Uncle Bobcast & eneloop

Our tip: eneloop in the everyday life of a photographer

For over 10 years we have used the eneloop batteries for everything that needs batteries. Not onlyb in our professional life, but also privately – for every television remote control, clock or kid’s toy. The "normal" (white) eneloop batteries have a fantastically long life with over 2000 charging cycles and hardly lose any noticeable capacity over the years. Even more clever and environmentally friendly are the eneloop lite for private use, which can be recharged up to 3000 times. A battery for life, so to speak. Generally eneloop has 3 different battery types.

• eneloop lite (blue) with 950 mAh (AA) or 550 mAh (AAA) are batteries with a long life for everyday use
• eneloop (white) with 2000 mAh (AA) or 750 mAh (AAA) long-life batteries for devices that need a lot of energy
• eneloop pro (black) with 2500 mAh (AA) or 930 (AAA) for devices that need a lot of energy quickly

In everyday photography, we primarily use rechargeable batteries in clip-on flashes and flash remote controls. When it comes to rechargeable batteries in remote controls, a high capacity of the battery is particularly important to us. The white eneloop batteries not only have this, but also a very low self-discharge and are therefore the perfect choice. It is not unusual for these batteries to remain in the Profoto shutter release for 2-3 months without being recharged. The black power packs go into our clip-on flashes. Especially on the dance floor at a wedding, a fast flash sequence is important. The eneloop pro have a very stable and short power output, which makes them destined to be used in the flash unit.

Tips and Tricks

Generally speaking, it makes sense to label your batteries with the date of purchase, and to always leave them in the same group of 2 or 4. Older white and black eneloop pro batteries can often still be useful around the house. Especially the white eneloop as they still have a capacity of 70% after 10 years, which is more than suffices for remote controls or clocks. And when the battery really needs to be replaced, the clever charger alerts you. Very practical! Our choice of charger is the Panasonic BQ-CC65. What can you say about a charger? It does what it is supposed to do. It charges each battery individually and gently, even mixed AA and AAA, by measuring voltage and temperature. And, it is an emergency power bank, i.e. you can charge your mobile phone with the charged batteries in the device.

Conclusion

eneloop batteries have long been top dog among us photographers. And quite rightly so. The three different battery types available are optimised for every purpose. Long-lasting high-performance batteries are essential these days when environmental protection and sustainability have become so important. Cheers to the wonderful eneloop batteries!