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 Author
Steve 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.
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