AA battery holder or extra battery packs?

bluenose · 07-30-2013, 11:30 AM

Originally posted by jrcastillo

Do you guys use alkaline or rechargeable?
I know that there are a lot of posts about problems with rechargables

Alkaline batteries aren't recommended as far as I know. I use Energizer Ultimate Lithiums (disposable) and have had no issues.

Regards

ScooterMaxi Jim · 07-30-2013, 11:37 AM

Alkaline are OK. In fact, they are listed in the selection chart. Not that they make much sense unless you have no other choice. They drain very quickly.

**JimJohnson** · 07-30-2013, 07:41 PM

Originally posted by Colbyt

Has anyone found an inexpensive case to hold the adapter? I keep my loops in a case fro travel protection.

I have 3 adapters (one was converted into an AC adapter for a fraction of what Pentax wants for the OEM version). I keep eneloops in the other two (except of course when recharging them). For the adapter outside my camera, I place a small-wide rubber band around the adapter with the mounted batteries, and place the whole thing into a plastic sandwich bag. The bag is then stored in my camera bag. Our local grocer places this size rubber band around broccoli or asparagus.

It takes less than 30 seconds to pull the fresh unit out of my bag and insert into my camera, and at the same time transfer the rubber band and put the used unit in the plastic bag and back into my camera bag. I doubt I could do it any faster using LiON batteries.

ecruz · 07-31-2013, 05:30 AM

Originally posted by ecruz

I ordered two of the knock-off adapters from ebay last week. Grand total for two of them $8.90, including shipping from China (how can they even ship them for that? much less manufacture & ship them?). They got delivered today, 7 days from when I ordered them. Quality appears to be good. I'll see for sure when I get home from work this evening and try them out.

Well, the $4.45 adapters worked perfectly for me. For less than the price of one Pentax adapter, I now have two adapters & two sets of Eneloops.

SteveB · 07-31-2013, 10:24 AM

I've had a Hong Kong £3 adapter for about 8 months now, it's fine.

**Spodeworld** · 08-02-2013, 06:34 AM

I don't know if I agree. You can get good knock offs of the LI-109 batteries off of eBay fairly inexpensively. Get 2 and you won't need extra chargers, plus they are small for carrying.

Colbyt · 08-02-2013, 06:53 AM

Originally posted by Spodeworld

I don't know if I agree. You can get good knock offs of the LI-109 batteries off of eBay fairly inexpensively. Get 2 and you won't need extra chargers, plus they are small for carrying.

The small flat knock offs sure have a lot going for them in that regard. I am undecided. I have two sets of Eneloops that have only been charged once or twice. That makes in even harder to decide.

**JimJohnson** · 08-02-2013, 10:09 AM

Originally posted by Spodeworld

I don't know if I agree. You can get good knock offs of the LI-109 batteries off of eBay fairly inexpensively. Get 2 and you won't need extra chargers, plus they are small for carrying.

Depends on your needs.... I have several items I travel with that each take (or in the case of my K-30, can take) AA or AAA batteries. I can carry one charger for all of them. It would take more room to travel with LiON batteries and its separate charger. But sure, if you only make day trips from home, It is pretty easy to slip a spare Li-109 in your pocket.

Kombivan · 12-04-2017, 08:53 AM

Some AA batteries are different lengths and effect your springs /connectors in your camera I stick with one brand and they don't let me down. I was told once if you let the batteries go flat they lose their memory and then start not charging properly this was a few years ago so now I charge my batteries when I think their about half charged my current batteries are well over 5 years old and still working perfectly. They could be as old as 10 years I've had my camera for 15 years and it was a couple to a few years before I stumbled across these. I also use a smart charger that recharges the batteries till their charged then switches itself off the other type just kill batteries. Bewary of the plain blue ones I've had weird experiences with them.

xcaret · 02-14-2018, 06:44 PM

This is the first time I tried my 4 battery holder to replace the factory battery. I was in Cancun for a week , and didn't plan on taking that many photos , but I added my battery holder just in case . I have 4 regular energizer batteries to go with it , all brand new. I put them in and got about 4 photos on 10 sec delay before it showed " battery depleted" ( or something similar) . I thought maybe the humidity of Cancun did it , but the K-30 is somewhat water resistant. I got home and tested the batteries , they are fully charged.
Anyway I think I'll see what Pentax wants for a OEM battery.
I must admit the Chinese knock off batteries worked for my laptop , and a Kodak I had.

