SL3 battery charger question

[hmarkweidman]

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A new SL3 just arrived. I also purchased a USB-C Dual Charger BC-SCL6 with a second battery. I assumed the charger could simply be plugged into 120V AC, but as the name implies, the only port is for a USB-C cord. Can I simply plug the charger into one of my Apple Mac computers, using a USB-C cable?  Or, does it require an adapter of some sort – the charger instruction sheet notes a USB-C AC Adapter (Leica ACA-SCL6) but does not specify use.  Thanks!

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[Photoworks]

You need to use a USB-C charger that PD Power delivers.

The base power requirement is 9v 3A, which would be 25W charger

You can find many of them on Amazon, I have this one that has been working well https://a.co/d/hIlkNro

 

[hmarkweidman]

5 minutes ago, Photoworks said:

You need to use a USB-C charger that PD Power delivers.

The base power requirement is 9v 3A, which would be 25W charger

You can find many of them on Amazon, I have this one that has been working well https://a.co/d/hIlkNro

 

Thanks   I found that the power adapter for my Apple laptop seems to work fine, in terms of charging the batteries.

[scott kirkpatrick]

You can charge with just about any charger you`re likely to have.  I've charged with the 10 W charger that came with my M11 and with a 45 watt Anker charger, which is noticeably faster.  I've used it to charge in the camera and in the dual battery charger that Leica offers.  Charging an SL3 battery in an older SL2 or SL charger  doesn't seem to work, since those batteries had a lower capacity.

[Photoworks]

2 hours ago, Photoworks said:

You need to use a USB-C charger that PD Power delivers.

The base power requirement is 9v 3A, which would be 27W charger

You can find many of them on Amazon, I have this one that has been working well https://a.co/d/hIlkNro

 

 

[SrMi]

6 hours ago, scott kirkpatrick said:

You can charge with just about any charger you`re likely to have.  I've charged with the 10 W charger that came with my M11 and with a 45 watt Anker charger, which is noticeably faster.  I've used it to charge in the camera and in the dual battery charger that Leica offers.  Charging an SL3 battery in an older SL2 or SL charger  doesn't seem to work, since those batteries had a lower capacity.

Are you sure the new battery (BP-SCL6) does not work with the old charger? After all, Q3 is being shipped with the new battery and the old charger, and I am confident I was charging BP-SCL6 with the old charger.

[jaapv]

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11 hours ago, Photoworks said:

You need to use a USB-C charger that PD Power delivers.

The base power requirement is 9v 3A, which would be 25W charger

You can find many of them on Amazon, I have this one that has been working well https://a.co/d/hIlkNro

 

It does not even need to be USB C. USB adapters cost next to nothing 

[hoolyproductions]

3 hours ago, SrMi said:

Are you sure the new battery (BP-SCL6) does not work with the old charger? After all, Q3 is being shipped with the new battery and the old charger, and I am confident I was charging BP-SCL6 with the old charger.

I am under the same impression. I don't have my SL3 yet but already purchased a spare battery (SCL-6) and it seemed to charge fine in my SL2-S charger. In fact I think I saw that Leica stores are marketing the SL2/S charger for this (maybe I hallucinated this :D)

[la1402]

You can use any charger, it just will take longer. But in order to charge two batteries in parallel, you need 27W on the USB port of your charger. Most multiport chargers are below that. If you are below that, it is no problem, it just will charge serially. 

[hmarkweidman]

36 minutes ago, la1402 said:

You can use any charger, it just will take longer. But in order to charge two batteries in parallel, you need 27W on the USB port of your charger. Most multiport chargers are below that. If you are below that, it is no problem, it just will charge serially. 

Thanks la1402.  I went ahead and ordered the Leica adapter to use with the charger. Probably not necessary, but rather safe than sorry!

[tomasis7]

3 hours ago, jaapv said:

It does not even need to be USB C. USB adapters cost next to nothing 

Not sure what do you mean. 

 

USB-C is useful since it supports PD.. I managed to kill a device with USB2 that had too much power. So you had to select a wattage.

