Charger Reviews

The BQ-390 charger, with its pearlescent white finish and simple lines, is an attractively designed charger. If you were giving this as a gift to your girl friend, it will not look so geeky as the other Sony, Kodak or Maxell chargers you can find on Amazon.com.

Like the Sony Power Charger, it has advanced circuitry inside to monitor charging through temperature, voltage drop, or the cell's internal resistance, so that you'll get fuller charges and less damage from overcharging of simpler chargers. In other words, your NiMH cells will give you better performance as well as a longer service life. This breed of chargers also charge each cell individually, rather than in pairs. Less sophisticated chargers charge in series, so one cell in the pair may not receive full charge, while the other, worse, is overcharged. NiMH, unlike older NiCd's, does not tolerate overcharging. Because they have 3 times the capacity of NiCd's to refill, all at under 2 hours, you can see why chargers are so expensive, and why they're worth it.

Panasonic has recently shifted their cell production from Japan to China, so you might get Chinese cells in the bundle. Still, Sanyo and Panasonic are the 2 major NiMH makers, and you can't go wrong with either. (Sony and GE NiMH cells are all made by Sanyo.)

This charger will only accept 1~2 AAA cells at a time (but 1~4 for AA cells). If you need to charge 4 AAA at a time, look to the Sony Power Charger elsewhere on Amazon.com. It bundles 4 NiMH AA cells made by Sanyo for Sony, but charges more slowly, twice as long as this Panasonic. But that is also why it's somewhat cheaper.

I have a lengthy commute (100 miles-round trip), and this product has been heaven-sent! I no longer have to worry about remembering to cradle my PDA before I start the day because I know I can charge it enroute. I arrive to my destination fully charged and ready to go. And because I work for 24 hours at a stretch- if for some reason I am PDA active that day and run the battery down, I can always charge it up fairly quickly again in the car. If you are any type of commuter- this is a must to have (along with the cell phone car charger!).

I purchased the recharger and Quest NiMH batteries for my digital camera. Using the LCD/flash, the batteries lasted for 115 pictures (4 MP, fine quality). They charge overnight and have a display light for a completed charge. They are my best set of batteries and I'm planning on replacing all of my other rechargeables with this brand.

This charger works great. Automatic stopping at 15 minutes, then trickle charges if you leave the batteries in the charger. There's a cooler fan when its on the 15 minutes cycle.
The 15 minutes charge only works on Rayovac I-C 3 types of battery, the charger works for other types of rechargeables also, NiMH and MiCd, in the overnight mode. The I-C 3 batteries can be charged in other chargers also, at the charger's rated speed. The PS5 can be used in countries with 120V-240V outlets. Outlet adapters not supplied.

My mom has one of these and It's very helpful. There are games on my cellphone in which I take in the car for entertainment, and when it runs out of batteries, i can depend on this recharger. It recharges fast so I can play, play away!

Until I got this charger, I struggled with battery problems constantly in the field (I am a professional radiographer and do considerable field photography on archeology projects in the summers in Peru). This charger is perfect....lightweight, fits in my camera bag easily, and gives me a full day of work without worrying about when the battery will run out when I am hours from a recharging plug.

There is adequate charge in two regular NP batteries to allow me to run 400-500 high res still images on my Sony Mavica CD digital camera. This accessory is worth every penny!

Finally a manufacturer designed a battery charger using the same switching technology that makes computer power supplies so small, light, and powerful. Output is insensitive to input voltage drops, meaning, contrary to instructions, you can very conveniently use a light extension cord and still get full output. Disadvantage?: It is light enough to easily topple if not placed securely. Hefty output cables, battery clamps, and case with cable storage compartment. Another disadvantage: it is a multi-stage (several charging plans kick in), but one shot. Once the battery is fully charged, it turns off, and will not turn on again to keep the battery topped off. Suggestion for their next model. You can start your car from dead after 5 minutes. Highly recommend.

The description for this product says something like "fitted with the industry standard firewire port, to work with older iPods." This in direct contrast to the picture, which shows the newer connector and ipod. do not buy this for your older ipod!

The charger makes quick work out of charging all four batteries simultaneously, and automatically shuts off when finished, which is very convenient--no more burned out batteries.

Also, the batteries, 1850 mAH, which come with this charger seem to be the highest rated you can buy, and do last very long. Just out of the box, without prior charging, they already outperfomed the Alkalines I had been using previously in my Canon A70. Definately a great buy.

One complaint, however, is that the springs that come down to hold smaller AAAs in place break too easily, and will not firmly hold AAAs in place while charging. This has absolutely no affect on Double A batteries, but is an annoyance when trying to charge triple A batteries. It will still charge them, but it's a hassle trying to get the batteries to stay in place when the clip does not hold them sturdily.

Overall, a sufficient battery charger. If you are just using it to charge AAs, this is perfect. If you will primarily be charging AAAs, I would look into a different charger, perhaps one that does not involve spring-loading holding mechanisms at all.

I need a fast, compact charger that could easily fit into my digital camera bag. Other chargers are compact, BUT the electric cord takes up a lot of room. This charger DOES NOT have an electric cord to contend with, Instead, it has a collapsable plug, which folds completely hidden into the unit when not in use, allowing it to be placed neatly into the camera bag pocket.

With the storage issue taken care of, the performance of this unit is above expectations. The recharging process is less than 3 hours. Unlike other models, you can recharge either one, two three or all four batteries at once and still get a full charge on all batteries. The two battery option is nice for my kids walkie-talkie batteries. The shut down mode when complete is a nice option that is really needed, especially for the time when you forget about the charger until the next morning.

