Car Charger for normal UK Plug - for camera/laptop etc?

waterwatereverywhere

Hello

I am looking for a charger that I can plug into the cigarette lighter in a car which can accept a normal UK three prong plug.

This is to charge my camera and mobile phone batteries whilst on the move in a place where there will be restricted electricity.

I have just searched on ebay and found these are called "Power inverters" - is this correct?

Also some have references to wattage - I'm not sure which type I need to suit a normal UK plug and to charge the items I am interested in - or doesn't it matter?

If anyone can advise me on the correct type I need and a good source to buy a reliable one cheaply I'd be very grateful.

Many thx in advance!

waterwatereverywhere

Hi

Sorry, I've also just read this on one of the ebay items:

"Not for use with products that use small NiCd batteries"

I think the camera battery is NiCd.

So which type of charger should I be looking for which is safe to use to charge these types of batteries?

Many thx.

paddyrg

Inverters are large and inefficient, an extremely inefficient way to charge a small battery.

List the model numbers of your camera and phone, there are almost certainly better options - for instance a cheapie Nokia that can last a week on a charge, or USB charging for a smartphone, etc.

gjchester

waterwatereverywhere wrote: »

This is to charge my camera and mobile phone batteries whilst on the move in a place where there will be restricted electricity.

You may be better with a 12V charger, rather than converting up to mains and then back down within the charger, or charging a USB power bank in the car and then charging a mobile from it.

Put "car charger XXXXX" into Ebay where XXX is the model of your phone / camera and see what comes out.

Strider590

First choice would be a simple USB adaptor for the lighter/power socket.

If you devices don't use USB power (these days i'd be surprised if they didn't), then you have to make sure that any inverter you buy will not exceed the current rating of the lighter socket fuse.

Cisco001

Don't understand why you need to convert back to 3 pin.
what you need is usb 12V car charger, then you can connect whatever u need with different cable.

RumRat

I agree with Cisco001. Not understanding the need for anything other than the USB charger. Surely your kit can't be that old???:D

waterwatereverywhere

Hi,

Thanks for the replies.

The camera is a Fujifilm HS30. The battery charger for this has an ordinary 3 prong plug to go into the mains. It doesn't have a USB charging option.

I do have a small USB charger for cigarette lighter which I can use for my phone - Samsung Galaxy S2.

What I wanted to also do is to be able to charge the spare battery for the S2 outside the phone, i.e. in its charger - and this too has a 3 prong plug charger, not a USB one.

It sounds excessive, but will be on a long trip with very little access to electricity - but will be doing long car journey hence the need to maximise ability to charge stuff whilst driving.

gjchester

waterwatereverywhere wrote: »

The camera is a Fujifilm HS30. The battery charger for this has an ordinary 3 prong plug to go into the mains. It doesn't have a USB charging option.

Your slightly missing the point. You don't use your charger, you buy a new charger Such as this - http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2050601.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.H0.Xcar+charger+Fujifilm+HS30.TRS0&_nkw=car+charger+Fujifilm+HS30&_sacat=0

£7.50 and plugs into the car socket, seems odd but probably a lot cheaper than an inverter

waterwatereverywhere wrote: »

I do have a small USB charger for cigarette lighter which I can use for my phone - Samsung Galaxy S2.

What I wanted to also do is to be able to charge the spare battery for the S2 outside the phone, i.e. in its charger - and this too has a 3 prong plug charger, not a USB one.

Same logic - See http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BATTERY-DESKTOP-CHARGER-TRAVEL-for-SAMSUNG-GALAXY-S2-I9100-DOCK-WALL-USB-/151609430680?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item234ca05298

Difference is I can''t quickly see a 12V one so you need a cheap 12V to USB adapter then charge up in this USB adapter. Again same logic a new cheap charger may be a lot better than an inverter..

You could also buy a cheap (poundland had them) Cig lighter extender, my local one had them that had 1 plug, 2 sockets and a USB socket that would mean you do away with the cig lighter adapter in the phone chargers case.

stator

Well as others have said you'd be better off buying a specialist charger for your camera battery, you can get them on eBay or Amazon. You can also get an external battery charger for the S2 that takes a USB power connector, so that would work too.

An inverter is the correct thing for what you originally asked, it would just be an inefficient way of doing it. But it is flexible, so your choice really.

paddyrg

http://www.digi-quick.co.uk/index.php/fujifilm-finepix-hs30exr-battery-charger would charge the camera battery conveniently.

For the phone, I got a http://www.staples.co.uk/powerpack-digital-5200mah/cbs/423824.html for £30 off the shelf at Curry's (many, many other makes and models are available) - combined with car USB charger, you've got a killer combination of being able to talk/charge just about anywhere.