A digital camera battery is probably the most important digital camera
accessory. Some digital cameras can consume power at an alarming rate,
providing no more than a few hours of continuous shooting time before
the battery is drained. Other cameras are renowned for the long life of
their digital camera battery which allows users to snap away with
barely a thought to power consumption. It is important to know how you
intend to use your camera and what type of battery it needs.
There are two types of digital camera battery. The most widely
available digital camera battery is a standard AA-size battery. The
other type of digital camera battery is a rechargeable battery that is
made by the manufacturer, otherwise known as a proprietary battery.
A proprietary digital camera battery offers the advantage of being
lighter and more compact, but they are substantially more expensive,
making the prospect of buying one or two backup sets much less
appealing.
The alkaline AA-size digital camera battery usually has a very short
life - less than an hour in extreme cases - when used in a digital
camera. This type of battery makes an acceptable emergency backup,
especially if you are travelling with your camera. However, the Nickel
Metal Hydride (NiMH) digital camera battery can be used instead of the
alkaline ones with a charger and this rechargeable NiMH digital camera
battery has a substantially longer life at an affordable price.
Another type of AA-size battery is the non-rechargeable Lithium
batteries and rechargeable Nickel Cadmium (NiCD) batteries. The lithium
digital camera battery has a superior life to alkaline AA's and offers
good cold-weather performance but their price and non-rechargeable
nature make them less useful than rechargeable NiMH batteries. It is
also important to ensure that your camera can take a lithium digital
camera battery. On the other hand the NiCD digital camera battery
offers the advantage of retaining their charge while unused, unlike
NiMH cells, but have shorter lives and need to be discharged completely
before recharging which can be extremely inconvenient.
The LCD screen of a digital camera is responsible for consuming the
most power from a digital camera battery so it is worth only using the
LCD when necessary to help conserve the battery life. Always try to
carry at least one backup set of batteries, especially if you plan on
being away from power outlets for an extended period of time. The
universally-available alkaline AA-size battery can make a convenient
emergency backup if your regular digital camera battery fails.
