LX5- no battery charge via USB?

[swy]

Hi all,

Just got my new LX5 yesterday. Am I right to conclude that the only way I'm charging up the battery is to remove it and plug it into the wall charger? I'm upgrading from a Kodak that would charge the battery over USB, which was a very nice setup: plug into USB, download pictures, leave it there and it will charge itself up.

 

[Chris Christenberry]

You are correct that the only way to charge the battery is to remove it from the camera and place it in the charger and plug it into an outlet. You've upgraded to a much better camera. Welcome to the "club".

 

[swy]

Drag. One more item to remember to pack when traveling. Having the USB cable be everything I needed for data transfer and battery charge was so handy.

Is there a technical reason they couldn't have done that? A limitation of USB power vs what it takes to charge the LX5 battery?

 

[nickaltenbernd]

There were incidents of batteries overheating while charging in the camera and causing fires or other damage that way. This is a cautionary measure to prevent that. Many (maybe most now? I don't know) better cameras now do not charge the battery internally, but require an external charger. The battery is in the open air and can cool adequately that way.

-Nick

 

[kernow]

Hi all,

Just got my new LX5 yesterday. Am I right to conclude that the only way I'm charging up the battery is to remove it and plug it into the wall charger? I'm upgrading from a Kodak that would charge the battery over USB, which was a very nice setup: plug into USB, download pictures, leave it there and it will charge itself up.

I never liked that feature, my Fuji has that. I might end up charging one battery whilst needing to use the camera with a spare, so I would need to carry two cameras. LOL.

I don't download the photos via the USB anyway.
--
Oll an gwella,
Jim

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[Clark1]

• -I have had spare batteries for all my digital cameras. Film, too. (OCD :} At least it plugs in directly so you don't have an extra cord.

Amateur

 

[trevmar]

I bought the dummy DC-Coupler battery housings into which the Panny AC5 AC adapter plug fits. Here are a couple of photos:

 

[wonton]

If you charge your battery in your camera, then you won't be able to use the
camera while it is charging. I carry the charger with an extra battery so I can
switch battery when one is used up.

wonton

 

[Trevor G]

I'm upgrading from a Kodak that would charge the battery over USB, which was a very nice setup: plug into USB, download pictures, leave it there and it will charge itself up.

It's a very dangerous practice. USB is not designed for charging batteries, but to power a device while using it.

We have customers who have killed mainboards through charging mobile phones via USB.

--
Cheers

Trevor G

http://www.computerwyse.com

 

[kernow]

I'm upgrading from a Kodak that would charge the battery over USB, which was a very nice setup: plug into USB, download pictures, leave it there and it will charge itself up.

It's a very dangerous practice. USB is not designed for charging batteries, but to power a device while using it.

We have customers who have killed mainboards through charging mobile phones via USB.

--
Cheers

Trevor G

http://www.computerwyse.com

Could the same thing happen if using a non-powered USB hub with many devices?
--
Oll an gwella,
Jim

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