USB CHARGING SOLUTION FOR LEICA BATTERIES

By Josh Lehrer, Leica Store Miami

At a recent Leica Pro Discovery Day held in the store, I noticed a small, unassuming looking battery charger sitting on a table – with an SL battery charging in it. This was the first time I had ever seen a third-party charging solution for SL batteries, which naturally piqued my interest. Upon closer inspection I could see it was manufactured by a company called Nitecore. And that instead of a traditional wall outlet plug, it was charging over a USB cable. Further research later on led me to their full product catalog, and as it turns out, Nitecore makes compact USB battery chargers for a wide variety of Leica camera batteries. It wouldn’t be long before I had the full compliment of Leica chargers sitting on my desk for some testing.

Immediately I was struck by the small size and light weight of the chargers, especially considering they all have built-in USB cables and a small screen that conveys important information about the battery and charging status. All five chargers are about the same size and weight, measuring in at 85x50x30 mm and weighing 50 grams. All charge one battery at a time, with the exception of the D-LUX/C-LUX charger which actually charges two batteries at once. 

The Nitecore chargers for Leica Cameras

Aside from their small size, by far the most useful feature of the Nitrecore chargers is that they charge over USB versus using the standard “figure eight” wall outlet cord, or flip-out prongs, that the Leica’s own chargers use. This means you can charge up your batteries from a portable battery power bank, similar to how you may charge a smartphone on the go. It also works with solar chargers and you can even charge from a computer USB port. Or a USB port in your car (or airplane). What a gift for travel photographers, who may be miles away from a power outlet when they are out shooting. In theory, with a good-sized power bank, two batteries could last for days and days of shooting without ever needing a wall outlet.

 

Each charger features a built-in USB cord that tucks away neatly when not in use.

Of course, it’s still fastest to charge over wall AC power and that is easy to do here. I would say most people I know have at least one, if not a small collection of USB outlet adapters. They come with just about every smartphone, tablet or other electronic device with a battery, and they’ll all work with the Nitecore chargers. Results may vary in terms of charge times (more on that later) though. Nitorecore makes their own USB power adapter if you need one. It is also worth mentioning that the built-in USB cord is quite short, so a USB extension cable is recommended most of the time if you are charging from AC power.

Leica’s own battery chargers lack any meaningful information about the battery or the charge status, beyond “charging,” “80% charged,” and “fully charged.” The Nitecore chargers all have a small screen which provides much more detailed information. The screen cycles automatically between two different displays, the first of which you can see below:

 

Here I am using the Nitcore ULQ charger for Leica’s BP-DC12 battery used in the Q, CL and V-LUX. Starting from left to right, the first thing you see is a series of small “blocks” inside brackets – this is visible on both display screens. That is the battery charging status bar. When the blocks reach the top bracket, the battery is fully charged. The word “End” will also appear on the right side of the screen when charging is complete.

Next, we see the voltage the battery is putting out, 6.9 volts in this case. Then we see a reading of 984mA which is how much current is flowing into the battery through the charger. With Nitecore’s USB outlet adapter I am nearly at the charger’s maximum potential mA rating of 1000mA. Using an iPhone power adapter, for example, I maxed out around 700mA but I could get close to 1000mA with a larger iPad adapter. However, with an older, small power bank I never saw more than 100mA. The more current flowing, the faster the battery will charge. Above those readings we see the word “Good” which is the battery’s health. “Good” represents the best possible rating – below that would be “Normal” then “Poor.” If you see Poor, best to dispose of the battery or at least relegate it to backup status.

 

The second display cycled in still shows the charging status bar on the left, and the battery health above. However now we see the current temperature of the battery (31 degrees Celsius when I took the photo) and next to that, a measurement of how much charge has been sent to the battery – 84mAh in this case. Do note that this number resets to zero when you unplug the charger or remove the battery.

Obviously this is FAR more information than any of the Leica chargers provide. The “battery health” display alone is a killer feature, letting me know when it’s time to replace a bad battery. Plus I’m able to see how much current is flowing, so I know the quality of the source I am using to charge. All Nitecore chargers are designed to automatically stop the flow of current when the battery is fully charged as well, which means I never have to worry about overcharging.

Needless to say, these will be my new “go-to” chargers for all future adventures. Their small size and flexibility will prove quite useful. It’s also worth mentioning that Nitecore has indicated an M10 charger is in the works, which we’ll hopefully see before the year is out.

All five chargers are priced at $60 each, and you can check out the full range online here:

Nitecore Battery Chargers

For other articles on this blog please click on Blog Archive in the column to the right

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Soaking in the Heat

Whereas I am sick to death of being hot, the same does not hold true for our visitors from London. Orlando delivered the heat in spades. And a few of those days we experienced the full force of the Florida sun. But before we get into that, one of the things Tom was most hoping to see was the otters. Day after day, primarily when he and Matt had left for a bit, I saw the group of three, both in the water, as well as rubbing off on shore, as is their custom.

