AC adapter.. for a car?

[andrewvid]

Hi all,

A friend and i are planning to do a trip down south and out of the city lights to have a day of photography including camping at night doing timelapses etc..

The problem is.. well, battery life. Is there any way to directly feed power from the car's cigarette lighter port to the camera?
i have a Nikon D5100, yes a very simple camera (saving up for a better one!) does anyone know of such adapter for doing this?
i know there are AC adapters but don't think there will be any power supply as such over there..

Are there alternatives? (need something cheap) perhaps getting an external battery and hooking it up to there?

I'm interested in finding some ways to make this possible and not only take 400 shots before it dies :2biggn:

Any recommendations would be gladly accepted!

Thanks

Andrew

[ricktas]

You need a power inverter. Converts car 12 volts to 240 volts for charging things.

http://dicksmith.com.au/product/M53001/ds-inverter-12v-230v-300w-12v-to-240v-ac

or you can get ome that can attach directly to the car battery (600W)

http://dicksmith.com.au/product/M5400/dick-smith-600w-power-inverter

Then you plug your camera charger/laptop etc into it and charge it.

[andrewvid]

You need a power inverter. Converts car 12 volts to 240 volts for charging things.

http://dicksmith.com.au/product/M53001/ds-inverter-12v-230v-300w-12v-to-240v-ac

or you can get ome that can attach directly to the car battery (600W)


http://dicksmith.com.au/product/M5400/dick-smith-600w-power-inverter

Then you plug your camera charger/laptop etc into it and charge it.

Thanks Rick, so I'm guessing that from there i plug in a direct AC power adapter for my camera straight in?

[hdn177]

I work in the automotive industry, and one of the best purchase i've ever made is this little puppy -> http://www.waeco.com.au/products5.asp?id=492&catId=77&subCatId=118&subCatId2=124

Grab one of these they are about $60rrp from your local 4wd store or caravan supplier. These are not high power units like Rick suggested above, but this means they will not destroy a standard cigg lighter wiring system and car battery. There is no need to add new (Expensive) h/duty wire outlets (unless of course you have a 4wd and need to do more accessories anyway).

These are also great when your over seas if you have a hire car or even a boat etc.

This is able to keep a laptop running also.

Hope this helps!

[andrewvid]

Looks good! guess it's a bit more handy being a bit smaller! and yes, don't have a 4WD well not that i can drive yet.. or today i can! but my dad's car is just a normal family one. so no heavy duty. Thanks for your suggestion and thanks Rick for yours! Both seem like good alternatives. I shall investigate further into getting one.

Thanks again!

[OzzieTraveller]

G'day Andrew

Another option is to pop into your local camera shop and collect a 12 volt battery charger with connections for your camera battery. There are several brands that do this - Inca & Hahnel being 2 firms

For $75-odd you get the electricals + a charger body + 1 'battery insert'. Other inserts for other other batteries are also available if you have multiple cameras/batteries

Regards, Phil

[arthurking83]

G'day Andrew

Another option is to pop into your local camera shop and collect a 12 volt battery charger with connections for your camera battery. There are several brands that do this - Inca & Hahnel being 2 firms

For $75-odd you get the electricals + a charger body + 1 'battery insert'. ......

you can get these for much less via ebay.
I have a EN-EL15 charger coming which I got from ebay for less than $4 delivered.

The general price range for these is in the under $10 range from HK suppliers, or approximately $10-20 from Aussie ebayers.

Search ebay for EN EL14 and you should get 3/4 of a zillion hits for these 12 volt chargers.

[andrewvid]

Thanks for that Phil and Arthurking, not sure if i am getting this properly, so it is a portable charger that comes with battery like inserts just like an AC adapter for cameras? i'm also having trouble finding them on ebay..

Sorry for the many questions, i'm completely unfamiliar with these types of accessories :o

[MattNQ]

From Better Batt last year I recently picked up a 12v/240v charger for each of my nikon & Oly cameras for $20.90 ea for when we go camping.

Postage $10, or free if you buy 2 items.

http://www.camera-battery.com.au/

Couple of months now, but so far no issues with any chargers or the extra battery I have bought off them

Australian company, quick delivery , great service. Money back guarantee, $10k equipment damage guarantee.

Note I have no affiliation nor recieve any benefit from them. If I find a good aussie company that gives me great service at a good price, I am happy to promote them.

--------

Oops sorry - Reread your post - you want a battery insert to continuously power the camera from 12v , rather than charge batteries off 12v :Doh:
Jaycar also do a can-sized inverter - only 150W, but heaps for a normal Nikon power supply connector setup.

[andrewvid]

Thanks Matt! No worries haha well they seem like a good alternative battery wise other than paying $100 for a genuine one, but then again, i guess there's always a risk with buying a non genuine one, though from what you say, seems good..

Think i'll just be getting an inverter and an AC adapter from ebay! Seems like the easiest option for a decent price.

Though i'm still wondering is there such device as a 12v car adapter that goes straight to a battery insert? now that would be really handy.

[Simsya580]

Just a little warning about the inverter it takes a lot of power to convert 12v to 240v, i use 1 in my 4x4 but I also have a $500 gel deep cycle battery for inverter power. So if you are using an inverter of off a single battery you will have to recharge the battery between camera battery recharges. Thats easy just have to run the car for a while, I wouldn't recommend running a constant power supply for your camera of a single battery because you might find it hard to go home in the end. Your best course of action would be a 12v battery charger and a couple spare battery's.

[andrewvid]

That is a very good point you have there. Makes me re-think what to do. Thanks Simsya!