Quality of NiMH batteries

Juha Koskela · Oct 21, 2002

I've read many times on this forum about low performance of NiMH batteries with E-xx cameras. My experience is mostly with Varta 1700 mAh batteries which seem to work quite well. I had some other brand (1700 mAh's, don't remember the brand any more) which didn't work very well. All my Varta sets are more than 3 months (and at least tens of charges) old.

Somebody here told he had used 1800 mAh's charged few days earlier and only got few shots. My experience is that short storage time, less than couple of weeks, has no great impact on performance.

Does anybody here have experience of multiple NiMH brands? Are the differences between brands this big?

I think that as a set of 1700 mAh's Varta costs here about 20 euros(=dollars) and I can shoot usually 150 - 200 shots / set, the price/performance ratio is quite good.
--
Juha Koskela

Rich Hawley · Oct 21, 2002

My only issue with batteries with my E-20 so far is using a microdrive. I've got two of them, and THEY DO EAT BATTERIES, or at least the charge in them. Using a regular CF or SM card - I shot for 2 full days on a single set, (with some flash) with a set of 1650's. Very happy with the performance. I normally by the Camedia batts - a bit more $$$, but quality seems consistent.

My best configuration is to use a set of Lithium batts (non-recharge) in my FL-40, and a good high-end set of NiMh in my camera. Makes for a long shooting day.

Rich

JuhaK said:
I've read many times on this forum about low performance of NiMH
batteries with E-xx cameras. My experience is mostly with Varta
1700 mAh batteries which seem to work quite well. I had some other
brand (1700 mAh's, don't remember the brand any more) which didn't
work very well. All my Varta sets are more than 3 months (and at
least tens of charges) old.
Somebody here told he had used 1800 mAh's charged few days earlier
and only got few shots. My experience is that short storage time,
less than couple of weeks, has no great impact on performance.
Does anybody here have experience of multiple NiMH brands? Are the
differences between brands this big?
I think that as a set of 1700 mAh's Varta costs here about 20
euros(=dollars) and I can shoot usually 150 - 200 shots / set, the
price/performance ratio is quite good.
--
Juha Koskela

Paul Taylor · Oct 21, 2002

My experience is that the brand of battery is less important than the charger used. A decent charger should charge quickly and be able to condition. I has a Varta 4 hour charger with my 1st set of NimH batteries, and never got more than 60-70 shots per charge from them - this has improved enormously since I got a Maha 204 charger.

regards,
Paul

JuhaK said:
I've read many times on this forum about low performance of NiMH
batteries with E-xx cameras. My experience is mostly with Varta
1700 mAh batteries which seem to work quite well. I had some other
brand (1700 mAh's, don't remember the brand any more) which didn't
work very well. All my Varta sets are more than 3 months (and at
least tens of charges) old.
Somebody here told he had used 1800 mAh's charged few days earlier
and only got few shots. My experience is that short storage time,
less than couple of weeks, has no great impact on performance.
Does anybody here have experience of multiple NiMH brands? Are the
differences between brands this big?
I think that as a set of 1700 mAh's Varta costs here about 20
euros(=dollars) and I can shoot usually 150 - 200 shots / set, the
price/performance ratio is quite good.
--
Juha Koskela

markE59102 · Oct 21, 2002

Paul Taylor said:
My experience is that the brand of battery is less important than
the charger used. A decent charger should charge quickly and be
able to condition. I has a Varta 4 hour charger with my 1st set of
NimH batteries, and never got more than 60-70 shots per charge from
them - this has improved enormously since I got a Maha 204 charger.

I agree with Paul that the charger can make all the difference. I had batteries that got so bad they wouldn't give me more than 30 or so shots before needing a charge. I ran them thru a conditioning cycle in my Maha 204, and they performed like new. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I think digital cameras will generally shut down way before a NiMH is close to a full discharge. This leads to the batteries developing a memory. They usually need a conditioning after about every 10 or so charges. The conditioning phase will do a complete discharge, and then a full charge. This usually brings many NiMH back to life.
--
Cheers,
markE

Oly E-20, FL-40, WCON, TCON, Nikon CP 990, & LOTS of batteries!

-Gallery: http://www.pbase.com/marke

vjsilva · Oct 22, 2002

I really like the Panasonic 2000mAh. In small print on the package they are actually 1900mAh minimum - 2000mAh maximum. They're hard to find but they are good.

VJS

Teerapon · Oct 22, 2002

vjsilva said:
I really like the Panasonic 2000mAh. In small print on the package
they are actually 1900mAh minimum - 2000mAh maximum. They're hard
to find but they are good.

