Camera battery charging has always been an untidy mess. Every camera has its own charging pod, connecting cables and power supply. In the past, Leica has been guilty of proliferating charging systems, with the exception of the common system for the SL and Q cameras. Sadly, the M11 has saddled us with yet another battery charger to carry around.
Fortunately, Leica has seen the light when it comes to in-camera charging. All the most recent cameras, including the defunct CL [Ed: This is an error, the CL does not have a USB-C port—see comments below], are blessed with a USB-C power/data port. Gone is the worry of setting off on a long trip without the charger. Now, a USB-C cable, bought for peanuts anywhere in the world, can get you out of trouble.
The company has also helped us by equipping all current charging units with the universal ∞ power socket that takes a multitude of power cables and even slots directly into a suitable mains plug. The use of proprietary and odd-ball connectors (such as those belonging to the old X1) is mercifully over.
Practical
In-camera charging is one of the most sensible and practical innovations in power management we’ve seen in the past few years. All my current cameras, with the exception of the Q2, are equipped with a USB-C port and I no longer need to carry a charger when travelling for more than a day or so. In fact, I’ve put all the various chargers on the shelf and rely entirely on the USB cable.
Unfortunately, the camera I use most — and the one I prefer to travel with — is not equipped with a USB port. It’s a mystery why the Q didn’t have in-camera charging from the start. The technology was around and Leica was already incorporating it in the T at the time the Q was developed.
Sadly, I still have to lug around the bulky charging unit if I am travelling with the Q2. Just to be on the safe side, you understand. Because between the Q2 and SL2 I can muster a quartet of batteries which suffice for all but the longest trip. But if I forget the charger, there is no way of re-charging other than visiting a Leica dealer or buying a new unit at a vast cost.
Q3 with USB-C?
With the Q3 expected next year, I shall be mightily disappointed if the new camera does not feature a USB-C charging port. It is the one feature that would persuade me to change from Q2 to Q3; I could be persuaded to skip the inevitable boost in sensor resolution.
I’ve mentioned before that I do not intend to buy a second M11 battery. One is quite enough, not least because this camera is so sparing in its power use. Stick to the rangefinder and avoid using the EVF or screen, and you can get over 1,000 shots on a battery. That’s more than enough for most people in a day.
Self-charging batteries
A further intriguing possibility is to equip every battery with its own USB-B. No, it’s not as daft as it sounds. A directly chargeable battery pack from Nitecor is now available to replace the Sony FP-Z100 battery which is used in many of the firm’s products. This is one of the better ideas I’ve seen.
Unfortunately, this innovation is unlikely to come to Leica any time soon. All Leica cameras now have a proprietary pop-out battery that, presumably, cannot be replicated by third-party manufacturers.
But could we hope that Leica will see the benefits of a redesign? Of course, there are problems, including finding space for the added circuitry without reducing the amount of storage. But Nitecor seems to have overcome this.
According to the specs, the capacity is very slightly down on the official Sony unit (2250mAh compared with Sony’s 2280mAh), although this could just be a mistake in the document.
External chargers
There will probably always be a place for an external charger unit for those who are using the camera professionally and need to keep several batteries fully charged at all times. But I think external chargers could now be sold as an accessory rather than being included with the camera.
What do you think? Would you feel short-changed if you bought, say, an M11 and discovered that there was no included battery charging pod?
In the short-term, however, I’ll be content to find a USB-C port in the Q3 next year. It will mean complete freedom for external battery chargers. And not before time.
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Just like to say that if you think a USB-C cable can be bought (for peanuts) anywhere in the world i guess you don’t travel too far off the beaten track. USB-C cables and accessories took an awful long time to appear even in a high-tech country like Japan! 2 years after the release of the 12″ MacBook
it was STILL difficult to find cables and accessories for it in Tokyo outside of an Apple store.. . If you are heading out with a camera today to any places away from major cities I don’t think you should depend on finding a USB-C cable when you need it, no, not even in 2022. If you are a travel photographer you might even visit places where it’s hard to find a bar of chocolate.
Thanks for pointing this out. I suppose I was thinking in terms of USB-C cable versus an expensive and very difficult to find Leica charger. Finding the USB-c cable is undoubtedly easier than getting a Leica charger and the price will also be much lower. However, I take your point and “peanuts” was an exaggeration.
A swollen battery can be a fire risk – hence, ground shipping is required as you say. Some courier companies have special containers for battery products to allow air transport but you will pay for it…
I have a very small and handy Nitecore charger for the SL-2 which slips in the camera bag very nicely and even doubles as a holder for the second battery.
