Official News : Leica's new M8 charger

[DaveEP]

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I will take one..... where do I place my order ?

[jlm]

how big is it?

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The Leica Q3 is available for pre-order at B&H Photo Video and Adorama

[DaveEP]

how big is it?

 

If you check out the shots you will see 2x batteries mounted on it. That should give you some flavour of the overall size.

[Rona!d]

Compared to the tons of filmrolls you darkened in your shot, some slim SD-cards could save lot´s of space and weight for a small charger, Stefan

 

So you probably never worked with an analog Leica M Camera where 1 (one) battery CR 1/3N was enough as backup for a 4 week reportage.

 

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[bradhusick]

Yes, and the film took up three times the room of the camera and lens.

[geoff]

FYI:

 

This charger is from Hahnel of Ireland, not Leica. They have a whole product line, the PowerStation Twin V Pro, based on this design for other cameras including the Digilux series.

 

It weighs 96g, excluding batteries and mains plug. The deminsions are 97mm (H) x 130mm (W) x 38mm (D). A full .pdf brochure is available here.

 

 

Geoff

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[j. borger]

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I've never understood, however, what the fuss is with the charger that came with the camera.

 

Dito ... nothing wrong with it ..... i could not care less .... just a battery-charger

[mr_big]

The Hahnel Twin Charger has many features including a fast charging capacity and a LCD display that indicates the charging process as well as other functions such as "battery full", "battery defect" and "over heating switch off".

 

Hmmm... so it has an indicator for "battery defect." Do we know if that's one of the things that's causing the camera to freeze?

[lars_bergquist]

What most of us want – at least what I want – is not another overlarge charger for more batteries, but a charger of reasonable size. That should not be impossible, really. After all, our definition of 'reasonable' is based on the offerings of other manufacturers.

 

The old man from the Age B.C. (Before Chargers)

[yoMammabot]

Its getting better, but this new charger still seems too large for my needs. For a charger that charges 2 batteries its rather nice though.. But personally, I'd be more impressed with a redesign of a single battery charger with an emphasis on scaled down dimensions for travelers. I'd love to see a detachable cord that plugs into the wall. I rather like the Car lighter charge option though.

 

I like to travel light and the current Leica offering has always felt clumsy. I try to keep my kit as inconspicuous as possible. Thats why I prefer the Leica M system. If I pack the charger the kit starts feeling more like an SLR kit dimension wise. Besides, I'd rather that bulk be occupied by glass.

 

I'm in LA typing this now in my hotel room. I leave for home tomorrow. Everything is packed save one object... one very chunky block that I'll try to squeeze into a newly purchased shoe. Turns out the charger is not a bad Shoe Tree.

[marknorton]

I think it's a step sideways rather than forwards. Double charging is nice, as is the status display, but the thing is quite big, paperback book sized by the looks of things.

 

I'll be sticking with my travel charger.... which now also charges my iPod and my Sony Ericsson phone as well.

[EricC]

I think it's a step sideways rather than forwards. Double charging is nice, as is the status display, but the thing is quite big, paperback book sized by the looks of things.

.

 

Spot on Mark.

What I really want is a charger identical to Mark's "travel charger", but which plugs into the mains via a removeable cord.

 

Eric

[geoffreyg]

The brochure mentions interchangeable battery adapter plates, so you can use it to charge batteries from different cameras. They list the Digilux 3 batteries for the Leica, and probably are in the midst of making M8 adapters.

 

Wow, one charger, for all the cameras!

 

Geoff G.

[losta]

Will this be available from Hahnel as well as Leica? It would be great if it had interchangeable plates! I always travel with so many chargers.

[boilerdoc]

SWEET! I'm emailing Popflash right now and getting on the waiting list. Almost lost my religion trying to pack the Frankencharger for our Europe trip tomorrow! Guy, you are the 'guy'!!!

Kudos to Leica for, once again, listening to us.

Steve

[AlanJW]

Leica really should take a lesson from Canon -- or even Panasonic -- on the charger. The charger for the 5D (and those for other Canons) can fit in your pocket. So can the charger for the D-Lux 3. Its not that hard to make a charger (or have made a charger) that is that small and either haas flip out plugs or a figure 8 female connector so that different cords with different plug ends can be used. I for one, would give up the ability to charge from a car in exchange for pocketable size.

 

With the working relationship with Panasonic (which also makes batteries by the way, I think), its puzzling to say the least why something more efficient couldn't have been designed and built.

[wparsonsgisnet]

C'mon guys, this is a mosquito. Keep your perspective. Look how cute the little batteries are.

 

With Leica's tradition, maybe this battery will fit all their future cameras....

[tom0511]

I wouldnt call the new charger small either.

Not much progress IMO.

[Shootist]

I wouldnt call the new charger small either.

Not much progress IMO.

 

I have to agree except in one respect. It seems to have a cord that plugs into a wall outlet instead of the whole charger hanging from a outlet. That is a big step in the right direction..

 

I would like to know what the Hahnel charger cost for other brand batteries. It seems to be sold under there own name in the EU. So could someone in EU check what one costs for a Nikon or Canon battery.

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

[jaapv]

Leica really should take a lesson from Canon -- or even Panasonic -- on the charger. The charger for the 5D (and those for other Canons) can fit in your pocket. So can the charger for the D-Lux 3. Its not that hard to make a charger (or have made a charger) that is that small and either haas flip out plugs or a figure 8 female connector so that different cords with different plug ends can be used. I for one, would give up the ability to charge from a car in exchange for pocketable size.

 

With the working relationship with Panasonic (which also makes batteries by the way, I think), its puzzling to say the least why something more efficient couldn't have been designed and built.

 

Panasonic? Did you ever see the Digilux2 charger? I even had to buy a bigger car to be able to transport it...