Articles
Battery Charger
 | From time to time I will introduce various gadgets of mine related to photo things and so let's start with one of the most advanced and progressive chargers. Yes! That's right - regular AA battery charger La Crosse BC-900. |
Introduction
Those who actively shoot reportage in various indoor spaces and low light often use external flash, which is most economical to power with AA rechargeable batteries. That's why every time when coming home we face the problem that batteries need to be recharged from scratch. There are various battery chargers whose prices range from 5 Ls to 50 Ls. The biggest difference is in charging speed and charger intelligence, where La Crosse BC-900 surpasses all previously seen.La Crosse BC-900
The first thing this charger delights with is the ability to set the charging power, from which depends how long the batteries will take to charge. It's possible to set 200mA, 500mA, 700mA, 1000mA, 1500mA and 1800mA, where charging speed varies from ~1 hour to ~12 hours (for 2300mAh battery). The faster the battery charges, the less it will last. There are often situations when we are not in a hurry anywhere and can safely leave it charging overnight, but there are situations where in an hour we need to rush to a photo shoot and all batteries are dead. That's why this feature will help keep batteries "healthy" and they will last longer.
The next thing that delights is the charger functions. There are 4 in total: charging, discharging, refreshing and testing.
- Charging is available on all chargers. Only this one has the ability to see battery voltage, charging time and accumulated capacity during charging. Also if batteries heat up to 50 degrees, the charger stops charging them until they cool down and then continues charging protecting from overheating. It's possible to set each battery its own charging speed separately. The charger is capable of charging batteries even with 3000mAh capacity.
- Discharging allows initially fully discharging the battery and then charging. This way battery life is extended.
- Refreshing is a very interesting function. It discharges and charges the battery several times to achieve maximum battery capacity. By charging quickly and incorrectly batteries lose their maximum capacity. I tested some of my batteries, whose maximum capacity after long improper charging dropped from 2600mAh to 1500mAh. That's why this function is meant to refresh battery maximum capacity by discharging and charging several times in a row.
- Next is testing, during which the battery is charged, then fully discharged, and charged again. After discharging the battery capacity is shown. Testing completely new batteries the capacity almost matches what is written on the batteries themselves, but for old batteries the capacity has even dropped by half, which can be restored with the refresh mode.
Package Contents
Included is a nice bag 4 AA (2700mAh) and 4 AAA (700mAh) batteries, 4 adapters or converters, which are meant to use AA batteries as large batteries, the charger itself and a power converter. For additional money you can buy a car adapter and also a solar panel, which when connected to the charger allows charging batteries using solar energy.Where to Buy?
Can be purchased here. Shipping is from France so no taxes are added. The kit cost 37 Ls with shipping. It's worth it if you actively use batteries and have the desire to take care of them and extend their service life.Links
http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/lacrosseBC900.htm (foreign review)
http://foto.pudele.com/2007/02/22/lacrosse-rs900-kas-lacitim-vedera/ (Latvian review)
http://www.nouveauxobjets.com/rs900.php (video about the charger)
http://www.thomas-distributing.com/la-crosse-products/La-Crosse-BC-900-Battery-Charger-Manual.pdf (English manual)
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