whats the big deal with sanyo eneloops

[j-paka]

whats the big deal with sanyo eneloops

[wantone]

I haven't heard of these before but i just googled it.

http://www.eneloop.info/home/why-eneloop/higher-performance.html

Maybe we should ask if there is anyone experienced with these?

[Najo]

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=552108&highlight=eneloops
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=444060&highlight=eneloops
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=460762&highlight=eneloops

[johnz]

Lot's of experience on those in this forum. I don't use other batteries anymore with my flashes, these can hold their charge a lot better than usual re-charg-batteries. A little expensive, but i would recommend trying these!

[JelleVerherstraeten]

I only use eneloops. These are the batteries you can trust.
They hold there charge almost complety, no surprises.

[jhom]

Slow discharge rate. No surprises when you load them into your unit and they have a charge. Typical rechargables rapidly lose charge while sitting around.

[yvonchap]

Best experience in my flash it seem to last fo eaver.

You need a slow charger such as "LaCross" to get the best battery life.;)

[Wilt]

Lot's of experience on those in this forum. I don't use other batteries anymore with my flashes, these can hold their charge a lot better than usual re-charg-batteries. A little expensive, but i would recommend trying these!

Rather than sitting in your bag for 90 days, and becoming fully discharged even when not fitted into a piece of equipment, like conventional NiMH batteries would deplete, the Sanyo Eneloop or Powerex Imedions hold their charge so they are ready to use even after 90 day idle time.

[ben_r_]

They are awesome! Buy some and a good smart charger and find out! :)

[tigerotor77w]

My experiences second wilt's. :)

[SYS]

* Compare to other standard NiMH rechargeable batteries, eneloop has higher voltage with no memory effect, meaning you can use, recharge, use, recharge, use recharge for roughly around 1,000 times before replacing them...

* These are low maintenance, meaning you don't need to "refresh" or "condition" them by time consuming process of discharge-charge-discharge-charge... As soon as you open a new pack, they're ready to be used...

* Very low low discharge rate while maintaining consistently high voltage...for as long as one year and even longer as long as you store them in relatively cool location...

* Excellent performer in very cold temperatures, so ideal for use while skiing and such winter events...

* Environmentally safer and economical sound...

[Tigershark]

they are awesome, it takes a long time for them to run down, I switched a while back and haven't looked back

[Wilt]

they are awesome, it takes a long time for them to run down, I switched a while back and haven't looked back

To be sure, the tank holds no more, it is simply not as 'leaky' with the contained charge!

[powaysteve]

Like a lot of the others have mentioned they are ultra low discharge "second generation" nimh batteries. They come ready to use and last longer than "regular" nimh rechargable batteries. Costco usually sells a package with a charger and both AA and AAA eneloops at a great price. If you need more than that Amazon also has great prices on them.

[mnaz]

Yeah I just picked up the ones at Costco last week. They are $28.99 and you get 2 4 packs of AA and 2 AAA and a charger.

[eror11]

Here's an anecdote i think you'll enjoy. Once upon a time i had a gig i had to shoot people on a party and i borrowed the 430ex. I bought a pack of normal unchargeable duracells and they kinda depleted so that by the end of the shoot it took over 3-4 seconds (later even more) for the flash to be ready to shoot between 2 shots. It was very disappointing, but i realised it had nothing to do with the flash but the batteries. Only it was a 2am gig so i had no chance of doing anything to fix my problem, and most of the photos sucked.

Knowing i'd had more gigs, i bought my own 430II and did some asking around. I got 2 packs of sanyo eneloops (2x4). So 2 gigs later i just used up my first pack and they recycle the flash as crazy. The flash is ready to shoot before the camera is and I finally know how it is to shoot like when they shoot the president or something (click click click in like 2 seconds and flash shooting off every time). All 3 thumbs high for eneloops :)

[Rey.dos]

is it okay to charge my eneloops on my energizer quick charger?

