Low self-discharge NiMH batteries?

Can anybody relate their experience with the low self-discharge NiMH batteries
out there? In particular, I am interested in the Sony Eneloop and Rayovac
Hybrid batteries which are 2000mAh and 2100mAh respectively.

Please indicate which charger you use with these batteries and if applicable,
how you charge the batteries.

I am asking the question here because photographers tend to be large consumers
of NiMH batteries and that is indeed how I use them in some cases (like my
Nikon SB-600 flash).

I am looking for something more real world, as most of the postings about
these batteries are vague or unclear.

Thanks in advance.


--
Thomas T. Veldhouse
Key Fingerprint: D281 77A5 63EE 82C5 5E68 00E4 7868 0ADC 4EFB 39F0

I have the Eneloops, which I use in my Olympus flash units. They do
hold a charge very well (though even after a few days they like a
little top up), and my sense is that they recycle faster and last
longer in my flash units. I use the Olympus NiMh charger that came
with one of my cameras, and when on the road a small Panasonic quick
charger.

This all said, and in fairness to your question, I have not really
challenged them and so can only be very general.




Please indicate which charger you use with these batteries and if applicable,
how you charge the batteries.

I am asking the question here because photographers tend to be large consumers
of NiMH batteries and that is indeed how I use them in some cases (like my
Nikon SB-600 flash).

I am looking for something more real world, as most of the postings about
these batteries are vague or unclear.

Thanks in advance.

--
Thomas T. Veldhouse
Key Fingerprint: D281 77A5 63EE 82C5 5E68 00E4 7868 0ADC 4EFB 39F0

"Thomas T. Veldhouse" wrote in message
news
Can anybody relate their experience with the low self-discharge NiMH
batteries
out there? In particular, I am interested in the Sony Eneloop and Rayovac
Hybrid batteries which are 2000mAh and 2100mAh respectively.

Please indicate which charger you use with these batteries and if
applicable,
how you charge the batteries.

I am asking the question here because photographers tend to be large
consumers
of NiMH batteries and that is indeed how I use them in some cases (like my
Nikon SB-600 flash).

I am looking for something more real world, as most of the postings about
these batteries are vague or unclear.

Thanks in advance.


--
Thomas T. Veldhouse
Key Fingerprint: D281 77A5 63EE 82C5 5E68 00E4 7868 0ADC 4EFB 39F0



2100mAh Hybrios work fine in my Pentax K100D DSLR, an old Nissin 360TW
flashgun, and an Olympus C750 digicam. It's nice to just 'know' that
they'll be OK when left in the camera/flash for a few weeks even if they had
been well used previously but still had charge left in them. I use a
Uniross smart charger that charges 4 in 2 pairs at 1 amp constant current
for as long as it takes then changes over to a trickle charge of 1 amp
pulsed (about 1 second in 16). I haven't noticed any problems at all with
charging in pairs but I do keep my batteries in sets of 4 and occasionally
discharge them all individually to 1 volt in a home made contraption to keep
them balanced.

Ï "Thomas T. Veldhouse" Ýãñáøå óôï ìÞíõìá
news
Can anybody relate their experience with the low self-discharge NiMH
batteries
out there? In particular, I am interested in the Sony Eneloop and Rayovac
Hybrid batteries which are 2000mAh and 2100mAh respectively.

Please indicate which charger you use with these batteries and if
applicable,
how you charge the batteries.

I am asking the question here because photographers tend to be large
consumers
of NiMH batteries and that is indeed how I use them in some cases (like my
Nikon SB-600 flash).

I am looking for something more real world, as most of the postings about
these batteries are vague or unclear.

Thanks in advance.

I'm not using AAs anymore for my new nytech www.nytech.de has proprietary Li
ion batteries, but I use Sanyo regular NiMHs for my pocket torch which is in
my electrician's toolbox and they have kept their charge for many months.I
have a dumb 150 mA MiNW charger that came with 4 1500 mAh NiMHs that I use
for my little radio at work...That radio with 2 700 mAh Sanyo NiCD run for
2-3 days @ 8hs only....



--
Tzortzakakis Dimitrios
major in electrical engineering
mechanized infantry reservist
dimtzort AT otenet DOT gr

Thomas T. Veldhouse wrote:
Can anybody relate their experience with the low self-discharge NiMH batteries
out there? In particular, I am interested in the Sony Eneloop and Rayovac
Hybrid batteries which are 2000mAh and 2100mAh respectively.

Please indicate which charger you use with these batteries and if applicable,
how you charge the batteries.

I am asking the question here because photographers tend to be large consumers
of NiMH batteries and that is indeed how I use them in some cases (like my
Nikon SB-600 flash).

I am looking for something more real world, as most of the postings about
these batteries are vague or unclear.