With PD 140W, you could charge anything without killing a 5w device or 140W with the same charger. 

https://www.usb.org/usb-charger-pd

Edited April 2, 2024 by tomasis7

[algrove]

16 hours ago, hmarkweidman said:

A new SL3 just arrived. I also purchased a USB-C Dual Charger BC-SCL6 with a second battery. I assumed the charger could simply be plugged into 120V AC, but as the name implies, the only port is for a USB-C cord. Can I simply plug the charger into one of my Apple Mac computers, using a USB-C cable?  Or, does it require an adapter of some sort – the charger instruction sheet notes a USB-C AC Adapter (Leica ACA-SCL6) but does not specify use.  Thanks!

You need a minimum of 27watts to charge this new setup. Some buy Anker USB-C chargers and others use their Apple devices if it is 27 watts or more. Leica mentions if it is higher the built-in circuitry regulates it down to what is needed for charging.

[jaapv]

32 minutes ago, tomasis7 said:

Not sure what do you mean. 

 

USB-C is useful since it supports PD.. I managed to kill a device with USB2 that had too much power. So you had to select a wattage.

With PD 140W, you could charge anything without killing a 5w device or 140W with the same charger. 

https://www.usb.org/usb-charger-pd

I’m a bit lost here. Electrical appliances take the power they need. The power of the source  is just a maximum. If you killed a device it must have been the voltage. 

[Chuck Albertson]

16 hours ago, scott kirkpatrick said:

You can charge with just about any charger you`re likely to have.  I've charged with the 10 W charger that came with my M11 and with a 45 watt Anker charger, which is noticeably faster.  I've used it to charge in the camera and in the dual battery charger that Leica offers.  Charging an SL3 battery in an older SL2 or SL charger  doesn't seem to work, since those batteries had a lower capacity.

I've been charging the SCL6 batt in my SL/SL2 chargers for the past several months without any problem. Though I just picked up the dual-batt charger for the convenience, powered by my laptop brick (75W) or an Anker 67W power adapter. Anker recommends using the upper USB port for charging high-wattage gizmos, for some reason.

[tomasis7]

4 hours ago, jaapv said:

I’m a bit lost here. Electrical appliances take the power they need. The power of the source  is just a maximum. If you killed a device it must have been the voltage. 

No, Usb C supports different voltages (up to 20v) meanwhile old USB sticks to 5v always.

You can kill a device with a 65w USB2 charger if the device supports max 35w.

But USB-C has a communication protocol and gives only the required voltage/wattage the connected device asks for. 

The pinout diagram of USB-C is below. USB 2 pinout is simplistic, with only 4 pins, and has no communication to a device for the required wattage delivery. 

See the yellow-colored CC1 and CC2.

Edited April 2, 2024 by tomasis7

[jaapv]

Ah-so it is the Voltage, not the Amps/Watts. I am sure that if you use it through an USB A adapter the high Voltage won’t be connected. 

[SrMi]

As I understand it, only with PD chargers will the battery charger or the camera be able to regulate the wattage, thus preventing destruction and optimizing the charging process (reducing wattage as the battery gets fuller).

[jaapv]

It is not that simple:

https://www.howtogeek.com/769888/what-is-usb-power-delivery-usb-pd/#usb-power-delivery-adds-the-volts

The charge reduction algorithm  is incorporated in any decent charger to protect the battery lifespan  

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[tomasis7]

13 hours ago, jaapv said:

Ah-so it is the Voltage, not the Amps/Watts. I am sure that if you use it through an USB A adapter the high Voltage won’t be connected. 

of course but you have to look "manually" to be sure it is compatible. Amps/Watts is still important. 

You see readings 0.5A/1A/2A and make sure if it is compatible. You still can kill a 5W  device with the "right" voltage. 

[tomasis7]

13 hours ago, SrMi said:

As I understand it, only with PD chargers will the battery charger or the camera be able to regulate the wattage, thus preventing destruction and optimizing the charging process (reducing wattage as the battery gets fuller).

yeah, for instance, the Leica battery charger can take in 100W at max (input). Outside of the AC outlet, a normal USB charger connected to the Leica battery charger can deliver 140W (output). 

AC-output -> USB-input.

PD prevents excessive USB input and allows only a 100W charge. Usually, we hear recommendations for oversizing USB-C chargers, unlike the older USB2 chargers.