With the TL2 I only charge in camera and have done for nearly two years without issue — but that’s largely because the battery won’t pop out! Once I get to my Leica store again (2,000km away), I’ll ask them to look at it.
Steve
I suggest that you look into your battery situation much sooner rather than later. When you activate the release does it make a noise, does the battery move at all?
I have had lithium batteries, in different products, swell to the point they would not slide out of their compartment. They needed to be pulled out. If you have any indication that the uncharged battery does release, gently try to pull or pry it out. Be selective about the tools you use so you don’t damage the camera or battery.
If you get the battery out and it has swelled, replace it immediately and recycle the original (it is history). If you can’t get the battery out, call a local repair shop or the nearest Leica Store for suggestions. Don’t recharge your battery until you have removed it or you have talked to someone about it.
Swollen batteries can be a big deal, and can be dangerous if the battery case ruptures. If you need to send the camera and battery to a repair center, use ground shipping only.
Good Luck
PaulB
Thanks Paul. The issue appears to be the release mechanism itself — the lever just swivels back and forth without engaging the release mechanism.
This is a very interesting topic, Mike, thanks for bringing it up again.
I see all the points that speak for in-camera charging. If you use your gear professionally however, this is not much more than a welcome additional option in my eyes. I do not like the camera to be locked to the charging cable when I probably need it spontaneously. I does not occur too often but is does occur.
The need for continuous working with a piece of gear is one main reason why most professional cordless / rechargable battery driven tools such as saws, screwdrivers and so on have ot-of-body charging (others being high ampere currents, heat and limited range / need for frequent and fast battery replacement). For me, in-camera charging would be an option when travelling light by purpose but otherwise not.
I hope camera manufacturers will continue to supply separate chargers (included in the box, not at ridiculous extra costs) and, more important, replacable batteries (this will come up next, I fear). Panasonic showed a clever solution with the (much underrated) S5. It comes with a USB wall adaptor and a cable that can supply both the camera and and external charging device.
But that’s just my opinion, JP
One aspect I didn’t mention is the option to charge a camera battery in situ from an external battery pack. I did mention this in the M11 charging article and I have used the method on a few occasions with my M11. The battery can be recharged in the bag while travelling or while taking a break. It’s the main reason why I decided not to spend extra money on a spare battery for the M11.
I am old school. I charge my batteries outside the camera. I also like being able to glance at the charging status lights to assess charge progress without putting my wine glass down.
Not sure about the CL, but the TL2 can charge internally via USB
The CL has no ports so no connectivity or ability to charge in camera.
Yes definitely the TL2 and CL. I wasn’t sure if the usb-c port was present on the original T but if it was, that would take us back to 2014.
Definitely not for the CL. I’ve owned mine for 3 years and as I said above there are no ports and no way to charge the battery in the camera.
If you have a CL with a charging port I would love to see it!
My error… I must have been thinking of the TL2 and, at the time of writing, I didn’t have a CL to check.
Wondering if there have been any studies about safety of the camera’s internals when charging internally? I notice the M11 gets quite hot when in-charging. I don’t worry too much with the SL2 (since it is big and made to handle this kind of heat when shooting video) but the M11 is much smaller and doesn’t have video, presumably because of poor heat management.
I am located in the tropics where the heat can be sweltering…
I don’t disagree that charging the battery in camera can be convenient, but I consider this as a backup solution rather than my primary choice. I prefer being able to keep shooting with the camera while another battery is charging, although I agree it is less of an issue if your battery is guaranteed to last longer than a day worth of shots.
Then there’s the long term reliability concern. I have had a few battery and USB chargers failing over time. Not many, but it happened. And I’d rather not shorten the life of the camera by using it as an expensive charger 😉
Good point on charging failure. I haven’t heard of a camera with this daily but, of course, everything is possible and this would be a good argument for retaining an external charger.
To be fair failures may very well happen in the AC-DC transformer which is external to the camera in case of USB-C charging.
Slightly related, the batteries in my security cameras are usb rechargeable, last for months, record videos, and cost a fraction of camera batteries. Admittedly, I haven’t done a spec comparison.
Hi Mike, the CL does not have any USB ports, unless I am missing something how could it have in-camera charging?
Completely agree. Some other post same mentioned. None wire in CL, besides a really poor battery life.
But for my view, whenever a camera is plugged is not taking precious shots. Definitely charger for me: in your room filling spare battery while you in work!