Sony Quick Battery Charger with 4 AA Ni-MH Rechargeable Batteries
by Sony Batteries
|
List Price: Category: CE See more product details |
|---|
(Click here)
Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Sony Quick Battery Charger with 4 AA Ni-MH Rechargeable Batteries
Customer Review: A real steal
Summary: 5 Stars
Given that the batteries alone cost $12, at least here on Amazon, I'd say you can't go wrong with this deal. You're paying $6.50 for the charger.
I just finished charging the four batteries that came with the unit, and everything seems fine. My digital camera seems to agree. The LED came on a few seconds after I plugged the unit in, and it was out when I looked at it about five hours later, indicating full charge. (The manual estimates 310 minutes for 4 AA NiMH batteries).
Just in case you're wondering, the four small circles that you see in the picture are not LEDs. They are evidently just air holes. There is only one LED. I kind of wonder if Sony took out 4 LEDs from its original design, but that can't explain the huge price cut.
I had the top closed when charging the battery, which some other reviewers have warned against, but I did not perceive any overheating. In fact, when I noticed that the LED had gone out, the batteries were room temperature. (I was charging with the US flavor: 110 V. Some other reviewers have reported significant heating when using 240 V.)
The folding plug is a great feature. I've loved this idea ever since I first saw the charger for Mac laptops -- it's much easier to carry around a smooth rectangular box. I'll trade potential clutter at the wall outlet for portability any day. I used an extension cord for the initial charge, in any case.
Overall, the unit is sleek and compact. It's about the same size as a desktop computer's mouse, so it's going to be easy to stuff it in a pocket or whatever bag the camera is in.
Obviously, I can't comment on battery life yet. Other than that, I'm completely happy.
Oh, one more thing. Give Sony's packaging design people some bonus points: the blister pack had a little starter tab on the back, and the package was pre-scored, so opening it was as easy as pie. Or, as easy as opening a pull-tab can of nuts, to mix metaphors a little less. It's nice to avoid the need for dangerous scissor stunts, especially when the resident manx is trying to help with the unpacking.
Customer Review: Recommended Charger
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a very cost effective battery charger. It's a simple flip top design and can charge either four AA or two AAA (You CAN mix them, however you can only charge a maximum of two AAAs at a time). Charge time is generally just over four hours if you charge all four AAs and half that with only two. AAA batteries charge in about an hour and a half by themselves, two hours if paired with AAs.
The charger cuts power to the batteries when they're full. This is a MUST feature as it preserves your battery life extraordinarily. It also is switching (100/240V) meaning you can use it outside the US without hassle (Most of Europe uses 220V). The charger comes bundled with four AA batteries with a 2300mAh capacity which is above standard and last longer. If you have batteries under 2300mAh, this charger can still charge them and cut off the power when necessary (The batteries must be NiMH however).
My only complaint with this would be the fact that the charger just has a flip up/down plug. If you have plugs sitting side by side facing downwards, the charger will occupy three slots. On a standard wall plug (Side by side with the plugs lying horizontal) it only takes up one plug however. You can easily overcome this by using an extension if needed.
All in all, I can 100% recommend this charger. There's another Sony charger slightly cheaper than this one (the BCG-34HLD4). However, pay the extra couple bucks and get this one as the other does not have a power cut off feature. If you need AAA batteries, get the Sony AAA two pack (Model NH-AAA-B2C, Amazon carries them) which are 800mAh.
Customer Review: These leave Alkis in the DUST!
Summary: 5 Stars
I do a lot of instrumental music recording and performing, and I use these Sony rechargeables EXCLUSIVELY in my gear, the most power-hungry of which are my Zoom H2 Handy Portable Stereo Recorder and my GigLight Compact LED Music Stand Light. I also use them in my Canon PowerShot A720IS 8MP Digital Camera with 6x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom when going "optical" rather than "audible."
I can EASILY record two hours of music on my H2 with two of these batteries at 44.1kHz, 16-bit. I have never even come close to their running out early, and I've never had the device quit because of a lack of power. And I have recharged these MANY times for MANY gigs.
Loading my GigLight with these, I have found I can run it OVERNIGHT -- even 24 hours! -- and not drain them completely.
Plus, the batteries last between 200-400 pictures in my Canon, depending on whether I'm using a lot of flash and whether or not I leave the AF on "continuous." I'm never short of power. It's amazing.
Charge time is very reasonable, and this handy carry-case (while the key ring is a bit ambitious) keeps my batteries together when I use the H2, which uses only 2, but keeps a spare pair at the ready if I need them.
These leave Alkis in the dust! HIGHLY recommended -- and that's high praise because I'm generally NOT a Sony fan. But I am a fan of these!
Customer Review: Highly Recommended, well worth the money!
Summary: 5 Stars
I just bought this Sony High Capacity 2300 mAh Super Quick battery charger from Amazon last week. We were going through one pack of 24 AA regular batteries every 3-4 weeks and I saw this one on sale at Amazon. I took the pludge and decided to buy it with a few extra packs of batteries. We go through so many batteries in our house with the children and so far these batteries have lasted an entire week on one charge. My daughter who is 2.5 carries her VideoNow Jr. around with her religiously and this was the one electronic that we kept going through so many batteries with. Also my digital camera is still on the same set of rechargeables for a week also. This was the best $30 I have ever spent and hopefully this will save us money in the longrun when we have another child, we will then use them for the baby bouncer and swing that takes AA batteries (those items also eat batteries). This is also a very sleek eye appealing charger. It's small and compact, ideal for travel, and has a worldwide voltage of 100-240V. Also I like the flip up and down plug-in so you can pack it in your bag for travel and not worry about the plug breaking, I find this convenient for children so they can't play with it, it's harder for kids to flip it up, but easy for adults. Also it has a cover on top so that if you have kids crawling around or toddlers and they accidently get to it they can't get to the batteries and hurt themselves. Lastly, there is a light that turns on when charging and it has an automatic shut off when the batteries are fully charged. Takes 4.5 hours for each charge.Customer Review: Works a treat
Summary: 5 Stars
I learned a valuable lesson recently. When I first bought my digital camera I loaded it with some 2500 mAh Ni-MH batteries. I was extremely disappointed that I could only get about 30 pictures before the battery died. When I started to research battery chargers, I came to realize that not all chargers are created equal. Many older and even cheaper new chargers are not capable of fully charging high capacity batteries. This is because they use a timed charge which shuts off without regard for how much the battery is actually charged. So if you are still using a 3 or 5 year old charger and it isn't a "smart" charger, then you might only be getting a 50% or less charge. In my case, with an old Energizer charger, I reckon I was only getting a 30% charge.
This Sony charger is ideal. My family uses a lot of devices that use AA batteries (cameras, Gameboys, CD players etc). I was always wary of super quick chargers because of the way they heat the batteries up. With this charger, the batteries stay cool yet a full charge of four 2500mAh NiMHs only takes about 4 hours. That's easily fast enough. And a big plus for me is that I can use it on my travels outside N. America because of its muti voltage capability, although you should be aware that you'll need a plug adaptor. Since this is a "smart" charger it can charge any capacity battery, even the latest 2650 mAh ones.
As an added bonus, the batteries that came with the charger are high capacity 2500mAh made in Japan.