On your review of Kodak's DC210, you state "DC210 is NOT specified for use with Lithium AAs!" Kodak says DC210 uses (4) AA Lithium batteries. Who is correct and what other types of batteries (preferably rechargeable) will the DC210 accept?

-- Eugene F. O'Neill (efoneill@hotmail.com), April 29, 1998

Answers

Arrgh!

Thanks for the clarifying question! - At one point, we had heard that the DC210 was explicitly NOT rated to use Lithiums, but maybe that's changed. - I've got a note to myself now, to track down the Kodak product manager's email, and ask him the question directly.

Lithiums are great batteries, with very high power density, but have problems handling really high current drains. If the drain is too high, they can get into an ever-worsening situation: The excessive current makes them heat up, which increases their internal resistance and drops their output voltage, making them heat up more, etc, etc. (The other thing that happens, is the more the voltage drops, the more current the camera's power supply pulls in order to compensate, greatly aggravating the situation.) I've heard reports (anecdotal, so take it with a grain of salt) that lithiums have been known to *melt* the insides of a camera.

It should be easy enough to check on the 210: Buy a set, put them in your camera, and do a "worst case scenario" test on them: Run the LCD continuously, zoom the lens in & out, and take a bunch of flash pictures. Periodically pop the batteries out and see how hot they're getting. It'll cost you a set of batteries to do this test, but then you'll know.

For our part, we use NiMH rechargeables almost exclusively in our testing. They have very high capacity, handle high current drain pretty well, and we can recharge them over and over. We also have a fair sackful of Rayovac "Renewal" rechargeable alkalines around that we bought before discovering they really aren't the best for digital cameras: They deplete very rapidly under high loads, and can only be recharged a limited number of times. The Renewals work quite well in lower-power cameras though.

At some point, we're going to do a whole battery FAQ, but with all the other work going on right now, don't know when we'll ever get to it. Check the link to Andy Baird's battery FAQ on our Tips & FAQs page - I disagree with some of his statements, but overall it's an excellent treatment.

I've got the Kodak PM's business card around somewhere - If I can find it, I'll email him for the real scoop on the DC210 and Lithiums. Thanks for the tip as to the (possible) change!

-- Dave Etchells (web@imaging-resource.com), April 29, 1998.