Posted by Niall Riddell on January 2, 2008 at 1:08 PM
Hi Guys,
I am off to Africa in three weeks time and I am going to be in an area with limited access to electricity. I am intested in purchasing a solar charger for my EOS5D and EOS400D batteries.
I would be interested in any advice or experience that you have in this area.
Many thanks,
Niall
Posted by Peter Barritt on January 2, 2008 at 1:40 PM
Hi Niall. Personally I'd go for a charger that plugs into a car cigarette lighter socket. You can charge as you go. Bought one off Ebay for £10 or so which works a treat. Electricity is usually available at night wherever you are. Even small villages tend to have small generators as the local herdsmen like to charge up their mobile phones!
Have fun. Peter
Posted by Gary Beers on January 2, 2008 at 3:12 PM
Another alternative is to buy an inverter to plug into the vehicle's lighter socket and then you can plug in your existing devices.
I did this and also bought a pocket full of the 7 day shop batteries at £12 for 2 (not sure if they do them for the 5D/400D)
Posted by Paul Ashton on January 2, 2008 at 3:48 PM
Got the tee shirt Niall. A plug in to the cigar lighter and universal adapter to plug in to the mians when available. Three or four batteries. No problem. With a 5D you'll be fine.
More important will be storage of the images. A Giga One will do the job but don't let it get low on power. Make sure it's charged before you transfer images.
Posted by Niall Riddell on January 16, 2008 at 7:38 AM
Thanks Guys,
After some searching I have managed to get all the appropriate car charger bits and pieces (here's hoping they arrive).
I haven't completely given up on the solar idea as I am off to the Republic of Congo later this year (and they have NO power out there!).
One friend advised me to look at Sunlinq folding solar panels which connect into a cigarett adaptor
http://www.selectsolar.co.uk/pics/sunlinq.php
May be of use to someone else.
Niall
Posted by Elliott Neep on January 16, 2008 at 11:29 AM
As I said before on Graeme Lee's post, I doubt if you will need these items. Although the lodges and camps you stay at do not have mains electricity, they WILL HAVE their own solar inverters and generators for lighting and refrigeration. The last place I stayed at even had a central charging point for photographers - a rack of 5way adapters. Just contact your tour operator or, as they rarely know, contact the lodge directly. We had power 24hrs per day, they just asked you to charge during generator hours. Hope this helps!
Discussion
5 repliesI am off to Africa in three weeks time and I am going to be in an area with limited access to electricity. I am intested in purchasing a solar charger for my EOS5D and EOS400D batteries.
I would be interested in any advice or experience that you have in this area.
Many thanks,
Niall
Have fun. Peter
I did this and also bought a pocket full of the 7 day shop batteries at £12 for 2 (not sure if they do them for the 5D/400D)
More important will be storage of the images. A Giga One will do the job but don't let it get low on power. Make sure it's charged before you transfer images.
After some searching I have managed to get all the appropriate car charger bits and pieces (here's hoping they arrive).
I haven't completely given up on the solar idea as I am off to the Republic of Congo later this year (and they have NO power out there!).
One friend advised me to look at Sunlinq folding solar panels which connect into a cigarett adaptor
http://www.selectsolar.co.uk/pics/sunlinq.php
May be of use to someone else.
Niall