How to charge batteries while camping

shniks · July 19, 2011

Hey guys,

I'm heading out to Yosemite's Tuolumne Meadows in a couple of weeks. I have 3 batteries for my Nikon D700, which will not last more than a couple of days (as I intend to shoot some star trails etc). Any advice on what I can buy to help me recharge the batteries? Is a solar charger (from say sundance solar) good? I was even thinking of getting a power pack like this:

http://www.amazon.com/Duracell-DPP-600HD-Powerpack-Starter-Emergency/dp/B000TKHMWK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1311101900&sr=8-1

Any thoughts?

Cheers,

wvrocks · July 19, 2011

will you be in the backcountry the entire time or will you have a car? If you will be in the backcountry there are some solar charging options, Goal Zero comes to mind. If you have a car, I'd just get a power inverter and use it to run your charger.

Toulomne Meadows is awesome btw. I love that place.

Nikolai · July 19, 2011

wvrocks wrote: »

will you be in the backcountry the entire time or will you have a car? If you will be in the backcountry there are some solar charging options, Goal Zero comes to mind. If you have a car, I'd just get a power inverter and use it to run your charger.

Toulomne Meadows is awesome btw. I love that place.

+1 on all accounts. When looking for inverter/solar/battery look for ones with USB outputs (preferably more than one), as these days this is what you need most.

shniks · July 19, 2011

wvrocks wrote: »

will you be in the backcountry the entire time or will you have a car? If you will be in the backcountry there are some solar charging options, Goal Zero comes to mind. If you have a car, I'd just get a power inverter and use it to run your charger.

Toulomne Meadows is awesome btw. I love that place.

Thanks for the info. I will have a car - unfortunately my car's lighter output does not work when the car is switched off. So hence I was thinking of getting a power pack, than can be also charged via the cigarette lighter socket.

I am looking at solar charging options too.

I have been meaning to go to Tuolumne Meadows for the past 3 years, but never got reservations there. This year I finally was able to secure a campsite. So am excited.

Cheers,

shniks · July 19, 2011

Nikolai wrote: »

+1 on all accounts. When looking for inverter/solar/battery look for ones with USB outputs (preferably more than one), as these days this is what you need most.

Thanks for that tip - I will check out inverters with a USB output.

Cheers,

jbakerphoto · July 19, 2011

3.5 lbs and 8 inches long....sounds like a good source of camping power to me....Even has a usb port!!

http://www.paulcbuff.com/vm120.php

shniks · July 19, 2011

jbakerphoto wrote: »

3.5 lbs and 8 inches long....sounds like a good source of camping power to me....Even has a usb port!!

http://www.paulcbuff.com/vm120.php

I was just looking at that.

. It looks awesome. I have to ask them though if I can charge it via the car's ciggy output.

Edit: Although I see it is only 130 Watt-Hour as opposed to 600 Watt-Hour for the Duracell.

http://www.amazon.com/Duracell-DPP-600HD-Powerpack-Starter-Emergency/dp/B000TKHMWK/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&coliid=I3KE6RDXB2N0C4&colid=NR6HSMCJR2OM

The duracell is bigger in size, but can pump out more power. Not sure what to do now. *sigh*

Cheers,

ziggy53 · July 19, 2011

I highly recommend purchasing some extra camera batteries as your best strategy. Amazon has genuine Nikon EN-EL3e batteries for $30USD. I suggest at least 3 more for your kit.

http://www.amazon.com/Nikon-EN-EL3e-Rechargeable-Battery-Packaging/dp/B000BYCKU8

It probably wouldn't take much to safely wire a fused service "cigarette lighter" outlet directly to your car's battery, but I would take an additional lead-acid storage battery and charge that while you do run the car, and then use a DC car charger powered from that external storage battery when the car is stopped. Almost any RV outfitter can help you with the wiring and power distribution if you desire.

You might consider another camera body for time-exposure star trails and such. Older professional film cameras tend to latch the shutter and mirror, so the battery just runs the timer (basically). Film cameras also don't require a dark-frame or long-exposure noise reduction. There is no instant gratification, of course, but there is skill and technique involved.

angevin1 · July 20, 2011

shniks wrote: »

I have been meaning to go to Tuolumne Meadows for the past 3 years, but never got reservations there. This year I finally was able to secure a campsite. So am excited.
Cheers,

Congrats!

I'd vote for exXtra batteries too, just plop and change!

roakey · July 20, 2011

shniks wrote: »

I will have a car - unfortunately my car's lighter output does not work when the car is switched off.

