Rechargeable Energizer Batteries - Nikon L840??

Hi All,

I am new to Nikon and just picked up a Nikon L840. I bought it to get more into photography (landscapes, outdoors and storms). At the same time I picked up the camera, I also purchased the batteries in the link below. Guy that I dealt with purchasing the camera advised his wife has the same camera and uses these batteries and switches the two sets of these batteries. I was going to purchase lithium batteries but according to the instructions and what is on Nikon's site, it says Ni-MH batteries only. I am assuming that this means not to use lithium.

So after I got home and just opened the camera box this morning, pulled out the instruction books and it says to only use Nikon branded accessories. I then googled and most people on the Nikon forum site that answered questions concerning this said any "AA" type battery (either alkaline or rechargeable works). I have them charging now but before I put them in, I wanna see if anyone on here uses these types of batteries or knows what to use. According to batteries plus and several other battery sites there are pretty much any battery you could buy that is used with this camera.

Energizer Battery Co Chvcmwb-4 Energizer Value Charger Accs W/4 Aa Batt (chvcmwb4) - Walmart.com

The spec's on these batteries (AA - 1.2v - HR6 w/1300mAh).

Will these work and be alright without any issues??

Thanks in advance for the advise.
 

Horoscope Fish

Senior Member
Hi All,

I am new to Nikon and just picked up a Nikon L840. I bought it to get more into photography (landscapes, outdoors and storms). At the same time I picked up the camera, I also purchased the batteries in the link below. Guy that I dealt with purchasing the camera advised his wife has the same camera and uses these batteries and switches the two sets of these batteries. I was going to purchase lithium batteries but according to the instructions and what is on Nikon's site, it says Ni-MH batteries only. I am assuming that this means not to use lithium.

So after I got home and just opened the camera box this morning, pulled out the instruction books and it says to only use Nikon branded accessories. I then googled and most people on the Nikon forum site that answered questions concerning this said any "AA" type battery (either alkaline or rechargeable works). I have them charging now but before I put them in, I wanna see if anyone on here uses these types of batteries or knows what to use. According to batteries plus and several other battery sites there are pretty much any battery you could buy that is used with this camera.

Energizer Battery Co Chvcmwb-4 Energizer Value Charger Accs W/4 Aa Batt (chvcmwb4) - Walmart.com

The spec's on these batteries (AA - 1.2v - HR6 w/1300mAh).

Will these work and be alright without any issues??

Thanks in advance for the advise.
Those batteries will be fine.

I'm sure Nikon would be thrilled if we only bought Nikon-branded acce$$ories.
....
 

Bill16

Senior Member
Welcome to our Nikonites family! I just recommend not using alkaline for any camera products, simply to avoid leaks and corrosion! My favorite AA or AAA rechargeable batteries are eneloop Pro batteries 1.2v min2450 mAh, but yours should work good too! :)
 

WayneF

Senior Member
I was going to purchase lithium batteries but according to the instructions and what is on Nikon's site, it says Ni-MH batteries only. I am assuming that this means not to use lithium.

Welcome to the forum.

The batteries should be OK. Rechargeable lithium AA do not actually exist, because lithium can only be about double voltage. There are non rechargable AA lithiums which can work, but you have to keep buying them (and NiMH recycles faster in a flash). NiMH is the best choice for AA, at least in camera or flash.

NiMH is good for camera or flash, they handle the high currents much better than alkaline. There are two types of NiMH, the regular type that self discharges while sitting on the shelf a month or two, and have to recharged frequently, used or not. Or there is the low discharge type, which yours says it is, and yours should say still good after a year on the shelf. So you're good to go.
 
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Thank you Guys,

I have one more question, the package states that batteries charge in 5 hours. However, the manual that come with it says 8-10 hours and the charger shuts off at 11 hours. I have had them plugged in for approx 8.5-9 hours and the light is still red? Is that normal for the initial charge?

I went out tonight and while I was out, I picked up the same brand batteries but the power plus, which are 2300 mAh, with that being said they are supposedly pre-charged, but according the Energizer site, it states they can take 13-16 hours for a full charge but the charger, only runs for 11 hours before it has a protection feature that shuts it off, so how exactly does that work?

Sorry for the newbie questions, the last time I did anything with rechargeable batteries was the old Radio Shack style battery powered RC Cars.
 

PapaST

Senior Member
Welcome to the forum.

The batteries should be OK. Rechargeable lithium AA do not actually exist, because lithium can only be about double voltage. There are non rechargable AA lithiums which can work, but you have to keep buying them (and NiMH recycles faster in a flash). NiMH is the best choice for AA, at least in camera or flash.

NiMH is good for camera or flash, they handle the high currents much better than alkaline. There are two types of NiMH, the regular type that self discharges while sitting on the shelf a month or two, and have to recharged frequently, used or not. Or there is the low discharge type, which yours says it is, and yours should say still good after a year on the shelf. So you're good to go.

Is there anything you don't know Wayne? Good grief. ;)
 

WayneF

Senior Member
I do know there are different kinds of chargers. :)
Speaking frankly, the link you posted said $15 for four batteries and a charger. So that's a pretty cheap charger. A smart charger costs maybe $30 to $60, less batteries. Maha is a good charger brand.

The cheap chargers are of a few types. Some just always charge at a low slow rate and never shut off. Some shut off after a constant time period, regardless of the battery size or the previous charge state. Not smart, but if the charge rate is slow enough, this doesn't really hurt the batteries if not overdone too often. Other faster chargers shut off when the batteries get too hot, which implies they are charged and have had enough.

