Batteries / Chargers / CF Cards / Printers ... in Canada

Hi All,

I would first like to thank everybody who replied to my previous post regarding what I should get (I think it generated over 150 messages ... way more than expected ... and very interesting to read the various points of view).

I've made my decision and have ordered a D7 ... should have it within two weeks. As I'm waiting, I getting more and more anxious and would like to have the accessories I need prior to receiving the camera so I can use it out of the box.

First, and from what I can tell, the most important, seems to be batteries. From what I've seen in various camera and electronic stores here in Toronto, Canada, the highest-powered batteries I'm going to find right now are 1600 NiMH. Will this be enough, or should I order from the US?

Second, I have also seen that the people who discharge/condition their batteries prior to charging get the best performance. What charger, again taking the fact that I live in Canada into account if possible, would you purchase that can condition and charge NiMHs the best.

Third, the highest capacity CF cards that I've seen in stores to date are SanDisk 192MB cards. Is this a good card, or should I consider ordering something online from a US site? If so, which should I get?

Fourth, the printer that seems to keep coming up is the Epson 785EX. Good enough for 8 X 10 and down, or should I look at something else.--
Thanks in advance,

Blue Melnick
[email protected]

I fuse a 1GB Microdrive and find it works well. By shopping around I got a very good price - not sute it helps you, but I paid £249 (UK pounds) at http://www.digitaldepot.co.uk

I find 1600 mah batteries OK, but you should plan on a spare set. I am looking for a rapid charger / conditioner and am being recommended an Ansmann - see the seperate thread under my posting

Blue Melnick said:

Hi All,

I would first like to thank everybody who replied to my previous
post regarding what I should get (I think it generated over 150
messages ... way more than expected ... and very interesting to
read the various points of view).

I've made my decision and have ordered a D7 ... should have it
within two weeks. As I'm waiting, I getting more and more anxious
and would like to have the accessories I need prior to receiving
the camera so I can use it out of the box.

First, and from what I can tell, the most important, seems to be
batteries. From what I've seen in various camera and electronic
stores here in Toronto, Canada, the highest-powered batteries I'm
going to find right now are 1600 NiMH. Will this be enough, or
should I order from the US?

Second, I have also seen that the people who discharge/condition
their batteries prior to charging get the best performance. What
charger, again taking the fact that I live in Canada into account
if possible, would you purchase that can condition and charge NiMHs
the best.

Third, the highest capacity CF cards that I've seen in stores to
date are SanDisk 192MB cards. Is this a good card, or should I
consider ordering something online from a US site? If so, which
should I get?

Fourth, the printer that seems to keep coming up is the Epson
785EX. Good enough for 8 X 10 and down, or should I look at
something else.
--

Thanks in advance,

Blue Melnick
[email protected]

Click to expand...

Hi

Like you I am waiting for a D7 to come (to Halifax). So I can't comment on the card or batteries (I use 1500's in my CP 950 and they are fine but we shall see what happens on the D7). There are some posts on batteries - I asked where to buy 1800's in Canada but never got a clear answer other than order from Thomas' (GP1800's) in US who will ship to Canada. I have a local computer dealer who is looking to see what he can get for me because sometimes when things come through customs there is an agents fee for clearing customs which is higher than the cost of the item.

Re the printer: I have an Epson 1280 and think that it does a great job on prints from the CP, it will print boardless prints up to 11x14 which makes it very easy to frame and/or have laminated; or, non-boardless prints up to 13x19 in sheets or 13i nches x32 feet in rolls!

Anyhow, keep us posted on what you do and what you think of the D7.

Good luck,

Gordon

Blue Melnick said:

Hi All,

I would first like to thank everybody who replied to my previous
post regarding what I should get (I think it generated over 150
messages ... way more than expected ... and very interesting to
read the various points of view).

I've made my decision and have ordered a D7 ... should have it
within two weeks. As I'm waiting, I getting more and more anxious
and would like to have the accessories I need prior to receiving
the camera so I can use it out of the box.

First, and from what I can tell, the most important, seems to be
batteries. From what I've seen in various camera and electronic
stores here in Toronto, Canada, the highest-powered batteries I'm
going to find right now are 1600 NiMH. Will this be enough, or
should I order from the US?

Second, I have also seen that the people who discharge/condition
their batteries prior to charging get the best performance. What
charger, again taking the fact that I live in Canada into account
if possible, would you purchase that can condition and charge NiMHs
the best.

Third, the highest capacity CF cards that I've seen in stores to
date are SanDisk 192MB cards. Is this a good card, or should I
consider ordering something online from a US site? If so, which
should I get?

Fourth, the printer that seems to keep coming up is the Epson
785EX. Good enough for 8 X 10 and down, or should I look at
something else.
--

Thanks in advance,

Blue Melnick
[email protected]

Click to expand...

I use Thomas for various battery supplies. Shipping via Canada Post has not incurred duty so far but GST, PST and the $5 handling fee.

I use both a 192 SanDisk and a Microdrive - I think that you can get a good deal on microdrives from US sites and again no duty since it is a USA made product.

Sites:
Ansmann charger
http://www.nexusamerica.com/products/Misc/Misc.html

Batteries and excellent chargers
http://www.thomas-distributing.com/

Where I git my Microdrives.
http://www.d-store.com/

Dave S
London, Ontario

Gordon said:

Anyhow, keep us posted on what you do and what you think of the D7.

Good luck,

Gordon

Blue Melnick said:

Hi All,

I would first like to thank everybody who replied to my previous
post regarding what I should get (I think it generated over 150
messages ... way more than expected ... and very interesting to
read the various points of view).

I've made my decision and have ordered a D7 ... should have it
within two weeks. As I'm waiting, I getting more and more anxious
and would like to have the accessories I need prior to receiving
the camera so I can use it out of the box.

