wanted: alternative portable power source for minolta dimage Xi

Hello.
Since a year or so, I have a minolta dimage Xi.
My major grievances with this camera are the lack of a macro mode (you
need
at least 30 cm from a subject to get it in sharp focus) and the poor
battery
life of the proprietary lithium-ion rechargeables.
I was wondering if anybody knows of any alternative powersource that
might
be used in stead of the rechargable batteries via the DC 4.7 v power
jack.
Perhaps solar power or a device that can employ manually generated
power (like those cranking devices that can be used to power mobile
phones manually).
Any suggestions or feeback is welcome and appreciated. Kind regards
and thanks in advance, Niek

(name) writes:

Since a year or so, I have a minolta dimage Xi.
My major grievances with this camera are the lack of a macro mode (you need
at least 30 cm from a subject to get it in sharp focus) and the poor
battery life of the proprietary lithium-ion rechargeables.
I was wondering if anybody knows of any alternative powersource that
might be used in stead of the rechargable batteries via the DC 4.7 v power
jack.

Yes, but it will be larger and heavier. About the lightest and smallest
external supply I can think of would be three lithium AA cells in series
in some sort of battery holder. But they're expensive and not
rechargeable.

Designing a system using LiIon batteries is probably beyond most
people's ability to do safely, so if you want a rechargeable system the
choices are NiMH or lead-acid. Four NiMH cells in series probably
provides a stable enough voltage to power the camera, but you'll need
a way to recharge them. On the plus side, they can be recharged fast.

Lead-acid batteries are cheap for their energy content, but they're heavy
and you'll probably need a voltage regulator to drop the 5.25-7.2 V from
a "6V" lead-acid battery down to near 4.7 V.

Perhaps solar power or a device that can employ manually generated
power (like those cranking devices that can be used to power mobile
phones manually).

Neither of these is suitable for powering a camera directly. Digital
cameras draw large peak currents, particularly when recharging the
flash: something like 1.5 A is not unusual. The size of solar panel
that can provide 1.5 A, particularly in less than full sunlight, would
be too large to carry in most circumstances. And sometimes it's dark.
You might be able to use solar power to recharge a set of rechargeable
batteries, which can then provide the peak current needed. Then the
solar panel provides only the average current, which might be quite
small if you don't shoot too many photos a day.

However, I can't see the point in buying an ultra-compact camera and
then attaching any external battery pack to it, making the whole thing
large and awkward. You'd be better off with a slightly larger camera
with a bigger battery so you can use the camera "untethered".

Dave