Ask any professional photographer the one thing that bothers them when they’re working, and the likely answer will be “batteries”. It’s very important to make sure your camera is charged up and can operate without any fuss. There are a lot of batteries on the market, and it’s a good idea to know how to find the right batteries quickly and easily.

Types of batteries

The range of batteries can get a bit confusing, particularly if you’ve just got a new camera and aren’t sure what to get. The general consensus among photographers is a definite preference for lithium ion batteries. These are long life, highly reliable batteries which outperform the other types very noticeably.

There are two basic types of batteries on the market:

• Aftermarket batteries designed for specific cameras- These are the all-purpose replacement batteries like the big Bower range of batteries for all big name brand cameras. The Bower batteries are very good options for getting a cheap, model-specific battery for your camera.
• The manufacturer brand batteries- These tend to be a bit more expensive, but if you’ve got an expensive, high performance camera they’re also the “blueprint” batteries, designed to perform to the specifications of the camera.

Rechargeable batteries

Rechargeable batteries pay for themselves many times over. If you’re doing a lot of work with your camera, particularly a video camera or DSLR, the rechargeable batteries are the easy way to make sure you’ve got a full charge all the time. These batteries do cost more, but in terms of convenience and time saving, they’re the quick answer to making sure you can do sustained shooting.

Shopping for batteries

The good news for photographers is that you can get excellent discounts on batteries shopping online. Check out the aftermarket and the manufacturer’s batteries and compare options. Also remember that you can shop for batteries for your class of camera, like compact, DSLR or video cameras, because you can compare prices and options very easily.