VJS

I just have my E10 for 2 weeks and I use GP 2000mAh. Has anyone known about the charger that have the setting less than my battery? such as I has 1600mAh at 10 hours charger and I use it for my 2000mAh. Has anything wrong about my cells if I use this charger?

markE59102 · Oct 22, 2002

Teerapon said:
vjsilva said:

I really like the Panasonic 2000mAh. In small print on the package
they are actually 1900mAh minimum - 2000mAh maximum. They're hard
to find but they are good.

VJS

Click to expand...

I just have my E10 for 2 weeks and I use GP 2000mAh. Has anyone
known about the charger that have the setting less than my battery?
such as I has 1600mAh at 10 hours charger and I use it for my
2000mAh. Has anything wrong about my cells if I use this charger?

These are RECHARGEABLE 2000mAh batteries? I've seen Panansonic disposables at 2000, but I didn't know anybody made rechargeables. Please tell me more.
--
Cheers,
markE

Oly E-20, FL-40, WCON, TCON, Nikon CP 990, & LOTS of batteries!

-Gallery: http://www.pbase.com/marke

Teerapon · Oct 22, 2002

markE said:
Teerapon said:

vjsilva said:

I really like the Panasonic 2000mAh. In small print on the package
they are actually 1900mAh minimum - 2000mAh maximum. They're hard
to find but they are good.

VJS

Click to expand...

I just have my E10 for 2 weeks and I use GP 2000mAh. Has anyone
known about the charger that have the setting less than my battery?
such as I has 1600mAh at 10 hours charger and I use it for my
2000mAh. Has anything wrong about my cells if I use this charger?

Click to expand...

These are RECHARGEABLE 2000mAh batteries? I've seen Panansonic
disposables at 2000, but I didn't know anybody made rechargeables.
Please tell me more.
--
Cheers,
markE

Oly E-20, FL-40, WCON, TCON, Nikon CP 990, & LOTS of batteries!

-Gallery: http://www.pbase.com/marke

Yes! GP2000 NiMh you can find the detail from this
http://www.gpbatteries.com.hk/catalogues/NiMH2000_catalogue.pdf
and please answer my question. Thanks

markE59102 · Oct 22, 2002

Teerapon said:
Yes! GP2000 NiMh you can find the detail from this
http://www.gpbatteries.com.hk/catalogues/NiMH2000_catalogue.pdf

Thank you.

Teerapon said:
and please answer my question. Thanks

YES, SIR! (I think)

I really don't know the answer, but I would assume that it's OK to use a charger that is designed for batteries rated at a lower mAh. I'm guessing it might just take longer to charge them. Maybe someone else has more knowledge on this subject.

--
Cheers,
markE

Oly E-20, FL-40, WCON, TCON, Nikon CP 990, & LOTS of batteries!

-Gallery: http://www.pbase.com/marke

Teerapon · Oct 22, 2002

markE said:
Teerapon said:

Yes! GP2000 NiMh you can find the detail from this
http://www.gpbatteries.com.hk/catalogues/NiMH2000_catalogue.pdf

Click to expand...

Thank you.

markE59102 said:

and please answer my question. Thanks

Click to expand...

YES, SIR! (I think)
I really don't know the answer, but I would assume that it's OK to
use a charger that is designed for batteries rated at a lower mAh.
I'm guessing it might just take longer to charge them. Maybe
someone else has more knowledge on this subject.

--
Cheers,
markE

Oly E-20, FL-40, WCON, TCON, Nikon CP 990, & LOTS of batteries!

-Gallery: http://www.pbase.com/marke

and again, Thank you for your answer. I don't know between it use the "timer" of charger to control the energy or checking itself for enough energy depend on the cells.

What about your camera bag, markE. I request a pic of your bag from some thread below, please.

vjsilva · Oct 23, 2002

Yes, they exist, Panasonic 2000mAh NiMH AA cells. They say 2000 on the package in very large print and then in very small print they say 1900 min. ~ 2000 max. Kind of misleading but they are good.

They are hard to find. I've only seen them twice. At a 7-Eleven in Taipei, Taiwan and at Narita airport in Japan.

--VJS

markE said:
Teerapon said:

vjsilva said:

I really like the Panasonic 2000mAh. In small print on the package
they are actually 1900mAh minimum - 2000mAh maximum. They're hard
to find but they are good.

VJS

Click to expand...

I just have my E10 for 2 weeks and I use GP 2000mAh. Has anyone
known about the charger that have the setting less than my battery?
such as I has 1600mAh at 10 hours charger and I use it for my
2000mAh. Has anything wrong about my cells if I use this charger?

Click to expand...

These are RECHARGEABLE 2000mAh batteries? I've seen Panansonic
disposables at 2000, but I didn't know anybody made rechargeables.
Please tell me more.
--
Cheers,
markE

Oly E-20, FL-40, WCON, TCON, Nikon CP 990, & LOTS of batteries!

