Battery Breakthrough for Photographers - September, 2001

Revolutionary camera battery products, developed by a UK company, are radically slashing costs and delivering extra power to photographers around the world -- who are clamouring to order them over the web.

According to Michael Cockroft, the founder and managing director of Peterborough based Quest, the company is making available through its website the high capacity ever re-chargeable AA batteries, which offer benefits to virtually all photographers and are set to make consumable varieties a thing of the past.

"Our batteries and chargers are up to half the price of alternatives on the market, and yet more powerful and longer lasting, so we are enabling photographers to enjoy new standards of economy, endurance and mobility," Cockroft explained.

"We've had a fantastic response to our products through our website -- enquiries from 49 countries around the world -- and we are starting a major ramp up of our production facilities just to cope with it," he added.

One of Quest's star performing products is the QNB-5H, an alternative to the Canon proprietary re-chargeable. Designed for use with the Canon Powershot and Sureshot series cameras, the Quest product is 50% the price of the proprietary model -- retailing at just £14.50 on the company's website -- QuestUk.net.

The QNB-5H's capacity is slightly up on Canon's model and it offers much greater longevity, between 500 and 1000 life cycles, compared to the 300 guaranteed by the proprietary version.

To complement the QNB-5H battery, Quest also offers an intelligent charger designed to optimise battery performance. Competitively priced, lightweight and portable, it can operate from the mains, a lighter socket in car or boat, or from the Quest field power pack, which enables recharging in the remotest locations.

Compared to the proprietary model, the Quest charger is very efficient, charging batteries faster and more effectively. As well as safety features to counter overcharging and overheating, it incorporates an automatic discharge function. This prevents the memory effect -- when empty batteries still appear to hold some charge and, as a result, won't re-charge fully. Contrary to the popular view, NiMH batteries do have the memory effect, so the function is relevant and useful.

Other products in the range include bolt-ons to the camera, pocket packs and belt packs, delivering photographers much more power and the ability to carry many more times the standard battery life, significantly increasing the available running time on single shoots.

Quest batteries are made from Nickel Metal Hydride, making them non-toxic. They are also recyclable and therefore much more friendly to the environment, and less wasteful than consumable versions.

Michael Cockroft said that with the worldwide digital camera market expected to grow by 55% per year up to 2005, prospects for the QNB-5H and other Quest products were very exciting.

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