Batteries for the cold climate???

[Abbe Osram]

Hi Guys,
I have a small Olympus C-1 digital camera and would like to find some very good re-chargeable batteries I can use in our cold climate here.
The picture I did last time in the forest where made in minus 23 degrees and I could only shoot about 6 pictures before my fully charged Ni-Mh type AA 1.2 V Batteries gave up their life.

http://web.telia.com/~u18313429/

I was careful to have all my reserve batteries near to my body to keep them warm but out in the open when I re-loaded my camera they lasted only for about 6 shoots and where dead.
Do you guys have had that kind of problem? What kind of batterie could be good for me keeping their power in arctic climate?

thanks
Abbe
:chill:

 

[Adi007]

Cold conditions really hits batteries. The best batteries for low temperature work are (unfortunately, from a cost point of view and being throw-away) are lithium batteries. Energizer make AAs in this size. Here in the UK they are pricey (about £5 for two) but they do last a long time compared to even high quality alkaline batteries.

What power AAs do you use (measured in mAh)? The higher the rating, the better the performance should be. I find that anything less than 1750 mAh suffers badly, while 2300 - 2500 mAh will perform better.

The other alternative is to rig you camera to work off a small 6v/12v lead acid battery that you could wear on your belt. Depends what inputs your camera has.

Hope this helps!

 

[Abbe Osram]

Thanks adi!

My batteries are B-01E type AA 1.2 B 1450 mAH Nickel-Metal Hydride Battery.

I have no idea if they are good or suck but they really let me down, not only in the cold but the screen of the Olympus sucks the life out of them even in warm and cozy conditions, I have to find something better or I get nuts.

Otherwise I enjoy the little camera for its easy snap shots but the energy problem is my biggest pain.

cheers
Abbe

 

[Gary]

Abbe - Monty Alford recommends Alkaline batteries and that you keep them warm (inside your layers!

Might be worth a try.

In the army we often boosted cold weak batteries by 'heating them up on the APC engine covers, and the trappers I visted with last year kept their batteries warm on a shelf above the stove.

 

[Adi007]

1450 mAh NiMH are quite low powered for what you are trying to use them for. Ideally, with a digital camera you need more powerful batteries.

Take a look at these for example: http://www.7dayshop.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=777_5_503&products_id=99087

 

[Abbe Osram]

Thank you all,
I believe mine where simply to weak, I will buy the batteries you suggested.
Thanks a lot for the help guys!


cheers
Abbe

 

[Adi007]

Thank you all,
I believe mine where simply to weak, I will buy the batteries you suggested.
Thanks a lot for the help guys!


cheers
Abbe

Look out for good deals of 4 bateries on a fast charger - the 7dayshop site do a good one (we use them!) that you can use at home and in the car and it charges the batteris up in about 1 - 2 hours.

 

[Adi007]

Abbe - Monty Alford recommends Alkaline batteries and that you keep them warm (inside your layers!

Might be worth a try.

In the army we often boosted cold weak batteries by 'heating them up on the APC engine covers, and the trappers I visted with last year kept their batteries warm on a shelf above the stove.

Lithium are best for cold climates, followed by alkaline batteries - but the problem is that good ones are like a fiver for 4 - they're both expensive and a crime against the planet.

I have NiMH (I now only use old NiCd batteries in low drain stuff) that are years old that are going strong and have paid for themselves many, many, many times over. In summer I make use of solar chargers to keep them going too!

 

[Gary]

I've no idea mate, I live in the sunny south not the frozen north like Abbe and none of my outdoor kit is battery operated (except my micro torch)

RE- MONTY Alford, I'm just quoting a source Abbe knows and can follow up on as I know he has read him.

However as for warming them up I'm speaking from experience. Lithium maybe the mutts nuts but as with most things, the further you get from the local Tesco's or pc world the more limited your choices are. The guys in Canada used what they had available to them as did we as soldiers.

Personally if the batteries for anything I had to use in the field cost £5 a time I'd go without it and learn to use an alternative means because two weeks out from wherever you'd either need to carry a load of heavy batteries or a re-mortgage!

 

[Adi007]

Another point on warming batteries ... anything over 25 deg C dramatically increases the risk of non-rechargeable batteries splitting and spewing corrosive gunge all over the innards of the device.

Rechargeables are designed to cope with higher temperatures and have a gas escape valve at the top (you can see the little holes at the positive terminal).

If I were powering an old issue torch I'd take the risk of heating the batteries but not a dig-cam!

I agree about humping batteries around - but if you want to use a dig-cam, then you need batteries of one sort or another!

 

[arctic hobo]

I know a photographer who is often in the arctic, and he keeps his batteries in his crotch (one of the warmest places on your body) when he's not using his camera, and he has a special chemical heat pad that goes around the battery of his camera. I don't know if it's specially made for cameras or if you must make your own, but he says it's very good as it keeps your hand warm too so you can press those fiddly buttons. :biggthump

 

[Abbe Osram]

Hi boys
:You_Rock_
I am really happy about all info you guys share with me.
I am sure now that I got some batteries which are much to weak for my camera, so the first step will be to get the batteries Adi showed me in the webadress.

I am pretty sure that I will be much better off with them than with my old onces. And I will get myself a new and better charger, I have a very old one which need to load 8 hours and doesn't work with the charger in the car. It was good that you pointed that out to me Adi, so I remember to watch out for that too, I would have forgotten that point.

Thanks to all of you
Abbe