How do I use solar power to charge my camera battery?
Step 1. Identify Your Battery Type
Remove your battery and look for the model number on the pack. This is typically a short alpha-numeric code. Below are examples of the Canon BP-511 and the Nikon EN-EL8 battery types.
Step 2. Purchase the Appropriate Charger
The charger supplied with your camera most likely requires AC power may not have a DC power input required for solar charging. We have a variety of battery charger cradles available that accept DC input and have been tested to work well with solar.
Step 3. Connect the Battery to the Charging Cradle
Step 4. (4W and 8W Bags for Handheld Electronics) Connect the Charging Cradle to the Solar Panels
Disconnect the V11 or V39 battery pack Switch the output of the circuit box to 12V. Using the supplied 3.5×1.3mm barrel adapter, connect the camera battery charging cradle to the 3.5×1.1mm female socket from the output of the panel circuit box inside your bag.
Step 5. (4W and 8W Bags for Handheld Electronics) Point the Panels at the Sun!
Step 6. (for Laptop Chargers) Connect the Charging Cradle to the V60 Battery
Select the 12V setting Connect the Car Charging Socket to the DC output of the V60 battery Connect the 12V DC Car Charger supplied with the battery charging cradle to the socket Connect the 12V DC Car Charger to the battery charging cradle Or you can connect via our 3.5×1.3mm adapter from either the battery or solar panels directly to the charging cradle
How long will it take to charge my camera battery?
On the battery, you'll see a Voltage (typically 3.7 or 7.4V) and capacity (e.g. 1200mAh). Multiply these numbers together and divide by 1,000 and you'll get Watt-hours. A 7.4V, 1200mAh is a 8.9 Watt-hour battery. With our 4 Watt solar bags and solar chargers, each Watt-hour of battery capacity takes about 35 minutes to charge in direct sun. So an 8.9 Watt-hour battery will take about 5 and a half hours to charge. For our 8 and 10 Watt bags each Watt-hour takes about 18 minutes. Our 16 Watt laptop charger will be slightly faster.
What camera cradles do you have available?
Canon BP511
- EOS 10D / 20D / 300D Digital Rebel (Kiss) / 30D / 40D / 50D / 5D / D30 / D60
- FV FV10 / FV100 / FV2 / FV200 / FV30 / FV300 / FV40 / FV400 / FV50 / FVM1 / FVM10
- MV-Series MV100Xi / MV300 / MV300i / MV30i / MV400i / MV430i / MV450i / MVX3i
- Optura 10 / 100MC / 20 / 200MC / PI / Xi
- PowerShot G-Series G1 / G2 / G3 / G5 / G6
- PowerShot Pro-Series Pro1
- ZR Series ZR10 / ZR20 / ZR20 MC / ZR25 MC / ZR30 MC / ZR40 / ZR45 MC / ZR50 MC / ZR60 / ZR65 MC / ZR70 MC
Canon NB1L
- PowerShot S100, S110, S200, S230, S300, S330, S400, S410 and S500
Canon NB2L
- EOS 350D (XT) / 400D (XTi)
- PowerShot S30 / S40 / S45 / S50 / S60 / S70 / S80/ G7
- PC1018 / MV5i / MV900 Series (MV960 MV930) / MV5iMC(EUR) / 200I / 250i / / M830I / 330I / M880i / M800i
Canon NB4L
- PowerShot Digital ELPH 100 HS / 300 HS / 310 HS
- PowerShot SD-Series / Digital ELPH SD1000 / SD1100 IS / SD1100IS / SD1400 IS / SD200 / SD30 / SD300 / SD400 / SD430 / SD450 / SD600 / SD630 / SD750 / SD780 IS / SD940 IS / SD960IS
- PowerShot TX-Series TX1
- Digital IXUS 115 HS / 130 IS / 220 HS / 230 HS / 30 / 40 / 50 / 55 / 60 / 65 / 70 / 75 / 80 IS / i Zoom / i7
- IXY Digital 400F / 55 / 70 / 80 / L3 / L4
Canon NB5L
- PowerShot SD-Series / Digital ELPH SD700 IS / SD790 IS / SD800 / SD800 IS / SD850 IS / SD870 IS / SD880 IS / SD890 IS / SD900 / SD950 IS / SD970 IS / SD990 IS
- PowerShot SX-Series SX200 IS / SX210 IS / SX220 HS / SX230 HS
- Digital IXUS 800 IS / 850 IS / 860 IS / 90 IS / 900 Ti / 960 IS / 970 IS / 980
Canon NB6L
- PowerShot Digital ELPH 500 HS
- PowerShot D-Series D10
