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Eneloop Batteries

doug anderson

New member
Dear Forum: I have just purchased Eneloop batteries and a charger. The salesman told me that I will never have to use a battery pack again and that I will be able to shoot a whole wedding without changing batteries. Has anyone used these batteries?

D
 

Doug Kerr

Well-known member
Hi, Doug,
I have just purchased Eneloop batteries and a charger . . . Has anyone used these batteries

I haven't used any, but from what I have read they sound very attractive.

Here is the Wikipedia article on this type of cell:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low_self-discharge_NiMH_battery

Self discharge of my Ni-MH AA cells is a continuing problem, For example, I use my flash booster pack infrequently, and when I want to take it on a shoot, I need to top off all the AA cells in it before I go.

Another problematic use is my two Canon Compact cameras (A-520 and A-620), which I use infrequently, but want to have ready for use when needed.

Now, as to the salesman's claims about use, these do not have a greater capacity than other comparable Ni-MH AA cells - in fact, a little less than some I use. Their advantage in the freedom from self-discharge - from losing their charge while siting idle between uses. So if you can't shoot a whole wedding with a recently-fully-charged set of good "conventional" Ni-MH AA cells, you will probably not be able to with these.

And if you need a battery pack now, you still will. The advantage will be when you grab your battery pack before running out to a shoot, it will be ready to go (assuming you topped off the batteries when you brought it home from the last shoot)!

I just found that Thomas Distributing, my normal source for AA cells and chargers, has the Sanyo Eneloop AA cells on sale now for less than $10.00 per pack of four (the price is on a sliding scale depending on the number of packs ordered). Here is the link:

http://thomasdistributing.com/shop/...extra-4-cell-battery-case-p-287.html?SP_id=50

There is also a good description of the product on that page.

And in fact I just ordered six packs!

So thanks a lot!
 

Clayton Lofgren

New member
I think eneloops are great. I seldom use flash, so when I need it sometimes it has been months idle, and I can still depend on it. I did an event last night- 170 shots over four hours with no indication of low voltage.
 

John Angulat

pro member
Hi Nill,
I didn't see any difference. I jumped on the "Eneloop" (nothing more than Sanyo's trade name) bandwagon when they first came out. Good stuff.
However...Delkin makes a 2300mAh AA battery for the same price. 300mA might not seem like much, but considering my SB-800 holds 5 AA's it's the amperage-hour equivalent of an extra battery. Go for the device with the most power. That's what I did.
 
I first bought a bunch of regular rechargeable batteries and was frustrated by the idle discharge issue. I bought a pack of eneloops and haven't looked back.

They go on sale from time to time and since I feel like I need a few more, I've been looking for a fair deal. Currently, Costco is running a coupon special for 8 AA and 2 AAA for about $22 (dpreview discussion). I have yet to take advantage of the sale but I do get their mailer and will probably dig out the coupon this weekend...
 
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