captken Loc: San Antonio, TX

My wife and I will be taking a European river cruise in a couple of weeks. I bought a power converter that will convert 220 to 110. However it will not convert 50 Hz to 60 hz. Accordingly the converter manufacturer advises that I only run the converter for 15 minutes and then leave it off 5 minutes. To me that's a formula for insanity while I'm trying to recharge my camera batteries that will take a couple of hours to recharge. Does anyone have a better solution?

LFingar Loc: Claverack, NY

Look at the tag on your charger. It will show the input voltage that it can accept. Almost all are rated for 110-240 volts. The higher voltage in Europe won't be a problem unless your charger can't handle it. Unlikely. The difference in hertz makes no difference either. All you should need is a plug adapter so that you can plug your charger into the European sockets. Check Amazon or other such sites. The adapters are inexpensive. A converter is not necessary unless you have an oddball charger. Once again, unlikely.

MMC Loc: Brooklyn NY

Check input on your battery charger. My 2 Nikon chargers input 100-240v - 50/60Hz. I think that yours has the same input.

blackest Loc: Ireland

You probably do not need the power converter most chargers can handle 110-240 volts without a problem. I don't think you will find a charger which isn't taking an AC source from the wall and delivering a DC voltage. The output is filtered enough anyway so any ripple isn't an issue.

adapters for US plugs are very common and cheap most $ / euro stores carry them for a couple of dollars.

It's pretty common these days to get a device and have 3 sets of pins (american/english/european) to slide onto the base of the "wall wart" no adjustment for voltage is necessary. It's a global market , my firewire enclosure came from california my Pentax charger came from italy with a european set of pins sitting on the american pins. My macs magsafe power supplies can have european / english / american pins i tend to find the american pins are more solid for the adapters I have. You might need a magnifying glass but on the power adapter it will usually say input voltage 110-220volts or something like.

Peterff Loc: O'er The Hills and Far Away, in Themyscira.

You should not have a problem. Your charger should state the voltage range, 100-240v, 50/60Hz is normal, so you should not have a problem, just need a plug adapter. I've been doing this for over two decades without issues.

captken Loc: San Antonio, TX

To all of you who quickly came to my aid; Thanks! Yup! You were right on. I have no need to worry. I lived in Europe many years ago before I had good cameras so I'm familiar with the plug/power conversion but was freaking out over charging batteries. Thanks again!

Rongnongno Loc: FL

Power adapter states what voltage range it works with. Usually for photo equipment ti is 110/220

What you really need is a kit that will adapt the prongs to where ever you are going as the norms and shape depends from country to country.

You can find this on amazon but in a pinch, at the airport (for twice or thrice as much).

MrBossHK Loc: The West Valley of Phoenix metro area

I don't mean to throw shade on the enthusiastic tone of the advice given to the OP thus far, but I had an unfortunate experience charging my Nikon D750 batteries last May while at a Holiday Inn Hotel in Berlin, Germany. I was using original Nikon battery in the original Nikon battery charger furnished with the D750 with a plug adapter when the charger suddenly blinked oddly and went completely inoperative, and still remains inoperative. I realize that it could have been only a bizarre coincidence.

After returning home a few weeks later, I attempted to replace the failed Nikon charger. I researched user comments regarding the original Nikon charger on several sites and it seems that there is a pattern of failure established for this charging unit, even without using it on foreign voltage/cycle conditions. I had mine about 14 months before it failed, but many commented that their unit failed much sooner than mine did.

The consensus that I drew from reading the user comments was to not repurchase that particular Nikon charging unit due to poor reliability. For the most part, I am skeptical of third party accessories, however, I have since been using the Watson brand dual charging unit that was included in my D750 purchase bundle from B&H Photo without any issues, although I have not yet been abroad with the Watson unit. My only negative with the Watson unit is that the size is bit more of a burden to pack for traveling with a smaller gear bag.

I just wanted to throw my two-bits of experience out there for the group to consider.

I learn a lot from these discussions and I extend a Bon Voyage to the OP.

repleo Loc: Boston

As others have mentioned, all you should need is a plug adapter. However, if you have other devices that will need charging - e.g. phone(s), Kindle, tablet, wife's camera etc i suggest you get a USB multi charger as well. You plug the multi charger into the plug adapter and then plug the USB cables from your devices into the ports on the multi charger to charge them all at the same time. They are not expensive and are very useful at home as well.
Here is an example.
https://www.amazon.com/Anker-PowerPort-High-Speed-Charging-VoltageBoost/dp/B00P936188/ref=sr_1_4?srs=2528932011&ie=UTF8&qid=1504744209&sr=8-4&keywords=anker+wall+charger

toxdoc42

you will not have any problem with the charger, except to need the correct plug to plug in in. I always carry an assortment of plug adapters and a small strip plug to be sure I can charge my phones and camera batteries. I also bought a duplex adapter that has 2 usb ports which I plug onto the end of the strip. Enjoy your trip.

SueScott Loc: Hammondsville, Ohio

That's what we use when in Scotland - never have any problems.

wdross Loc: Castle Rock, Colorado

Most chargers for your camera batteries can handle the input current of "110-240 / 50-60 Hertz". You will need the two prong wall to a three prong USA adapter.

dpullum Loc: Tampa Florida

MrBossHK comments are perhaps a good argument for after market low cost made in china, shipped world wide, chargers and batteries... which I have used for years. Lived in Argentina for 6 months 240 V/50hz no problems.

Joecosentino Loc: Whitesboro, New York

We did Viking a couple of years ago and they had our 110 outlets in the room, also most chargers now days work with what ever power you throw at them. You just need the plug adapter for the country you are going to

mborn Loc: Massachusetts

I was in Botswana and used my Nikon battery charger by adding the appropriate plug adapter