How do I have power enough for a long trip to remote areas ?

I have an Olympus 400 and I am going to Nepal for a month. Most of the time I will be in regions where there is no access to AC power, meaning no recharge. For the moment I only have the std battery, but I was thinking what I should do in order to be able to take pictures throughout the whole trip ? More Batteries ? Can I get different kinds of batteries for this kind of camera ? I really need some suggestions as I am very much in doubt how to be able to have power to my camera for the whole trip..

Thank you

You're stuck. It's time to stock up on LI-10B batteries.

Here's what I'd do:

Determine how many shots I expect to take a day...then double it.

Then, I'd use the heck out of my camera to determine how many shots a battery is good for...then halve that.

Do the math and buy as many batteries as necessary. Test them all before leaving. Charge them all as close to departure as possible.

You should be okay.

one of the biggest battery drains when on hols is from constantly reviewing photos... try to minimise this!
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fallingphotogirl
Sydney, Australia

So it is not possible to got kinds of batteries with more power or a "battery box" to attach to the camera ?

Cold weather drains them faster, even when not used.

If you have access to a vehicle you can always use an inverter to charge these batteries.

haffelaffen said:

I will be in regions where there is no access to AC power

Click to expand...

I have been in your position, and decided to purchase a power inverter for around US$50.

It is a small power supply that will generate 110VAC from a 12VDC input. Most are equipped with a cigarette-lighter type input cord, so all you have to do is plug it into a vehicle's lighter and you can then plug your regular charger into it enroute, while in the car to a photo shoot or while staiyng in remote areas.

Since your use will be just recharging, you can use the least-powerful (lower Watt rating) and thus least expensive inverters available. OTOH, if you are going to an extended car travel to remote areas you may find that having a more powerful on-board 110V supply may be a welcome comoddity for other uses such as TV, communications radio, multilple or simultanious battery recharging or what-have-you. In such case you could choose one with a higher Watt rating.

Just make sure that the car lighter in question has the same polarity ("+" in the inner connector , "-" on the outer ring) as the power inverter. Most are arranged this way, but it won't hurt to double check.

Here is a good tutorial on choosing the right inverter for your application:
http://www.roadtripamerica.com/dashboarding/Power-Inverters.htm

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Best regards,

Bruno Lobo.



http://www.pbase.com/brunobl

Thank you very much for the advice. Unfortunately, going up into the mountains in Nepal, there are no cars, so no acces to 12V. However, I hope I will have enough power to last untill I can recharge the batteries at Kathmandu.

Didn't realize you would also be away from cars, sorry.

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Best regards,

Bruno Lobo.



http://www.pbase.com/brunobl

You're stuck with the battery style that comes with the camera.

According to DigitalCameraInfo.com:

Jacks, Ports, Plugs

The E-400 has a combined USB/analog video out port, a hot shoe for dedicated flash, and an infrared remote. It does not accept an external power supply, a feature that users who rely on the camera for slideshows might find valuable.

This one is specifically for AA batteries, but what about something like this:

http://www.solardyne.com/aasolbatchar.html

I’ve had good luck with aftermarket batteries. I don’t know about long term, but short term they seem about as competent as the factory batteries. For $14 with free shipping you can’t go wrong. Sorry if you aren’t in the US – my browser won’t let me access the profiles for some reason. http://www.eastcoastphoto.com/nav/itempage.asp?itemid=6133

You might go to the Olympus board and find out what aftermarket batteries people have had good luck with and where they bought them. The nice thing about lithium is that they have only about 2% month self-discharge after the first day. So you can drop a couple or three in an inside pocket to keep them warm and have almost full power when you put them in the camera.

Solar is a very good solution IMO,
but be sure to get a unit with sufficient power output.
Batteries will be a disappointment because of low temp and weight.

Another solution is FILM,
I know its sort of forward to the history,
but film doesn'weigt and doesn't take much power at all.

I did quite some photography in places swhere there's no power and the second solution is my favourite one for not being limited by batteries.

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Enjoying to try making better images again and again and ...