the reason i ask here, Some wedding photog use a lot of batteries. they may experience different chargers. where charger(s) you would prefer in term of speed, compact-ness...

Some good ones are out there. I like my Maha 8 cell charger. Works well, not too compact though. But the larger size allows more air circulation, keeping the charging cells cooler than crowding them together. (Better for battery life.)

I use energizer's 15minute charger ($39.99 and comes with w/ 4 AA batteries). It works wonderfully. Comes with a built in fan and a car adapter.

+1 for the energizer. I suspect it kills the batteries themselves quicker than a slower charger would, but for what it is it works well.

One or two of these...heartily recommend.



http://www.cellpacksolutions.com/Search_Data_Sheet.asp?ID=energy16

This is one of those rare cases where the ebay version (Vanson V-6988) works great. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3071846941
I have (4) of these 10-bay chargers, as well as lots of the Tenergy AA's, and no complaints. I prefer the slower charging, as well as the discharge cycle, for better battery life.

I second Maha. http://thomasdistributing.com/shop/-nimh-rechargeable--aa-nimh-batteries-c-122_104_106.html?osCsid=23d283830ec2ab4a7146a4269a1f07b3. If you are a member of ShootSmarter.com you get extra 5%. Use this link for discount .http://www.thomas-distributing.com/shootsmarter/index.htm

Third for the Maha...

Ansmann Energy 16 charges 12 AAs at once. I have one and it has been flawless for 3-4 years now. It handles each battery individually.

I have the Maha 8-cell charger also, it's been very good to me.

Using 3 Energizer 15 min. chargers - don't worry about the charge/discharge/slow charge/whatever of these batteries because I buy 20 new batteries each year and pitch the old.

4th for the Maha, works GREAT!

I might have to give the Maha a try. I had been using some Duracell 2300mah batteries with the 30 minute charger/fan and they worked great for quite a while. I bought some AA cells from mydigitaldiscount to use with it, and a lot of them failed within a year, while the duracells were still going strong. This year, I thought the 8 AA energizers, 4 AAA, and charger from sams was a good deal for $30, so I picked one up. Come to find out it is a 9hr charger and the 2500mah energizers still don't seem to last as long as I would expect them to whether I put them in their own charger or the 30min duracell. Seems as if it is time for me to move on and spend the money on a maha 8cell charger and some batteries to keep my CP-E3, 580ex, and 550ex happy.

I built a battery pack with 4 "D" batteries for my vivitars (285 and 283) and it was cheap. Will hold charge for months. PM me for info.

http://www.batteryuniversity.com/

Sounds like your not getting long life out of these things fortinaa try that site. Steve

I have this, it's great.
Amazon link for LaCrosse
It was on sale for about 40 bucks....but I keep hearing Sanyo Enloops are amazing.

This is the one I have and use -

http://thomasdistributing.com/shop/-maha-204gt-aa-aaa-smart-battery-chargerbrincludes-ac-and-12v-dc-car-cord-adapter-p-556.html?SP_id=&osCsid=ce76168aa1a857ff37d4f5dc59bae030


If I was buying one today, this is the one I would buy -

http://thomasdistributing.com/shop/-maha-mhc801d-aa-aaa-battery-chargerbrdeluxe-8-cell-professional-battery-charger-w-full-lcd-displaybrfree-accessory-bag-2-free-eight-cell-battery-holdersbrspecial-price-6997-p-437.html?SP_id=&osCsid=ce76168aa1a857ff37d4f5dc59bae030

Jack

fotorelic wrote:
Ansmann Energy 16 charges 12 AAs at once. I have one and it has been flawless for 3-4 years now. It handles each battery individually.


I have one to, the charger rocks. OBTW PowerEx AA 2700MAH now have a 5 year warrenty

Gary Harfield wrote:
fotorelic wrote:
Ansmann Energy 16 charges 12 AAs at once. I have one and it has been flawless for 3-4 years now. It handles each battery individually.


I have one to, the charger rocks. OBTW PowerEx AA 2700MAH now have a 5 year warrenty

That does look pretty nice, but where do you limit the amount of money you spend on a AA charger?

http://www.thomas-distributing.com/ansmann_battery_charger_5407013.htm

MidMadn wrote:
Gary Harfield wrote:
fotorelic wrote:
Ansmann Energy 16 charges 12 AAs at once. I have one and it has been flawless for 3-4 years now. It handles each battery individually.


I have one to, the charger rocks. OBTW PowerEx AA 2700MAH now have a 5 year warrenty

That does look pretty nice, but where do you limit the amount of money you spend on a AA charger?

http://www.thomas-distributing.com/ansmann_battery_charger_5407013.htm


When you have excellent batteries, you need a changer to go with it. This charger does everything.

Hi-Tech Charger with Full Automatic Refresh ( Condition) Capability
Ansmann Battery Charger has Total Automatic Operation - Very Easy to Operate..
Charges either NiCd or NiMH Rechargeable Batteries
Auto-Diagnosis of the inserted cells
-deltaV Precision Charging Circuit
Built-In Capacity Quick Test when battery is inserted. Shows average Battery Charge state.
Damaged cells will be detected and automatically discharged before fast charging.
Ultra Fast Charging Precision Charging, which shuts off once full charge has been detected.
Fully recharges high capacity rechargeable batteries.. regardless of the rechargeable batteries capacity
Will recharge even the higher capacity rechargeable batteries of the future..
Individual Supervision of each cell as it charges
Automatically Detects faulty or Bad Cells
Reverse cell protection & Defective Cell Indicator
Switching Power Supply operates on Worldwide 100~240V 50~60 Hz AC
Has built in 6' AC Cord with ann American Style 2 Prong Adapter.
Requires simple AC adapter plug for International use.
3 Year Warranty

I bought my from them for alot cheaper, this one above comes with batteries. I did find one on ebay here

http://cgi.ebay.com/ANSMANN-ENERGY-16-HIGHT-TEC-CHARGER-WITH-RE-FRESH-NEW_W0QQitemZ230169872578QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item230169872578

I opt for the Energizers from Walmart, both rechargable batteries and chargers. Why? There's a Walmart near almost every wedding I shoot.

Case in point: Labor Day weekend I was shooting a state away. I had family tagging along and I forgot my charger kit. The morning of the wedding I was scrambling to locate a charger for Canon batteries, but I didn't sweat the AAs, just stopped by Walmart on the way to Wolf's to get the canon charger, all the while thankful that a Canon charger was available, never worrying about the availbility of AAs.

When I charge batteries, I use four of the Energizer 15 min chargers and four Canon chargers. I'm usually charged up, with back-ups, in less than an hour. I've heard of shorter battery life with quick chargers, but I've yet to experience it and I truly appreciate the time savings.

A bit OT, but the Canon charger (aftermarket, non-Canon) has a meter and seems to do better at topping off the battery. It's available from Adorama for about $30, or you can stop by Wolf's in a pinch and drop $50+.

Edited by takurpic on Sep 10, 2007 at 01:17 PM GMT

Maha ... I have the Energizer 15 minute one too, but it's horribly hard on the batteries.

Maha as well charging 2900mAh batts. I was buying 36 pack energizers for $12 at home depot and getting a recycling time of around 6 seconds. The new rechargeables are around 3 or 4 seconds. Coupled with the canon battery pack, I no longer have recycling time issues.