How do you charge a battery in the middle of nowhere?

[martinis]

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As a user of only film cameras (I can'tafford an M9 and I'm attached to my brace of M6s) ,can someone enlighten me as to how a digital camera user recharges their battery when up a mountain or in the middle of a desert?

Is it as simple as a solar charger or a case of packing plenty of batteries ?

I know what I would be comfortable in the middle of nowhere with.

 

Martin

[Stealth3kpl]

I once watched someone try to recharge his by shouting expletives at it.

Pete

[andybarton]

They don't

 

They take a spare.

[giordano]

I've never found it a problem, but I only ever climb mountains and cross deserts by train or four-wheel-drive. One could however always sling a solar panel on the sunny side of one of the camels.

[aesop]

They don't

 

They take a spare.

 

 

...out in the field, how long (typically) would these things retain the charge for before they fall below the required level? Further, is battery performance impacted by other factors (temperature, humidity, altitude, air pressure, etc.)?

 

And during use, is there a gradual drop-off in camera functionality or does the thing just seize at some point?

[giordano]

...out in the field, how long (typically) would these things retain the charge for before they fall below the required level? Further, is battery performance impacted by other factors (temperature, humidity, altitude, air pressure, etc.)?

 

And during use, is there a gradual drop-off in camera functionality or does the thing just seize at some point?

 

Lithium-ion cells retain their charge much better than NiCd ones. Self discharge over a few weeks is usually negligible. Performance isn't affected by humidity (unless a combination of severe condensation and lots of dirt forms a conductive track between the positive and negative terminals) or barometric pressure. However all batteries perform less well when cold, dramatically less well when the temperature is well below freezing.

 

With a lithium-ion battery in a modern digital camera, things work normally until the battery is discharged to the point where the camera decides it's not getting enough volts for safe operation. It then finishes writing current data to the memory card before it stops working until you give it a charged battery. The battery gauges are rather like fuel gauges on pre-electronic cars: better than nothing but they don't tell you exactly when you'll run out of juice.

[doubice]

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When I went for a 3-day trek into the wilderness during my film days, I always a carried spare battery for the M6 or M7 and three or four rolls of film. Now I carry two 8G SD cards and three spare batteries (one in the camera, one spare and one 'just in case'...). No difference, really.

 

The M6 of course worked without batteries and my brain would substitute for the meter, if it was needed…..

 

Best,

 

Jan

[adan]

Realistically, if you are going into the middle of nowhere to take pictures - you can't charge batteries easily and you can't buy more film, either. So you carry what you'll need with you.

 

M9 batteries bulk about the same as a roll of 35mm film (and weigh about the same as two rolls). The difference is that they're good for 300-500 pictures (per charge) instead of 36 or 72.

 

So if you'll need, say, 2,100 shots from your back-country trip, you take 60 rolls of film (1,260 Kg) - or 5-6 M9 batteries (270 g).

 

However, things like this are available: Amazon.com: Eclipse Solar Gear Nova Solar Camera Bag (Solar Charger): Electronics

[andybarton]

I always have 8 fresh batteries for my M7 and 4 batteries for the winder M in my bag. Batteries in M7s are notorious for just dying on you without warning.

 

The "bulk" of film has never bothered me in nearly 40 years of shooting the stuff. It won't bother me in the remaining 20.

[Joachim123]

Never used a digital camera. I carry spare batteries for my M6 and take more film than I need.

 

All fits right in my vest.

[Chiefey]

I recently purchased a device that converts auto DC to 120VAC. When on a photo trip, I never get too far from the car, both for charging the batteries, or operating my laptop without depending on that battery.

[Mark Pope]

Don't forget that the M8 charger comes with a 12v cable, so you can charge it from a cigar lighter.

Admittedly, it's not much help if you're on foot out in the Boonies.

 

I do like the idea of shouting at a battery to give it more charge though.

[dicko101]

Multiple batteries in breast pockets in order to keep them warm...or shoot an M4

[Xmas]

Multiple batteries in breast pockets in order to keep them warm...or shoot an M4

 

Well M2, M3, as above, & M4.2, wih selinium meter, take 2 bodies at least.

 

Noel

[jplomley]

I always have 8 fresh batteries for my M7

 

Likewise for my pair of M7's. Although Andy, I usually do see the bc flash as a warning the batteries are on their last legs. I've never had an M7 just suddenly go down.

 

For my M8 and M9, I carry six batteries. The beauty is they are so compact and therefore really do not add much weight to the bag.

[anabasis]

My digital bodies (non-Leica) gives me over 2,000 frames per charge. With two or three batteries, you are going to need a lot of media cards in order to run out of power before you run out of memory.

 

If you are in the field for a long period of time, using a 12V truck battery and an inverter with the standard charger will keep you going. The inverter need not be large given the current draw of a battery charger.

 

I have far more trouble with my R8 MD batteries than my digital cameras. The batteries are NiCd and don't hold the charge well, even the newer one. Still, with my Leicas (all film) I am far more apt to run out of film before batteries.

 

JCA

[think]

I use the 3 panel Solio with the cig lighter adapter when required for phone and digicam. However, like an earlier poster, my DSLR's batteries are good for at least 2k shots per so usually 1 spare carries me a long way.

 

My M6TTL's are never a battery issue as I keep a couple of spares in the grip.