Battery Charging with USB

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BillG

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Does anyone know how to charge Nikon batteries using a USB connector? When I'm camping in campgrounds with no AC hookups or remote locations I try to bring enough batteries to last me the trip but that is not always practical. I know I can bring a converter that I can convert to AC from my car battery but that means bring another piece of equipment. Is there a way I can use my USB ports in my car or a battery pack to run a battery charger?
 
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BillG said:
Does anyone know how to charge Nikon batteries using a USB connector? When I'm camping in campgrounds with no AC hookups or remote locations I try to bring enough batteries to last me the trip but that is not always practical. I know I can bring a converter that I can convert to AC from my car battery but that means bring another piece of equipment. Is there a way I can use my USB ports in my car or a battery pack to run a battery charger?
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As pointed out above it depends on the camera, chargers and your car's USB ports.

The latest Nikon camera's like the Z8 and Z9 and others can be directly charged from USB if the USB port and cable are Power Delivery (PD) compatible. These are USB-C type cables but they specifically have to be designed as PD compatible cables which many are not. There are also Nikon and third party chargers that can be powered from USB which is another way to go.

But even if you have one of the modern cameras that can be charged via USB-PD and have the correct cable (a common problem when folks try a generic USB cable) you still need a USB port in the car or in a battery pack that supports PD. Most of the modern power packs from companies like Anker, RavPower and others support PD but your car outlets may or may not depending on the make, model and year of the car. But it is easy to pick up USB-PD adapters that plug into any car lighter socket again making sure they're PD compatible and not just a generic USB power adapter.
 
I set up my R5 to do this with the car lighter adapter and USB PD cable. It's not a dumb connection, the camera USB port and the charger port communicate with each other to negotiate a charging level or if it is impossible for them to agree nothing happens. After trying it I found it better to carry a small ac inverter and standard wall chargers as I preferred charging spares and swapping out rather than having the USB hanging out of the camera case while the car is moving.
 
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One note here on USB-C cables for charging PD compatible devices. ALL USB-C cables are PD compatible, but older (legacy) USB-C cables are only rated to handle 15W of power which is 3A of current at 5V. This is what Nikon spec's as a minimum for charging all their USB-C PD devices...cameras and charging modules.

Additionally, there are newer cables designed to handle the two current high power PD modes of 100W and 240W, respectively they are SPR and EPR modes. Cameras and batteries do not require this sort of power/current, so buying these type of cables is unnecessary unless you're powering a laptop/tablet or some other high-power device. Additionally, they're quite thick and stiff due to the heavier conductors required to handle the required current.

Since owning my Z9 and Z8, I've never found a USB-C cable that won't suffice as a charging cable for either in-camera charging or supplying power to the Nikon PD charging modules for the EN-EL18's or the EN-EL-15C's.

As I also own several of the SmallRig EN-EL15C batteries one should note that though they are charged via a USB-C connector, they do NOT require a USB-C PD compliant charging source. In fact they can be charged from any USB-A port with a USB-A to USB-C cable, though charging may be slower since USB-A ports, particularly those on a laptop or older power adapter may only supply 1A or less at 5V. Max power you can find in a USB-A port is generally 2.4A, though some QC rated devices can supply a little more.

Good to have that option in a pinch.

Cheers!
 
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Could use a USB Power Bank battery pack. Large mAhr capacity that fits in a shirt/jacket pocket. Plug power bank in camera's USB charge port to charge camera battery in camera or even power the camera for a long time .

Amazon has lots of them different sizes.
 
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Thanks to everyone who replied. I didn't know anything about PD, so it's nice to be aware of this. I agree with Bill that I don't want to be charging my battery in camera while driving down the road. I think I'll go with the car ac inverter.
 
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BillG said:
Does anyone know how to charge Nikon batteries using a USB connector? When I'm camping in campgrounds with no AC hookups or remote locations I try to bring enough batteries to last me the trip but that is not always practical. I know I can bring a converter that I can convert to AC from my car battery but that means bring another piece of equipment. Is there a way I can use my USB ports in my car or a battery pack to run a battery charger?
Click to expand...
Last summer I went on an 11 day canoe trip that involved several hours of travel in a float plane going in *and* going out, so I had to bring all my power with me. What worked best was an Anker battery and a USB-C battery charger. The one I used is a "Koah Dual USB-C Charger with LCD Display for Nikon EN-EL15 Battery" from Amazon. It worked well and is almost negligible in size and weight.
 
