You know, you may have noticed from posts ibid that my green credentials are somewhat brown and sooty. I was one who pointed to the flaws in the 'Global Warming' story long before the hack that exposed the dubious practices of the so called climate experts. I fail to see how trading in my ten year old gas guzzler for a new eco piss ant plastic and glass bubble will really help the environment - once a full environmental impact study of the making of the little car and disposing of mine is taken into account. In short I am not the idiot the government was looking for.
So sit down - I am going to surprise you. I have just bought into rechargeable batteries (electrical cells) in a big way. Thanks to a tip on t'internet I will be running my camera and flash on rechargeable batteries from now on.
Now actually my camera already uses rechargeable batteries - special Nikon ones that cost quite a lot unless you buy them from Hong Kong. They are good and I am not about to throw them away, but since they cost so much I don't have spares. I don't have spares for another reason - the batteries are Lithium Ion and lose their capacity over time regardless of whether you use them or not. I know an unused spare tyre can rot on its mount- but not as quickly as a Lithium Ion cell; a spare Lithium Ion cell is only worth having if you regularly need it; I don't.
Up until now I have carried disposable Lithium AA cells as a back-up (they also work better in extreme cold). I have two AA cell carriers for my camera battery pack and occasionally I raid one to replenish my SB800 flash gun. Which is good except the flash does not really like Lithiums - and they get very hot in use. But when my current set of AA Lithiums are done there will be no more. Because NiMH rechargeable has got better (in fact it did so about two years ago, but I'm a little slow).
New rechargeable AA cells (Eneloop etc.) differ fundamentally from their predecessors in that they don't go flat just sitting waiting to be used; actually they do, but in about the same time period as a conventional disposable cell. Which means I am happy to carry them in my bag. It gets better - my camera achieves its highest frame rate running AA cells and NOT the fancy Nikon batteries. It gets better yet - my flash recycles faster with rechargeable AA cells. It gets even even better yet (yet?) - the charger is comparatively cheap and small and flat so easier to pack for travel and less of a financial hit if I leave it in a hotel room. So traveling abroad I can now take two charged Nikon batteries and when they done switch to rechargeable AAs. Two sets of Eneloops means one can charge overnight, and the cells go in everything (and a cell filled charger can even act as a usb charger for my iPhone). Thank you internet - this is a tip I have followed and am happy to pass on.
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