If solving this issue will solve your problem, it will be the cheapest and perhaps easiest way. Google your car make and see if there's “enthusiast” bulletin board for your car. Use the search option and see if there’s anything on “power outlets” or something similar. Most often it’s just jumping a relay and it’ll always be on.

For an example, here’s a post from the Honda Ridgeline Owner’s Club on how to make the front power outlets always live: http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3090

Otherwise I’d second Ziggy’s suggestion – many batteries will probably be the cheapest option.

Roak

Ps. Guess what kind of car I own?

shniks · July 20, 2011

roakey wrote: »

If solving this issue will solve your problem, it will be the cheapest and perhaps easiest way. Google your car make and see if there's “enthusiast” bulletin board for your car. Use the search option and see if there’s anything on “power outlets” or something similar. Most often it’s just jumping a relay and it’ll always be on.

For an example, here’s a post from the Honda Ridgeline Owner’s Club on how to make the front power outlets always live: http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3090

Otherwise I’d second Ziggy’s suggestion – many batteries will probably be the cheapest option.

Roak

Ps. Guess what kind of car I own?

Thanks Roak - I will give that a shot too. Someone else mentioned some solar chargers to me and swear by them. I need to read up on those too.

I guess you own a Honda?

Cheers,

ziggy53 · July 20, 2011

shniks wrote: »

Thanks Roak - I will give that a shot too. Someone else mentioned some solar chargers to me and swear by them. I need to read up on those too.

I guess you own a Honda?

Cheers,

The problem with solar is that it tends to be very inefficient, unless you can charge a storage battery directly and then use that storage battery to directly drive your camera. If you have to go through an inverter you lose a lot of efficiency and then you also lose efficiency with most wall type chargers as well. At very least, try to find a system that can save the power to a storage battery and then use an automotive DC charging system for your camera's battery.

You are also at the mercy of the weather and your camp site. Unless you can set the solar array in direct sunlight and unless you get enough hours of direct sunlight, you may not get enough charge to handle your needs.

Matthew Saville · July 20, 2011

A man after my own heart! I just LOVE the D700 for star trails, woohoo! Honestly, I just happen to have accumulated eight D700 batteries

. Don't ask! But yeah, I love shooting star trails, and you can really gobble up your batteries quick.

But, when I'm camping, I just leave my keys in the car for a couple hours and it's fine. You can charge a LOT of stuff before the average car battery dies.

My camping buddies have a special inverter that allows you to clamp directly to the car battery, so what we'd do sometimes was just pop the hood. And usually, we never really stay in one place more than 1-2 nights, so we're on the road in time to recharge the car battery.

So, I'd say, just go online and hunt around some trusted sources for secondhand D700 batteries; the EN-EL3 has been around for so long now that you can pick them up pretty cheap. Any star trail / time lapse photographer should have at least 4-5 batteries! For me, the bottom line is that the price and weight of a half-dozen EN-EL3's is WAY less than the price / weight of any other battery option. So, just stockpile batteries, and charge up whenever you're on the road. Personally I have 2-3 chargers too... (Again, accumulated over the years thanks to the fact that Nikon has been using the same battery format since the D70!)

...OR, you can always get the AA battery pack in the vertical grip, and buy a Costco pack of AA's.

Good luck,
=Matt=

BTW here's the website of my star-trail shooting amigo. Awesome stuff! http://sgphotos.com

shniks · July 21, 2011

ziggy53 wrote: »

The problem with solar is that it tends to be very inefficient, unless you can charge a storage battery directly and then use that storage battery to directly drive your camera. If you have to go through an inverter you lose a lot of efficiency and then you also lose efficiency with most wall type chargers as well. At very least, try to find a system that can save the power to a storage battery and then use an automotive DC charging system for your camera's battery.

You are also at the mercy of the weather and your camp site. Unless you can set the solar array in direct sunlight and unless you get enough hours of direct sunlight, you may not get enough charge to handle your needs.

Hmm, good points regarding the solar chargers. They also seem to be really expensive. So I guess that rules solar out. Gonna stick with my four batteries and get a power pack.

Cheers,

shniks · July 21, 2011

Matthew Saville wrote: »

A man after my own heart! I just LOVE the D700 for star trails, woohoo! Honestly, I just happen to have accumulated eight D700 batteries . Don't ask! But yeah, I love shooting star trails, and you can really gobble up your batteries quick.

