Can a 3000mAh USB power bank charge a Samsung EX1 camera?
Asked 10/31/2012
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My colleague has a Samsung EX1 and a 3000mAh portable USB charger used for a phone. Is it safe and practical to use that power bank to charge the camera? Could it damage the camera, and is 3000mAh enough to charge the EX1 battery fully?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
13y ago
2 Answers
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Suitability varies with camera facilities and with quality of the charger, but in many cases you will have no problems doing this. Usually a special adaptor will be needed but, in this case, it is probably a matter of "plug in and go".
The EX-1 camera has an unusual feature - it will accept charging input from a 5 Volt "USB" power source and charge the battery while the battery is in the camera.
This site says:
- Alongside the HDMI connection is a proprietary connector for Samsung's power and sync cable - the EX1 is recharged with the battery in-camera, either from an electrical socket or or alternatively straight from a USB port connected to your computer, rather than via an external recharger
So, for this camera, there should be a cable supplied that will allow the camera to plug into the USB power pack and recharge the battery while it is inside the camera. Most cameras that connect to a USB port use it only for data transfer and not for powering and charging.
For cameras that do not have this charge-in-camera capability you would need a "5V USB power supply" to battery charger. After market chargers that achieve this are available in various forms, but manufacturers so far do not tend to do this.
[For single cell LiIon batteries the minimum required circuitry is extremely simple and cheap. For batteries with 2 LiIon cells in series (typically DSLR's and larger cameras) a somewhat more complex power supply is needed.]
Power supply quality: Most "USB" chargers provide voltages within an acceptable range. However, I have seen a few "USB power supplies that do not limit the supplied voltage to the correct range, and I have seen some USB charging ICs that would be damaged by such supplies. If you wish to be 100% sure (or maybe 99.31412%) then have a competent person check the output voltage of the power supply in unloaded and loaded condition.
Originally by user6263. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user6263
13y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Yes—if the Samsung EX1 supports charging from a 5V USB source, using a USB power bank is generally fine. The EX1 is notable for charging the battery while it remains in the camera, via its supplied power/sync cable, from either a wall adapter or a computer USB port. A compatible 5V USB power bank works on the same principle.
Whether it works well depends on the charger’s quality and the correct cable/adapter. A poor-quality power bank may charge slowly or unreliably, but a normal 5V USB source should not damage the camera if used as intended.
As for capacity: a 3000mAh power bank may be enough for a full charge, but the usable energy is always less than the advertised number due to voltage conversion and efficiency losses. So it may charge the EX1 fully or only partially, depending on the camera battery size and the power bank’s real output.
In short: for an EX1, charging from a decent USB power bank is usually acceptable, provided you use the proper cable and the power bank outputs standard 5V USB power.
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