The good smart chargers have computer circuits to monitor individual battery voltage and state, and shut off individually when the battery is actually full. These will have a status LED for each cell, monitored and controlled individually, what the battery actually needs. This could be up to a couple of hours for a really low AA cell, or less if the battery is not empty.
 
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WayneF

Senior Member
Maha is a good brand, well valued. That one is $15, 3-4 hours (for a dead battery) is sort of a minimum, fairly slow, but it should do a good job.
It does say:
Rechargeable Batteries with full -deltaV Computer Control

Delta-V is Delta Voltage, which is good - it watches for a specific little voltage peak that indicates full charge, and more would not be helpful. Then it shuts off (to a trickle charge).

It is a good value for $15, and should run circles around the first one. But a downside is that it only has two status LEDS, meaning it cannot charge just one battery, they have to be in pairs, and the pair is monitored instead of each individual battery. If one is near fully charged and one is very low charge, the pair gets the treatment of the low charged one. This two battery system is common in lesser chargers.

What I was speaking of sort of starts here:

Amazon.com: Maha MH-C401FS-DCW INTERNATIONAL Version Smart Charger with Car Adapter: Computers & Accessories

It has four LEDs, and effectively four chargers which monitors and controls each cell individually, and does just what that one needs. It has a switch to select fast or slow charge, 100 minutes or 4 or 5 hours, assuming near dead batteries that need charge. That one cell will stop fast if the battery doesn't need much.

Two hours (for a dead battery) is a very reasonable rate for NiMH, called 0.5C. C is the capacity of the battery, and if charged at 1C milliamp rate (2.3 amps for a 2300 mah capacity), it will charge in one hour. Or 0.5C charges in 2 hours. And less time if already partially charged.
0.5C and 2 hours is a very normal rate for NiMH, if the charger is smart and knows when to quit.
 
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WayneF

Senior Member
Wayne, I am going to grab that charger off of Amazon and I am also going to pick up 2 packs of the 2700 mAh batteries.

2700 mah batteries are probably NOT the new low discharge type. They probably run down in a month or two, used or not (in storage). That is just what NiMH batteries do. We learn to charge them for the next near use.
Until the low discharge type came along, which are are smaller batteries, 2000 or 2100 mah, maybe a few up to 2400 mah, but I am not aware of any 2700 yet. The old regular type are 2700.

This type (low self discharge) probably says "pre-charged", meaning, they will not self discharge and run down in the time from factory to store shelf to your purchase. These typically are not fully charged, maybe 70%, so its good plan to charge them first anyway, but they should work out of the package. They probably say they are good after being in storage a year, or maybe two. They should mention these terms.

A very popular choice, and my choice of those would be Panasonic Eneloop brand.
 
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Bill16

Senior Member
Yes! As I mentioned those are the brand of batteries I use! :)
Great job on the info help my friend! :D

2700 mah batteries are probably NOT the low discharge type. They probably run down in a month or two, used or not (in storage). That is just what NiMH batteries do. We learn to charge them for the next near use.
Until the low discharge type came along, which are are smaller batteries, 2000 or 2100 mah, maybe a few up to 2400 mah, but I am not aware of any 2700 yet. The old regular type are 2700.

This type (low self discharge) probably says "pre-charged", meaning, they will not self discharge and run down in the time from factory to store shelf to your purchase. These typically are not fully charged, maybe 70%, so its good plan to charge them first anyway, but they should work out of the package. They probably say they are good after being in storage a year, or maybe two. They should mention these terms.

A very popular choice, and my choice of those would be Panasonic Eneloop brand.
 
I figured on starting with these and I can always add the new low discharge ones after awhile - besides, I plan on using it enough and rotating them out, I should be ok if I keep them fully charged.
 

whizkid151

New member
Hey Wayne,
Great info. Just got the L840 for my wife. Wondered ,from this thread, if I get the MaHa charger, should I stick with PowerEx batts.?
Had been considering Eneloop batts and chrgr. It's just going to be used as a point and shoot, @ fam. gatherings ,etc. NO power using.

Thx,
Mike
 

WayneF

Senior Member
Many battery brands license the Eneloop technology now. PowerEx is the Maha brand, and they have a version of these.

Batteries - Maha Energy

Imedion is Maha's version of Eneloop. They have both. Imedion is PowerEx Imedion, but there is also PowerEx, which is not that type. Note this Maha link says PowerEx discharges 1% per day (regular NiMH), and their Imedion retains 85% charge after one year (which is Eneloop type). That is a huge difference. This does come at the cost of a slightly lower total capacity.

And both are considered good, but PowerEx (like all regular NiMH batteries) will self discharge and be dead in a couple months of storage. Imedion and Eneloop will still be good to go in a year or two. This seems an important property. Of course, this makes little difference when recharging today for a big session tomorrow. But a big deal when we get it out each Christmas for pictures. It's good when it still works

But there are still lots of batteries that are not this low self discharge type (still regular old NiMH). IMO, any new batteries we buy should say words like low self discharge, or precharged, or mention a year or two of shelf storage. Eneloop and Imedion are top choices.
 
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Wes

New member
Thanks for all the info and links to WayneF! I picked up an L830 last year after the L840 was released with a kit of throwaway grade items for the price of an L840. I suppose the memory card was worth it. Fun camera compared to a 5mp, 5x pocket cam and even though I'm already considering another camera this one's not going in the junk drawer. The AA format is handy and I've done well with Energizer Power Plus AA 2300 mAh . Batteries supplied from Nikon (Lithium) were good and package rechargeable AA's fail miserably. I've had good results with alkaline, note to check the menu in the L840, my L830 menu has specific settings for Alkaline, NiMH, and Lithium respectively. I've just recently noticed the importance of settings regarding proper function. HTH.
 
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