Thanks in advance.



This is about as real world as I can get:
Purchased set of 4 Eneloop from Ritz Camera for $12 and put in camera
10/6/06 as is. Camera is Canon A95
Removed/recharged 12/3/06 after 652 shots - mixed flash/no flash, lcd
mostly off.
That's it, currently 81 shots and still in camera.

Purchase 4 Hybrid AAA. Single cell in .mp3 player. Fine with no charge,
less hours than spec calls for with Alkaline. Never tracked Alkalines
carefully but suspect they don't meet spec either.
Charger is 4 cell individual monitored from Green Batteries, but any
charger will do, although this one is relatively inexpensive and works
well. I need to charge single cell at times.
See http://www.greenbatteries.com/nibachwilcdd.html
Dave Cohen

I have been using the Eneloops for a while now. I no longer have to
top them off to assure adequate voltage for my sporadic camera use.
The ones in the camera have been there since January. I have used the
camera about four times since then. I could never do this with 2500mah
Energizer NIMH batteries.

Any charger will do but I have found the best system for me is to just
use a cheap 150ma dumb charger plugged into a timer. Set the timer
for one or two hours a day and forget about it. I use NIMH AA's for
many different household items. I keep them paired and always
have a topped off set ready even if they are just the older NIMH type.

The low self discharge Eneloops that rate at 2000mah are still a
better overall choice than the 2500mah standard NIMH. I still use
the standard NIMH batteries but when it's time to replace them I'll
go with the Eneloops.

On Thu, 24 May 2007 14:26:29 GMT, Thomas T. Veldhouse wrote:

Can anybody relate their experience with the low self-discharge NiMH batteries
out there? In particular, I am interested in the Sony Eneloop and Rayovac
Hybrid batteries which are 2000mAh and 2100mAh respectively.

Please indicate which charger you use with these batteries and if applicable,
how you charge the batteries.

SANYO Eneloop, not Sony. I've been charging mine in a little Sony
charger, though. g But I've also used several other brands of
chargers with no problems. The packaging I've seen in a couple of
places say that they can be charged in any well designed NiMH
charger so there should be no need to get a special charger for
Eneloops or Hybrids or the similar batteries from other battery
manufacturers. They don't need any different charging technique
than regular NiMH batteries either. What you have to avoid is the
same thing that kills all NiCD and NiMH batteries, using them too
long or leaving them in devices that consume appreciable current
even when powered off. Often devices will keep operating even after
the first cell goes flat, and that'll kill it for sure. This is
more likely to happen with cells that aren't closely matched in
capacity, and even cells that are closely matched when new, will get
further and further apart as they age.

FWIW, any halfway decent "smart" charger should do a good job,
with the cheaper, slower chargers heating the cells a bit less, and
so contributing to slightly greater battery life. For those that
like to keep a supply of charged batteries on hand, these slow
chargers are usually adequate, since the batteries don't run down if
they're charged and sit unused for a couple of months. If an
unexpected need for fresh batteries arises, you don't have to pop
the stored batteries back in the charger to insure that they've not
gone flat while sitting unused.


I am asking the question here because photographers tend to be
large consumers of NiMH batteries and that is indeed how I use
them in some cases (like my Nikon SB-600 flash).

It depends on how you use the flash. If you use it heavily, such
that any type of rechargeable battery would have to be recharged at
least every week or two, there would be no need to worry about
battery self-discharge, and you'd be better off with regular, higher
capacity NiMH batteries that would provide many more shots per
charge than Eneloops. Quoting from another message I posted about
an hour ago :

. . . I'll mention some of Nikon's data for its SB-600 flash. The minimum
number of full power flashes given for alkalines is 200, 400 for lithium,
90 for 1,000mAh NiCd and 220 for 2,000mAh NiMH. Since it's hard to
find 2,000mAh NiMH batteries these days, change it to about 300 full
power flashes for today's 2,700mAh batteries.

The Eneloops are a match for the regular 2,000mAh NiMH batteries
mentioned in the manual, so they'd be good for up to about 220
flashes per charge (but *don't* do it - see below). People that
would take at least a couple of months to take that many full power
flash shots would find Eneloops to be a good solution. For this
usage, higher capacity regular NiMH batteries wouldn't be a good
choice since due to self discharge, over several months their total
usable capacity would probably provide a good deal fewer flashes
than the Eneloops.

The SB-600 manual states that the 220 flashes per charge are
achieved when the batteries are used to near exhaustion, when the
recycle time approaches 30 seconds. That's dangerous territory for
rechargeables, which can be damaged if all four cells don't have
very closely matched capacities, and one of them goes flat before
the others. Not a problem for replaceable alkalines, but with NiMH
batteries, I'd replace them with a fresh set when the recycle time
started to exceed about 10 seconds or so.

