Compact with internal battery charging?

ZorSy said:

Most of new Olympus and Samsung P&S have only one connector used with different cables either for video out or USB/charger. ... Pity though it is "custom" USB on camera side...Fuji/Sony/Nikon use slightly larger, kind of "standard"...

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Are you sure what you are calling "custom" is not actually micro-USB? (see http://www.usb-mobile-charger.com/micro-usb-mobile-phone-charger/ for the difference).

If so, I'd rather they used this and switched all cameras to micro-USB from the current mini-USB de-facto standard so that cameras would be completely in-line with the new officially agreed phone standard.

Roger99 said:

One good reason to charge you battery externally is that if the battery is faulty or of dodgy production it can leak or explode especially in the case of a fast charger system. You don't want this to happen inside your camera.

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How often has that happened with all the mobile phones you've ever owned? I'd like to bet never!

Roger99 said:

Even charging a good battery externally can extend the life of the battery and give a better charge because it will remain cooler as it charges.

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Having an internal charge capability doesn't stop you also using an external one if you have a bit of OCD about such things. Personally, I don't think that such a temperature difference will make that much odds. I suppose if the battery compartment is designed well it could use the camera body as a heatsink.

Roger99 said:

Also the camera will be more compact if charging circuits are kept outside of it.

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I find that unlikely. Any area added by such circuitry will be negligible, if not none due to silicon technology improvements.

1) Modern Li-Ion batteries rarely, if ever, explode. When a Li-Ion battery explodes, it's usually because someone was doing something tremendously stupid, like stabbing it with a screwdriver. Modern chargers have a bevy of features to prevent overcharging - including sabotaging themselves rather than let the charge hit the battery.

2) If a battery IS going to explode, it's going to do it one of two places - on the charger or in the device. The theoretical safety advantage of charging it externally means nothing when it can explode just as handily inside its battery-hole, a place where it will live about 99.9% of its lifetime.

3) There are many, many devices that use internally-charging batteries. Cellphones, laptops, cordless phones, cars, all manner of light electric vehicles, videogame controllers and devices...the list goes on. It's not a hazard to charge the battery inside.

As far as "compact"...have you seen the iPhone? It's about 90% battery, and quite a bit slimmer than most phones...or even most electronic devices. The charging circuit is not a space issue.

cauleyflower said:

Having an internal charge capability doesn't stop you also using an external one

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Sure it does. There's plenty of devices which only allow one or the other. Actually, I would wager they represent the majority...

just released oly xz-1 or if you can find one contax tvs digital but the contax takes 6 hours to charge! anfd i believe samsung and kodak

raven900sx said:

just released oly xz-1 or if you can find one contax tvs digital but the contax takes 6 hours to charge! anfd i believe samsung and kodak

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My EX1 would take much less than 3 hrs, although it is so long ago that I charged it fully that I don't recall, most times it is a 10min incremental charge while I download my images.

Brian

--

It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain an idea without necessarily accepting it. -Aristotle

The one serious conviction one should hold is that nothing should be taken too seriously.
...oh, and I see by the lack of responses that I am right yet again.

--

It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain an idea without necessarily accepting it. -Aristotle

The one serious conviction one should hold is that nothing should be taken too seriously.
...oh, and I see by the lack of responses that I am right yet again.

Whilst undoubtedly Li-Ion batteries are superior, it is well worth noting that AA rechargeable batteries have one major advantage.

If the internal Li-Ion battery runs out of power when shooting, the camera can no longer be used as needs recharging and of course, that takes time.

AA rechargeables are generally inexpensive (and often the lower rated ones are actually better for in-camera use due the internal resistance factor) so extras, ready charged, can be carried and swapped over as and when required. In addition (although not ideal) decent alkaline ones can be purchased virtually everywhere if required for emergency use.

Zone8

The photograph isolates and perpetuates a moment of time: an important and revealing moment, or an unimportant and meaningless one, depending upon the photographer's understanding of his subject and mastery of his process. -Edward Weston
http://www.photosnowdonia.co.uk/ZPS
LINK: For B+W with Epson 1400 using black ink only:

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In normal use the Ex1 will shoot all day without running out of battery power and an extra battery for the power hungry can be purchase for less than £10 off the internet, so why should you take a step backwards with AAA batteries?
RMW487.

Zone8 said:

Whilst undoubtedly Li-Ion batteries are superior, it is well worth noting that AA rechargeable batteries have one major advantage.

If the internal Li-Ion battery runs out of power when shooting, the camera can no longer be used as needs recharging and of course, that takes time.

AA rechargeables are generally inexpensive (and often the lower rated ones are actually better for in-camera use due the internal resistance factor) so extras, ready charged, can be carried and swapped over as and when required. In addition (although not ideal) decent alkaline ones can be purchased virtually everywhere if required for emergency use.

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I once used my Fujifilm F31fd with Li-Ion battery on a week vacation and took about 1200 shots mostly with fill flash, without changing or charging the battery once!

When I got home there was still plenty of charge left in the battery. Try doing that with AA batteries!
--
Best regards,
Jon

jonikon said:

I once used my Fujifilm F31fd with Li-Ion battery on a week vacation and took about 1200 shots mostly with fill flash, without changing or charging the battery once!

When I got home there was still plenty of charge left in the battery. Try doing that with AA batteries!

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I get more than 1200 shots per charge on a set of four rechargable 'AA' Eneloops in my Pentax *ist DS DSLR.

And I have 12 total of the Eneloops, so I pretty much could cover a week easily with those!

Especially since I have two more DSLR's (that use lithium ion rechargable batteries) that are typically with me all the time as well.

--
J. D.
Colorado

RMW487 said:

In normal use the Ex1 will shoot all day without running out of battery power and an extra battery for the power hungry can be purchase for less than £10 off the internet, so why should you take a step backwards with AAA batteries?

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Many (most in fact) cameras (of the compact design especially) do not have the facility to change the built-in internal Li-Ion battery, hence my comment - and I did not say AAA batteries - AA ones if you re-read my post. So, for those with such cameras, the AA route is the best alternative for most, especially as extra AA rechargeables can be carried and also, for emergencies, substituted with the better quality AA non-rechargeables, obtainable virtually worldwide. In addition, cameras that are basically the same spec are much cheaper if set to use the AA batteries.

Of course, if you have a camera in which you can easily change and purchase a Li-Ion, that would be the better alternative but I did only suggest an alternative to consider and few people would necessarily have the specific camera model you mentioned.

There is a huge choice out there!

Zone8

The photograph isolates and perpetuates a moment of time: an important and revealing moment, or an unimportant and meaningless one, depending upon the photographer's understanding of his subject and mastery of his process. -Edward Weston
http://www.photosnowdonia.co.uk/ZPS
LINK: For B+W with Epson 1400 using black ink only:

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1003&message=33148491&q=zone8+1400+b+w+plain&qf=m