Charge!

I did get a bit of blowback on the topic of the Hahnel battery charger I wrote about. Some people feel it’s not a very good solution. Their reasons varied. Mine came, and I’m pleased with it, as I was pleased with the last one. But of course I’m not in charge of anyone else's choices. Everybody owns their own photography. For one thing, I don’t travel away from home every year—so it’s no wonder if I’m not the latest word on travel solutions. I haven’t been on an airplane in this decade. Transporting a one-pound battery charger in my aging Acura does not pose a weight problem.

I am curious as to the question of whether chargers with two contacts are actually inferior to OEM chargers that have four, because supposedly the extra two manage overheating. I put calls in to several manufacturers and even to Underwriter’s Laboratory, but so far, nuthin’. It’s unlikely I’d get through to anyone who really knows the answers anyway. Is it not possible that the base brick of the Hahnel manages overheating? I suppose I’ll never know. Most company contacts these days seem to be trained employees who are briefed on the most frequently asked questions but don’t have deep knowledge of the product. At least that’s better than Kodak in the old days. With them, if you were persistent, you could get through to the person who had the deep knowledge, but then they’d decline to speak to you on the theory that they might not have corporate permission to do so. (Friday afternoons were the best time to call. People were a little more relaxed with the weekend coming up. The most loose-lipped were employees who had just been fired! I kept my antennae tuned for those folks.) But I wish I could have back all the hours I’ve spent on the telephone in my life trying to wrangle information out of recalcitrant corporate employees. And so it goes.

While we’re still on the topic, let me just say that I have really liked and appreciated the newfangled more powerful batteries such as the Sony NP-FZ100 2280 mAh for the Sony Alpha a9 II, a9, a7R IV, a7R III, a7 III, a6600, and a6700, and the Fujifilm NP-W235 2200 mAh for the Fujifilm GFX100 II, GFX 100S, GFX 50S II, X-H2S, X-H2, X-T5, X-T4, and X-S20. The extra life per charge is luxurious.

Anyway, you do you. But if I could step back and offer a more basic and general recommendation, look into batteries and chargers when researching a purchase—it’s a pesky and involved process, but it might save you a little extra efficiency, capability, and even a little dab o’ cash along your journey. Mike drop!

Mike

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[darlene]

"Anyway, you do you."

When my boyfriend says that, it reassures me of his patience and respect for my individuality, even during tricky conversations. Now, I say it to him sometimes, too—it’s our gentle way of reminding each other that we don't always have to agree. Relationships can be challenging, but these small gestures keep things light and loving.

See, Michael, you write about human communication in such a positive way! Bet you didn't see that coming. ;.)

I'm glad the battery chargers are working well! I have an older dual Hahnel charger that came with my P45 back in 2011, and it's still going strong. However, I might go for the Fujifilm one next—I've added it to my B&H wish list for a future purchase. Thanks for the recommendation!

[Scott]

Each of my cameras will charge their batteries, so rarely need to use the external charger anymore. So while I bring a cheapo usb charger when I travel, I can’t remember the last time I usd it.

[Adam Isler]

I’m with you Mike. When I moved to England a couple years ago the USPS lost the box with my Fuji NP-W235 dual charger for my X-T4 and the older one for my X-T3 batteries so I bought a Hahnel cube. It’s no harder to pack than the other 2 chargers, the triple USB cable lets me charge other devices as well and I can change the plug to whatever country I’m in without lugging a converter. Plus, I can re-charge my AA rechargeables and there’s a readout in front that tells me the status of everything. Could hardly be better!

[Stephen S.]

I have not disassembled a Hahnel charger, but I have disassembled and inspected quite a few, and so far the only one I've ever found to have a temperature sensor inside it was from a company called Nitecore.

That being said... a temperature sensor inside a battery will detect a dangerous rise in temperature inside a battery far, far faster than a temperature sensor that is trying to detect the temperature of a battery through the casing of the battery, and then through the casing of the charger. By the time the sensor inside the charger can measure excessive heat, it's too late, and thermal runaway has already started.

[ASW]

No recommendation can possibly be right for every person. Doesn't matter if you're talking about cars, battery chargers, husbands or wives, pets, health care plans, or even... computer keyboards.

You can only write about the things that work for you and (at some level) interest you. I would never come to TOP expecting a review of the latest heavy-duty diesel dually trucks from Ford, GM, and RAM, despite the fact that those are the right vehicles for some (small) subset of the population.

[Moose]

Ken Rockwell:
"Battery life is excellent. I can't run it down in a day. I typically get about 1,000 shots per charge.

Like all mirrorless cameras I get fewer shots if I fiddle around in settings and play and zoom each shot. I might only get the rated 520 shots if I play with each shot, and I get thousands of shots if I blaze away in continuous bursts with the electronic shutter, rarely adjusting or playing."

