External Power supply

[PierreL]

Is there a DC external power supply that would fit the EOS300D? There is one AC one but I try to find large capacity power supply for a trek of over three weeks away from any form of supply (AC, Car, Bike, and solar not very reliable).
Thanks,
Pierre

[Panza]

I can imagine that storage will be a problem too.. Maybe before the batteries run out.
Regarding the batteries I think I would have brought with me as many of the standard batteries as I could afford to carry. you get several hundred shots on one battery so you should be able to take lots of pics a day with two batteries a week.

[robertwgross]

I've dealt with this power issue before on mountaineering expeditions.

First of all, try to decide whether you can simply carry enough BP-511 batteries to do the whole trip, or whether you intend to recharge along the way. For most photographers, carrying many BP-511 batteries ends up being the most practical.

If you try to recharge, then you have a few options. First is commercial AC power. Even in remote third-world countries, sometimes you can find a little AC power here or there in the larger villages. Of course, that would require you to have your regular battery charger with you that runs on AC power.

If you can't find predictable AC power, then maybe you can find DC power. Most vehicles have a +12VDC battery, although some use +24VDC. If somebody would let you steal a little battery power at night, that would help. I purchased a small battery charger for BP-511 types that will run on AC power or +12VDC, so I can use vehicle power easily.

If you can't find AC or DC power, then you have the possibility of solar recharging. In general, that is not very practical unless you are going to be semi-permanently based in one place, and you can leave the solar panel out every day to charge up one of your spare batteries (since you will likely be using one battery every day in your camera). Solar panels are a little bit expensive and heavy unless you leave them at one place to do recharging every day, day after day.

If you can't do AC or DC or solar, then you have one more possibility. If you go back to my charger that runs off +12VDC, you could carry your own +12VDC battery, perhaps a sealed lead-acid (SLA) type, and then run the +12VDC charger off that into your BP-511 batteries. That is not a lightweight solution, but it works. Instead of a SLA battery, I saw one guy that built a battery pack out of 12 volts worth of large D-cell batteries, and that worked also.

There are other possibilities yet, like water power and wind power, but they are even less practical.

Been there, done that, read the book, saw the movie!

---Bob Gross---

[PierreL]

Thanks Panza and Bob,

Regarding storage I have enough cards, and with picture storage at least you have a clear idea of the capacity left, you can somehow budget ahead. Batteries are not very user-friendly from that point of view.

I know there won't be AC for three weeks, or most likely unreliable: no power lines, or lines but no current, or current but no socket, or sockets (rare) but inaccessible, or the owner does not want to let you feed since he runs on batteries out of solar power and has no clue that you will drain only little, or, finally, as once happened, one recharge for $5. The latter is OK, after all it is a fair price in the boondocks for a 1500mAh alcaline battery, but not a reliable opportunity.

As for DC then the best is probably the 12V solution Bob talks about. I had carried a 6V battery on a previous trip in Nepal that did good with a cigarlighter combination to the GPS external supply.

I see nothing of the sort for the camera. There is fake battery that goes into the 300D and connnects to a transformer that plugs into the AC socket; if there were a similar combination for DC I would be most happy.

Bob where did you get this "I purchased a small battery charger for BP-511 types that will run on AC power or +12VDC". There are not very practical 12V batteries for sale where I live, but I can put two 6V in series. The weight is no issue. If I can recharge the batteries of my GPS and those of the camera then I am home. For the GPS I have a battery pack that can recharge AAAs and AAs from a 6 or 12V supply. I wished all electronic equipment took these standard batteries.

Thanks,

Pierre

[robertwgross]

As for DC then the best is probably the 12V solution Bob talks about. I had carried a 6V battery on a previous trip in Nepal that did good with a cigarlighter combination to the GPS external supply.


I assume that it is Nepal where you are going this time. A few of the major backcountry villages now have hydroelectric projects to create power. There aren't very many, but it is a start. The AC power is 220V 50Hz, so make sure that your charger will work on that. In some villages, power is distributed to lodges during the daylight hours, and then it is distributed to homes during the night hours. Power is fused very closely to the homes, and is intended only for a few small light bulbs. Carry along a so-called socket adapter. This screws into the standard bulb socket and provides the receptacle for an AC plug. Also, some of the lodges have big solar panels on the roof, so they have +12VDC there. In fact, I watched an outstanding slide show one time at Dingboche, and there is no commercial AC power within miles of that village. The projector had been converted over to run on +12VDC from a battery charged by a solar panel.


Bob where did you get this "I purchased a small battery charger for BP-511 types that will run on AC power or +12VDC". There are not very practical 12V batteries for sale where I live, but I can put two 6V in series. The weight is no issue. If I can recharge the batteries of my GPS and those of the camera then I am home. For the GPS I have a battery pack that can recharge AAAs and AAs from a 6 or 12V supply. I wished all electronic equipment took these standard batteries.

I purchased a small one-slot charger from Green Batteries. It has a power supply so it can plug into AC power, and it has another cord so it plugs into +12VDC also.

My GPS receiver uses standard AA batteries, so I took along two sets of lithium primary batteries, and it runs forever that way.

---Bob Gross---

[PierreL]

Bob, thanks,

yes it is in Nepal again. Already there in April. True the lodges have electricity but I was able to recharge only about 1/3 of the time. Either no current or no socket (they seem to avoid putting those), socket not connected, owner refusing to drain his batteries, or disconnected by someone after I had left. Not very reliable.

As far as socket adapters I had thought of this solution only to discover they were banned from France years ago. Most of the bulbs were not screw but baïonnet in Nepal, just as well, France was on baïonnet when these devices were still frequent in my teens. Maybe I will find one in a flea market? My charger is a 50/60 Hz, 100/240V like most sold internationally, so no problem. I will use this as a backup solution.

Where I go this time there are far less lodges than around the Annapurnas (Dolpo), and when camping the Lodges are not keen to dispense electricity to a non-consumer.

I will look for yr "green" device and carry an external supply with enough mAh in it.

Thanks again,

Pierre