View Full Version : digital camera: accumulator vs. batteries
Which is more practical for a thru: camera with an accumulator or AA batteries. Are there enough opportunities to recharge along the hike?
thank you,
t.
What's an accumulator? :confused: Geez, I thought I knew my way around this stuff.
Generally you can recharge at every town stop... for most hikers, that's every three to five days. But modern digicams can get excellent battery life. My Canon Powershot (A620) went 6 weeks last summer on a single set of AAs.
doggiebag
06-09-2008, 12:53
I'd stick with the AA batteries. I also made sure my headlamp used the same sized batteries - it makes things so much easier. One less thing to worry about.
Bulldawg
06-09-2008, 13:06
Yeah, whats an accumulator? Only accumulator I know anything about acts as essentially a filter on a refrigerant system such as on a car, house, or freezer. I'd like to know how to make a camera run on a filter?
Yeah, whats an accumulator?
sorry, maybe misusing the term. But I thought accumulator is a rechargeable or storage battery.
I am thinking about getting a camera with this type of battery (as opposed to disposable batteries) but not sure whether it's going to be easy to find places to recharge them.
happy trails,
t.
Bulldawg
06-09-2008, 13:35
Oh, OK. I use Duracell rechargeable batteries AA in my Sony camera. But I only get about two days use out of them. But I am picture crazy. I will take like 75-100 per day then sort them out when I get home. I usually take an extra charged set just in case. But this camera is 4 years old and I am thinking a battery hog.
Tennessee Viking
06-09-2008, 14:25
Well you got three types to actually choose from. Disposables, regular rechargeables, and proprietary rechargeables.
Disposables are cheap but don't usually last long depending on your picture taking. Lithium disposables will generally last a lot longer. Then you got to take in the fact that once they are used, they are dead and you have to carry them out. They are starting to leak more frequently because they are made more cheaply now.
Your regular rechargeables, you will generally will need a set in camera, then probably couple sets of backups, and a small charger. These will last generally longer than your regular disposable battery. With rechargeables, once they die you can recharge them once you get into town. Plus they are getting to take only 15 minutes to fully charge depending on the charger.
Proprietary rechargeable batteries are best in life if its a good brand camera. And can be charged in camera or through USB. But the problem that buying a spare battery is expensive compared to regular rechargeables.
I have a Fujiflim A500, and use the flash a lot. I use AA rechargeables and they last a long time. I can usually get about 200 on a full charge.
Kerosene
06-09-2008, 15:06
I'd bring a spare proprietary battery (< 1 oz), avoid turning the camera on-and-off repeatedly or reviewing all your pictures (or even using the viewfinder without LCD), and avoid excessive optical zooming. Put your recharger in a bounce box and recharge every 1-2 weeks when you hit town.
I think it depends on the camera for battery life. My last 2 cameras used AA's and the battery life sucked even using lithiums. One was a Fuji and the other a Samsung.
My current camera is an Olympus which has a special battery and it seems to last a while but I don't have total proof of that yet.
You need a better camera, you say it's 4 years old? There are tons of cameras today that are more efficient, and will provide you with better images on your thru. Ditch it.
I prefer cameras with lithium ion batteries, as they are more efficient than AA's. But AA's might be a better choice on a thru hike as they will be easy to find along the way.
doggiebag
06-09-2008, 15:33
I used an old Nikon Coolpix L-10 that used AA batteries. It was a solid little camera that took a lot of abuse. One feature that I wished it had was a regular viewfinder, which should allow picture taking without the LCD screen sucking up power. I also learned to make sure that the camera didn't turn on accidentally when I packed it into a overfilled pack. Try as I may to conserve the batteries I have a hard time not viewing all the pictures I took during the day when I'm just lying in the hammock at night. It's really a lot of fun.
bigcranky
06-09-2008, 16:35
The proprietary rechargeables have gotten a lot better, and the chargers are smaller and lighter. I carry a spare battery and the charger, though you could bounce the charger if it's too big.
Plenty of places to plug in a charger -- but please ask first.
Pedaling Fool
06-09-2008, 16:49
Which is more practical for a thru: camera with an accumulator or AA batteries. Are there enough opportunities to recharge along the hike?
thank you,
t.
