Battery recommendations?

[roboboticus]

I bought a Kodak EasyShare CX7525 (used) on craigslist about a year ago. The camera itself has been great and is perfectly suited to my needs, but the battery situation is a real drag. It came with a rechargeable battery pack (2 AA Ni-MH batteries bound together) and a printer dock you set the camera on to charge. Unfortunately, the battery pack seems to be on its last legs and only holds a charge for a couple hours, if that. Also since I never use the printer function, the dock is basically a charger that's too big for travel.

It looks like buying some new rechargeable batteries and a charger could cost more than I paid for the camera ($20), so I'd like to make sure I get something decent. The Kodak takes Ni-MH rechargeables. Any recommendations on a good charger and a good brand of rechargeable batteries?

Also, would it make more sense to go with non-rechargeable batteries? The manual says my camera won't take alkalines, but it will take CRV3 lithium, AA lithium, and AA Kodak digital camera batteries.

 

[superbleu]

Ivan any of these would work well. Costco sometimes sells the Enloops at good prices, http://www.thomasdistributing.com/s...41_142.html?osCsid=a98rm8a91donrsllit8gi3gna7

for chargers
not cheap, but if you want the best... and yes it will cost more than you paid for the camera. link

 

[xillion]

+1 on Eneloops, a great long lasting rechargeable.

 

[MacBraun]

+2 on the eneloops. I've had several for my DSLR and they are awesome. The camera has sat unused for over a year and I still had enough charge for a few hundred shots.

 

[roboboticus]

Nice. Thanks for the recommendations. So, I'm looking at those Eneloop batteries, and trying to find a decent charger that won't run me $50
I don't need the best, just decent. From what I've read, it sounds like a slow charger would squeeze more recharge cycles out of the batteries than a quick-charge unit would, and the ability to charge cells individually is desirable. Still looking around for something that fits the bill.

 

[roboboticus]

hmm... I'm thinking the Sanyo Eneloop 2 battery charger looks like a good choice at around $12. Plus $10 for a 4-pack of Eneloops and I'll have 6 batteries to juggle.

 

[roboboticus]

I might still invest the money in a smart charger. I'm not very concerned with being able to charge quickly, as long as I can charge accurately. Still taking suggestions.

 

[malocchio]

if you can wait a few weeks for delivery , dealextreme.com has many chargers and batteries to choose from....low low prices.I have purchased 4 sets from them....also try batteryjunction.com...

 

[jadormdrache]

http://www.adorama.com/SearchSite/Default.aspx?searchinfo=GP%20recyko

Pretty good prices on Precharged Batteries.
also if you want a Smart charger without spending the money on the Wizard
you could go for http://www.amazon.com/Crosse-Technology-BC-700-Battery-Charger/dp/B000RSOV50

I personally have the BC-900 from the same company and it hasn't even caught fire yet!


http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/forumdisplay.php?f=9

 

[roboboticus]

Wow, candlepowerforums is a great resource for this stuff. I ended up getting a small smart charger (Titanium TG-2800) and some Eneloops. Got it at batteryjunction shipped for about $32.

I almost got that $25 La Crosse charger. Hope I made the right decision. I just can't wait to have charged batteries handy for my camera. SOTD, here I come

 

[jadormdrache]

The Titanium looks good, reminds me of the old Sony charger(the one with the orange LCD). The individual charging circuits is the most important thing.

 

[StillShaving]

Another recommendation for eneloop, they are the best that I have used by far. Even though their amp-hours were rated slightly less than others, they last significantly longer in my digital camera. It might be a a slight exaggeration to say, but I felt they lasted twice as long as the next best AA rechargeables I tried.

I have used the batteries below for 2+ years in cameras, mice, keyboards, and other electronic gadgets. I have not taken any precise or controlled measurements, so this is a bit subjective, but I would rate them in this best to worst order:

1. Eneloop - clear leader. I plan to buy more.

2. Rayovac Hybrid. These will do okay if you don't take a lot of pictures at the same time, especially with flash, I have put these through roughly 20 recharges and noticed the camera will start indicating low battery sooner than when they were new, especially if taking lots of shots. If you let them rest a little in between they seem to keep going a while. Not a bad product, I have been satisfied with them. I like the charger as it is 120-240V compatible. The eneloop charger I have is only 120V, but I believe the new one is now universal as well.

3. Kodak
Kodak approaches the performance of the Rayovac, but have been through far fewer recharge cycles, so difficult for me to get a good read on them.

4. Duracell was the absolute worse I have tried. After a few recharges I threw them out:

 

[roboboticus]

Thanks for the detailed reviews.
Got my 4-pack of eneloops and Titanium TG-2800 charger in the mail today (batteryjunction had very reasonable shipping, and priority was only 10 cents extra). Can't wait to use my camera!

 

[johnmrson]

Another vote for the Eneloop.

 

[roboboticus]

The Eneloops have been great! I've been using my camera on and off for about a week, and haven't even begun to run out of juice. As for the charger, it's hard to say. Aside from topping off the batteries out of the box, I haven't had occasion to use it yet