Andy Grandberg Zhan
31, 1988 this is a digital version of an article from The Times Print Archive, before it began online publishing in 1996.
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A long time ago, all photographers needed to know the size of the battery.
There are AA \"penlight\" cells and C-and D-
Size \"flash\" cell.
The camera was full of mechanical wonders at the time, and the gears, springs and flash looked like a potato mash-up.
Almost all the pictures today
The power-taking function requires battery power.
The list is almost endless: focus, shutter speed, exposure metering, film winding and rewinding, and even film loading. Battery-
Built-in hunger flash device.
As the electronic function of the camera becomes more and more complex, the battery becomes more and more specialized.
The first strange battery to enter the camera was a small \"button\" used to power the first CD\"sulfide (CdS)
Exposure meter.
These are either from mercuric-Oxide or silveroxide versions;
The basic difference between them is the amount of voltage they produce.
However, when camera manufacturers add other chores other than exposure measurements to the battery allocation table, the small button can no longer do the job.
As a result, camera manufacturers are starting to use the same batteries that flash manufacturers discovered years ago: alkaline batteries
Manganese batteries of AA or AAA size.
They are often referred to as alkali, and they go out 1.
The voltage of 5 volts, in their photographic application, can last five times as long as their pioneer zinc carbon battery of the same size. (Carbon-
Zinc batteries are still on sale because they are better than alkaline when low but constant current is required. )
To accommodate them, camera manufacturers have added handles in front of their SLR cameras, a feature that is now popular.
When alkaline or carbon-
The zinc battery is running out and you throw it away and buy a new one.
Nickel-cadmium battery (NiCads)
However, the transformer and home current can be used for charging.
Although initially more expensive, they are cheaper to use in the long run.
However, because the electrical properties of NiCads are different from alkaline batteries, they cannot be used interchanged.
Don\'t try to seduce fate unless the manufacturer specifies that your flash or camera can use NiCads.
The latest newcomer is the leader.
Acid and lithium battery. Lead-
Acid batteries are similar to car batteries, but with gelatin electrolyte, and are increasingly used as a power supply for electronic flash devices. Some high-
Electric portable flash is designed for leadsacid power;
In addition, independent manufacturers are selling \"after-sales service\"
Battery pack for the market. These packs (
Popular brands)
Clipped to the belt, a wire extends from the battery to the flash at the top of the camera.
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Leading edge-
Acid for flash memory is capacity and reusable.
They will provide more flash than NiCads for each charge and they don\'t have a \"charge memory\" issue. (
Unlike NiCads, they don\'t lose performance when partially charged. )
The only problem is that they are relatively expensive to buy and are not designed for every flash unit on the market.
But for wedding photographers and paparazzi
Voltage batteries, these modern \"gel batteries\" are a lucky relief.
Lithium battery is the latest innovation in camera fieldbattery design.
Depending on how much they are asked to do, they will last five years.
Most importantly, they don\'t mind sitting on the shelf before or after using it in part.
Other types of batteries, including alkaline batteries, lose power during storage, while lithium batteries have extraordinary patience.
But lithium batteries can only be used in equipment designed for them.
In order to prevent the lithium battery from being accidentally glued to a camera designed for alkaline power supply, camera manufacturers and battery manufacturers colluded to pack the lithium battery in a unit in a strange shape.
The advantage of this arrangement is that you can install alkaline AA batteries in the right space for the lithium unit, but you can\'t install the lithium unit in a space designed for alkaline batteries.
Most cameras that use replaceable lithium batteries can also be powered by a set of alkaline batteries, but vice versa.
Some cameras have lithium batteries built in.
When these devices lose power, you must send the camera to the manufacturer\'s repair station for replacement.
But with the increasing enthusiasm for Replaceable Units (
Even nearly $20 per piece), the built-
Lithium may have become the past.
Does it matter what brand of battery you buy?
\"Copper Top\" is better than \"supras\" or better than muscle advertising --
Bound lug screaming at you on TV during Pro
Football timed out?
Let\'s put it this way: the best slogan any battery manufacturer can come up with so far is, \"no battery is longer than an unlimited blitz battery \".
In other words, within the category (
Alkaline, lithium, NiCad, etc. )
In terms of lasting power, top brands are almost the same.
More importantly, there are factories.
Soon after, the new batteries began to be used.
A version of this article was printed on page 1001060 of the National edition on January 31, 1988 with the title: Camera;
Battery power.