I saw these on sale at the local 3C the other day. Are they much better than the NiMHs? They weren’t cheap at NT$1000 for 2 AA sized batteries plus a charger.
My digital camera came with a built in Li-Ion so I’ve never tried anything else. The difference, so I’ve heard, is that Li-Ion batteries are lighter in weight, and that they don’t suffer from ‘memory’ problems. This means that you can keep them topped up frequently without problems whereas NiMH batteries should be allowed to run flat before being recharged, at least a few times, so that they ‘know’ how much charge they have - if they’re topped off constantly they’ll stop working at the level that they’re ‘used’ to being topped up at. I have no idea why this might happen, it’s just something I’ve heard. Might not be a problem depending on how often you tend to recharge.
Be careful, they are a bit voltage-sensitive, don’t charge them with any off-the-shelf charger for NT200… In fact, make sure that the charger you have in mind really supports LiIon, never use anything else.
Dl7und: The pack I was looking at came with its own charger. But I don’t want to get it if it’s not going to be worth it.
One thing I only thought of much later: Were they really AA size? The reason I’m asking is, we are used to NiCd and NiMH rechargeable batteries. Both have a regular voltage of 1.2V with a peak voltage (fully charged) of about 1.5V per cell. Most of our electronic devices accepting alcaline AA batteries will also work with NiCd/NiMH.
LiIon however are completely different, one cell has 3.6V regular and 4.7 or 4.8V peak (charge termination) voltage! (different “chemistry”…) That’s why you can’t just simply replace your old AA batteries with some LiIon, it just doesn’t work out. So I really wonder what kind of batteries you saw there… Was there any comment on their voltage written somewhere?
I think dl7und is right…I have yet to see AA sized Li-on batteries anywhere. Perhaps you misread the package. I’d suggest that you check once more to be sure. If they really are Li-on and safe to use with conventional electronics then please let me know where to get them. Li-on batteries are generally better than NiMH and last longer. As well as the fact that they tend not to develop battery memory as quickly. You can also take a look at this for quick ref…
I’m pretty sure the Nikon EN-EL1 batteries for the 995 (etc.) are Li-ion. They seem to die if they are allowed to self-discharge too far. I haven’t managed to keep any going for more than a year. Don’t know if that would be true of all Li-ion cells or just the Nikons. BTW, I’ve only used official Nikon-branded batteries so far, so they theoretically are of decent quality.
OK, check this out:
“DD/RCR V3 Li Ion 2 AA batteries w/Charger”
shop.store.yahoo.com/delkin/ddrcli2aabaw.html
This looked a lot like the stuff I saw on sale. They are AA sized but seem merged together as a pair.
You could have just checked on the Net like I did instead of being so sure that they don’t exist.
All: These things are expensive, and may not give very much more juice than the best NiMHs out there. That’s why I’m asking if anyone has actually tried them. Doesn’t look like anyone’s even seen them though…
MaPoDurian: The ones you’re describing seem to be specifically for the Nikon rather than generic ones you can just use in any electronics appliances?
Dl7und: I am currently using rechargeable AA batteries rated 2100MHz and 2000 MHz with chargers rated for 2000 MHz AA batteries. I’ve seen 2300 MHz AA batteries for sale but haven’t bought any since I’m not even sure if the chargers are charging the 2100s properly. They definitely last a little longer than the 1800 MHzs that came with the camera, but seem to lose their charge if not used quite quickly as well (I have several sets and they get used depending on which set I grab first).
As for what kind of voltage comes out of them, I’m no expert and wouldn’t dare comment on that.
shimmers: You can buy a charger that does trickle charging for the last 2% of the battery. This allows you to keep them in the charger and keep them from going dead. NiMH batteries have a VERY short shelf life out of the charger. All chargers will charge different capacity batteries, it’s just a matter of how long it’ll take. I use the same charger for 1300 and 2200mah batteries. It just takes almost 2x as long for the 2200 batteries.
I think the main benefit for the Li-ions is the better shelf-life, quick charge times and slightly better capacity. ie You’ll probably be able to get more shots with your flash out of a Li-ion than with NiMHs.
Shimmers, where did you see LiIon batteries? I was at Sunfar, but all they had were NiMH. Btw, capacities of batteries are given in mAH (milli Ampere hours), not in Megahertz… 
I doubt the chargers there are worth their money, though I happily learn that MIT chargers can do more now than just constant current charging. I have yet to see a reflex charger (license fees…) made in Taiwan. I brought mine from Germany - a bit more expensive, but well worth the money. Search for “ICS1702” or have a look here if you want to build your own charger.
dl7und: I saw them at the U23C on Ren Ai Road, next to the cashier.
Re: MHz for batteries, I stand corrected.
Answerer: How do you know if your charger does trickle charging? Does that get rid of the memory effect? Would the extra 2% make a great difference?
With regards Li-Ion’s advantages over NiMH - that’s what the manufacturers say, that doesn’t mean it works in practice. Looks like Dl7und will be the first to buy these things and tell us for sure.
This would be great if you only have 2 sets of batteries (one in use, one in the charger)… but not otherwise though, wouldn’t it?
The trickle charging is meant to keep the battery at full capacity. Cheaper chargers use a timer to shut off the charging after a specified amount of time. The trickle chargers detect the change in voltage and slow down the charging accordingly when it gets close to the capacity.
The difference is that you’ll almost never have a flat battery with trickle because it’ll always be charging. Basically, if you don’t want to get caught without NiMH batteries, you’ll want to get 2 sets. At about 150nt for 2 2200mAH, it’s well worth it.
You ususally can tell by the price or by whether or not it’s designated as a “smart” charger. The smart chargers I’ve seen start at NT 700 (or USD 25)
Here’s a pretty good faq http://www.digibattery.co.uk/nimh_charger_faqs.html
From what I understand about Li-ion vs NiMH. Li-ions can handle the high current draw needed by the flash more readily than the NiMH. This is especially noticeable as you get towards the end of the battery. I’ve used cameras where the batteries seemed fine and once I tried to take a flash photo, it shut itself off.
Answerer: Thanks for the FAQ, it may help me make use of my batteries better.
Both my chargers (1 for home, 1 for travel) cost over NT$1000 with the batteries included… I hope that means they’re trickle chargers.
Both chargers had packaging however said they should only be used with the batteries that came with them, which I took to mean that they probably wouldn’t be able to charge batteries higher than the mAH listed on the included batteries.
I didn’t check if they took longer to charge the more powerful batteries than the others though - all my batteries are over 1500 maH so it probably isn’t that much of a difference anyway.