For your SB-600, whether you'd be better off with a fast or slow
charger depends on the rate you take flash pictures, and if you'd be
snapping away at over 500 shots per day, whether you'd prefer
traveling with one extra set of batteries and a charger, or no
charger, but with 2, 3 or more extra sets of NiMH batteries. Also
note that the type of shooting can make a big difference in battery
requirements. The above is all about taking full power flashes.
For fill flash, the number of flashes available per charge can
increase dramatically, and the batteries might last all day for
close to 1,000 shots without needing to be changed. Here,
experience is the best guide. What works for you won't necessarily
work for others, and vice-versa. It's best to be prepared though,
with plenty of spares batteries and a charger if you're not shooting
for your own personal pleasure.

"Thomas T. Veldhouse" wrote in message
news
Can anybody relate their experience with the low self-discharge NiMH
batteries
out there? In particular, I am interested in the Sony Eneloop and Rayovac
Hybrid batteries which are 2000mAh and 2100mAh respectively.

Please indicate which charger you use with these batteries and if
applicable,
how you charge the batteries.

I am asking the question here because photographers tend to be large
consumers
of NiMH batteries and that is indeed how I use them in some cases (like my
Nikon SB-600 flash).

I am looking for something more real world, as most of the postings about
these batteries are vague or unclear.

Thanks in advance.


--
Thomas T. Veldhouse
Key Fingerprint: D281 77A5 63EE 82C5 5E68 00E4 7868 0ADC 4EFB 39F0


I bought some Rayovac "Hybrids" in January and put them in my two cameras a
few weeks later. It is nearing the end of May and they are still on the
factory charge! AWSOME (Does that get the point across?) I'm not a heavy
camera user. A couple hundred shots on each camera since installing the
Hybrids. Because I shoot 200 shots over a stretch of 3 or 4 months, the
Hybrids are a perfect match for me. If you have to charge your batteries
every 2 or three weeks, the long shelf life batteries may not be ideal. In
that case look for a higher amp hour Ni-Mh.

I saw Target stores have 2AA and 2AAA Hybrids with charger for $10. Don't
know if sale is still good.

These batteries are new technology so the number of recharges and my
question of if the long shelf life will still be effective as the battery
ages is unknown.
John

JohnR66 wrote:
"Thomas T. Veldhouse" wrote in message
news
Can anybody relate their experience with the low self-discharge NiMH
batteries
out there? In particular, I am interested in the Sony Eneloop and Rayovac
Hybrid batteries which are 2000mAh and 2100mAh respectively.

Please indicate which charger you use with these batteries and if
applicable,
how you charge the batteries.

I am asking the question here because photographers tend to be large
consumers
of NiMH batteries and that is indeed how I use them in some cases (like my
Nikon SB-600 flash).

I am looking for something more real world, as most of the postings about
these batteries are vague or unclear.

Thanks in advance.


--
Thomas T. Veldhouse
Key Fingerprint: D281 77A5 63EE 82C5 5E68 00E4 7868 0ADC 4EFB 39F0


I bought some Rayovac "Hybrids" in January and put them in my two cameras a
few weeks later. It is nearing the end of May and they are still on the
factory charge! AWSOME (Does that get the point across?) I'm not a heavy
camera user. A couple hundred shots on each camera since installing the
Hybrids. Because I shoot 200 shots over a stretch of 3 or 4 months, the
Hybrids are a perfect match for me. If you have to charge your batteries
every 2 or three weeks, the long shelf life batteries may not be ideal. In
that case look for a higher amp hour Ni-Mh.

I saw Target stores have 2AA and 2AAA Hybrids with charger for $10. Don't
know if sale is still good.

These batteries are new technology so the number of recharges and my
question of if the long shelf life will still be effective as the battery
ages is unknown.
John



We've all been talking about Eneloop or Hybrid. I noticed one Walmart
had similar Kodak item. Radio Shack also have their version but was more
expensive.
Dave Cohen

Thomas T. Veldhouse wrote:
Can anybody relate their experience with the low self-discharge NiMH batteries
out there? In particular, I am interested in the Sony Eneloop and Rayovac
Hybrid batteries which are 2000mAh and 2100mAh respectively.

Please indicate which charger you use with these batteries and if applicable,
how you charge the batteries.

I am asking the question here because photographers tend to be large consumers
of NiMH batteries and that is indeed how I use them in some cases (like my
Nikon SB-600 flash).

I am looking for something more real world, as most of the postings about
these batteries are vague or unclear.

Thanks in advance.


I bought some Rayovac 2500 mAH last year, and I'm very happy
with them. I've recharged them with inexpensive Kodak and
Energizer chargers.