Sanyo Eneloop AA NiMH Pre-Charged Rechargable Batteries with Charger - 4 Pack
by SANYO
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Sanyo Eneloop AA NiMH Pre-Charged Rechargable Batteries with Charger - 4 Pack
Customer Review: These are the batteries to get
Summary: 5 Stars
The buzz around GE/Sanyo's Eneloops is well-deserved. They are affordable (I paid $25 for four batteries and a charger) and provide flawless performance. I use these nickel metal hydride (NiMH) AA rechargeables almost exclusively in my digital camera. When it comes to my camera, nothing is more important to me than battery life. I just don't have the time or the patience to constantly cycle batteries through my camera. I'd rather be taking pictures. My experience with the Eneloops has been positive. They last an extremely long time in the camera. I also can have a charged pair stored in my bag and not worry that the charge will be gone next week when I need them (this is a problem that nickel cadmium (NiCd) batteries haven't overcome yet). As for the charger, it is nice although the cover on mine is pretty loose and can slide up when I'm not expecting it (although the batteries are made in Japan, the charger is made in China). And I like that the plug folds into the charger (that way I don't have to worry about it getting damaged in my bag). If I could offer only one tip, as far as I can tell, this is not a 'smart' charger. So you risk overcharging if you don't unplug the charger when the green charge light goes off. Overcharging a NiMH battery shortens its life considerably. But at least you don't have to worry about the 'memory effect' with NiMHs (NiCds have to be fully discharged or the active areas on the electrodes will diminish).
4 Month Update: On Christmas morning (2007), my three month old son's first Christmas, my Eneloops let me down! I had charged all four AA batteries the night before, yet I could only take a few pictures (15 at most) before my camera's dead battery light flashed on. The next day I stopped in at Target and bought some Rayovac Hybrids (they came with a complimentary Rayovac charger). The Hybrids are working great. I'll try the Eneloops again, however, because I'm pretty sure the problem was not the batteries but the charger that Sanyo includes with the Eneloops. The Rayovac charger may be considered second best because it is timed and not smart, but at least it works! I'll report back later on whether I've been able to confirm that the malfunction was the Eneloops or the charger.
Customer Review: Best batteries/charger
Summary: 5 Stars
11/2006:
I was going to buy the LaCrosse or Maha MH-504FS after reading tons of reviews. I'm glad that I didn't and bought this instead. First, this charger (not sure about the 2 batteries version) is a smart charger which monitors and charges batteries individually just like the LaCrosse. It is not a dumb timer charger you get for $10 or less. You don't need to worry about quick/slow charges (like 504FS) because it uses pulse charge to charge at a speed that's not too fast to hurt your batteries. Second, this charger costs so much less compared to Maha and LaCrosse. Third, I used these eneloop batteries fresh from the package without charging and took over 200 pictures (about 50 with flash and a few movie chip) with my Cannon A540. I believe it can take more pics because NIMH batteries take few cycles of discharge/recharge to reach full capacity. Last but not least, these eneloop battaries are able to hold the charge when sitting idle for months. Unless you charge the normal nimh batteries the night before, they are no good even if they are 2600 high power ones. By the time you use them, they are only partially charged.
I would recommand you to buy a LaCrosse if you still decide to use the ordinary NiMH batteries because you will need to use the refresh function to get rid of memory issue and the LED to tell you how much charge is left after letting the batteries sit for days. (Oh, I forgot to mention that eneloop claims that it can recharge 1000 times without memory issue.) However, if you decide to use the eneloop, forget about paying extra for Maha or LaCrosse and the normal Nimh batteries and just use this amazing charger and awesome batteries instead.
6/2007 update:
I bought a new set of Rayovac Hybrid Batteries to see how these compare to Eneloop because they are cheaper. I put the fresh new Rayovac in my digital camera, it works. But when I put it in a LED flashlight, the LED has no light output at all. Later, I put my used Eneloop (after 200 pictures) in it. Guess what? The LED works! Well, you get what you pay.
Customer Review: Very nice batteries.
