Pink Digital Camera Guide

The type of battery accepted is an important aspect of a digital camera – who wants to be stuck at a famous landmark or life-changing event with a dead camera and no back up available?

Proprietary Rechargeable Batteries
Some cameras only accept a proprietary (i.e. their own brand, usually with names like LI-60B, NB-4L, etc.) rechargeable battery (included with the camera). While those batteries work really well, you need to order at least one extra battery for backup and make sure to plan ahead so you have at least one of them charged. If you run out of power in the middle of nowhere (i.e. without electrical outlets to plug the charger into), you’re out of luck. (I have to add here that there are a few solar powered chargers on the market which you could use in that type of situation, but that also means buying and carrying one more piece of equipment).

AA
Others use standard AA batteries (lithium, alkaline or oxyride). The advantage of this is that they are relatively inexpensive, easy to carry along, and are available all over the world (convenient if you travel to remote places or less developed countries without electricity). On the downside, none of these is rechargeable, and alkaline batteries in particular won’t last you very long. Lithiums last longer, but are also more expensive. Oxyrides cost a little bit more than lithiums, but last almost twice as long as regular alkaline. In the end, even though this is convenient, it’s not particularly environmentally friendly, and the cost of batteries adds up. The best use for AA batteries is as a backup.

NiMH
A better choice is rechargeable batteries (AA batteries known as NiMH). Not only are they (and the charger) inexpensive, they last longer than any of the other AA batteries, and you can recharge them hundreds of times. Cons? See proprietary rechargeable batteries above, plus, if they sit around unused for a while, they discharge a little bit of their power every day.

AC Adapters
No camera comes with the AC adapter as the sole choice of power supply (thankfully!). When is it useful? One situation that comes to mind is when doing still life photography in your home, (but even then, being tied to an outlet is annoying). It really does come in handy though when downloading photos to your computer, or while watching them (or your recorded movies) on TV, in order to preserve the batteries in your camera.

Docking Stations
Not quite a power supply, docking stations (available for some cameras) allow you to charge your camera while transferring photos to a hard drive.

Multi-choice
There are, however, many cameras that give you the choice of several different power options. Use either regular AA batteries (alkaline, lithium, oxyride or NiMH), a proprietary rechargeable battery or an AC adapter kit – it’s up to you. We’d suggest using the proprietary rechargeable battery as your standard choice, but keep AA batteries on hand for emergencies. Some also have the added convenience of being able to be charged though a laptop or desktop computer.

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