This article is one for those who do a fair amount of travel and for those of us who have multiple cameras. You run into a little bit of a problem with the batteries. Steven has covered in the past the Camera Battery Hack. We have also linked to other Camera battery hacks to extend those star trails long after the stock battery would have died.

What I want to talk about here is chargers for your stock batteries and here is the rub most of the chargers you buy for camera battery are specific for only one battery. Recharging batteries is a pain because batteries drain and recharge at different rates so at sometime you are left with 3 dead batteries all different types. That takes three different chargers all of which charge at different rates. And carrying more chargers means more chargers to forget, more outlets that are occupied.  And since each charger charges at a different you have to keep checking and checking the chargers to swap in the discharged batteries.

Suppose you move between hotels and locations in the remote Alps with your photo buddies on a once-in-a-lifetime time trip. But, you just forgot your charger in civilization. Well sucks for you. You will have to nurse that battery and it looks like no star circles for you. Well your friend might have you covered. If he had the Digipower travel charger which can charge multiple batteries at the same time. So lets look at the specs of the charger…North America/Japan and European Voltages (100-240VAC 50-60Hz 0.2A) (even the ability to charge two batteries at once.) These changers also come with the wall outlet adapters no need for use or buy another voltage converter. There is also a safety timer to prevent batteries from over charging as well as short circuit protection. The best part is the multiple inserts for different battery types. No matter where you are or what type of battery your buddies have, you got it covered in one charger. These multi-chargers are typically sold as brand specific Nikon, Canon, or Sony but they cover a large number of battery types in that brand. All of the interchangeable plates are included so no need ordering separate plates or voltage converters.  In the version I got (Nikon) it cover 5 battery types EN-EL3e (D90,D300, D300S, D700) EN-EL9/9a D40x D60, D3000, EN-E14 P7000 D3100, D5100, D7700, EN-EL15 D7000, V1 D800, D600, EN-EL20 J1. This covers all of Nikon’s pro cameras so your main body and the backup are covered.  Sweet now back to shooting.

• Nikon Models
• Nikon dual battery charger
• Canon Models
• Canon dual battery charger
• Sony Models

Another system with interchangeable charger plates is the Delkin single or dual plate charging system.

Of course the downside to all of these systems is that they require you not only to carry the charger, but also the plates for the batteries you may need.

Lenmar Plate Charging System (with USB power outlet)