Customer Reviews

Olympus B-40SU Ni-MH Battery and Charger Set

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I thought it would be helpful to let you know that these are 1,600 MAH (the maximum as of this writing) and the charge has lasted me for several days during the holidays without having to recharge them. Also they are a quick charge (a couple of hours and they are fully charged). The last point of note is the plug is an extension cord. I find this very convenient since most of my outlets in my home are covered. I keep the unit plugged in, and the charger on top of a bookshelf.

Well constructed item, a little more money than some of the other models (but very good price for this model vs. competitors), no negatives from me.

The Olympus Charger does come with four 1600 mamp NiMH batteries (Not NiCd, which do not performa as well), and will work on both 100 and 240 volt outlets. It will recharge at a slower rate and will take up to 3.5 hours to charge 4 batteries. But it does not have the same features as other smart chargers.

Consider the Quest 2 or Powerhaus smart chargers rather than this one. The Quest 2 also comes with 4 x 1600 mamp NiMH rechargeable batteries. It has 4 microprocessors and can recharge any 4 batteries in any state within 2 hours. It will beep and flash at you when the the batteries are dead, and flash when the batteries are done charging and then trickle charge to prevent battery damage from overcharging. It also comes with a car charging cord for recharging in the car. The bad news is that this charger is more expensive and there are 1800mAmp batteries available.

The Powerhaus charger has 3 microprocessors and will also fast charge in 2 hrs, and trickle charge when done, but does not give you the visual or sound cues when the batteries are done or bad. The Powerhaus also cannot charge 4 batteries in different charge states, as this will cause it to read the lowest charged battery and overcharge the other 3 batteries, shortening the battery lifespan. The big plus is that it come with GreenBrothers new 1800 mamp batteries!!! The bad-est batteries around and will give you 15% more juice per charge than the 1600 batteries, at the same price as the Olympus charger set.

Pros - The charger and the 4 1600mAh batteries are made in Japan. It is fairly compact and light. The wire is long enough so that I can always have the charger sitting on my desk. It operates between 100V and 240V so it is very suitable for overseas trips. Temperature control, will pause until batteries cool down.

Cons - Without the conditioning feature, it is slightly overpriced. It would be nice if it works in cars too. The charge rate is lower than Kodak so it takes longer. According to the user manual, it will not switch to trickle charge mode after the batteries are fully charged.

It lost one star is mainly due to the high price.

If you are a heavy user of AA-size rechargeable batteries (both NiMH & NiCd), I suggest you get both Olympus B-40SU and Maha MH-C204F charger. Yeap ... 2 chargers. They work GREAT as partners and one cannot replace the other !!

Let me explain why ...

- B-40SU cannot re-condition the batteries. MH-C204F can. NiCd needs that every once in a while.

- B-40SU cannot be used in a car. MH-C204F can.

- MH-C204F has to charge batteries in pairs. B-40SU can charge 1, 2, 3 or 4 batteries. Very flexible. This is important for FRS users. My Motorola TalkAbout FRS uses 3 AA. You can always try to find a spare battery somewhere to make up a pair. But it is not advisable to rapid charge batteries in different capacity states.

- B-40SU works worldwide. MH-C204F needs different power supply.

- B-40SU does not seem to charge NiCd properly (at least my unit doesn't). MH-C204F charges both NiCd & NiMH well.

I found my twin charger setup works great.

But if you are a light rechargeable battery user and only use 2 (e.g. Kodak DX3500) or 4 (e.g. Olympus C-3xxx) NiMH AA for your digital camera, this unit may be a bit too pricey. There are better alternatives out there.

Now on to the batteries. The batteries coming with my B-40SU are rated at 1600mAh. This 'used to be' considered high capacity but now 1700 and 1800mAh are available. However, I do not believe they will make a significant difference in real life use since even 1600mAh lasts quite a long time for my digital camera use. You will have to pay a premium for those 1800mAh. I have used other brands of NiMH batteries in B-40SU and it works just fine.

I got this charger set bundled with my Olympus Digital Camera last year. I had a Ni-MH charger set already (which I spent a lot on), and assumed that when I got this, I'd pull out the batteries and leave the charger in the box. But then one day I wanted to charge 2 new sets of batteries before leaving on a trip, and was astounded to see the Olympus charger was complete hours before.

