From what I've been able to gather, the Sony Mavica is the only camera to use Lithium Ion batteries. This relatively new battery technology is superior to Nickel Metal Hydride and is currently taking over the battery market in the mobile telephone market due to its superior longevity. Anyone who has used a Mavica knows that it has a very long lifetime for a camera that doesn't even have an optical viewfinder (i.e., the LCD display is always on). This is due to the use of the lithium ion batteries. Are there plans by other manufacturers (I might mention Olympus, I might mention Kodak) to produce lithium ion battery cameras?

-- Carey Bunks (cbunks@bbn.com), November 03, 1998

Answers

The problem with LiIon batteries is that they don't come in conventional battery shapes, like AA. Many of the mfrs build their cameras so they can take standard drugstore/supermarket batteries in a pinch (overall probably a good idea), which leaves out LiIon. NiMH AA cells do pretty good, even though they're not up to the performance of LiIon, so I expect you'll see the AA-cell format persist for a while...

-- Dave Etchells (web@imaging-resource.com), November 07, 1998.

The Fuji MX-700 has a lithium ion battery. It appears to be a custom shape for the camera.‰

-- John Britton (johnb@peakaudio.com), November 08, 1998.

I have just bought a Toshiba PDR-M4 that has a 1 of a kind hard to find lit-ion, I get about a half an hour ave. on it. Cheapest I have found was 50 bucks up to 90. Of course no one can get them. I could buy several sets of rechargable ni-cads for that. It charges in 5 hours in the camera, or for another 40-70 dollars you can order the 1 hour recharger. To me it looks as the camera companies are going to start hitting us with custom, 1 of a kind, expensive battery's to hit our pocketbook.

-- Mike Jablonski (jabber59@excite.com), December 27, 1999.

They HAVE released AA Lithium Ion cells, and they are available in Wal-Mart stores. However, I have yet to find a charger for the batteries, so my quest continues!

Bill

-- Bill Grove (bill@grove-ent.com), November 20, 2000.

I have not seen any Li-Ion AA or any other standard size because of the danger involved with charging them. You just couldn't through them into a Ni-Cd or Ni-MH charger. Heh, they would explode. I think that is why they don't make them in those sizes. Some people out there would not read the instructions :) They just make/sell them in special sized packs with there respective charger.

If your not the faint at heart, you can make your own charger fairly easy and buy cells from manufactures like Panosonic. But still... I have not seen AA size Li-Ion. Some of you (including me making double takes at the package :) ) may think you saw them, but look carfully to see if it is a Li-Ion or just Li. (non rechargeable)

If you want to make your own charger for standard single cell 3.6V - 3.7V 1600-2000 mAh follow this link:

http://www.national.com/pf/LM/LM3621.html

for schematics on how to build:

http://www.national.com/ads-cgi/viewer.pl/ds/LM/LM3621.pdf

I am currently building chargers for the single cell 3.6~7V batteries. For all you electronic RC race fans out there, they make excellent personal battery packs!

-- Jason M. (junkmail@quality9.com), June 30, 2001.

Li-ion batts won't explode in a Nicad or NiMh charger...they just won't charge, voltage is too low!

-- Ray (ekaray@nc.rr.com), July 25, 2001.

They do make Lithium AA batteries, but they are plain lithium, not Li- Ion and they are not rechargable. Lithium-ion are 3.2v per cell? Something above 1.5v per cell anyway, so they would be a problem in most electronics. Maybe they should make a 3v Li-ion cell that is the same size as 2 AA cells end to end :)

Brock - http://www.uwgb.edu/nevermab/flash.htm

-- Brock (nevermab@uwgb.edu), December 03, 2001.

olympus digital camera uses the lithium in two aa size type but no lithium-ion yet

-- romano leong (ktleong2000@yahoo.com), January 20, 2002.

they are out there, they just aren't as widely available as other types. some oem battery packs are nothing but a permanent assembly of standard cells of a standard size like AA. there are many li-ion battery packs for things such as portable two-radios that are made this way.

-- cookie monster (cookie@sesamestreet.com), February 04, 2002.

I have seen lithium ions in an AA size in one of Kodak's digital cameras. However, from what i've seen them in slightly larger sizes, they are 3.6 volts, and standard AA's are 1.5, you can still use them if you have an appropriate voltage regulator

-- Ben Tesch (BobFielders@Hotmail.com), June 10, 2002.

Yes, indeed, I found out that the AA were just Lithium, not Lithium Ion (rechargeable)... oh well.

Bill

-- Bill Grove (bill@grove-ent.com), June 12, 2003.

These guys say they've got them: http://www.batteryx.com/product/Document/012-PV001/012-PV001.asp?ProductID=1069&OVRAW=CR%2BV3&OVKEY=cr%20v3&OVMTC=standard

Only one's that I've been able to find.

-- (nonegiven@gte.com), January 14, 2004.

Well, it is the end of January, 2004 and the market still does not offer AA batteries in a rechargeable, Lithium-Ion chemistry. The Li- Ion CRV3 photo battery is not considered a AA battery. You will, however, begin to see them this year (just in time for the holidays). At this year's CES show in Las Vegas, Energizer unveiled its rechargeable, lithium-ion AA batteries. They plan on releasing them late quarter 3 or early quarter 4. I'd imagine that another company between now and then will have released some. Keep your eyes open!

-- Chris (chris.mckenna@technuity.com), January 27, 2004.

Molicel is the manufacturer of the world's only AA size Li-ion battery.The problem is that they will not sell them on the consumer market due to safety concerns and the amount of pressure they get from conventional battery manufacturers who would lose BILLIONS within a year or two of the Li-Ion battery being introduced in conventional sizes.

There are several dual AA replacment packs for cameras that will have two of these Molicel Li-Ion AA batteries inside them. I have started working on making a removeable charging sleeve so that I can use the batteries individually with a diode cap and reassemle them into the pack so I can stick them on the supplied charger.

lot's of hassle but my Luxeon flashlight is twice as bright with the Li-Ion as it is with conventional batteries.

look for Molicel AA Li-ion on google and you will ba able to read more about them.

-- Kaiser (sopmodm4@yahoo.com), April 24, 2004.

i know they make AA LI-ION batteries. they are hard to find and you pretty much have to peice together your own charger for them. i know they make them because i race the radio shack x-mods cars. a popular upgrade is change over to AA LI-ions. here is a link where you can get some http://www.atomicmods.com/

-- matt (helpermonkeyradio@yahoo.com), October 25, 2004.