Is there any difference between a battery labeled “Digital Camera Battery, Lithium, AA” and on AA batteries not labeled ‘Photo’ or ‘Camera’ battery?
I ask because I have a Sony Ruvi video camera recorder. I’m looking to sell it and want to make sure it still works. I put regular Duracell Alkaline AA batteries in it and it worked but the view screen was very dark.
Thanks.
“Camera” batteries generally have a significantly higher capacity than regular AAs. The capacity is usually measured in milliamp-hours (mAh).
Lithium cells are typically rated around 3000mAh these days (the one you linked to is 2900mAh), around 50% higher than alkaline cells and maybe 4 or 5 times more than old-style zinc-carbon ones.
Thanks for the info.
So does this mean they will deliver more power to the device or will they just last longer?
(Excuse my ignorance, I learned all I know about batteries from the Energizer Bunny.)
They will last longer.
As said above, “camera” batteries may give more juice. This can be checked by comparing the mAh value to regular batteries.
IMPORTANT: That said, many “camera” batteries actually put out up to 50% more voltage! Lots of expensive high-tech equipment specifically tell you in their manuals to NOT use special “camera batteries” because they can damage the electronics. You could check this with a voltmeter… but if you don’t have one, I would stay away from putting them into anything worth over $100 'cause they may turn into toast.
not only do the lithium AAs have more capacity than normal alkalines, they also have lower internal resistance so they can deliver more current without wasting that capacity. Meaning, an alkaline AA might have 2800 mAh of capacity if you only draw 100 mA from it, but if you are drawing 1 A then its capacity can drop below 700 mAh. NiMH rechargeable AAs are better at this too, they get far closer to their rated capacity even at higher current draws.
ETA: Just for fun, a few years ago I tried to see how long a (then-modern) digital camera would run using dry cell (carbon-zinc) AAs.
Two minutes.
(end edit)
I’ve seen such batteries, but they’re not likely to be in the AA/LR6 form factor, are they? The ones I’ve seen are some odd shapes that don’t correspond to typical sizes.
I have a $350 canon point/shoot camera that says in the instruction manual to not use “camera batteries” or any sort of lithium ion batteries because they typically are over-voltage and will damage my camera. The camera takes AA batteries. A year or so ago I got some AA lithium Energizer batteries that SAY 1.5 volts but when hooked up to my volt meter (under light-medium load) measured 2.3 volts. That may or may not be enough to fry your circuits. Realistically, it probably won’t damage your electronics… but I sure as hell ain’t gonna put 4 of them in series into my $1500 SLR.
expected voltage: 4 x 1.5 = 6.0 volts
actual voltage: 4 x 2.3 = 9.2 volts
Might even void the warrantee.
lithium primary cells are not the same thing as lithium ion cells, the latter have a nominal cell voltage of 3.7V.
I’ll have to fish out the manual and see if it says “ion” or just “lithium”.
That said, I have always assumed that all consumer-directed AA batteries are supposed to be 1.5 volts. The ones I tested looked a lot like the link at the top of this thread though. Could have been a fluke, I dunno… but I’d never put an “high powered” batteries into anything electronic without testing them / comparing them to normal AA batteries.
well, alkalines are only 1.5 volts when brand new and under very light load. They have a fairly linear discharge curve down to about 1 volt when dead, and if you’re drawing more than a hundred milliamps or so they can sag down to 1.2-1.3 volts pretty quickly. NiMH rechargeable cells hold about 1.2-1.3 volts pretty consistently throughout their discharge until they’re flat, then drop to 1 volt right at the end. Which is why most devices that expect “1.5 volt” alkalines work just fine with 1.2 volt rechargeables.