Energizer NiMH 2500MAh 4 pack with wall charger at WalMart for $17-18. An additional 4-pack of cells only $9-10.
Folks will rave over the high end chargers/cells - but believe me, this will do you fine. I took over 500 shots with the first set over a one week period, they still had juice and I hadn't even touched the second set.
The wall charger is an "overnight" type - but it is much more compact than the "highspeed" type with the cord. I don't have a problem with overnight considering how long the batteries take to use up in the first place.
Ciao!
Canon S2 w Raynox DCR1540PRO 1.54X Teleconverter
Hoya UV, Hoya Polarizer on Lensmate Attachments
Tamrac 5683 with Tamrac SAS Med Lens Case
Another vote for the Energizer 2500MAh's. I got a pack of 4 at Walmart with charger for around $20, and they're worth their weight in gold . I used them in my Canon S1 (not sure how it compares t the S3 as far as power consumption), but I took them to my trip to England last January and got around 350 shots with them in VERY cold weather (I remember reading somewhere that battery life is cut short in colder weather, not sure how accurate that is).
I have a variety of batteries and have several chargers. The best I have was bought in Fnac in Brussels but won't work on the infereor US power supply. It works fine in Europe though as well as Britain (with a plug adaptor). My cheap WalMart charger works but I don't think it does the batteries too much good. Whether a premium charger is cost justifiable, I don't know. My AAs still work after several years. The cost of replacing them several times over might still not equal the cost of a premium charger.
I'm thinking of buying one of these. On the box it says it takes 8 hours to charge. Does it have to be consecutive hours? For example, overnight like you say? Or can you fully charge them in 4 two-hour intervals?
AA size NiMh cell brands commonly found in discount chains have been charged using different low to higher price chargers ($15 to $30 range).
Reply here is based on experience with two different types of chargers which appear to make a big difference in how fully charged cells become.
One type of charger charges two or four cells at a time. Each group of cells receives the same charge even if one or more cells require less charge.
A more expensive charger is the type which has a separate internal computer controlled charge circuit for each cell. This type of charger charges each cell based on that cell's charge needs and halts cell charging one by one.
Another charger observation which camera use seems to bear out is that chargers made when 1600 and 1800 mAh cells were standard might not fully charge newer cells with over 2000 mAh capacity (experience opinion not supported by formal testing).
Given a choice of cells from well known companies and a good charger, the choice would be individual cell type charger designed for high capacity cells.
Attached is a recently rediscovered photo of a charger which is still used for individual cell charging of cells of 2000 mAh capacity or less. The fan shown has been moved to a newer Quantaray 60 Minute Charger, Microprocessor Controlled, which came with 2500 mAh cells and features individual cell charging (cost about $30 plus tax). Fan is a solution used to lower cell temperatures while charging and is shown as a "what we will do to pursue this hobby" item of possible interest.
Manually switch between 100 minute fast charge and 5 hour gentle charge
The Maha PowerEx MH-C401FS is also the first battery charger on the market to offer the choice between a 100-minute rapid charge and a slower, gentler 5-hour charge, both driven by a microprocessor termination control to prevent overcharge. Accomplished by simply flipping a switch, the 5 hour gentle charge achieves ultra-cool charging when charging time is not crucial.
Four Independent Charging Circuits
Unlike some ultra-fast battery chargers on the market, the MH-C401FS battery charger has four independently controlled channels to charge and monitor each rechargeable battery individually. This allows each rechargeable battery to be charged to its full potential without risk of overcharging. The charger can charge one, two, three or four rechargeable batteries and can charge any brand of NiMH AA or AAA size rechargeable batteries. Fully recharges high capacity rechargeable batteries.. regardless of the batteries capacity and will recharge even the higher capacity rechargeable batteries of the future..
I just bought a nifty little charger. It'll only charge AA batteries and it cost me $80 together with 4x AA batteries but it charges in 10 minutes and includes a cooling fan. It charges each cell individually, claims to charge to 95% and even reconditions the cells. It's called a ProMaster XtraPowerExpress. Bonus - it'll work on 240v and 110v so I can use it to travel. Double bouns - it has a plug-in transformer which means that if you can get an appropriate cable you might be able to run it from a car cigarette lighter socket.
10 minutes, wow. Even if it shortens the life of the cells it's probably worth it. Do you have to use the cells that came with it or can you use any? And what is the capacity of the included cells?
. I used them in my Canon S1 (not sure how it compares t the S3 as far as power consumption), but I took them to my trip to England last January and got around 350 shots with them in VERY cold weather (I remember reading somewhere that battery life is cut short in colder weather, not sure how accurate that is).
Originally Posted by TampaJim