[nicshow]

I think Circuit City used to carry them but where can you get them now besides Costco?

[SYS]

is it okay to charge my eneloops on my energizer quick charger?

1) Sanyo only warranty eneloops when charged with their own;

2) Eneloops are not recommended to be used with quick chargers that take less than 2 hours, as that would shorten their life.

[Rey.dos]

1) Sanyo only warranty eneloops when charged with their own;

2) Eneloops are not recommended to be used with quick chargers that take less than 2 hours, as that would shorten their life.


thanks for the reply sys...i guess i have to buy another pack at costco for $30 with 8AA and 2AA batteries to get another charger...

[johnny0415]

I haven't tried any other brands with my flash, but IMHO, Eneloops are awesome. They really do seem to last forever. If I don't use my flash very often, the batteries seem to last for months. Even if I use my flash continuously at events, 4AA's seem to last an entire day or two no problem (or maybe I just don't flash often).

[Andrushka]

Yeah I just picked up the ones at Costco last week. They are $28.99 and you get 2 4 packs of AA and 2 AAA and a charger.

i have two of these sets from Costco and they are worth every penny and then some because not only do you have batteries for your flashes, you also get peace of mind - not often you can expect that!

these things are like little white and blue cannisters of peace ;-)

[Marloon]

They are WHITE! :D

[SYS]

Don't forget that Costco package includes spacers...

[brian-socal]

I think it's important to note that Eneloops are not the only pre-charged, or slow discharge batteries out there. I've had eneloops in the past, and I find both the Kodak and the Duracell pre-charged batteries to function just as well. I've often found 4-packs of the Kodak's at Wal-Mart for $8 or less. Just be sure that the package says "Pre-Charged", and you'll have the correct items.

[SYS]

I think it's important to note that Eneloops are not the only pre-charged, or slow discharge batteries out there. I've had eneloops in the past, and I find both the Kodak and the Duracell pre-charged batteries to function just as well. I've often found 4-packs of the Kodak's at Wal-Mart for $8 or less. Just be sure that the package says "Pre-Charged", and you'll have the correct items.

The "Pre-Charged" label alone or "slow discharge" claim don't mean they're equal in performance, though.

eneloop, for example, claims that their self-discharge to 85% occur after about a year, whereas Rayovac's pre-charged and low discharging hybrids claim after 6 months. According to my own initial tests, all 12 brand new eneloops were 100% capacity out of their packages, whereas Rayovac Hybrids came out of their new package at 80% capacity on average. Of course, Rayovac Hybrids could have sat on the store shelves much longer, but given the respective companies' own claims, I doubt it.

Also, Duracell's "pre-charged" ones were reported by some to be rebranded eneloops -- but apparently if they were "Made in Japan," though, and not "Made in China." So if anyone wants to purchase these pre-charged Duracells, might as well try to get the ones from Japan. Some also reported that the Duracells from China have the similar characteristics of Rayovac Hybrids, and these hybrids from Rayovac are definitely better than the standard rechargeable NiMHs, so they're by no means batteries to avoid.

One other area that eneloops have a significant advantage over others including the Duracells "Made in Japan" is that some folks actually have thrown out these reusable Duracells because they thought these were their cousin Coppertop alkalines. No chance of such happening with the white eneloops!! ;)

Duracells, on the other hand, has an advantage over eneloops until these white ones can be found in many stores near us!!

[ejicon]

Don't forget that Costco package includes spacers...

I purchased these for my dad last Christmas from Costco. One of the best gifts yet (what he says)

The spacers did it for him.

[bellaella]

FWIW...my dad is big into his flashlights and batteries (hey, to each their own)...he bought me two sets for Christmas from Costco...when I asked him "what's the big deal with sanyo eneloops" this is the response I received...

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=149804

[jeromego]

I think Circuit City used to carry them but where can you get them now besides Costco?

www.hhgregg.com or in store if they have one in your neighborhood.