They rub and they roll, what for, I'm not entirely sure, but I've seen them make these moves often. Finally, while we were out, he saw all three of them frolicking in the water. Or so he says! Just kidding....actually, it made me so happy. Now he can add that to his owl and alligator sightings. You would think he'd gone to visit his in-laws in the country rather than two miles from downtown!

A week ago Monday we braved the heat to visit Leu Gardens.

While making the obligatory lake visit, turtles swam below.

A fairy door exhibit brought in loads of kids following maps and squealing with delight when they found one. This was our favorite.

My lens did not allow me to include all five doors which reminded us of GOT, shorthand for Game of Thrones. There are some mighty fine specimens of oak trees dotting the gardens.

One of the guys spotted this amazing grasshopper chilling on a post. We wondered, and this is kind of gross, if that little dangle was waste product. What do you think?

Beating the heat was our mission on Tuesday when we went to Cocoa Beach, arriving early before the sand gets blazing hot.

Perfect water temperature for swimming, and eventually body surfing. Eventually because I kept trying, watching while Matt rode the waves to shore, while I rode them for about a foot. Finally, I got the hang of it, only wishing the waves were bigger.

It was fun watching the surf camp just down the way.

We never could figure out exactly what was wrong with this crab aside from having one eye completely coated in sand.

While we were in Vancouver, I kept thinking the seagulls were much larger than the ones we are used to. I still think that is true.

A visit to the nearby Ron Jon's was fun with Tom getting sunglasses while Bruce and Matt came home with t-shirts. As you do.  After a Publix sub in Merritt Island, while driving on 520, a warning light came on the dashboard signaling some sort of problem with the coolant. As a precautionary measure, Bruce turned off the car AC, driving home cautiously. The bad news was that they could not look at it until Friday. The good news is that it is now fixed.

While home, Matt and Tom kept working on the puzzle.

Crazy hard, they said it was a good thing I did not attempt a 1,000 piece puzzle and I tend to agree.

Wednesday evening was our Lake Pineloch party for the 4th of July with hot dogs and hamburgers,

cooked by Burch in the front, suffering from a sinus problem btw, and David. Unfortunately we had some rain, but the good news is that it was not enough to cancel anything. Michelle stood with her umbrella over the paper goods, while others gathered by the covered bar area.

When will I learn to position myself better for fireworks photos?

A potluck complete with loads of different dishes, desserts, and PLENTY of watermelon. We danced the night away....

On the 4th we went to Winter Park to attend their celebration,

along with several hundred others,

many of whom brought their own chairs. Because we did not, we snagged some seats on the bleachers, both a good and bad decision. Good because we had somewhere to sit, bad because it was blazing hot in the sun!

Next year we will know better. One thing though, they did everything possible to make folks have a good time, including giving out free water, old fashioned fans (worked great), hot dogs and watermelon. Pretty amazing.

And then there was the patriotic music provided by the Bach Festival, conducted by Dr. John Sinclair from our church. The keyboard player was none other than Lynn Peghiny who, get this, played the organ for our wedding when she was 13 years old!! Pretty amazing, right? 
After lunch we spent a few hours at home before going over to Matt's old friend Liza's parents' home in Belle Isle for dinner, fellowship, and fireworks. Oh, and giant bubbles too!

 Mike, Liza's Dad, made up some bubble mix that kept both adults and kids entertained.

It was so hot and humid, the smoke from the fireworks hung in the air. I had not seen Clara, Liza's oldest for ages, and what a delightful young girl she's become, although it does not surprise me in the least coming from such fine parents as Mike and Liza. Here she is writing her name with a giant sparkler.

Generally, when Matt comes to town, we get him to help us with technology. Do you do the same when your young folks come home? Bruce got a new laptop that he mostly set up himself, using the provided voice commands, a genius idea! Matt did some tweaking on the computer, and then, on his 43rd birthday, he helped us both buy and set up a new smart television, something that the kids had been encouraging us to get for a while now.

Matt did the technical part while Bruce did the hanging it on the wall part, something I've been wanting for a while now. He put up a spiffy hanger that allows us to turn the television any which way. Good stuff.

Then it was Saturday evening and time for them to head back to London under ominous skies.

One last photo,

and we left them to head to their gate. We drove over to Lisa and Oren's to gather with our friends for, what was meant to be, a pool party. Although rain was predicted for the whole week, mostly it came when we did not want it to, and Saturday night was no exception, causing their flight to have a delayed take off and the pool party to move indoors.

A few hours later then planned, they arrived home and dry to catch up with their non-holiday lives. In about six weeks it will be our turn to go to London, and instead of soaking in the heat, we do so hope we will be soaking up just the opposite! Two weeks into August, and I will be losing my mind....

your friend,

Gail

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