Charging batteries in Europe (Page 2): I have traveled to Europe a number of times. I just use the "regular" converter that fits into that country's outlet and plug me Canon charger...

StevenG Loc: Long Island, NY

captken wrote:

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?

I have traveled to Europe a number of times. I just use the "regular" converter that fits into that country's outlet and plug me Canon charger and battery into that. Never had a problem. I've also taken river cruises. Viking ships also have American outlets.
Steve

catchlight.. Loc: Wisconsin USA- Halden Norway

I now live here in Norway and it's not a problem...

Most all chargers have a built in converter so all you need is an adapter. :)

James Slick Loc: Pittsburgh,PA

What has been stated here is true. Remember, the majority of personal electronics (and especially photo gear) is designed by Japanese companies and manufactured in China for a global market. Ergo, power supplies and battery chargers are intentionally built to be easily adapted to voltage/frequency standards the world over. Custom designed gear was really only a "thing" in when European, American and Asian companies made products strictly for their "home" markets. And that was really only true 60 or more years ago.I have a German tape recorder attached to a Japanese amplifier, both 1960s vintage and they BOTH had selection for 120-220 Volts! (I would imagine that the tape speeds are slightly faster here!, LOL) The last incompatibility in consumer electronics was the whole NTSC/PAL/SECAM video bit, in our HD/UHD world now, even that's a quaint relic of the past! Grab some plug adapters and enjoy your trip!

dave_roe Loc: Rome Italy

The only problem in using electronic type gear in Europe was one simple thing> having enough adapters changing from the standard US plug type to the European.

Moved to Rome 3 years ago and have not had a problem with any of the chargers for the camera batteries, ipad, tablets and laptops. The adapters are cheap and can be found all over the EU for 1 euro in most cases.

jccash Loc: Longwood, Florida

repleo wrote:

As others have mentioned, all you should need is a... (show quote)

This is exactly what I did when we went to south Africa but of course in South Africa it's a three prong adapter kind of like England. Then I plugged a small multi outlet American power strip into that and from there used the four USB adapter in your link. I was able to charge my iPhone and my camera batteries using the USB charger.

Oh, to the plug and American hairdryer in to the transformer you purchase. It will blow up the air dryer.

JeffT Loc: Central NY

I travel all around the world on a regular basis with my camera and computer. I only carry the small adapter plugs for all of my electronics (no power converter).

To save some weight I have purchased USB chargers for the camera batteries that I take along and plug them into a multiple port USB that I also have.

TN. Photo taker

We just returned from a trip to U.K. and Europe. We had no problem with converters(three cameras between all of us). I took three batteries for my camera and converts from Amazon. You should get extra batteries just in case, after market batteries are inexpensive. Have fun and take lots of photos, looking forward to seeing them!

al13

I just returned from England, Scotland and Ireland. I charged my Nikon batteries by plugging the charger into the three prong plug I purchased and into the wall socket. I didn't need a converter. I alway carry an extension cord which allows me to charge my phone and iPad at the same time. All charged all night with no problems. Look at your device as to what it will accept.

blackest Loc: Ireland

jccash wrote:

This is exactly what I did when we went to south Africa but of course in South Africa it's a three prong adapter kind of like England. Then I plugged a small multi outlet American power strip into that and from there used the four USB adapter in your link. I was able to charge my iPhone and my camera batteries using the USB charger.

Oh, to the plug and American hairdryer in to the transformer you purchase. It will blow up the air dryer.

Most hotels will loan a hairdryer if you need one, Argos has hairdryers from about $10 upwards, Travel Iron might be fussy about voltage (also about $10 in Argos).

Happy Holidays

dukepresley

Just returned from a Tauck river cruise & as mentioned in an earlier post, the river boat had 110 plugs that we used without incident for charging a variety of US devices...including a Nikon battery charging device.

Based on a couple of dozen European vacations during the past many years, I would not worry.

Boris Ekner Loc: From Sweden, living in Guatemala

captken wrote:

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?

For the last trip I made to EU I bought an extension cord with several outlets, and a cheap US/EU converter to connect it to the wall. It worked perfectly.

As I had several outlets on the cord I could charge several items at the same time. Price for it all? Far less than $10.

Jack 13088 Loc: Central NY

I have stumbled on to an even slicker solution to this problem. Not only has all (successful) manufacturers of electronic equipment adopted a 100-240 VAC 50/60 Hz power input they have standardized on IEC 60320 power connectors between the unit and power cord. Look it up on Wikipedia. On chargers they usually use a C7/C8 (looks like a figure 8). Even Apple who has adopted an annoying marketing strategy on avoiding standards! If your charger is Nikon just pull off the plug and there it is. So what you do is buy a 1m cord with a region appropriate plug on the other end. I have them for Australia, UK (the sun never sets on the British Empire), and Euro plug. This avoids the clunky kludge of adaptors. The U.K. plug is a monster bigger the some chargers. I sold my sole and just bought them from Amazon. You might also want C5/C6 (Mickey Mouse) cords for laptop power.

blackest Loc: Ireland

Boris Ekner wrote:

For the last trip I made to EU I bought an extension cord with several outlets, and a cheap US/EU converter to connect it to the wall. It worked perfectly.

As I had several outlets on the cord I could charge several items at the same time. Price for it all? Far less than $10.

The only things that generally have problems are high power things like hair dryers heaters and Irons.

Interesting thing is that eu countries have harmonized on 220 volts but the actual voltage can vary quite a lot the UK and Ireland used to use 240Volts and still does. It was Harmonised on paper only, so there is a tolerance built in which is wide enough to cover the actual difference. As it happens I have a little monitor on the wall which currently says 237.9 - 236.9 Volts AC (it varies).

Mostly it doesn't matter, but I've seen a hairdryer from Poland get very hot in Ireland.

https://www.quora.com/Do-I-need-a-specific-power-adapter-when-travelling-in-Switzerland-or-can-an-EU-adapter-be-used-with-Swiss-power-outlets

wgdasu07 Loc: Chandler,AZ

Most cruise ships have at least one 110 socket. Our Viking river ship had both Euro and US sockets. Virtually all electronic chargers have dual voltage. The only reason you may need a converter is for high draw appliances like hair dryers and curling irons and today even some of those have dual voltage. I' d take the converter back and get the appropriate adapter plug. I had a job that required international travel and have not used a converter in some 15 years.

RRS Loc: Not sure

captken wrote:

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?

The charger that came with your camera when you bought it will work in Europe and don't worry about the cycles. The cycles will only affect the RPM's on a motor. You shouldn't need to have bought a power converter but you do need plug adapters for the country that your in. I travel to Europe and England a lot and have never had a problem with recharging my batteries. Have fun on your trip.