I was going to be a smartass with this wiki link (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrochemical_cell), but to my surprise there was a disambiguation page for accumulator. I thought I knew what an accumulator was from all my work around hydraulic/pneumatic systems, but what the hell do I know.
I use "accumulators" all the time at home in my camera and everything else, but when on the trail for long periods I use alkalines. Just a matter of convience. Also when the alkalines die they're not really dead. I've found that I can use the "dead" batteries for reviewing pics/deleting unwanted pics, ect... I can even use the "dead" batteries in my radio, because it uses so much less power than my camera.
Cool AT Breeze
06-09-2008, 17:55
My camera used 2 sets of AA litheum batteries 11 weeks on the trail.458 pictures and showing anybody who wanted to see them.
mkmangold
06-09-2008, 19:44
Which is more practical for a thru: camera with an accumulator or AA batteries. Are there enough opportunities to recharge along the hike?
thank you,
t.
Tanya: I'm leaning into something green along those lines. I have a Woodgas Stove that has a fan that runs off of either two AA batteries or directly off of a solar panel. The panel also happens to charge 2 AA batteries at a time.
My digital camera also runs on 2 AA batteries and I just bought a headlamp that uses 2 AA batteries. This way I can always trickle-charge two batteries during the day and then use them as needed.
IMO, a recharger in a bounce box and rechargeable AA (or AAA) NiMH batteries is the best of all worlds. If you somehow miss your bounce box, you're still covered at the next town stop. In the worst case, you carry the weight of the depleted battery until you meet up with the charger again.
LIhikers
06-10-2008, 07:35
I have, and hike with, a Cannon A630 that uses 4 AA batteries. This past winter, during a camping trip where the temperatures ranged from -25 to 20, I took a little more than 500 photos in 5 days on one set of batteries. Even then the AA batteries weren't dead and I used them for a while at home. I think the mileage you get on your camera batteries comes down to the camera itself, and to a lesser extent, how you set it's various options and adjustments.
If I were you I'd spend some time reading camera reviews paying particular attention to comments about battery life.
deeddawg
06-10-2008, 07:44
IMHO it really depends. Consider that for a Canon SD870 camera, the battery charger weighs 2.2oz (complete). The camera's rechargeable battery weighs 0.8oz. Compare that to the weight of two AA NiMH rechargeable at 2.0oz (total).
I carried a spare battery on my week long Smoky's hike but never needed it; barely got 1/3 the way through the first battery.
IMHO it really depends. Consider that for a Canon SD870 camera, the battery charger weighs 2.2oz (complete). The camera's rechargeable battery weighs 0.8oz. Compare that to the weight of two AA NiMH rechargeable at 2.0oz (total).
I carried a spare battery on my week long Smoky's hike but never needed it; barely got 1/3 the way through the first battery.
I have the SD 900 one and carry the miniscule charger and a spare Canon model-specific rechargeable battery and seldom use the spare even, it lasts that long-and I always use the large screen too, which consumes battery life. I would guess I could take 200-300 pics before changing out the battery. Personally, I would not want a model requiring AA bats because it would not seem to be as efficient. I would have to take too many spares. I dont carry a headlamp at all, either, that might require them.
Canon SD 900............................................... .....0.36 Lb.
SD 1 GB card $ spare Canon Rechargeable battery....0.06 Lb.
Canon recharger/Canon battery.............................0.14 Lb
Total............................................. ...................0.56 Lb
With full charge when I set out I can take or so 500 photos before needing a recharge, carrying slightly more than 8 ounces, so, carrying spare AA batteries likely would be heavier, and not as efficient-for me, anyway.
BobTheBuilder
06-10-2008, 08:49
I keep checking this thread to see if anyone knows of a digital camera that uses AAA batteries, so maybe I should just ask. Does anybody know of such a creature? It makes sense to me, but I can't seem to find one.
deeddawg
06-10-2008, 09:20
You might look through the camera database at www.dpreview.com and/or ask on the forums over there. I've never heard of any that use AAA's though, just AA's or proprietary battery packs.
Thank you all for the input. Since it sounds that it's not going to be a problem to find sources of power along the way, I think I'll go with the rechargeables.
Thanks again, guys, and happy trails,
t.
Just avoid taking low-light pictures that require the flash. The flash will drain the batteries very quickly!