higher. It was done during my overloaded morning program of fishing and weekly bocce game in senior league.  Landed 2 lovely rainbow trouts, but our team lost terribly 11-1. We had only lost 2 games this season, none as as badly as today. Hey you win some, and lose some. Back to batteries! 

They had a set of 4  2450 mA Nimd batteries for $9.83 and I was ready to exchange the two sets of Nimd batteries, when the salesman exchange desk told me they were not designed for digital cameras. And I should go with lithium

I got lithium AAs then realized th3ey were not rechargeable ones. Had to get to bocci game so I left with lithium batteries and planned to go back tomorrow if I got advice from NFF. Package is sealed and returning and exchanging any itm at Walmart is hassle free, at least in my experience.

Manana, I'll get the 2450mA Nimd Energizers, right?

Thanks for the speedy response, Kalle 

Les

[Olypen]

Hello, lesged:

The C-4000Z is a fine digital camera-- lots of controls and, I think, excellent picture quality-- never mind the 4mp limit; I've had one since it came out.  But-- there's always a "but" -- I've always had a problem with the Nimh rechargeable batteries in it.  Some that were touted online went bad very quickly; the charger that was also touted, I believe now, never worked right and doesn't work at all any more.  Certain tasks, such as close-up pictures, seem to tax the batteries so that the charge just doesn't last very long.  The best luck and the greatest pleasure I've found in using the C-4000Z was with the original lithium CRV3 batteries that Olympus packaged with it.  They're expensive; they do have a long shelf life so my hope is that buying them (I bought Energizer brand on sale at Target) at a good price, as I've done, and having them available for extended use (I don't do that too often because I still use film mainly) is worth it to avoid the agonies of battery problems.  I keep some Nimh AA's recharged for short term use.  That's been my experience; I hope that something in it may be useful to you.

[lesged]

Thanks Olypen, for your valued comments.
,
With your long experience with the C4000Z,* it makes sense to hold onto the set of Energizer Lithium battery I bought today for back up. I already have an Energizer recharger that has worked well with the Energizer Nimd 2100  mA Hybrid AA batteries tat we use in the Canon A720  IS. So I'll spring for the Energizer 2450 mA Nimd batteries tomorrow.

I still work mainly with b&w film, but for color its been strictly digicams for past 5 years.

* What makes it a "Z"?  Or are they all C4000 Zs?

[titrisol]

I got lithium AAs then realized th3ey were not rechargeable ones. Had to get to bocci game so I left with lithium batteries and planned to go back tomorrow if I got advice from NFF. Package is sealed and returning and exchanging any itm at Walmart is hassle free, at least in my experience.

Manana, I'll get the 2450mA Nimd Energizers, right?

Thanks for the speedy response, Kalle  

Les

YES, geth the Ni-MH batteries - Lithiums are cool but expensive
I bought the IKEA brand rechargeables (2100 mAh) and they last quite a lot in the Canon A630 (~2 months) but since I broke the door of the camera thay last less.

[Mike Kovacs]

Hi Les

NiMH has stated many times is the way to go.  The hybrids are nice if they are installed in something that spends a lot of time sitting because they have a much slower rate of self discharge.

To increase the lifetime and performance from the batteries, a proper charger makes a big difference.  I have a very nice Maha smart charger for my AA batteries.  Has the ability to charge/discharge/condition/multiple charge/discharge cycles etc.  It monitors temperature, voltage changes etc to keep your cells in top condition.

http://www.mahaenergy.com/store/viewitem.asp?idproduct=423

[jake]

I have a Lacrosse battery charger. It has (like Mike's does) a refresh routine that allows you to get a set of four batteries (or two) back up to spec, or at least close enough to eek a bit more life out of them.

The best rechargeables I have used are the Eneloop batteries. They are expensive, but they hold a charge exceptionally well in storage & they last longer in my Canon S5 camera than any other batteries I have tried.

We use rechargeables in nearly everything in the house. With two bluetooth keyboards, a couple bluetooth mice, two cameras, a couple radios, and a number of clocks, rechargeables keep the battery disposal down a bit. And when a rechargeable battery dies, I make sure to take it down to Calumet and put it in their recycle bin. Radio Shack has one too I think.

[Olypen]

lesged wrote:
<<* What makes it a "Z"?  Or are they all C4000 Zs?>>

I think that it only meant "zoom". 

Please note that my caution about Nimh rechargeables was specifically directed to the model in question-- Olympus C4000z-- not to the Nimh batteries in general.  The problem with them in the C4000Z was noted by some other users in online posts at the time when the C4000Z was current.

[Ronald Bishop]

Thanks to Les :rolleyes: I now have 3 digitals. Since I bought the Nikon 950 I have 'found' 2 more digi's  They are  Oly Camedias.  a D380 and D490. They all use AA batteries.
  I found out real quick that regualar Alkis don't last long so I went out and bought 4 Energizer s with a charger. That cost me just a little over 19 dollars with tax, then I bought 4 more batteries alone for 11 dollars plus tax. So here I have say 30 dollars invested for batteries for 30 dollars worth of junkstore cameras. {.99= D-380--- $1.99 D-490}
    Now comes the kicker-- Costco has those Enloop  batteries also. The package contains 8 AA batteries, 2 AAA and  charger. There is also things to convert them to be used as C & D batt.
    All for less than 29 dollars.
   The D-490 really takes nice pictures, I havn't downloaded any from the D-360 yet.

[lesged]

Thanks for explaining your personal experience with NiMH batteries and Oly Camedia igicams. At the momont, I'm just loading a new set of four 2450mA NiMH batteries and will use a dedicated Energizer recharger that is designed for  4-AA or AAA or 2 of each . It's the one that collapses into a compact flat square

Where have you found memory cards for these relics? The C4000Z manual didn't mention memory cards over 128MB. The kit I got from Pete came with manual  one 128MB card and 3 16MB cards. I'm going to put up an ad to buy a few 128s or swap for some filters. Will do it after early fishing routine.

Will post recent pic of your gift of driftwood snake who embellishes Claudia nearest patch of small gardens, and protects it from all evil doers of 4 leggged varieties.

BTW was that you in beret in Ranger reunion shot --in Dennis Gallus candid shot thread?

P.S. How did I get involved with you going digital?I forgot or never knew.

You really made a major investment in your Camedia cameras. Almost $3 worth IIRC. What a great sourse of used photo gear you have in your area.

[Ronald Bishop]

P.S. How did I get involved with you going digital?I forgot or never knew.-----------

     My wife and I have an agreement that if I put over $25.00 on my debit card I call her first. Well I did, and she asked me'why do you need another camera?'
     So I told her, 'it is for a friend that I have on the photo site.' --- I was pretty quick on my feet huh?
It was from Goodwill and a little more exspensive.
  The bonus was what I found in the bottom of the box, a new Nikon EN EL1 battery with charger.

     The 950 I believe had never been used, the date in had never been set in it, still read 98/01/01
The Camedias didn't have batteries in them so I bought them on a gamble, I figured I could recoup by selling the cards here, one had a 4mb and the other a 16mb card. But, darn they both work as well as to be exspected.
     On HQ the 380 gts 5 shots with the 4mb and the 490 gets 31 shots at 16 mb.

   BTW was that you in beret in Ranger reunion shot --------
No it is an old friend of mine from way back when.