Delderby Loc: Derby UK

I hope we are not being a bit unfair to the manufacturers - I don't know much about electronics, but is it possible that in the very near future new batteries will incorporate a micro USB slot for charging without a seperate charger?

Soul Dr. Loc: Beautiful Shenandoah Valley

I don't see why not. The X Box wireless controller batteries have this feature.

chrissybabe Loc: New Zealand

You should never say never but I believe very unlikely. You need some way to drop 110v AC down to 5v (or there-a-bouts) and that takes up some physical room. If the charging takes place inside the battery then batteries will be dearer and either larger or lower capacity. It it takes place inside the USB cord then it is basically a long battery charger.
If a new technology takes over and they can fit the charger inside the battery then it is not just cameras that will benefit but will be a whole new ballpark for anything that uses batteries. And that ain't going to happen in the very near future.
I personally don't think we are being unfair to the manfs. It is a deliberate planned event to cut their costs by offloading some of them onto you (and incidentally allowing them to make an extra dollar profit). Actually it is a bit like the un-bundling of airfares, A few will benefit but overall service/features etc will not benefit the majority.

chrissybabe Loc: New Zealand

Not the same thing at all. The X Box wireless controller might have this feature but I bet you the batteries INSIDE it don't. They also happen to be much larger so when they can fit a thing that size INSIDE your camera let me know. This is like comparing a walnut with a pumpkin.

Delderby Loc: Derby UK

The USB cable on my wife's i-phone SE plugs into a wall socket that has two USB sockets as well as power sockets (UK 240v) - the other end plugs into the phone. The phone came with a plug to plug into any UK power socket. The plug has a usb outlet socket - so no need for any other form of charger.

Soul Dr. Loc: Beautiful Shenandoah Valley

Have ever seen an X Box 1 wireless controller battery? They are close in size to a lot of DSLR batteries. They are removable just like a camera battery. I know because I have an X 1 Box console.
So it is not like comparing a walnut to a pumpkin.

chrissybabe Loc: New Zealand

Let us sort this out properly.
Some cameras now come without a charger and you charge the battery by plugging in a USB cable to the camera. You still need to have a charger though - the charger is the mains to USB brick used to provide power to the USB cable used to plug into the camera. Same applies to all the other examples people are throwing up here. A downside for a camera is that you can only charge ONE battery at a time and you CANNOT use the camera while so doing. Nor can you USE the camera while you are charging a second (spare) battery.
The discussion then moved to maybe the charger might move into the battery. But it doesn't matter where the cable plugs into you still NEED a charger somewhere. And somebody has to provide it.
If the camera manfs have their way, plus every other manf of any small device, them you will need to have a huge bank of USB outlets to charge up the dozens of devices needing it. BUT you still won't be able to charge more than one battery at a time (and making the device unusable while so doing).
And don't forget that this will only work where the portable device uses a single (lithium) battery. If your device requires 2 or more cells then forget charging it from USB (unless your device contains circuitry to boost the USB voltage higher - this by the way is called a charger so you will actually need two sets of chargers to do this).
There are no free lunches and some camera manufacturers have just pinched one of your sandwiches.

chrissybabe Loc: New Zealand

I don't care how big the battery is. Is the charger inside the battery or separately inside the controller ? Just looked it up and it is neither. The Xbox comes with disposable batteries or you can use NiMh which need to be charged separately. Or you can buy removable battery packs charged by a USB cable which of course need a mains to USB outlet connector and this is a BATTERY CHARGER.
So if you have a few spare USB chargers you might be fine plus a couple of spare battery packs but this is NOT what you get when you buy a camera charged from a USB cable. Now I am picking that you could probably use the Xbox controller while you are charging the battery BUT YOU CAN"T do this with a camera unless the mains cable is several miles long if you want to use the camera at the same time.
I haven't tried this but the camera may be able to be used if you power it from one of those power pack devices rated at 20,000mAh (and the best of luck getting 1/10 of that power out of it) while it is charging the battery. BUT the power pack probably weighs more than the camera or a separate camera battery charger and physically as big as the camera so that is out as a choice.
This stuff is not rocket science - it is how to charge a battery 101.

digit-up Loc: Flushing, Michigan

Any and all companies that sell cameras with in the body charging only.......will never get a dollar from me. ..period!! RJM

GrandmaG Loc: Flat Rock, MI

Duplicate

GrandmaG Loc: Flat Rock, MI

When I want to travel VERY light, I only carry the cord and plug. I rarely need to charge the battery when I’m out shooting, but I do carry two extra batteries. My charger is quite small, so it is in my main travel bag even though it it mostly used at home. In my opinion, it is very inconvenient to charge the battery in the camera, rendering the camera useless. I also think it is a cheap move to not include it with the camera. IMHO

PHRubin Loc: Nashville TN USA

Happily, while my Lumix DSC-ZS100 is charged by the USB connector, I have a spare battery and a charger for it, just in case. I usually buy spare batteries so it wasn't a real inconvenience to buy them.

chrissybabe Loc: New Zealand

Well you see, this is the point. It is a real inconvenience. Before you bought a box - when you unpacked it it had a camera, a charger and a battery. Now when you get it home it doesn't have a charger although you can actually charge the battery first time round while thinking to yourself "I must get myself a charger". So that is just one more thing you have to remember to do. In my case I got sticker shock when I found a charger and spare battery (OEM) was $200 - 1/5 the price of the camera. And I couldn't get a none OEM battery or a charger for 6 months. Round about here I was thinking this is really a bloody great inconvenience. I was able to buy a battery as it happens because the battery model is used in other cameras (which I suspect did come with a charger) but the 3rd parties hadn't yet provided a charger.
It's a bit like buying a new model camera but finding that Adobe hadn't yet made a driver for the RAW files and you had to wait a few months.
I am happy now with 3 batteries and a charger (still need to get a second charger but the pressure is off).
Buying the camera took about 2 hours work checking out features and reading reviews etc plus 3 minutes in the shop. Looking for a charger and spare batteries took another 2 hours as I had to constantly check various suppliers every few weeks plus 20 seconds to purchase online. So there was some considerable inconvenience here.

Delderby Loc: Derby UK

I think I would have sent the camera back - with a few cryptic comments for the store / manufacturer who did not warn me about what I would (not) get for my money.

chrissybabe Loc: New Zealand

Well I might have assumed a few things here because every other camera I have bought up till now has come with a charger. So I assumed they still did. In fact I was so certain that it would have that I didn't even know that this was one of the questions I should have asked. Plus I doubt my message would ever have got through to Panasonic.
Thinking back I do remember thinking that the box looked a little small.
All water under the bridge now but I will make sure I ask next time and if there isn't one I will suggest a deal sweetener might be a non OEM charger.