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DRwyoming said:
As pointed out above it depends on the camera, chargers and your car's USB ports.

The latest Nikon camera's like the Z8 and Z9 and others can be directly charged from USB if the USB port and cable are Power Delivery (PD) compatible. These are USB-C type cables but they specifically have to be designed as PD compatible cables which many are not. There are also Nikon and third party chargers that can be powered from USB which is another way to go.

But even if you have one of the modern cameras that can be charged via USB-PD and have the correct cable (a common problem when folks try a generic USB cable) you still need a USB port in the car or in a battery pack that supports PD. Most of the modern power packs from companies like Anker, RavPower and others support PD but your car outlets may or may not depending on the make, model and year of the car. But it is easy to pick up USB-PD adapters that plug into any car lighter socket again making sure they're PD compatible and not just a generic USB power adapter.
Click to expand...
Might be able to charge a battery pack that supports PD from your car or solar panel. Would be a slow process but eventually you (hopefully) would get the battery pack charged which could be used to charge a battery in the camera
 
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RichF said:
Might be able to charge a battery pack that supports PD from your car or solar panel. Would be a slow process but eventually you (hopefully) would get the battery pack charged which could be used to charge a battery in the camera
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Yeah, that works and these days you can buy a PD compatible power bank with built in solar panels like this:

toughtested.com

ToughTested SOLAR ROC16 16,000 mAh Powerbank with Wireless Charging & Power Delivery Fast Charging

The ROC16 features a 280mA fast recharging solar panel, 10 watt of wireless charging technology, IP65 waterproof & dustproof rating, a high output multi-mode flashlight, 3 charging ports (2 USB-A + 1USB-C port), 18 watts of power delivery on the USB-C, it also includes a carabiner to attach the...
toughtested.com toughtested.com
 
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Another option I use is a Ryobi One+ 150W power inverter (with the Ryobi 18V battery). It has USB ports (that I don't use for this) and an AC outlet which could supply power for a battery charger or can be used with a PD capable USB wall charger to charge the batteries in camera. When I'm out in the field, I carry a couple of the Ryobi 18V batteries and can recharge many devices over and over.
 
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DRwy, that looks like an OK power bank, but if you do the math, only having 280mA of solar input will be anything but fast. Doing the math, with the solar panel being able to provide 280mA, 16,000mAh would take at the very least 58 hours of standard test condition sunlight, 1000W/M3...and I have doubts that even that would be achievable. Might take weeks to fully recharge if you're anywhere with trees and clouds. If you want to be able to recharge a power bank off solar, best to pick up a folding 10W rated unit at the very minimum...they're cheap. Something like this...

https://www.amazon.com/FlexSolar-Em...75329&sprefix=10w+solar+panel,aps,158&sr=8-19

Cheers!
 
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It's important to buy high quality USB C cables, like Anker, that are PD compatible. Cheaper cables soon disintegrate. The Nikon UCE24 USB C cable works and is well made, but it's too short in some places. I also use an Anker 12v car charger, which supports PD.

Nikon EN-EL15 C Dual Charger?

Can anyone recommend a dual charger for the Nikon EN-EL 15 C batteries?
bcgforums.com bcgforums.com

See Links etc about the PD specifications and advice on power blocks

Nikon Z6iii

Hi, I went to the zoo today to put some of what I had learnt to the test I have two questions 1. The battery lasted about 4 hours, I did not take any video. I shot about 166 images in RAW and JPG (Total 166+166=332) Is that the battery life I should expect or do I have something set...
bcgforums.com bcgforums.com

PD Power bank

Hi all, can anyone recommend a decent power bank with power delivery for Nikon Z cameras.
bcgforums.com bcgforums.com
 
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bleirer said:
I set up my R5 to do this with the car lighter adapter and USB PD cable. It's not a dumb connection, the camera USB port and the charger port communicate with each other to negotiate a charging level or if it is impossible for them to agree nothing happens. After trying it I found it better to carry a small ac inverter and standard wall chargers as I preferred charging spares and swapping out rather than having the USB hanging out of the camera case while the car is moving.
Click to expand...