[tigerotor77w]

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=149804

Yup. CPF users are fanatic about their batteries, and the last time I looked, anyhow, the Eneloops were always the number one recommended batteries.

(I'm a member there, too... bought a Surefire A2 Aviator due to some threads over yonder! The technology that goes into flashlights is at times mesmerizing. :p)

[SYS]

FWIW...my dad is big into his flashlights and batteries (hey, to each their own)...he bought me two sets for Christmas from Costco...when I asked him "what's the big deal with sanyo eneloops" this is the response I received...

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=149804

Thanks for the very interesting and useful link, as my 4th Grade son and I are currently doing battery tests of our own for his school's science fair project. We won't finish our test until some time in mid April, and we'll report the results once completed. One of the tests that we're conducting, we can tell you at this point, is the "ready to use" out of a brand new package off the store shelf. Here are some of the results:

4 Rayovac Rechargeable Hybrid ("pre-charged" purchased from Super Target):
3 @ 80% and 1 @ 60% capacity when first opened from new package

8 Duracell Rechargeable – 2000mAh ("pre-charged" purchased from Target):
7 @ 80%
1 @ 60%

8 Maha PowerEx – 2700mAh (purchased online from Thomas Distribution):
4 @ 40% EDIT: Of these 4, 2 discharged to 20% after sitting on shelf for only 3 days more.
3 @ 0%
1 @ totally drained

16 eneloop - 2000mAh ("pre-charged" purchased online from Amazon.com):
16 @ 100%

The results could of course vary depending on how long these batteries have been "sitting" around in stores after being freshly made (couldn't find the manufacturing dates on these batteries), but as random as these maybe, the results are quite telling.

One common pattern that we've noticed so far is that, higher the stated mAh -- PowerEx being the highest among tested batteries -- faster the self-discharge. Although I didn't list the Energizer rechargeable batteries at 2500mAh and 2600mAh La Crosse rechargeables above simply because they were already used and untested freshly opened, our "shelf life" test so far shows a fast self-discharge rate on ALL rechargeable batteries that are higher in mAh above 2000.

I'm particularly disappointed with PowerEx enough that I feel like I've totally wasted my money on them even though I did purchase them for my son's science fair project. On the other hand, eneloops came through as advertised and more, and I'm glad that my money was worth getting all 16 of them recently. I'm so impressed with eneloops that I'm planning on getting more of these.

[NicD]

my enelops have been sitting in my flash for over a month now, and still havnt died (which is good since my dogs chewed up the charger :S)

Ive used the flash so many times in that period of time, and they are still going, its incredible!

[SYS]

my enelops have been sitting in my flash for over a month now, and still havnt died (which is good since my dogs chewed up the charger :S)

Ive used the flash so many times in that period of time, and they are still going, its incredible!

So your dog is freshly recharged, eh? :lol:

[Wilt]

The Powerex are not low drain, the Imedion is. Both from same company,

[SYS]

The Powerex are not low drain, the Imedion is. Both from same company,

Yes, I knew that PowerEx are not low discharge batteries, same as Energizers, but I decided to give PowerEx a test and show the results as some folks on this forum have spoken so gloriously of them. I just wanted to point out, NOT SO!

[lsquare]

I'm a big fan of Sanyo Eneloops as well. They served me very well when I was on my backpacking trip last year.

[Wilt]

Yes, I knew that PowerEx are not low discharge batteries, same as Energizers, but I decided to give PowerEx a test and show the results as some folks on this forum have spoken so gloriously of them. I just wanted to point out, NOT SO!


What was the test protocol? It sounds perhaps that it was a simple "Buy the battery, ascertain the remaining capacity when the package was opened."

Or was it "Buy the battery, charge it up, ascertain the remaining capacity"?

Rechargeables (the non-low self discharge units) do take a few cycles of discharge and charge to attain the max capacity, BTW. So a valid test is actually ""Buy the battery, charge it up and discharge a few cycles, charge it one more time and ascertain the remaining capacity after 90 days"?

