Buying Digital Camera Batteries

A digital camera battery is probably the most important digital camera

accessory. Some digital cameras can consume power at an alarming rate,

providing no more than a few hours of continuous shooting time before

the battery is drained. Other cameras are renowned for the long life

of their digital camera battery which allows users to snap away with

barely a thought to power consumption. It is important to know how you

intend to use your camera and what type of battery it needs.

There are two types of digital camera battery. The most widely

available digital camera battery is a standard AA-size battery. The

other type of digital camera battery is a rechargeable battery that is

made by the manufacturer, otherwise known as a proprietary battery.



A proprietary digital camera battery offers the advantage of being

lighter and more compact, but they are substantially more expensive,

making the prospect of buying one or two backup sets much less

appealing.



The alkaline AA-size digital camera battery usually has a very short

life - less than an hour in extreme cases - when used in a digital

camera. This type of battery makes an acceptable emergency backup,

especially if you are travelling with your camera. However, the Nickel

Metal Hydride (NiMH) digital camera battery can be used instead of the

alkaline ones with a charger and this rechargeable NiMH digital camera

battery has a substantially longer life at an affordable price.



Another type of AA-size battery is the non-rechargeable Lithium

batteries and rechargeable Nickel Cadmium (NiCD) batteries. The

lithium digital camera battery has a superior life to alkaline AA's

and offers good cold-weather performance but their price and

non-rechargeable nature make them less useful than rechargeable NiMH

batteries. It is also important to ensure that your camera can take a

lithium digital camera battery. On the other hand the NiCD digital

camera battery offers the advantage of retaining their charge while

unused, unlike NiMH cells, but have shorter lives and need to be

discharged completely before recharging which can be extremely

inconvenient.



The LCD screen of a digital camera is responsible for consuming the

most power from a digital camera battery so it is worth only using the

LCD when necessary to help conserve the battery life. Always try to

carry at least one backup set of batteries, especially if you plan on

being away from power outlets for an extended period of time. The

universally-available alkaline AA-size battery can make a convenient

emergency backup if your regular digital camera battery fails.



David Lupica is a wedding photographer in San Diego California.

Wedding photography combines both an artistic and a journalist

approach to the art, and it's vitally important to be well versed in

both. David shares great tips to be a better photographer on his site

http://www.san-diego-wedding-photographer.net. Learn more about

wedding photography at http://www.san-diego-wedding-photographer.net.