Summary: 5 Stars
Right now I am using Sanyo Eneloop 2000 mah for my Pentax K-m/K2000. I bought the 4 pack with charger and another 4 pack alone. I have taken about 400 shots with my first set of 4 Eneloops so far and the batteries are still running really good with more than half of its capacity left. I would say get Sanyo Eneloops over other batteries because they are rechargeable and have a slow self-discharge rate. Although it is 2000 MAH, it will last a good amount of time. My Energizer Lithium's only lasted less than 800 shots and it's non-reusable, I hear people praising of it going up to 1200 shots but to me it's not worth it. Get the Sanyo Eneloops because you save so much more money because they'll last a long time and can be re-used.
The charging rate for the Sanyo's are pretty slow, it'll take about 8 hours to fully charge the empty Eneloops. So if you own a camera or something that uses 4 batteries, make sure you buy another 4 pack alone so you have a total of 8 batteries. That way you can swap them out so you can use one set while another set is in the charger. Mark the first set of batteries with a permanent marker so you don't mix-match the sets.
Don't compare Eneloops to regular rechargeable batteries. Eneloops are known as LSD (Low Self-discharge) batteries. They are not like regular rechargeable. Although they have 2000 mah compared to other rechargeable with higher mah, the Eneloops tend to last longer due to it's LSD capability. You can tell which ones are LSD and which ones are not, check the package and make sure it says "PRE-CHARGED", meaning the rechargeable battery is ready-to-use right out of the package. Regular batteries don't say Pre-charged because they can't stay in the shelf long enough before dying, while LSD batteries like Eneloops will go on forever and even over a year and still keep charge.
I still prefer Sanyo Eneloops as the best LSD batteries to buy because Sanyo were the first ones to come out with it, and more K200D and K2000/K-m owners uses them than any other LSD batteries.
Customer Review: Sanyo Eneloop 4 Pack AA NiMH Pre-Charged Rechargable Batteries w/ Charger
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought the Eneloop battery charger here on Amazon that comes with 4 AA batteries. The batteries worked great out of the package and held a strong charge for what seemed to be about as long as non-chargeable AA batteries. I was impressed.
After charging and discharging them several cycles, I am very happy with their power and long-lasting charge. It is also wonderful to not have to wait until the batteries are completely discharged to charge them again. That is a big plus.
When it came time to charge them the first time, I checked some reviews to find out how long it was supposed to take, and was disappointed to read several reviewers mention that the charger was a timer-based charger and not a "smart charger" that would be able to determine when the batteries were fully charged.
The lights on the charger stopped blinking after about 7.5 hours. I then decided to test them after a short while to see if the charger would just stay on again, so I put two of the newly charged batteries back in the charger, and I was surprised to see that it stopped charging after about 20 minutes. So apparently it isn't just a "dumb" timer based charger after all.
I have read that if a charger has to charge in pairs and only has one light for two batteries that it can't be a smart charger, only a dumb timer-based charger. I don't know if this charger is able to charge each battery in the pair to the perfect capacity. Perhaps it just charges until one of the pair reads a full charge... but that is still better than a timer-based charger.
I am very pleased with the performance of the Eneloop batteries and charger. Tthey are far superior to my old rechargeable batteries and my old charger that truly was a "dumb" timer charger. Highly recommended.
Customer Review: Don't attempt to use in a Kodak camera!
Summary: 1 Stars
Trying to be both Earth and money conscience, I purchased the Sanyo Eneloop charger and battery combo in early 2007 from Amazon as well as another 8 pack of the batteries. My intention was to use these batteries in my new Kodak digital camera. Ha! I would have better luck taking pictures with an oatmeal box camera then by using these batteries in this camera.
Out of the package, they lasted for a whopping 15 pictures before the camera shut off from low battery. Tried chargeing them, and had more success - 20 pictures before battery death. After many weeks of frustration, I noticed that if I took the batteries out and switch their position in the camera (it only takes two AA by the way), I was able to get an additional 10-15 pictures. Still not even close to what the reviewers and manufacturer were claiming.
Finally, I researched the warranty on the batteries (no information came with the products) and sent all of the batteries and the charger back to the manufacturer with a long letter and got back... all new batteries and the same charger I had sent them. No better luck with the new batteries. In frustration, I even tried charging them on another brand of charger but had only a minimal increase in photo output. Have shelved these as a major waste in the camera and keep 'em on standby of the Wii remotes only now. Have found much better success with photo batteries. According to Kodak tech support, they do not recomend these batteries for their cameras for exactly the same reasons - don't hold up to the load demand.
Please use caution if purchasing these batteries and check with your equipment manufacturer ot see if they are recommended before you invest in the Eneloop product.