-Gallery: http://www.pbase.com/marke

vjsilva · Oct 23, 2002

A charger is designed for a particular chemistry, such as NiCd/NiMH or LiIon usually not the capacity. The only difference is 2000mAh AA will take longer to chrage than 1600mAh AA.

VJS

Teerapon said:
markE said:

Teerapon said:

Yes! GP2000 NiMh you can find the detail from this
http://www.gpbatteries.com.hk/catalogues/NiMH2000_catalogue.pdf

Click to expand...

Thank you.

Teerapon said:

and please answer my question. Thanks

Click to expand...

YES, SIR! (I think)
I really don't know the answer, but I would assume that it's OK to
use a charger that is designed for batteries rated at a lower mAh.
I'm guessing it might just take longer to charge them. Maybe
someone else has more knowledge on this subject.

--
Cheers,
markE

Oly E-20, FL-40, WCON, TCON, Nikon CP 990, & LOTS of batteries!

-Gallery: http://www.pbase.com/marke

Click to expand...

and again, Thank you for your answer. I don't know between it use
the "timer" of charger to control the energy or checking itself for
enough energy depend on the cells.
What about your camera bag, markE. I request a pic of your bag from
some thread below, please.

vjsilva · Oct 23, 2002

The GP 2000mAh are actually 1920mAh from their own literature.

VJS

Teerapon said:
vjsilva said:

I really like the Panasonic 2000mAh. In small print on the package
they are actually 1900mAh minimum - 2000mAh maximum. They're hard
to find but they are good.

VJS

Click to expand...

I just have my E10 for 2 weeks and I use GP 2000mAh. Has anyone
known about the charger that have the setting less than my battery?
such as I has 1600mAh at 10 hours charger and I use it for my
2000mAh. Has anything wrong about my cells if I use this charger?

Gingerspice · Nov 4, 2002

vjsilva said:
Yes, they exist, Panasonic 2000mAh NiMH AA cells. They say 2000 on
the package in very large print and then in very small print they
say 1900 min. ~ 2000 max. Kind of misleading but they are good.

They are hard to find. I've only seen them twice. At a 7-Eleven in
Taipei, Taiwan and at Narita airport in Japan.

.

vjsilva said:
vjsilva said:

These are RECHARGEABLE 2000mAh batteries? I've seen Panansonic
disposables at 2000, but I didn't know anybody made rechargeables.
Please tell me more.

Click to expand...

I just bought GP 2000 Nimh batteries from from http://store.yahoo.com/greenbatteries-store/gp20nimaabat.html

They come with a free cool plastic case.

I hope I posted that right, i was just curious looking for information on the highest capacity. My camera goes through them so fast.

gingerspice

Danny29 · Nov 4, 2002

I would avoid GP batteries. Their so call 1800 has much less mAh than the japanese made 1600 counterparts. I have used Sanyo 1850 with unbelievable life. I bought two packs at $10 US in Hong Kong.Try them if you can find them. Moreover, I find that it is useful to top up a charged set before you go out.

vjsilva said:
VJS

Teerapon said:

vjsilva said:

I really like the Panasonic 2000mAh. In small print on the package
they are actually 1900mAh minimum - 2000mAh maximum. They're hard
to find but they are good.

VJS

Click to expand...

I just have my E10 for 2 weeks and I use GP 2000mAh. Has anyone
known about the charger that have the setting less than my battery?
such as I has 1600mAh at 10 hours charger and I use it for my
2000mAh. Has anything wrong about my cells if I use this charger?

Click to expand...

DoubleD · Nov 4, 2002

JuhaK said:
I've read many times on this forum about low performance of NiMH
batteries with E-xx cameras. My experience is mostly with Varta
1700 mAh batteries which seem to work quite well. I had some other
brand (1700 mAh's, don't remember the brand any more) which didn't
work very well. All my Varta sets are more than 3 months (and at
least tens of charges) old.
Somebody here told he had used 1800 mAh's charged few days earlier
and only got few shots. My experience is that short storage time,
less than couple of weeks, has no great impact on performance.
Does anybody here have experience of multiple NiMH brands? Are the
differences between brands this big?
I think that as a set of 1700 mAh's Varta costs here about 20
euros(=dollars) and I can shoot usually 150 - 200 shots / set, the
price/performance ratio is quite good.
--
Juha Koskela

I have an E-10 coming and I went out and bought the monster power digital camera power pack. Comes with a digital charger that trickle charges the batteries and won't under charger or over charge. It came with four monster power cells and then I bought an extra four for a spare. They are NiMH 1800 mAh. They claim they are safe to charge anytime even if they are only half spent. We will see!

markE59102 · Nov 4, 2002

DoubleD said:
I have an E-10 coming and I went out and bought the monster power
digital camera power pack. Comes with a digital charger that
trickle charges the batteries and won't under charger or over
charge. It came with four monster power cells and then I bought an
extra four for a spare. They are NiMH 1800 mAh. They claim they are
safe to charge anytime even if they are only half spent. We will
see!

