As a photographer, I go through a lot of batteries. They probably make up a quarter of the total weight of my back-breaking camera bag, to the point where the next bag will have wheels.
Each and every piece of hardware - from camera bodies and multiple flashes to flash triggers and the voice recorder - needs batteries. I never go anywhere without three batteries for each device.
With such a high number of batteries and with such high usage, I glommed onto rechargeable batteries quite early in the game. My first digital camera would chew through two $5 batteries every 400 pictures, so I soon found a way to make a Frankencamera out of it and added an additional battery grip to it, allowing me to revert fully to rechargeables.
I've had great success with Energizers NiMH rechargeables, and much less with Duracells. More recently, I've started using Sanyo's batteries that have taken over the photograph world by storm - Eneloops.
These batteries don't hold as much charge as my Energizers - 1900 milliamp-hours (mAh) versus 2450 mAh. But unlike conventional NiMH rechargeables, they don't discharge slowly over time, one or two per cent per day. They'll hold three-quarters of their charge a year in storage. That's really important when you are on a shoot and can't afford to reach into the bag and pull out a set of dead batteries.
Eneloops are really hard to get in Western Canada. Indeed, the only supplier I have found was Dell, which puts them on spectacular sales every three months or so. The typical deal includes a four-cell charger and a number of batteries to go with it.
The first time I ordered a bunch of Eneloops, I got five one-hour chargers and a whole schwack of batteries in AA and AAA sizes. Each of these five sets came in the conventional hard plastic bubble-wrap packaging, dutifully explaining the capabilities of the batteries and chargers, as well as operating procedures. Yes, batteries may be ubiquitous, but charger operation is not. I got these specifically because they were one-hour chargers.
A few weeks ago I came across yet another amazing deal on Eneloops through Dell.ca, so I ordered two more chargers and 12 more AAs and 12 more AAAs. Looking at the photos online, it appeared the chargers had LCD screens, which would indicate not only that they where high-end, but also the possibility of having the ability to monitor battery health and recondition old batteries, something I have a bucket of.
Imagine my surprise when I opened up the courier-delivered package. Instead of the big, next-to-impenetrable, bubble-wrapped packages, there were two cardboard boxes, and two crinkled brown paper bags. That's it, except for this little note:
Dear Valued Member,
Thank you for purchasing Sanyo's Eneloop pre-charged rechargeable batteries - the next generation customer battery.
The environment benefits from the use of rechargeable batteries vs. disposable single-use batteries.
To stay on message, we have decided to package your batteries in a recyclable brown paper bag and recyclable packaging material.
The Eneloop rechargeable batteries enclosed are brand new and under full warranty.
Please enjoy your Eneloop Batteries
Sanyo Canada Inc.
I thought I had a jack-in-the-box. What was inside was not expected.
It's great they went with minimal packaging. Reducing packaging is probably something everyone should do. But some basic information was missing.
For instance, my new chargers had a sticker, not an LCD as the photo online seemed to indicate. They had no special abilities, save the fact they were NOT one-hour chargers. More like two, maybe three hours.
The batteries tested out well. The chargers work, but at a much slower pace than I expected. The packaging got recycled, as intended.
I guess if there's no packaging, you may be more environmentally friendly, but you also may get a few surprises, as well.
Brian Zinchuk is editor of Pipeline News. He can be reached at [email protected].