But, when I'm camping, I just leave my keys in the car for a couple hours and it's fine. You can charge a LOT of stuff before the average car battery dies.

My camping buddies have a special inverter that allows you to clamp directly to the car battery, so what we'd do sometimes was just pop the hood. And usually, we never really stay in one place more than 1-2 nights, so we're on the road in time to recharge the car battery.

So, I'd say, just go online and hunt around some trusted sources for secondhand D700 batteries; the EN-EL3 has been around for so long now that you can pick them up pretty cheap. Any star trail / time lapse photographer should have at least 4-5 batteries! For me, the bottom line is that the price and weight of a half-dozen EN-EL3's is WAY less than the price / weight of any other battery option. So, just stockpile batteries, and charge up whenever you're on the road. Personally I have 2-3 chargers too... (Again, accumulated over the years thanks to the fact that Nikon has been using the same battery format since the D70!)

...OR, you can always get the AA battery pack in the vertical grip, and buy a Costco pack of AA's.

Good luck,
=Matt=

BTW here's the website of my star-trail shooting amigo. Awesome stuff! http://sgphotos.com

Thanks for the feedback Matt. I think I will stick with my four D700 batteries and get a power pack along with it. Buying additional batteries is not what I want as each battery lasts for around 1.5 to 2 hours of star trails. I am going for around 6 nights and also will be shooting sunrise and sunsets etc. So even if I had 8 batteries, they won't last for the entire time. I think I will just go with a power pack.

Cheers,

time2smile · July 21, 2011

Go to Radio shack and get two battery clips, than you can adapt your 12 volt charger directly to the car battery, place it under the hood, just dont drive off and forget its there. You can also find a hot wire somewhere you can tap off of, usually the interior lights if you have a switch option on them will provide power when the car if off.

Matthew Saville · July 21, 2011

shniks wrote: »

Thanks for the feedback Matt. I think I will stick with my four D700 batteries and get a power pack along with it. Buying additional batteries is not what I want as each battery lasts for around 1.5 to 2 hours of star trails. I am going for around 6 nights and also will be shooting sunrise and sunsets etc. So even if I had 8 batteries, they won't last for the entire time. I think I will just go with a power pack.

Cheers,

Really, just 2 hours? Hmm in my testing 1-2 hours only drains about 40-50% of the battery. And it's even better on a D300, by the way, I've found that at sub-freezing temps and ISO 100 or 200, the D300 does even better at star trails than the D700. Dunno why, but that's one reason why I keep it around. I usually use the D700 for high-ISO time lapses and stuff, and use the D300 for the long exposures.

Another thing I learned from my friend Sean is, you get MUCH better image quality by stacking 5-10 minute exposures, not sure if that' what you're doing instead of exposing for one 1-2 hr shot. Maybe you already are using that method...

Anyways, yeah it sounds like if you're not going to be turning your car on for six days, a huge battery pack might be the best choice. For me though, it has been effective enough to just charge up on the car battery as needed. You could probably charge an EN-EL3 a dozen times or two, and still be able to start your car just fine. Maybe some day I'll do a test! This winter when wedding photography season dies down, I'm certainly hoping to get out and do some more star trails / time lapses. Here in SoCal though, it's so warm at night that I can't expose for more than ~20 minutes before noise starts to ruin things...

=Matt=

shniks · July 21, 2011

Matthew Saville wrote: »

Really, just 2 hours? Hmm in my testing 1-2 hours only drains about 40-50% of the battery. And it's even better on a D300, by the way, I've found that at sub-freezing temps and ISO 100 or 200, the D300 does even better at star trails than the D700. Dunno why, but that's one reason why I keep it around. I usually use the D700 for high-ISO time lapses and stuff, and use the D300 for the long exposures.

Another thing I learned from my friend Sean is, you get MUCH better image quality by stacking 5-10 minute exposures, not sure if that' what you're doing instead of exposing for one 1-2 hr shot. Maybe you already are using that method...

Anyways, yeah it sounds like if you're not going to be turning your car on for six days, a huge battery pack might be the best choice. For me though, it has been effective enough to just charge up on the car battery as needed. You could probably charge an EN-EL3 a dozen times or two, and still be able to start your car just fine. Maybe some day I'll do a test! This winter when wedding photography season dies down, I'm certainly hoping to get out and do some more star trails / time lapses. Here in SoCal though, it's so warm at night that I can't expose for more than ~20 minutes before noise starts to ruin things...

