Batteries for A570IS and 430EX?

[Wolfpack61]

I am a newbie to this forum--newbie to digital but oldie to film. I have the Rebel xti. Want to add an A570IS P&S for my wife and get an 430EX external flash for the xti. In researching POTN posts and other sites there seems to be some tricks to getting the right equipment-battery combinations. We do travel (some international) and scenic photography and don't want to lug three types of batteries around. No choice on the xti batteries but I would appreciate suggestions on the type of AA batteries that work well in both the A570IS and 430EX.

Thanks for any help.

[_aravena]

You have a choice on XTi batteries. Sterlingtek.com.

As for AA's, I use energizer's rechargeables and love them. I have two sets and they work great. Not bad price. $10 for a set of 4 2500 mah.

[Wolfpack61]

Thanks for the input. My research indicates that both the A570IS and the 430EX are sensitive to battery types. Ae you saying that your Energizer rechargables work well in both items?

[_aravena]

work fine in my 430EX. Don't know on the camera. I used Duracell Pro Cell in my S3 and it lasted for some months.

[cdifoto]

Thanks for the input. My research indicates that both the A570IS and the 430EX are sensitive to battery types. Ae you saying that your Energizer rechargables work well in both items?

Flashes and cameras aren't sensitive to battery types. As long as it's AA and of good quality, it'll work.

[_aravena]

some maybe. Not sure on the Canon's but on my fiancee's Samsung there's a selection of what battery type it's using. NiMH or Alkaline and it makes a big difference on which you have selected on how it reads charge.

[Wolfpack61]

Thanks for all the information. I will start with alkaline and experiment with Energizer e2 Lith and Energizer rechargables.

[ceriltheblade]

An alkaline battery is usually rated at 1.5V per battery whereas all rechargable batteries (i.e. slow discharge, ni-CD, niMH) are 1.2 V each. The exception to that are the recharable lithiums which can peak the 1.5V in the beginning of their discharge cycle. This is the reason that they are not recommended for some electronic devices (including my s3 is.and the reason why some voltmeters wouldn't be able to read the "remaining charge" appropriately.

I would suggest getting 3-4 sets of 4 batteries and cycle between them depending on the use you have for your gear. There are chargers which can work on both American and rest-of-the-world voltage and Thomas Distributing is indeed a great place to find some batteries etc. Worst case scenario you have to buy additional alkaline batteries or maybe to have 1-2 sets of slow discharge batteries in the wings.

[lakiluno]

The alkalines that came with my A570IS lasted about 10 shots. NiMH is the way to go

[Bob_A]

NiMH is the way to go. I use them for a 420EX, 580EX II and a couple of Powershots.

[S-Man]

Everyone raves about Sanyo eneloop's. They supposedly hold their charge in storage better than other NiMh's and use their energy more effeciently. They come in different mAh ratings, but the most common are the 2000 mAh AA's. I just bought some and will be using them in my 430. My Energizers seem to be losing their charge awfully fast and awfully inconveniently lately.

[Wolfpack61]

Thanks to all for the info. There seem to be many differences in battery life and cost. However, I am confused about power in camera and flash usage. Alkaline seems to be consistently 1.5v and 2500 mAh, while the various recharables are less: 1.2V and 2000mAh. Is this power difference a factor in camera and flash usage?

[Jon]

No. The internal resistance makes more of a difference. Alkalines have a fairly high internal resistance, so under digital photography and flash use, they can't keep up with the camera or flash. With a flash this shows up as slower recycle times; in digital cameras the batteries just seem to go dead very fast, although they can be swapped into another device and still be quite usable, or allowed to rest and returned to use in the camera for a few more shots. NiMH have a lower internal resistance and so let your flash recycle faster; they also will let you keep going longer uninterrupted than alkalines in a digital camera.

[KirkHMB]

The energizers are a pain in my 570IS. Christmas day, 5 shots on freshly charged batteries, in the house. Over the past week, 100 shots outdoors (in the cold). Nowhere near the 400 shots promised in either format. I'm looking for something better, with a car charger this time. I've got a set of the powerex(s) that 2 of the original 8 are still going strong.

[danpass]

The Energizer 2500mah AA's have been awesome in whatever I use them in.




.

[fred333]

Thanks for the recommendation.

[Bob_A]

I have a ton of Panasonic 2300 mH's NiMH that I use in everything requiring AA's. They have never let me down. They will eventually though, and I see my only mistake was that I didn't write the date of the first charge on them ... at least that way I would have known which ones are three years old and which ones are new.

[ATucker]

Use the NiMh as your primary power and consider a set Energizer e2 lithiums as backups. The e2 lithiums have an extremely long shelf life (15 years) and excellent cold weather performance. Don't use the NiMh cells in analog devices (flashlights, etc.) Once the voltage drops below a certain threshold, cell reversal can occur and damage the battery resulting in shortened life of the cell. The threshold value is dependent on the device (rate of discharge)and smart devices like digital cameras monitor this. Bottomline, it is best to only use your NiMH cells in your camera, flash or other "smart" devices.

[Bob_A]

Use the NiMh as your primary power and consider a set Energizer e2 lithiums as backups. The e2 lithiums have an extremely long shelf life (15 years) and excellent cold weather performance. Don't use the NiMh cells in analog devices (flashlights, etc.) Once the voltage drops below a certain threshold, cell reversal can occur and damage the battery resulting in shortened life of the cell. The threshold value is dependent on the device (rate of discharge)and smart devices like digital cameras monitor this. Bottomline, it is best to only use your NiMH cells in your camera, flash or other "smart" devices.

Thanks, I did not know that. Some of my Panasonics are three years old though and still work pretty well, so maybe the devices I'm using them in aren't hurting them much (cordless keyboards and mice, two different P&S cameras, Speedlites).

I'll remember to keep them out of kids toys ... :)