Come To Us And Be Re-Volted

I wish I knew more about how the world worked. I don't care where the flies go in winter or how mining magnates lay eggs but I would like to know why batteries are the way they are.

This has been prompted by yesterday's cleanup - we put a bucketload of rechargeable batteries into the Camera Electronic Bargain Zone in the fond hope that they will find new homes. They seem to be of all shapes and sizes and are marked to suit Nikon, Canon, Sony, etc. - aftermarket batteries for compacts and such. It is the variety of models and shapes that flummoxes me.

Batteries for lots of things are standard - all the way from AAA cells through the letter series ( AA, C, D, ) and on to the standard sort of lead-acid battery for motorcycles and cars - well, they are pretty easy to buy and generally interfit no matter what they are put into. Oh, there are batteries and batteries - just you try getting any decent operation out of some of the supermarket home-brands as compared to Mallory or Ever-ready. You'll only need to do it once to cure yourself...

But batteries for cameras? Ye Gods they seem to be different for every separate manufacturer, and in many cases different for every model in the range. The stylists have dictated to the engineers what power supply they will have and as a result there are 15 batteries in stock for one manufacturer. Or not in stock, as the case may be. At this point I wish to complement the Nikon and the Canon people for designing some of their DSLR cameras to share the same battery - the Nikon En-EL3e ranged over several body models, as does the En-EL 15. Canon's LP-E6 fits several cameras, and reduces the number of separate lines we need to stock. Bravo, guys.

Please don't think I am decrying aftermarket batteries here - I use several of them in my home system and they are doing the job very well - the Camera Electronic Bargain Zone batteries that we have on the table will likely be fine for a number of older cameras. At the CEBZ price they will be brilliant. It is going to be first-come first-served with these so if you are passing by pop in.

Final note - if you are serious about your electricity ask to see the Powerex chargers and their rechargeable AA batteries. These are about the best of their class that we have seen for re-useable work in speed lights.

PS: Whoda girl? Chelsea Bunz. Hey, Chelsea!