M10 Dual Battery Charger

[Ashkanani1985]

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Hi guys

 

I was wondering if anyone came across a dual battery charger for m10 ?

I travel alot and sometimes to placese where charging only possible every 2 days, now M10 is main traveling camera i will be using 4 batteries so i need to charge them at nigh to get them goiong for full 12-14 hrs a day with me shooting so any idea ?

I try searching but no luck

[Gobert]

I did the same search, without succes. Now, I’m using two single ones.

[RonM]

There are few aftermarket sources for Leica chargers.

I was told by Nitecore that they will soon release a charger (single battery) for the M-10, to complement those they make for the M240, the M9, the Q and the SL.   While it will only charge one battery, purchasing two of them will still be less expensive and take up about the same room as one Leica charger.  It is powered by a standard USB charger.  Unfortunately Nitecore did not say what "soon" means!

Edited February 17, 2018 by RonM

[Gobert]

But what about charging time? My experience with Nite core is that the regular chargers are OK, but slow.

USB might even make them slower.

[RonM]

When I used one with my M 262 batteries, it charged in the usual 2-3 hours.  Charge time would depend on the USB supply; it should be able to supply 2 amps, so you can't use the USB port on a computer, but rather an AC powered cell phone type charger.  I used a Samsung 5 volt 2 amp charger.   I think this is the only company making an alternative charger for (some) Leica cameras.

In any event, we will have to wait until they introduce it to see just what its capabilities are.   For now it looks like the original Leica charger is the only way to go with M 10 batteries.

Edited February 18, 2018 by RonM

[chris_livsey]

I have just purchased a Nitecore charger for the M8 for travel, it weighs 51g, the battery weighs 46g, about 2ozs. I would wait for the Nitecore "soon" and buy two.

[marcg]

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Don't forget that fast charging can have a very detrimental effect on the long-term life of your battery.

 

Slow charging is always preferable - for a longer longer life!

Edited February 18, 2018 by marcg

[Gobert]

I agree, but think the orginal Leica is a good benchmark for any other third party one.

[lukedavidkellett]

Anyone heard any updated news on the M10 version? 

[Kevinfinity]

Anyone heard any updated news on the M10 version? 

 

I just bought two extra batteries and I am looking for the duo charger. I cannot find any new update. Seems like no company trying to make that.

[Gobert]

At the moment I would be interested in an USB powered charger.

[Kevinfinity]

That would be great. Like USB-C. But Lecia M10 has been released almost two years already. So far no third party batteries or charger available in the market... Not a good sign... 

[Gelatino]

Duo charger doesn't mean the two batteries are charged simultaneously, so if the second starts charging when the first one is full there is no time advantage , and the duo charger is bigger and heavier which is not good for travelling.

However, to get an AC/DC converter to charge on a 12V car battery is a good idea ( in case of long road trip of course) .

Edited August 24, 2018 by Gelatino

[Gobert]

My camper van has a 12 volt system on it’s solar panel solely if not connected to the grid.

[Guest]

I've been using the Nitecore chargers for my 240, M9 and Q.  They all charge well of my laptops USB port, around 2 to 3 hours and provide a bit more information about the battery condition and charging state.  Hope they release one for M10.

EDIT: Shop around, I bought mine on the Nitecore Singapore site for around US$45, I've seem them advertised for up to US$80 elsewhere. Nitecore frequently offer discount codes too, up to 15% off.

Edited August 26, 2018 by Guest

[xiaoheli]

Fyi Nitecore finally released Dual M10 USB charger. I used their M9 charger and was happy about the features and compactness for travel. Seems not many EU distributors have ULM10 yet so I ordered directly from China with AliExpress.

 

https://flashlight.nitecore.com/product/ulm10pro

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[scott kirkpatrick]

It's also available from NitecoreStore and LeicaStoreMiami.  The first ships for free but may charge local sales tax.  The second charges to ship, but hasn't charged local sales tax out of state.

[xiaoheli]

A follow up from previous post.  I have ordered actually two of them through Ali-express from China.  Usually they take about 2 weeks to arrive.... require some patience but 2 shipping are reliable so far. The actual device is larger than it appears on web due to the dual battery construction but still light and portable. Charging works like a charm.

However be aware, different than the M9 and M240 USB charger design, the cable is not permanently connected to the device but through a micro-USB socket, this does add to flexibility but this is where the problem starts - after connecting/disconnecting the USB cable to/from micro-USB socket ONCE,  my device was bricked. I realized it might be the connection of USB socket since it feels shaky. Returning the stuff to China for warranty will take weeks and certainly will miss Xmas holiday when I need it the most.... so I opened the back cover attempting to fix myself. To my surprise, the micro-USB PCB is connected to the main PCB through 4 solder joints without metal/mechanical reinforcement - not sure if this is a design consideration or assembly flaw but for a socket designed to frequently plug and unplug, you simply don't use solder joint alone to fix the socket....  unsurprisingly, in my device all 4 solder joints are cracked (mechanical fatigue) resulting in total lose of connection - simple but fatal defect (see photo). The fix is actually quite simple, clean the pads, re-solder the joints, screw on the cover, works beautifully again... though you would argue why Leica shooter has to be electrical engineer from time to time.

Frankly in this design I wonder if I would be the last one experiencing this mechanical stress failure and would advice those who are using this specific charger - to be safe - don't plug/unplug the cable too often or be prepared to do some soldering yourself.

 

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[farnz]

As an electrical design engineer, using solder as a mechanical element is not something I would contemplate owing to the risk of failure from metal fatigue as xiaoheli has experienced.

Perhaps the answer is to leave the micro-USB socket permanently inserted and fixed in place with adhesive if practicable.  That would mean only needing to disconnect at the USB end and hopefully the charger should be less prone to failure.

Pete.

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[Guest]

18 hours ago, farnz said:

As an electrical design engineer, using solder as a mechanical element is not something I would contemplate owing to the risk of failure from metal fatigue as xiaoheli has experienced.

Perhaps the answer is to leave the micro-USB socket permanently inserted and fixed in place with adhesive if practicable.  That would mean only needing to disconnect at the USB end and hopefully the charger should be less prone to failure.

Pete.

This will be my solution too, just leave attached - thanks for the heads up.

However, might be a bit irrelevant as I probably won't use the charger too much. I charged two, fully depleted batteries, took 17 hours connected to a power source capable of delivering 2.4 amps. Not very impressed but am I being too critical?  These are petty cheap chargers, in many respects, I wouldn't really recommend.