Hmm. I looked at my carry abouts. Other than the camera:
- MP3 Player :: built in Li-Ion
- Flashlight :: Li-Ion
- Phone (Palm Treo) :: NiMH
- Epson P2000 :: Li-Ion
- External flash :: optional 510V battery pack, AAs internal
All of them came with their own chargers (both wall and automotive). The MP3
player lives in the car connected with its charger most of the time, the
others run so long between needing battery maintenance I hardly even think
about it. (The phone just drops into its cradle when I get home to sync data
and charge up.) Only one I have spare batteries for is the external flash. I
rarely carry any of them (other than the phone) with me much.
Sure, the inconvenience is reduced a bit. Wouldn't it be great to
have *ONE* battery for everything? Only one charger is necessary. I
choose my products in no small part based on the battery type they use.
The battery strategy I've used for the A2 and 10D (and Sonys before them) is
to have three batteries. That way you always have one in the camera, one
fully charged and ready to go, a third can be charging. I have *never*
exhausted more than two in a session ... that's around 700-1000 exposures
minimum. The 10D battery is $40 from Canon, but can be had from the
aftermarket for $11. Similar for the A2 battery. They're small, light, pack a
lot of capacity, and are easy to change.
... and $30 for the Nokia, and $40 for the Ipod, and
impossible-to-find-replacement-for-the-flashlight-because-it-was-discontinued-a-year-ago,
etc, etc. LiION batteries are better in almost every way to NiMH. Having
to have overcharge protection is a convenient excuse for products to
require proprietary packaging, vaporous "value-added" features, and
built-in obsolesence... complete with generous profit margins on
replacements.
I'm not saying there aren't good reasons for when a standard form factor
battery is a good idea. I'm saying that there are actually good reasons for
why a custom form factor battery is a superior choice in some circumstances,
and to denigrate them purely because they're not a standard form factor is
foolish.
If you take the plastic off of these custom form factor batteries,
you'll find that they usually aren't custom at all. The cells inside are
standard. Remember, too, that LiION batteries start destroying themselves
the moment they're produced.... whether they're used or not. Buying a
spare with the plans of using it after the first one wears out doesn't
work.
I know there are some reasons why proprietary batteries are
required (unusual sizes in particular). Artificially forcing them on
consumers is what I object to. The value of the convenience and expense
issues are relative to the individual, so on that we'll just have to agree
to disagree.... :)
-Cory
--
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* Cory Papenfuss *
* Electrical Engineering candidate Ph.D. graduate student *
* Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University *
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