=Matt=

I had a D300 and found it to have more noise for star trails than a D700 - hence got rid of it. I prefer FX for such shots. I have tried both, multiple stacks and then using software to combine them or simply using a long exposure. I don't get noticeable noise with long exposure stacks. Of course if it is too warm then I use multiple exposure stacks instead. Here is an example of an hour long exposure with minimal noise.

The problem with the battery is that it lasts longer in warm weather. My experience in cold weather has been that it will last only around 2 to 3 hours max. Since 'Tuolumne Meadows' is at around 9,000 feet elevation and we are going to be doing a lot of night shooting, I am expecting the batteries to last no more than 3 hours (around 2 to 3 trails - multiple exposures or single exposure). I don't like the idea of carrying the big battery pack, but I guess in this situation, I just need the power. Regarding using the car battery, I have a bimmer which is under warranty. They don't advise using the battery in that fashion. I wonder if they can find out whether the car battery has been used that way. Don't want the warranty to be voided.

Cheers,

roakey · July 21, 2011

If you're worried about running down the battery and you have a second car, cannibalize the battery from that car temporarily, get a clip on power outlet and you have a $10 solution. Borrow a battery charger (if you need it -- I bet you won't) when you get back home to charge up the battery again.

Roak

Ps. Link is an example, not necessarily a recommendation.

shniks · July 21, 2011

roakey wrote: »

If you're worried about running down the battery and you have a second car, cannibalize the battery from that car temporarily, get a clip on power outlet and you have a $10 solution. Borrow a battery charger (if you need it -- I bet you won't) when you get back home to charge up the battery again.

Roak

Ps. Link is an example, not necessarily a recommendation.

Thanks for that info. Maybe I can get a car battery from somewhere. Will check with friends.

Cheers,

roakey · July 21, 2011

shniks wrote: »

Thanks for that info. Maybe I can get a car battery from somewhere. Will check with friends.

If you go this route you owe us

After your trip you need to tell us how many charges you did and if the car battery was able to start the car without a charge afterwords. It'd be a good datapoint to have!

Roak

shniks · July 21, 2011

roakey wrote: »

If you go this route you owe us After your trip you need to tell us how many charges you did and if the car battery was able to start the car without a charge afterwords. It'd be a good datapoint to have!

Roak

Deal Roak.

Your suggestion sounds pretty good to me. I guess if I can't find a car battery, I will just splurge on the Energizer of Xantrax power pack. But let me call my friends for the car battery first. That's what friends are for!

Cheers,

time2smile · July 22, 2011

You should not have an issue with a good car battery, as long as you run the car for a few minuetes every day, the camera chargers are only millivolt drain on the system.

ziggy53 · July 22, 2011

time2smile wrote: »

You should not have an issue with a good car battery, as long as you run the car for a few minuetes every day, the camera chargers are only millivolt drain on the system.

You have to take into consideration the amount of power consumed to start the car. Be sure to run the car long enough to recover the loss due to starting plus the loss due to charging the camera battery/batteries. This can take 15 - 30 minutes, or more, depending on the particular automobile and other accessories, engine speed, etc.

While it's true that the DC automotive camera battery chargers are relatively low power, typically 15 - 60 watts for those that I have, it can take some time to fully charge a depleted camera battery, i.e. several hours. If you have multiple batteries that consumption can add up.

For those people wanting to use an inverter and wall-charger, that system can consume hundreds of watts and still takes the same general charging time per battery.

If you should forget the camera battery charging overnight you can run an automotive starting battery down fairly easily. * If you are solo out in a true wilderness that can be a true inconvenience and even potentially dangerous.

That's part of why I recommend a dedicated battery just for the safety of preserving your starting battery.

*(That happened to me on a Boy Scout outing when a Scout fired up the inverter without asking my permission. The next morning I had a dead battery. Fortunately I had a portable auxiliary battery that could also serve as a jump-start battery "plus" I was with other scouters with vehicles.)

dbveto · July 22, 2011

I have a power inverter that I wired directly to my battery, if the battery get to low the inverter turns off to preserve your starting power.
On a pickup truck I had two batteries setup with a switch that would charge the lowest battery, one battery was left to just start the truck and the other one was to run the accessories.

rpcrowe · July 22, 2011

wvrocks wrote: »

If you have a car, I'd just get a power inverter and use it to run your charger.

Sterlingtek has a battery charger which works off the car's 12V system as well as a/c power...

How to charge batteries while camping

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