How to charge M8 when in backcountry?

[pab]

Has anyone ever taken an M8 for an extended trip away from a mains electricity supply or a car battery for that matter? At the moment I couldn't consider more than a 2 day trip away from the road.

Short of carrying a ridiculous number of batteries it seems to me that one would need a solar powered charger. Any experience? Any recommendations?

Thanks in advance.

Per

 

[jaapv]

Depends on the number of shots. 400 per battery charge. In Africa I carry 6 batteries (two emergency el-cheapo) making 2400 shots. That does me fine...

 

[venchka]

Solar charger?????????

Solar charger?????????

Carry an M5 as backup! 😱😎😀

There are solar chargers for AA-C-D and video camera batteries. Maybe there is one that would work for M8 batteries?

 

[ali_baba]

the batteries are small.

 

[kshapero]

get an M6 or a CV R3M

 

[tmfabian]

mmmm solar powered back pack.
http://www.voltaicsystems.com/

 

[waileong]

What if the sun doesn't shine?

 

[drewbarb]

This whole thread gets a Rimshot Award...

 

[kully]

What if the sun doesn't shine?

Your charger will still charge, just not as quickly.

Unless you're in Norway in December, I presume.

 

[rxmd]

What if the sun doesn't shine?

Either way you wouldn't want to put your M8 where the sun doesn't shine.

More to the topic: given how 1 battery allows about as many shots as 10 rolls of film, I see little problem taking more than one battery along. M8 batteries cost about 25 EUR over here (clones, but you will be using them only once or twice). Assuming you can sell them later for 10 EUR to other M8 users, and that you get 450 shots out of each, a single picture will cost you 0,03 EUR. Where are you going and for how long?

Philipp

 

[shimo-kitasnap]

When I decided to ride a motorcycle from village to village up around Northern Vietnam, I took an M3, my eyes and a pile of film. My friend who went with me took his Nikon D200, a pile of memory cards, and a pile of batteries. His batteries died and he couldn't shoot anymore after a few days. I on the other hand kept popping rolls in the M3 and snapping on.

 

[rxmd]

Anecdotal evidence to the rescue.

Where there's a village, there's usually either an electrical outlet or a 12/24V car battery somewhere.
Where there's a motorcycle, there's a 12V battery. He could have hooked up a charger to his bike and charged his batteries while he rode.

Philipp

 

[shimo-kitasnap]

true, but the electricity in Vietnam isn't very reliable, when I was there they warned not to leave anything plugged in that was valuable because of brownouts and power surges. I left an external hard drive plugged in and went to lunch. Came back and it was toast. Make sure your stuff has surge protectors on them. Luckily my laptop did and was not affected. As for 12 volt DC from the motorcycle, the mighty Belorussian Minsk motorcycle only had an alternator to run the spark plug (which was prone to falling out and had to be replaced twice) and occasionally the headlight and turn signals when it felt like it.

 

[rxmd]

As for 12 volt DC from the motorcycle, the mighty Belorussian Minsk motorcycle only had an alternator to run the spark plug (which was prone to falling out and had to be replaced twice) and occasionally the headlight and turn signals when it felt like it.

Oh, those I know. No charging off the motorcycle then! Perfectly understandable. 🙂 But who needs headlights and turn signals? Main thing is that the horn's working! 😀

true, but the electricity in Vietnam isn't very reliable, when I was there they warned not to leave anything plugged in that was valuable because of brownouts and power surges.

Well, it's not that different in Central Asia where I work and practically all photographers there use digital cameras, so while potentially unpleasant this is a solved problem.

It's usually a good idea to use a compact surge protector. You can even get them with built-in travel plug adapters and 120V converters (llike this), and they weigh less than three or four rolls of film.

This sounds more like a lack of preparation on your friend's behalf than a genuine advantage of an all-mechanical camera.

Philipp

 

[Ben Z]

Either way you wouldn't want to put your M8 where the sun doesn't shine.

No doubt! Ouch! 😱

 

[M. Valdemar]

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=solar+charger&btnG=Google+Search