Very Mobile Mains

[fergusd]

Useful wee gadget I saw in the US (but are available in the UK)


Duracell Pocket Inverter 175

120V AC 175W inverter, US mains socket (hence why it can be so small) also has a 5V USB socket

It's small enough that you can leave it in your laptop/camera bag, and I suspect most camera battery chargers and I'd have thought all laptop PSU's will work just fine off 120V . . . the size is the bonus, UK inverters are all huge because of the mains plug . . .

I do quite a lot of stuff away from the mains and this wee thang is something that I have already used a lot for running/charging the laptop . . .

It does run hot under load but it is fan cooled if required and overtemp protected . . .

wreckommended

Fd

[ThatPhilBrettGuy]

OOoo I'm in New York at the moment. Time to hunt for one. How much?

[fergusd]

ThatPhilBrettGuy said:

OOoo I'm in New York at the moment. Time to hunt for one. How much?

I think I paid just over 30 bucks . . . some wee store in seattle . . .

Fd

[VxDuncan]

Few places sell laptop PSU's that take 12V and convert to laptop power directly, without bothering to inverter to nasty 240V ish smoothed square wave, then rectifing back down to something like 16V for the laptop. Far more efficient than running it upto 240 and back again. Bloke at work has one, a kensington I think? For cameras in Africa I used an ebay charger for the Canon batts (BP-511) after the original died. Either used 5V input (from cigarette lighter socket transformer) or mains via psu. WOrked fine.

Now for my next trip I'm off to the rainforests of papua for 3weeks, and i'll be away from power for at least a week and a half. Argh! Any suggestions how to power a camera and portable storage device? Plan so far is 5 EN-EL3e's for the camera and a load of memory cards!

[CVP]

VxDuncan said:

Now for my next trip I'm off to the rainforests of papua for 3weeks, and i'll be away from power for at least a week and a half. Argh! Any suggestions how to power a camera and portable storage device? Plan so far is 5 EN-EL3e's for the camera and a load of memory cards!

Sounds like the only realistic option. Will you get through 5 batteries worth of charge in a week and a half? I found by limiting my review of the screen I made my batteries last longer than I thought when travelling.

Chris

[VxDuncan]

CVP said:

VxDuncan said:

Now for my next trip I'm off to the rainforests of papua for 3weeks, and i'll be away from power for at least a week and a half. Argh! Any suggestions how to power a camera and portable storage device? Plan so far is 5 EN-EL3e's for the camera and a load of memory cards!

Sounds like the only realistic option. Will you get through 5 batteries worth of charge in a week and a half? I found by limiting my review of the screen I made my batteries last longer than I thought when travelling.

Chris

Well probably not, but allowing for reduced battery performance in the heat I don't want to take any chances, esp given the cost of the trip (really once in a lifetime Bruce Parry stuff!). I had a charger fail in Uganda and spent three weeks on safari with one fully charged battery and a few dregs. Managed it somehow by not reviewing, turning off AF and shooting jpeg not raw to cut down write times. That said the local villagers quickly tire of you taking photos when they don't get to see themselves on screen and move on to the next person who can show them an LCD. It's an odd world we live in! All in if I move to the D300 nikon rate the nikon batts at 2000+ shots a charge, so 10k shots should do me in a week... Just!

[CVP]

How didn't realise you'd be shooting THAT many images

Hope you have a great trip, these once is lifetime type trips are such an opportunity

Chris

[fergusd]

VxDuncan said:

Few places sell laptop PSU's that take 12V and convert to laptop power directly, without bothering to inverter to nasty 240V ish smoothed square wave, then rectifing back down to something like 16V for the laptop. Far more efficient than running it upto 240 and back again. Bloke at work has one, a kensington I think? For cameras in Africa I used an ebay charger for the Canon batts (BP-511) after the original died. Either used 5V input (from cigarette lighter socket transformer) or mains via psu. WOrked fine.

Aye and every laptop you have needs a different one and different connector, etc, etc . . . a small mains inverter is by far the most fleible solution, works with every laptop and low power mains device on the planet . . . 30 bucks . . .

May not solve the problem where you have no power, but the best solution where you have a car . . .

$0.02

Fd