I have not seen any claims about the Powerex being pre-charged when new, but had expected to charge them up upon opening the box. So what was the test for them, compared to the all the other pre-charged batteries?

[SYS]

What was the test protocol? It sounds perhaps that it was a simple "Buy the battery, ascertain the remaining capacity when the package was opened."

Or was it "Buy the battery, charge it up, ascertain the remaining capacity"?

Rechargeables (the non-low self discharge units) do take a few cycles of discharge and charge to attain the max capacity, BTW. So a valid test is actually ""Buy the battery, charge it up and discharge a few cycles, charge it one more time and ascertain the remaining capacity after 90 days"?

Our testing procedure is as follows:

1) Test all (and we're only doing NiMH rechargeable AA batteries) as they're opened from the new package.

(The reason for doing this is to provide info on which brands are more or less "ready to use." Although it's not "fair" to lump all "pre-charged" ones with those conventional NiMHs, we felt it's still a useful info, particularly for those who are traveling or on the go without the charger.)

2) We then place them through the "discharge/charge" refreshing process on my La Crosse BC900. This procedure takes about 3 days to complete. We've already done this procedure with the Energizers (not newly purchased, though, but the self-discharge rate hasn't improved). We'll do the same with the new PowerEx about three times over 9-10 days and see what the result would show. My own hypothesis, based on our Energizer behavior, is that they'd start discharging at a relatively fast rate in a week in spite of the triple cycle procedure. So we'll see....

3) Once these have gone through the fully charged through refreshing process, then we let these sit in a typical normal ambient temperature of 63-73F. Because most conventional NiMHs discharge rather fast, we then test their capacity every few days using my ZTS Multi-Battery Tester. To be more accurate, we test each battery about 3 times each testing period.

4) Our last phase of the testing, which we haven't done yet, is placing these fully charged NiMHs in high current (flash gun, etc.) and low current (flash light, etc.) and see which lasts longer in both cases.

Our limitation is time. We only have about a month to do the tests when ideally you'd need about a year. Nevertheless, with the limitations noted, the results would be quite useful.

[Wilt]

Our testing procedure is as follows:...

It certainly seems that you have a valid test protocol for your son's science project. It will be interesting to see the end result.

[SYS]

It certainly seems that you have a valid test protocol for your son's science project. It will be interesting to see the end result.

I'll report the final findings of our project sometime in mid April. But so far eneloops are kicking butt when it comes to low self-discharge. :) It turns out not all batteries that claim "pre-charged" and "low discharge" are equal. I'll find out about how they fare in actual power usage applications in a week or two...

[ToddR]

I've been reasonably happy with my PowerEx 2700 batteries. I use some AAs in my point & shoot (Canon SX100 IS and previously PowerShot A75) and in a Streamlight flashlight. They seemed to hold up fairly well on the shelf for me. I also use AAAs in a Harmony A/V remote, but those always seem to die just when I have people over for something.:oops: However, that device always draws a little bit because its LCD display is always on.

I'm also quite familiar with the wealth of knowledge over on Candlepowerforums. Lots of good reading there. Those guys take their battery stuff seriously, too, just like photographers.

[SYS]

All conventional AA/AAA NiMHs do reasonably good job if you use them within a short time after the charging. What's really exiting with these new breeds of batteries like eneloop is their alkaline-like low low discharge behavior yet reusability without any memory effect, i.e., consistent voltage performance until the last breath. I've never in my life been excited about anything to do with batteries until eneloops came along... :D

Still, I'm going to stay away from those guys at the Candlepower.... ;)

[AirbusA380]

Just ordered 8 AA eneloops too, for my Sigma flash. Got the IPC-1 charger in the mail today. Excited to try them out, as current recycle times on full power are as high as 15-20 seconds at the moment. Talk about lousy batteries..