**JimJohnson** · 02-14-2018, 07:43 PM

Originally posted by xcaret

This is the first time I tried my 4 battery holder to replace the factory battery. I was in Cancun for a week , and didn't plan on taking that many photos , but I added my battery holder just in case . I have 4 regular energizer batteries to go with it , all brand new. I put them in and got about 4 photos on 10 sec delay before it showed " battery depleted" ( or something similar) . I thought maybe the humidity of Cancun did it , but the K-30 is somewhat water resistant. I got home and tested the batteries , they are fully charged.
Anyway I think I'll see what Pentax wants for a OEM battery.
I must admit the Chinese knock off batteries worked for my laptop , and a Kodak I had.

Did you go into the camera's menu system and specify that you were using AA batteries? If not, that is why your batteries looked like they were dying with so few shots.

**FritzCat66** · 03-09-2018, 02:44 PM - **1 Like**

FWIW, I use Eneloop Pros in my K-30, using a third-party AA adapter. Lots of pics, never a single problem.

I've slowly replaced all my AA and AAA batteries with the Eneloop Pros. Once you've done that, you really don't want to use "unique" batteries for anything at all, if it can possibly be avoided, so you can happily eliminate all those custom chargers and cradles.

For me, it's become a limiting factor for which camera I will own: the camera either needs to take AA directly like the K-30/K-50 (adapters are OK), or there needs to be at least an available battery grip capable of going AA like the K-3 has. My dive camera, an Olympus TG-4, still uses a custom battery (Li-92B), but at least it will charge in-camera using the USB cable. I can't use an external battery pack with it since it won't fit into the dive housing otherwise.

But standard AA/AAA capabilities are now a driving specification for any and all electronics purchases for me.

02-14-2018, 06:44 PM	#55
xcaret New Member Join Date: Aug 2014 Location: Calgary Posts: 11	K-30 aa battery life , Zero ! This is the first time I tried my 4 battery holder to replace the factory battery. I was in Cancun for a week , and didn't plan on taking that many photos , but I added my battery holder just in case . I have 4 regular energizer batteries to go with it , all brand new. I put them in and got about 4 photos on 10 sec delay before it showed " battery depleted" ( or something similar) . I thought maybe the humidity of Cancun did it , but the K-30 is somewhat water resistant. I got home and tested the batteries , they are fully charged. Anyway I think I'll see what Pentax wants for a OEM battery. I must admit the Chinese knock off batteries worked for my laptop , and a Kodak I had.

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07-30-2013, 11:30 AM	#46
bluenose Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: S. Ontario Posts: 227	Originally posted by jrcastillo Do you guys use alkaline or rechargeable? I know that there are a lot of posts about problems with rechargables Alkaline batteries aren't recommended as far as I know. I use Energizer Ultimate Lithiums (disposable) and have had no issues. Regards

07-30-2013, 11:37 AM	#47
ScooterMaxi Jim Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Minnesota Posts: 1,520	Alkaline are OK. In fact, they are listed in the selection chart. Not that they make much sense unless you have no other choice. They drain very quickly.

07-30-2013, 07:41 PM	#48
JimJohnson Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Summer:Lake Superior - Michigan Winter:Texas Hill Country Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,772	Originally posted by Colbyt Has anyone found an inexpensive case to hold the adapter? I keep my loops in a case fro travel protection. I have 3 adapters (one was converted into an AC adapter for a fraction of what Pentax wants for the OEM version). I keep eneloops in the other two (except of course when recharging them). For the adapter outside my camera, I place a small-wide rubber band around the adapter with the mounted batteries, and place the whole thing into a plastic sandwich bag. The bag is then stored in my camera bag. Our local grocer places this size rubber band around broccoli or asparagus. It takes less than 30 seconds to pull the fresh unit out of my bag and insert into my camera, and at the same time transfer the rubber band and put the used unit in the plastic bag and back into my camera bag. I doubt I could do it any faster using LiON batteries.