I do the same, and make sure my sc inverter is a pure sine wave inverter. I can charge my laptop as well, especially when driving. This works for two plus week trips camping. I take 4 to 5 batteries.
 
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DRwyoming said:
Yeah, that works and these days you can buy a PD compatible power bank with built in solar panels like this:

toughtested.com

ToughTested SOLAR ROC16 16,000 mAh Powerbank with Wireless Charging & Power Delivery Fast Charging

The ROC16 features a 280mA fast recharging solar panel, 10 watt of wireless charging technology, IP65 waterproof & dustproof rating, a high output multi-mode flashlight, 3 charging ports (2 USB-A + 1USB-C port), 18 watts of power delivery on the USB-C, it also includes a carabiner to attach the...
toughtested.com toughtested.com
Click to expand...
good to know.
 
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BillG said:
Does anyone know how to charge Nikon batteries using a USB connector? When I'm camping in campgrounds with no AC hookups or remote locations I try to bring enough batteries to last me the trip but that is not always practical. I know I can bring a converter that I can convert to AC from my car battery but that means bring another piece of equipment. Is there a way I can use my USB ports in my car or a battery pack to run a battery charger?
Click to expand...
If you have your car a simple inverter can plug in to the car and give you plenty to charge anything. I keep one under the seat. It's the size of a small book.
 
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For many years I've used a dual-sided USB charger from Nitecore to charge D850 batteries from a battery pack (or any USB port). I've even successfully recharged them with a small portable Anker solar panel while backpacking. I originally purchased the "Nitecore UNK2 Dual-Slot USB Charger for Nikon EN-EL15 Batteries" at B&H -- seems out of stock ATM but Google shows many similar items.
 
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Hey, Bill

I’m often dropped off backcountry by boat and then picked up a week later. I find the following set-up lightweight and super-reliable:

I take 5 x En-EL 15 “b” or “c” batteries and the following charging gear (I could get away with 4 batteries):

• 2 x INUI 20,000 mAHr power packs.
These are lightweight, inexpensive, and reliable, and have a numerical power status display instead of just little lights.
They can be plugged directly to your camera via the included USB cable if you lose your portable battery charger.
https://www.amazon.com/INIU-Portable-20000mAh-High-speed-Flashlight/dp/B07YPY31FL?th=1

• A Nitecore USB battery charger.
This is tiny and ultralight and perfect for the field.
It also has a numerical display to tell you how far the charging has gone and says “End” when it’s finished.

My Z8 charges the battery happily directly via the USB charging port, but I usually use the Nitecore unit — one battery charging in camp while I’m out and also one charging overnight.

This system lets me shoot for about 2 days with the batteries, then I get another 2-3 days from each INUI power pack.
If ytou’re shooting a lotof video, you might consider an extra power pack.

I also have a Goal Zero submersible charger for super wet conditions and in the kayak.
But it’s heavier and more expensive and, frankly, I’ve never needed it. Still, it’s well built and it;s nice not to worry about rain or splashing.

I have a Goal Zero solar panel, which I’ve found mostly impractical, as it weighs as much as the INUI units and I rarely have enough sun to make it work,
The INUI and Goal Zero power packs deliver power quickly in rain or shine. So the solar panel now stays at home and my wife points at it every time I want to buy a new gadget. 🙄

Good luck!

Tom
 
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DRwyoming said:
Yeah, that works and these days you can buy a PD compatible power bank with built in solar panels like this:

toughtested.com

ToughTested SOLAR ROC16 16,000 mAh Powerbank with Wireless Charging & Power Delivery Fast Charging

The ROC16 features a 280mA fast recharging solar panel, 10 watt of wireless charging technology, IP65 waterproof & dustproof rating, a high output multi-mode flashlight, 3 charging ports (2 USB-A + 1USB-C port), 18 watts of power delivery on the USB-C, it also includes a carabiner to attach the...
toughtested.com toughtested.com
Click to expand...
This looks interesting and potentially quite useful. Any first-hand experience with this particular unit? Thanks for the link.
 
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