I quote him 'cause he's famous and I'm not. But - what he said.

The move from Oly E-M1 II to OM-1 involves some sort of battery magic. I dutifully bought extra batteries, one for each body; I've always needed extras. I have yet to need one for the OM-1 bodies.

As much of my photography involves e-shutter bursts, focus stacking and bursts of ProCap capturing of critter movement, battery life seems endless. The camera comes with a PD 27 watt AC to USB-C adapter and a cable from that to the camera where the battery charges in body. Again, based on past experience, I have the two bay separate charger. Most people wouldn't need one.

[G Dan Mitchell]

FWIW, my approach to travel charging has changed over the years. At one time I carried the OEM charges and power adapters.

Later I got several of the very small USB-powered chargers. (The impetus was some long backcountry photography trips where we charged using solar power systems.) These cheap little adapters have worked beautifully for me. They are simple, tiny, and run off of any USB power source, so I don’t have to carry a separate charger for the batteries.

More recently, I’ve taken to carrying three batteries on international trips and simply charging them in the camera via USB. (I usually travel with a small Fujifilm system.) This literally requires NO specialized added gear at all since I already have the power adapter for my other devices, and I just need to cable it to the camera.

[Dave]

You could use the FCC ID number (on the battery charger) to search for submitted papers, drawings, etc. at this site:

https://apps.fcc.gov/oetcf/eas/reports/ApplicationStatusSearch.cfm

[Joseph Kashi]

I've only used basic 3rd party chargers that plug into the wall socket or dual battery USB chargers, mostly Wasabi Power branded when they were around. These were fairly good quality, more convenient, and much less expensive than the OEM Olympus and Pentax batteries and corded chargers.

However, I did notice that a few BLN-1 batteries for Olympus bodies, mostly third-party makes, would later swell just enough that they would not easily eject from the camera, a potential problem. I never had that problem with Pentax-branded batteries.

The cause of this problem finally made sense to me today after reading today's very useful discussion today about thermal issues with inexpensive chargers, and perhaps third-party batteries. Thank you.

[Matt O'Brien]

Some time back I was shooting in Death Valley and staying in Beatty. It was Christmas time and snowing heavy in Beatty. Returning from Death Valley to my hotel room I did my usual routine of charging my batteries immediately. I was using both a Canon charger and a well known 3rd party brand. I then crossed the street to grab some food. Returning approx 45 mins later, I opened my hotel room to see that the 3rd party charger plus battery was smoking heavily. I had arrived back just in time. On my return to Ireland I reported the incident directly to the maker of the charger. I never got a response. I now travel with 2 original camera maker chargers, both with very short cables. I use these while charging batteries unsupervised.

I also travel with a Nitecore dual charger, which I can use in cars, boats and from other portable power sources, but never use this unattended.

There is a rumour that Sony may launch a dual battery charger. Hopefully this will also have dual usb c charging ports. I am watching for developments in this area.

[Charlie E]

I was recently trying to diagnose an issue with an expensive power tool battery and I learned that the additional pins were to enable the charger to intelligently manage battery health through adjusting the rate of charge and discharge. I don't know if this is the same for camera batteries, but it may be.

Turns out the battery needed a bit of 'percussive maintenance', i.e. I hit it with a rubber mallet and then it worked.

[Bob Johnston]

Matts experience is troubling, but having said that, I am certain that the extra contacts are most important when the battery is in the camera, discharging.

[Stephen S.]

To Joseph Kashi: genuine batteries can also swell, but if you've ever cracked open genuine and third-party batteries, you immediately notice that the third-party batteries use thinner plastic for the casing, and the two halves aren't stuck together as well, so given the exact same swelling of the cells inside, the third-party batteries are far more likely to swell on the outside and get stuck in your camera.

To Charlie E: nearly all genuine chargers will switch between two different charging methods as a battery approaches being full: constant current and constant voltage. Nearly all third-party batteries only use one of these methods, so they either brute-force the battery to full charge despite increased resistance, with increased heat and increased risk of thermal runaway, or they simply stop charging sooner and won't charge a battery as fully as a genuine charger.

To Bob Johnston: the temperature contact is actually most important during charging, and often ignored during discharging. This is easily seen with Fujifilm cameras, where the cameras that can't charge the battery in-game don't even have a contact for the battery's T terminal, and then the models that introduced in-game charging added that contact in the camera. Batteries do heat up when in use, but heat up far more, and are at far greater risk of thermal runaway during charging. You'll pretty much only hear of camera batteries, "hoverboards," e-scooters, and phones, catching fire during charging.

[Dennis Ng]

Use charger and batteries from 3rd source but these days I just use a plastic bag to group original charger for my hasselblad, z9, z-dx triplet and z50 ii soon plus d500, Panasonic, sony, sigma triplet, Olympus, …

It last longer or more reliable.