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Author Topic: solar charger  (Read 2863 times)

HSakols

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solar charger
« on: December 28, 2014, 10:45:10 am »

This summer I will be backpacking in Yosemite for a couple of months.  Thanks to a crew that has offered to help us resupply, we hope to stay in the backcountry for over 30 days.  I am now looking at solar chargers for my camera battery. Any suggestions of a solar charger that will accept an AC Nikon Charger?   I see plenty that just charge usb devises. 

Thanks,
Hugh
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Paul Gessler

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Re: solar charger
« Reply #1 on: December 28, 2014, 12:12:07 pm »

What an exciting opportunity! :)

I don't have experience using the solar chargers (e.g. Brunton Solarroll), but I've heard they can be very finicky and are only effective in camp when you can have them in direct sunlight continuously. Someone might have better advice on those, but here's another option, depending on the logistics/frequency of your resupply drops: you could carry enough batteries to last through one resupply interval and include a fresh set of batteries as part of each resupply drop. The spent batteries could then be left behind with those resupplying you, which of course assumes that you're meeting with the resupply group, not picking up supplies from a pre-determined cache location.
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dwswager

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Re: solar charger
« Reply #2 on: December 28, 2014, 01:49:06 pm »

This summer I will be backpacking in Yosemite for a couple of months.  Thanks to a crew that has offered to help us resupply, we hope to stay in the backcountry for over 30 days.  I am now looking at solar chargers for my camera battery. Any suggestions of a solar charger that will accept an AC Nikon Charger?   I see plenty that just charge usb devises. 

Thanks,
Hugh

As you have seen, most solar charging systems are designed to ouput via USB cable to phones and other small devices.  I would call a place like Modern Outpost and tell them what you want.  I know they have a DC Nikon charger.  They also sell small solar panels.  I bet they could put something together for you and if not, might be able to recommend something.  Voltaic also offers 12V output panels that connect to their camera battery cradles.

Solar Chargers for Camera Batteries
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HSakols

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Re: solar charger
« Reply #3 on: December 29, 2014, 11:24:33 am »

Thanks for your replies. Yes, this will be an exciting opportunity.  Not only do we plan to take photographs, but also hopefully conduct some plant surveys.  We are particularly interested in Sky Islands https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yneADYBWRvs.  Yes, I have thought about just bringing batteries, but if I can even get a partial charge and it does not weight too much then I'm interested.  Thanks for the info on Voltaic. 

Hugh
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NancyP

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Re: solar charger
« Reply #4 on: January 02, 2015, 11:36:53 am »

Let us know how your selection worked for you, after you return from your trip.
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dwswager

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Re: solar charger
« Reply #5 on: January 03, 2015, 08:01:27 pm »

Let us know how your selection worked for you, after you return from your trip.

+1
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AFairley

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Re: solar charger
« Reply #6 on: January 04, 2015, 04:00:19 pm »

My experience with solar chargers is limited to an AA battery charger some years ago, and I am sure current offerings are much much better.  But what I found back then was that the recharge times were very very long and if the weather was cloudy, forget it.  So, obviously, test before your trip so you have a good safety margin especially if weather is bad for several days running.
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Geods

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Re: solar charger
« Reply #7 on: January 05, 2015, 10:54:29 am »

I took a 10-day photo/rafting trip through the Grand Canyon a few years ago and only used one battery after taking several thousand images with my D3x. While that camera's battery is substantially bigger than others, it might be better to just carry extra batteries and save the expense and logistics (weight, volume, clouds, etc.) of solar panels, transformers, wires, etc. If you're being resupplied, the crew could bring freshly charged batteries and they could take out the exhausted ones.
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spidermike

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Re: solar charger
« Reply #8 on: January 05, 2015, 11:20:35 am »

I have looked at thas before and the comments about very slow (and unreliable) charge times have not changed - mind you summer in Yosemite should be pretty sunny !  ;D. I decided that for the price and weight of a solar charger I would just take more batteries. And get really (really!) disciplined in how I take photos: selective in use, minimal chimping, minimise auto-review time (or turn it off if you can) etc.

I am presuming you are using a DSLR in which case you should be able to get 600-1000 shots from a single battery which is 20-30 shots per day for one month. And if you are getting re-supply can you get batteries taken out on a sale-or-return basis?


I remember trekking with my Pentax ME Super - two button batteries lasted months while people with fancy EOS (film) AF cameras were running out. Sometimes progress has its limits.... :P
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HSakols

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Re: solar charger
« Reply #9 on: January 05, 2015, 11:34:17 am »

In the past I have traveled for as long as 5 days using a single battery (Nikon D800, Nikon D300) and could have gone longer.  But on these trips I usually have sunny bright days that limit my shooting to early morning and early evening.  Unless I'm lucky to get cumulus storm clouds! 
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dwswager

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Re: solar charger
« Reply #10 on: January 05, 2015, 12:04:23 pm »

In the past I have traveled for as long as 5 days using a single battery (Nikon D800, Nikon D300) and could have gone longer.  But on these trips I usually have sunny bright days that limit my shooting to early morning and early evening.  Unless I'm lucky to get cumulus storm clouds! 

I personally agree that 1) you can get quite a bit of shooting out of modern cameras with a single battery charge and 2) carrying additional batteries is a more convenient way to approach the problem.  It also means additional batteries available at all times and the expense and weight of carrying the charger is offset by carrying batteries.  If the charger is used for additional uses on the trip, then there might be a logical reason to carry it's space and weight. 

The other issues that impact peoples decisions and power needs are time of day and shooting style.  I'm an old fart and still like using the viewfinder, but if one is predisposed to use LiveView then that certainly impacts battery life.  And if tethering to your phone, tablet or laptop comes into play that is another drain.   Then maybe a hood or cover cloth can save some battery life by allowing lower brightness levels.
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alan_b

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Re: solar charger
« Reply #11 on: January 05, 2015, 02:11:17 pm »

I don't have any recommendations for solar chargers, but have been researching this as well.  

Look into travel chargers that charge directly on 12V.  Remember that battery life will vary a lot w/ type of photography.  If you do lots of long exposures, you'll need fresh batteries much more often.  (Think about it: one 60sec exposure is the same active time as 3600 shots at 1/60s.)  

Also, whether you're continuously moving point to point or operating around a camp will inform how large a panel you can use (pack-mounted or camp setup).
« Last Edit: January 05, 2015, 02:13:24 pm by alan_b »
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AFairley

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Re: solar charger
« Reply #12 on: January 05, 2015, 06:07:22 pm »

The other issues that impact peoples decisions and power needs are time of day and shooting style.
Also whether you have a GPS powered by the camera.
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