First, and from what I can tell, the most important, seems to be
batteries. From what I've seen in various camera and electronic
stores here in Toronto, Canada, the highest-powered batteries I'm
going to find right now are 1600 NiMH. Will this be enough, or
should I order from the US?

Second, I have also seen that the people who discharge/condition
their batteries prior to charging get the best performance. What
charger, again taking the fact that I live in Canada into account
if possible, would you purchase that can condition and charge NiMHs
the best.

Third, the highest capacity CF cards that I've seen in stores to
date are SanDisk 192MB cards. Is this a good card, or should I
consider ordering something online from a US site? If so, which
should I get?

Fourth, the printer that seems to keep coming up is the Epson
785EX. Good enough for 8 X 10 and down, or should I look at
something else.
--

Thanks in advance,

Blue Melnick
[email protected]

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

G'day Blue,

From Vancouver. I picked up my D7 two days ago and it has rained solid ever since. I have another project to finish off so the lack of opportunity to get stuck in is not a big deal. I have handled the D7 and played around with it and it is a little beauty. Initially I thought it was very small, but then, most digital cameras are, except those made unnecessarily large to give the impression of "professional" solidity. The controls fall to the to fingers and it is easy to use when cradled in the left hand and using the right for actual shooting.

My camera came with a Quest charger and four 1600 batteries in addition to the alkalines. I had previously obtained several 1800's from Thomas Distributing - very obliging to deal with.

I have a 1gb Microdrive from Cititronics.com - again great to deal with and I print on my trusty Epson 1270. I haven't printed anything yet as I must get this other job out of the way first.

I have a Hoya 49 - 55mm step-up ring and a Minolta 55mm UV and Minolta Polariser, neither of which cause any vignetting. The filters provided by the camera store vignetted from 28mm through to 50 mm - unacceptable. As an aside, the salesman told me that I would find that the case with any filters I bought, as, "it is all to do with the angle of view." I guess there is a difference between a salesman and a photographer.
Having seen some of the pics posted here, I am rearing to go. Enjoy.
Dave Roberts

I bought a powerline 4 with the international adapters from Adorama for $60. This is a little lower than the Nexus America price and I get the international plugs (I occasionally travel outside the U.S.). I may pick up a second one later and just not use my MAHA C204F anymore. I like the fact that the Ansmann will charge each battery individually and not as a set of 4 or 2 like the C204F does.

Joo

Dave S said:

I use both a 192 SanDisk and a Microdrive - I think that you can
get a good deal on microdrives from US sites and again no duty
since it is a USA made product.

Sites:
Ansmann charger
http://www.nexusamerica.com/products/Misc/Misc.html

Batteries and excellent chargers
http://www.thomas-distributing.com/

Where I git my Microdrives.
http://www.d-store.com/

Dave S
London, Ontario

Gordon said:

Anyhow, keep us posted on what you do and what you think of the D7.

Good luck,

Gordon

Blue Melnick said:

Hi All,

I would first like to thank everybody who replied to my previous
post regarding what I should get (I think it generated over 150
messages ... way more than expected ... and very interesting to
read the various points of view).

I've made my decision and have ordered a D7 ... should have it
within two weeks. As I'm waiting, I getting more and more anxious
and would like to have the accessories I need prior to receiving
the camera so I can use it out of the box.

First, and from what I can tell, the most important, seems to be
batteries. From what I've seen in various camera and electronic
stores here in Toronto, Canada, the highest-powered batteries I'm
going to find right now are 1600 NiMH. Will this be enough, or
should I order from the US?

Second, I have also seen that the people who discharge/condition
their batteries prior to charging get the best performance. What
charger, again taking the fact that I live in Canada into account
if possible, would you purchase that can condition and charge NiMHs
the best.

Third, the highest capacity CF cards that I've seen in stores to
date are SanDisk 192MB cards. Is this a good card, or should I
consider ordering something online from a US site? If so, which
should I get?

Fourth, the printer that seems to keep coming up is the Epson
785EX. Good enough for 8 X 10 and down, or should I look at
something else.
--

Thanks in advance,

Blue Melnick
[email protected]

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Does anyone know of a UK distributer for the Powerline 4 or an alternative.

Joo said:

I bought a powerline 4 with the international adapters from Adorama
for $60. This is a little lower than the Nexus America price and I
get the international plugs (I occasionally travel outside the
U.S.). I may pick up a second one later and just not use my MAHA
C204F anymore. I like the fact that the Ansmann will charge each
battery individually and not as a set of 4 or 2 like the C204F does.

Click to expand...

Here in Montreal I bought myself two sets of "Optex Campower" 1700 mAh batteries along with the Optex charger. I think it is a "smart" charger as it will discharge the batteries (optional) and then charge them up until they are fully charged, and then stop automatically. It is not just timer based.

It took a few charging cycles to get up to steam, but now I get pretty decent battery life out of them (relatively speaking, I only have to change the SR76 batteries in my M6 every two years whether they need changing or not).

Today I managed to get about 150 pictures (including about 2 minutes worth of movies and all of the time needed to show all these pictures to my friend of the LCD) without the batteries complaining.

Blue Melnick wrote:
[snip]

Blue Melnick said:

I've made my decision and have ordered a D7 ... should have it
within two weeks. As I'm waiting, I getting more and more anxious
and would like to have the accessories I need prior to receiving
the camera so I can use it out of the box.

First, and from what I can tell, the most important, seems to be
batteries. From what I've seen in various camera and electronic
stores here in Toronto, Canada, the highest-powered batteries I'm
going to find right now are 1600 NiMH. Will this be enough, or
should I order from the US?

Click to expand...