Recharging camera batteries in Europe
 

What are the problems involved with recharging digital camera batteries in Europe??

You'll probably need an adaptor because Europe is 220 volts and the US is 120. You'll fry your batteries if you plug them in w/out adapting voltage first (IMHO). I pretty much "cooked" a travel iron in Paris once because I didn't have adaptor!

Most chargers are now dual voltage- so check the unit. But you will need an adaptor (as opposed to a converter that simpson was referring to) Rick Steves carries an inexpensive set of all 3 European adaptors.

I have a Canon G3 and had no problems charging in Europe. The adapter is dual voltage. Check your manual for specs on the charger.

I don't know what kind of camera you have, but I have an Olympus that takes 4 AA batteries. If I use the standard batteries, I am lucky to get a battery life of 2 weeks. I now use the Energizer E2 Lithium battery and they will typically last for 6 months. I also try to minimize the use of the LCD viewer when taking pictures. The LCD viewer really drains the batteries fast. Last year when I went to France I put in a new set of lithium batteries, took about 500 pictures while I was there and did not have to replace the batteries until about a month ago (about an 8 month battery life). I feel it is a lot less complicated to use the lithum batteries, with a back-up set of the same, than bothering with recharging batteries.

I have an Olympus and use rechargeable NiMh batteries. We found that our recharger worked in the shaver plug of the bathroom. Don't use the LCD viewer and you can take 100's of pics from one charge.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought an adaptor referred to something that adapts your PLUG from US to Europe.

If Mike's battery charger isn't dual voltage, then a plain adaptor won't do the job. He will blow the charger up if he plugs it into a European socket.

If it's not dual voltage, then Mike would need a converter.

Do I have this correct?

I would recommend buying a separate battery charger instead of plugging the cord from the camera to the outlet to recharge the batteries inside the camera. I have a Lenmar charger, it's dual voltage and all you need is the plug adaptor, but there are plenty of brands out there.

The reason is that I'm afraid of power surges. In a hotel room it's unlikely that you'll have a surge protector like you have at home. Plugging an expensive camera directly into the wall seems too risky to me.

Yes, Brimham, you are correct.

An adapter fits a plug to the wall outlet.

A converter changes the voltage from 220 to 110.

Thanks for all your advice. It was very helpful. The camera I'm looking to buy comes with a lithium battery pack and an optional NiMH rechargeable pack. I'm leaning toward the lithium with a lithium spare.

Lithium batteries are expensive. Just buy AA batteries and use the recharger.