Now I only use the Olympus. It works with all my Ni-MH batteries, and charges them up quickly. It doesn't get hot while working, so I am not afraid to stick in the batteries and leave it be. A few hours later, the batteries are ready. It's so convenient.

Compared to the other charger I bought, this one is nicely priced. However, I bought that a while back so I don't know what the prices are like now. However, I can vow for the quality of this, so far.

If you are trapped by an AC cord, or using regular alkaline batteries and having to throw them out after one hour, this will set you free. I can't tell you how much having rechargable batteries changed my digital camera use.

This is the right charger for anyone who travels outside the US and Canada. Unlike most of the compact chargers I've seen, this one is dual voltage. Which means no worries about finding a 110 volt outlet in a 220 volt country or risks of frying your charger with the wrong kind of transformer. I use NiMH batteries for my digital camera, my CD player, a portable GPS and a battery-operated charger for my Palm. So having a good, fast and lightweight dual voltage charger is an essential part of my travel gear.

I recently bought a Olympus C-700 and very quickly realized that I needed rechargable batteries. These batteries are simply amazing! They recharge very quickly, and the charge lasts about 20x longer than normal alkaline batteries. If you own, or are thinking about getting a digital camera that uses AA batteries, these rechargables are the way to go!

If you are buying a digital camera this product will pay for itself very quickly. As a bonus, the rechargeable batteries actually last longer than standard batteries, and completely recharge in about 3 hours.

Another nice convenience is that the charger uses a rather long power cord, so you can plug in the cord in one place and place the unit itself on your desk. Also the cord is a standard plug size, rather than a bulky plug, so it does not clutter your power outlet.

I recently purchased an Olympus B-40SU Ni-MH Battery and Charger Set to use with my Olympus C3040. Although I am not an everyday user of my camera, when it is used I almost always use flash (for fill or low lighting). These batteries seem to maintain their charge forever! I have charged them just once in 3 weeks and that was merely a "top off". I use the LED display all of the time and of course have show and tell. This item was well worth the money.

This is by far the most compact and convenient set that I have found for international travel.

Although quick-charge might be important to some, I run an Olympus 3040 all day and into the night on the stock Olympus Batterys so I usually recharge overnight.

I also own a set of Friwo 1800 mAh batteries and they do last about a day longer per charge (shooting approx. a hundred 2048x1024 shots and at least two mpegs/day with the 3040 screen on). While it is nice that the 1800s can shoot for almost twice the 1600s without recharge, the 1600s are adequate for a whole day. I would actually recommend having two sets of rechargables and there's nothing wrong with the 1600s for the first set, especially since you save a lot of money compared to the 1800s. My Olympus charger set came bundled with my camera but I think four AA 1800s alone cost me a little more than the 1600s with the charger.

So, the Olympus 1600 mAh have been perfectly adequate as a first set for me and I love the light weight and small profile of the charger. I also like the fact that the charger can be locked away while it's charging (since it has a cord) or at least hidden from view. I also have a fast recharger with warning lights, "trickle" safety technology, etc. but it's big, heavy and doesn't have a cord.

Light weight and small size matters to me when I travel, probably more than technical details like warning lights and trying to extend the hypothetical long-term life of my batteries. Also, avoid chargers that plug directly into an outlet. They usually hang loosely on the wall from poorly fitted plug adaptors, have LEDs that light-up an entire room at night, and they are impossible to secure while charging. When I left my fancy wall-trickle charger running overnight in a hostel, I invariably found someone would be woken by the LEDs and remove the charger from the plug. This was an unpleasant experience for all.

Just for comparison, I found that regular disposables, even "ultra" and special camera batteries, will not make it through a whole day unless I purposefully conserve energy. For example if I take two or three mpeg on the 3040 with a few screen shots and maybe use the flash a couple times, I have to load a new set of disposable AAs. Actually, only two of the four really get drained. But even so, this was very inconvenient and the hassle of swapping batteries cost me enough opportunities that I never again would use disposables unless desparate. To be fair, the Olympus Lithium disposables lasted a whole week under heavy strain. They're great for a real pinch or remote locations, but more expensive per shot and less convenient than the NiMH rechargables, especially on long trips.

NOTE! You must keep a set of batteries in the camera to keep your camera settings even when it's off, so it's handy to have two sets of four. Before I had two sets of rechargables I used four "dead" disposables to keep the camera alive overnight. In addition, a second set of rechargables is a good idea for when you just can't charge your favorite set any more.