Hi DoubleD,

I started using the 1800 Monster AAs a little over a year ago. They worked fine, and still do (although I've recently have become a LiPolite). However, the charger doesn't have a "conditioning" mode. Even though some people say that NiMH don't develope a memory, they do. And you really need a charger with this mode, so you can get a FULL battery drain before it begins charging. I think you need to do this after about every 10 charges.

My Monsters were starting to only give me about 15 or 20 shots from a charge. I then bought the Maha MH C204F charger which has a conditioning mode. It brought these tired Monsters back to life! If I were you, I would at least try to return the Monster charger (or use it as a back-up), and order a Maha charger. They have a new one now that has independent circuits for each battery, so each individual battery receives a complete and accurate charge.
--
Cheers,
markE

Oly E-20, LiPo, FL-40, WCON, TCON, Nikon CP 990, & LOTS of batteries!

-Gallery: http://www.pbase.com/marke

DoubleD · Nov 4, 2002

markE said:
DoubleD said:

I have an E-10 coming and I went out and bought the monster power
digital camera power pack. Comes with a digital charger that
trickle charges the batteries and won't under charger or over
charge. It came with four monster power cells and then I bought an
extra four for a spare. They are NiMH 1800 mAh. They claim they are
safe to charge anytime even if they are only half spent. We will
see!

Click to expand...

Hi DoubleD,
I started using the 1800 Monster AAs a little over a year ago. They
worked fine, and still do (although I've recently have become a
LiPolite). However, the charger doesn't have a "conditioning" mode.
Even though some people say that NiMH don't develope a memory, they
do. And you really need a charger with this mode, so you can get a
FULL battery drain before it begins charging. I think you need to
do this after about every 10 charges.

My Monsters were starting to only give me about 15 or 20 shots from
a charge. I then bought the Maha MH C204F charger which has a
conditioning mode. It brought these tired Monsters back to life! If
I were you, I would at least try to return the Monster charger (or
use it as a back-up), and order a Maha charger. They have a new one
now that has independent circuits for each battery, so each
individual battery receives a complete and accurate charge.
--
Cheers,
markE

Oly E-20, LiPo, FL-40, WCON, TCON, Nikon CP 990, & LOTS of

batteries!
-Gallery: http://www.pbase.com/marke

Mark.....what exactly does conditioning do? Isn't it basically draining the battery completely and then charging it fully afterwards? I read about one guy on here that would ocaasionally put his monster cells in a flash light and then leave it on till the batteries were completly dead and then he would fully charge them again. Would this be the same as conditioning?

TomGallo (AKA RacerX) · Nov 4, 2002

DoubleD said:
markE59102 said:

I have an E-10 coming and I went out and bought the monster power
digital camera power pack. Comes with a digital charger that
trickle charges the batteries and won't under charger or over
charge. It came with four monster power cells and then I bought an
extra four for a spare. They are NiMH 1800 mAh. They claim they are
safe to charge anytime even if they are only half spent. We will
see!

Click to expand...

Unless I'm missing something, I'm pretty sure that NiMH batteries don't
need to be reconditioned nor do they need to be fully discharged before
being charged again. That's one of the primary benefits of NiMH over
NiCad.

It sure seesm like you're getting some results in reconditioning , which puzzles me greatly.

-T

markE59102 · Nov 4, 2002

DoubleD said:
Mark.....what exactly does conditioning do? Isn't it basically
draining the battery completely and then charging it fully
afterwards? I read about one guy on here that would ocaasionally
put his monster cells in a flash light and then leave it on till
the batteries were completly dead and then he would fully charge
them again. Would this be the same as conditioning?

I was that guy! But for some reason unknown to me, it never did the trick. I tried it several times on 3 sets, until the bulb was completetly out. Never helped.

Yes, from what I understand, condtioning COMPLETELY drains the battery, and then the (Maha) charger automatically goes into charge mode.

All I can say, is that it saved a couple sets of Monster batteries that were otherwise worthless. It also helped a set of Digipower AAs I had used for a long time.

--
Cheers,
markE

Oly E-20, LiPo, FL-40, WCON, TCON, Nikon CP 990, & LOTS of batteries!

-Gallery: http://www.pbase.com/marke

Quality of NiMH batteries

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