I've tried several other chargers and this is the BEST model that I have worked with. Compact, easy storage, fast charging, auto shutdown, charge less than 4 at a time. ALL the options I need for a battery charger.

I recently bought this charger kit from Amazon and I am quite happy with my purchase. The folding plug is nice for storage. The included 1850 mAh batteries last for a long time in my Nikon Coolpix 2100. One of the best features of the charger is that each battery is charged separately (as opposed to in pairs) so that each battery gets just the right amount of charge. The short 3 hour charge time is great as well. The batteries do not get overly warm while charging either.

Overall, this is a good charger for a good price. If you have a high drain device, the Kodak K2000 should keep you playing for a long time.

It lost one star is mainly due to the high price.

If you are a heavy user of AA-size rechargeable batteries (both NiMH & NiCd), I suggest you get both Olympus B-40SU and Maha MH-C204F charger. Yeap ... 2 chargers. They work GREAT as partners and one cannot replace the other !!

Let me explain why ...

- B-40SU cannot re-condition the batteries. MH-C204F can. NiCd needs that every once in a while.

- B-40SU cannot be used in a car. MH-C204F can.

- MH-C204F has to charge batteries in pairs. B-40SU can charge 1, 2, 3 or 4 batteries. Very flexible. This is important for FRS users. My Motorola TalkAbout FRS uses 3 AA. You can always try to find a spare battery somewhere to make up a pair. But it is not advisable to rapid charge batteries in different capacity states.

- B-40SU works worldwide. MH-C204F needs different power supply.

- B-40SU does not seem to charge NiCd properly (at least my unit doesn't). MH-C204F charges both NiCd & NiMH well.

I found my twin charger setup works great.

But if you are a light rechargeable battery user and only use 2 (e.g. Kodak DX3500) or 4 (e.g. Olympus C-3xxx) NiMH AA for your digital camera, this unit may be a bit too pricey. There are better alternatives out there.

Now on to the batteries. The batteries coming with my B-40SU are rated at 1600mAh. This 'used to be' considered high capacity but now 1700 and 1800mAh are available. However, I do not believe they will make a significant difference in real life use since even 1600mAh lasts quite a long time for my digital camera use. You will have to pay a premium for those 1800mAh. I have used other brands of NiMH batteries in B-40SU and it works just fine.

This is by far the most compact and convenient set that I have found for international travel.

Although quick-charge might be important to some, I run an Olympus 3040 all day and into the night on the stock Olympus Batterys so I usually recharge overnight.

I also own a set of Friwo 1800 mAh batteries and they do last about a day longer per charge (shooting approx. a hundred 2048x1024 shots and at least two mpegs/day with the 3040 screen on). While it is nice that the 1800s can shoot for almost twice the 1600s without recharge, the 1600s are adequate for a whole day. I would actually recommend having two sets of rechargables and there's nothing wrong with the 1600s for the first set, especially since you save a lot of money compared to the 1800s. My Olympus charger set came bundled with my camera but I think four AA 1800s alone cost me a little more than the 1600s with the charger.

So, the Olympus 1600 mAh have been perfectly adequate as a first set for me and I love the light weight and small profile of the charger. I also like the fact that the charger can be locked away while it's charging (since it has a cord) or at least hidden from view. I also have a fast recharger with warning lights, "trickle" safety technology, etc. but it's big, heavy and doesn't have a cord.

Light weight and small size matters to me when I travel, probably more than technical details like warning lights and trying to extend the hypothetical long-term life of my batteries. Also, avoid chargers that plug directly into an outlet. They usually hang loosely on the wall from poorly fitted plug adaptors, have LEDs that light-up an entire room at night, and they are impossible to secure while charging. When I left my fancy wall-trickle charger running overnight in a hostel, I invariably found someone would be woken by the LEDs and remove the charger from the plug. This was an unpleasant experience for all.

Just for comparison, I found that regular disposables, even "ultra" and special camera batteries, will not make it through a whole day unless I purposefully conserve energy. For example if I take two or three mpeg on the 3040 with a few screen shots and maybe use the flash a couple times, I have to load a new set of disposable AAs. Actually, only two of the four really get drained. But even so, this was very inconvenient and the hassle of swapping batteries cost me enough opportunities that I never again would use disposables unless desparate. To be fair, the Olympus Lithium disposables lasted a whole week under heavy strain. They're great for a real pinch or remote locations, but more expensive per shot and less convenient than the NiMH rechargables, especially on long trips.

NOTE! You must keep a set of batteries in the camera to keep your camera settings even when it's off, so it's handy to have two sets of four. Before I had two sets of rechargables I used four "dead" disposables to keep the camera alive overnight. In addition, a second set of rechargables is a good idea for when you just can't charge your favorite set any more.

I have been using my Olympus charger for over three years. I travel and need a dual voltage recharger. This is just about the only dual voltage charger out there - you need a convertor for most. Convertors tend to be heavy and also tend to fail at very awkward times and blow things up when they do so. An especially nice feature is that there is a cord that you use for plugging onto the wall. The reason this is so nice is that other chargers that plug directly into the wall rarely stay plugged in or won't plug in when the wall socket is recessed which is so common overseas. This problem is compounded when a plug adapter is used - the weight of the recharger and batteries pulls it right out of the adapter/wall. I have had to prop them up with books and coffee cups to keep things plugged in. The cord eliminates all of this. I would not trade this charger for anything.