How to feed the hungry Dimage5 ???

[Jester]

Harlo fellows D5 user, just a question on how do you supply enough power to the ever hungry D5? I'm now using sanyo NiMH, but it can last only a few shots. Charging with the sony quick charge seem's a bad idea as if the battery is not fully depleted, it will only charge for 1 hour, which will not fully charge up the batteries. If you suggest using it's own external power supply....eh...that's quite out of reach for me ($400) ...
So anyone got a better power source or a better charger???

 

[007]

Originally posted by Jester
Harlo fellows D5 user, just a question on how do you supply enough power to the ever hungry D5? I'm now using sanyo NiMH, but it can last only a few shots. Charging with the sony quick charge seem's a bad idea as if the battery is not fully depleted, it will only charge for 1 hour, which will not fully charge up the batteries. If you suggest using it's own external power supply....eh...that's quite out of reach for me ($400) ...
So anyone got a better power source or a better charger???

DIY your battery pack leh.
very easy, just need some basic e knowledge.
unless you want to put a microchip in your bat. pack , which is possible if you want to do so.

 

[Jester]

Originally posted by 007


DIY your battery pack leh.
very easy, just need some basic e knowledge.
unless you want to put a microchip in your bat. pack , which is possible if you want to do so.

eh....me not bery gd in e knowledge. :dunno: Can show how???

 

[Flare]

please define your a few shots and what charger are you using? The battery charger is a very important factor in battery performance. Typically you should be able to get around 70 shots or more on a set of 1600. I managed to get over a hundred on a set of 1800. Do you use the LCD alot? try to use the EVF, save a lot of power. I set the auto evf/LCD to switch on evf only so that my LCD is off all the time to conserve power.

And remember, NiMh loses power over time... so if your batt was charged 2 weeks ago... most likely it won't last.

I have 4 sets of batteries (2 set of 1600 and 2 set of 1800). I need only around 2 or at most three fully charged set for a heavy day of shooting.

About the Sony 1 hour charger... it's not actually 1 hour. It charges 2 batteries to full charge in 65 minutes... 4 batteries will take over 2 hours. And the worst part is that its timer base so it'll over charge your batteries if they are not fully depleted. Over charging will damage batteries. Get the Ray-o-vac one, which is quite expensive (over $70) or wait for the GP one (GP smart). Mustafa seems to have a very cheap ($18) smart and fast charger. Many people in the forum uses it. I personally use a VARTA smart charger. Planning on getting the Ray-o-vac or the GP smart. Waiting for the GP Smart to be released.

About a battery pack... Personally I feel that they are too expensive. With the same price I can get enough NiMh to out last any power pack. And I don't like the idea of wrestling with the power pack's cable or increasing the weight of the camera if it's a attach-to-camera type.