07-31-2013, 05:30 AM	#49
ecruz Forum Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Michigan Posts: 86	Originally posted by ecruz I ordered two of the knock-off adapters from ebay last week. Grand total for two of them $8.90, including shipping from China (how can they even ship them for that? much less manufacture & ship them?). They got delivered today, 7 days from when I ordered them. Quality appears to be good. I'll see for sure when I get home from work this evening and try them out. Well, the $4.45 adapters worked perfectly for me. For less than the price of one Pentax adapter, I now have two adapters & two sets of Eneloops.

07-31-2013, 10:24 AM	#50
SteveB Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: U.K. Posts: 685	I've had a Hong Kong £3 adapter for about 8 months now, it's fine.

08-02-2013, 06:34 AM	#51
Spodeworld Site Supporter Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: New Joisey Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,370	I don't know if I agree. You can get good knock offs of the LI-109 batteries off of eBay fairly inexpensively. Get 2 and you won't need extra chargers, plus they are small for carrying.

08-02-2013, 06:53 AM	#52
Colbyt Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Central Kentucky Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,417	Originally posted by Spodeworld I don't know if I agree. You can get good knock offs of the LI-109 batteries off of eBay fairly inexpensively. Get 2 and you won't need extra chargers, plus they are small for carrying. The small flat knock offs sure have a lot going for them in that regard. I am undecided. I have two sets of Eneloops that have only been charged once or twice. That makes in even harder to decide.

08-02-2013, 10:09 AM	#53
JimJohnson Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Summer:Lake Superior - Michigan Winter:Texas Hill Country Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,772	Originally posted by Spodeworld I don't know if I agree. You can get good knock offs of the LI-109 batteries off of eBay fairly inexpensively. Get 2 and you won't need extra chargers, plus they are small for carrying. Depends on your needs.... I have several items I travel with that each take (or in the case of my K-30, can take) AA or AAA batteries. I can carry one charger for all of them. It would take more room to travel with LiON batteries and its separate charger. But sure, if you only make day trips from home, It is pretty easy to slip a spare Li-109 in your pocket.

12-04-2017, 08:53 AM	#54
Kombivan Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2017 Photos: Gallery Posts: 576	Some AA batteries are different lengths and effect your springs /connectors in your camera I stick with one brand and they don't let me down. I was told once if you let the batteries go flat they lose their memory and then start not charging properly this was a few years ago so now I charge my batteries when I think their about half charged my current batteries are well over 5 years old and still working perfectly. They could be as old as 10 years I've had my camera for 15 years and it was a couple to a few years before I stumbled across these. I also use a smart charger that recharges the batteries till their charged then switches itself off the other type just kill batteries. Bewary of the plain blue ones I've had weird experiences with them.

02-14-2018, 07:43 PM	#56
JimJohnson Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Summer:Lake Superior - Michigan Winter:Texas Hill Country Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,772	Originally posted by xcaret This is the first time I tried my 4 battery holder to replace the factory battery. I was in Cancun for a week , and didn't plan on taking that many photos , but I added my battery holder just in case . I have 4 regular energizer batteries to go with it , all brand new. I put them in and got about 4 photos on 10 sec delay before it showed " battery depleted" ( or something similar) . I thought maybe the humidity of Cancun did it , but the K-30 is somewhat water resistant. I got home and tested the batteries , they are fully charged. Anyway I think I'll see what Pentax wants for a OEM battery. I must admit the Chinese knock off batteries worked for my laptop , and a Kodak I had. Did you go into the camera's menu system and specify that you were using AA batteries? If not, that is why your batteries looked like they were dying with so few shots.

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03-09-2018, 02:44 PM - 1 Like	#57
FritzCat66 Site Supporter Join Date: Aug 2016 Location: Florida's Space Coast Photos: Albums Posts: 41	FWIW, I use Eneloop Pros in my K-30, using a third-party AA adapter. Lots of pics, never a single problem. I've slowly replaced all my AA and AAA batteries with the Eneloop Pros. Once you've done that, you really don't want to use "unique" batteries for anything at all, if it can possibly be avoided, so you can happily eliminate all those custom chargers and cradles. For me, it's become a limiting factor for which camera I will own: the camera either needs to take AA directly like the K-30/K-50 (adapters are OK), or there needs to be at least an available battery grip capable of going AA like the K-3 has. My dive camera, an Olympus TG-4, still uses a custom battery (Li-92B), but at least it will charge in-camera using the USB cable. I can't use an external battery pack with it since it won't fit into the dive housing otherwise. But standard AA/AAA capabilities are now a driving specification for any and all electronics purchases for me.