- PowerShot SD-Series / Digital ELPH SD1200 IS / SD1300 IS / SD3500 IS / SD4000 IS / SD770 IS / SD980 IS
- PowerShot S-Series / Digital ELPH S90 / S95
- Digital IXUS 105 IS / 200 IS / 210 IS / 300 HS / 310 HS / 85 IS / 95 IS
- IXY Digital 10S / 110 IS / 200F / 25 IS / 30S
Canon NB7L
- PowerShot G-Series G10 / G11 / G12
- PowerShot SX-Series SX30 IS
Canon LPE5
- EOS 1000D / 450D / 500D / Digital Rebel T1i / Digital Rebel XS / Digital Rebel XSi / Kiss F / Kiss X2 / Kiss X3
Canon LPE6
- Canon EOS 60D, EOS 7D, EOS 5D Mark II
Canon LPE8
- EOS 550D / 600D / Digital Rebel T2i / Digital Rebel T3i / Kiss X5
Nikon ENEL3
- D-Series D100 / D200 / D300 / D50 / D70 / D700 / D70s / D80 / D90
Nikon ENEL10
- CoolPix S200 / S210 / S220 / S230 / S3000 / S4000 / S500 / S510 / S5100 / S520 / S570 / S60 / S600 / S660 / S700 / S80
Nikon ENEL14
- D-Series D3100 / D5100
- CoolPix P7000
Nikon ENEL15
- D-Series D7000
Olympus LI-40B
- D-series D-630 Zoom
- FE series FE-150 / FE-160 / FE-190 / FE-20 / FE-220 / FE-230 / FE-240 / FE-250 / FE-280 / FE-290 / FE-300 / FE-3000 / FE-3010 / FE-320 / FE-330 / FE-340 / FE-350 / FE-360 / FE-4000 / FE-4010 / FE-4030 / FE-5000 / FE-5010 / FE-5020 / FE-5050 / FE-5500
- IR-Series IR-300
- mju 1060 / 1070 / 1200 Digital / 5000 / 700 Digital / 7000 / 7010 / 7020 / 7030 / 7040 / 710 / 720 SW / 725 SW / 730 Digital / 740 Digital / 750 Digital / 760 Digital / 770 SW / 780 Digital / 820 Digital / 830 Digital / Tough 3000
- mju SW 795 SW
- SP series SP-700
- Stylus 1040 / 1050 SW / 1060 / 1070 / 1200 / 550WP / 700 / 7000 / 7010 / 7020 / 7030 / 7040 / 710 / 720 SW / 725 SW / 730 / 740 / 750 / 760 / 770 SW / 780 / 790 SW / 820 / 830 / 840 / 850 SW
- Stylus Tough 3000
- X-Series X-600 / X-905 / X-915 / X-925 / X-935
- TG-310 / VR-320 / VR-330
Olympus LI-50B
- SP series SP-800 UZ / SP-810 UZ
- SZ-10 / SZ-11 / SZ-20 / SZ-30MR / TG-610 / TG-810 / XZ-1
- mju 1010 / 1020 / 1030 SW / 5010 / 9010 / Tough 6000 / Tough 6010 / Tough 6020 / Tough 8010
- Stylus 1010 / 1020 / 1030 SW / 5010 / 9000 / 9010
- Stylus Tough 6020 / 8000 / 8010
Sony FW50
- Alpha NEX-3 / NEX-5 / NEX-5N / NEX-7 / NEX-C3 / SLT-A33 / SLT-A35 / SLT-A55
Sony FM50
- Alpha A100 / A100H / A100K / A100K KIT1
- CyberShot F Series DSC-F707 / DSC-F717 / DSC-F828
- CyberShot S Series DSC-S30 / DSC-S50 / DSC-S70 / DSC-S85
- Digital 8 DCR-TR648 / DCR-TRV108 / DCR-TRV138 / DCR-TRV140 / DCR-TRV15 / DCR-TRV230 / DCR-TRV240 / DCR-TRV260 / DCR-TRV330 / DCR-TRV338 / DCR-TRV340 / DCR-TRV350 / DCR-TRV460 / DCR-TRV480 / DCR-TRV530 / DCR-TRV730 / DCR-TRV740 / DCR-TRV818 / DCR-TRV828 / DCR-TRV830 / DCR-TRV840
- DVD HandyCam DCR-DVD100 / DCR-DVD200 / DCR-DVD300
- GV Series GV-D1000
- Hi-8 CCD-TRV108 / CCD-TRV138
- High Definition HandyCam HDR-HC1 / HDR-SR1
- Mavica - CD MVC-CD200 / MVC-CD250 / MVC-CD350 / MVC-CD400
- MiniDV HandyCam DCR-PC100 / DCR-PC101 / DCR-PC105 / DCR-PC110 / DCR-PC115 / DCR-PC120 / DCR-PC120BT / DCR-PC330 / DCR-PC9 / DCR-TRV11 / DCR-TRV16 / DCR-TRV17 / DCR-TRV18 / DCR-TRV19 / DCR-TRV20 / DCR-TRV25 / DCR-TRV27 / DCR-TRV30 / DCR-TRV33 / DCR-TRV37 / DCR-TRV38 / DCR-TRV39 / DCR-TRV40 / DCR-TRV50 / DCR-TRV6 / DCR-TRV70 / DCR-TRV80 / DCR-TRV950
Sony NPBG1
Includes 3.5x1.1mm to 3.5x1.3mm adapter and 12V car charger. Use with 12V setting.
Is there a list of which camera uses which kind of battery?
This is constantly changing, but here is the most recent list based on data from photo sharing site Flickr.
How do you recommend storing my camera gear in your backpacks?
We think both the Domke 414 and the Camaroo Compact III camera inserts fit well in the Array and OffGrid. The Domke 414 holds a lot more gear and is more plush, the Camaroo is better if you want storage room left over.
Here's a short video showing the Domke and Camaroo in the Array Solar Laptop Charger.