Solar Power While Backpacking
I am planning a multi-week backpacking trip (the JMT in California), and want to bring a real camera.
What are some good solar power options for charging my camera batteries on a long backpacking trip?
(Just to be clear, my camera is a Sony a7 and doesn't take AA or AAA batteries. It takes those wonky "camera batteries" that you have to charge with a special wall-socket charger.)
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Having done tonnes of research in this area, I settled for products from a company called Portapow. They do an 11w panel which I combined with their 6000mah solar battery and a AA/ AAA battery charger. With this set up I can charge my phone from either the solar panel, battery pack or solar battery. I can charge batteries for my GPS. The 11w panel charges my phone in full sunlight in about 1.30 hr.
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I use two cheap solar panels (A5-paper size, folding ones) on bike trips, one without a battery and one with. I have both installed on my bike all day, with my GPS device plugged in to one of them all the time. I travel on roads and in a particular direction, so I can adjust them every two hours or so to face the sun. This keeps the battery on a respectable level, but the real charge comes when I stop for an hour to make something to eat. I direct the panels to the sunlight, and after one hour, my GPS is full, phone is recharged, and the camera (pocket-size automatic one) also gets some. In the evening I plug the camera to the second charger. Never had energy problems, but I am aware that this setup is very sensitive to unexpected sun outages.
Sorry for lack of specs, the new bike season is starting soon, and forgot everything from the last summer. :-) Just my 0,02€.
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I'm very satisfied with my Goalzero Nomad 7, it's small, easy to strap to your backpack, and it fully charges your batteries or anything that charges from USB or even 12V power in as little as 3hrs in good sunlight.
There are lots of solar panels to choose from, any one will probably do the job, so shop for one that suits you. What you really need in your situation, is an adapter to charge your sony specific batteries using USB power (which most backpacking solar panels generate). For example, you can pick up something pretty cheap on ebay like the USB charger for Sony a7 batteries shown below:
S USB Travel Home Battery Charger For Sony ILCE-7 a7 ILCE-7R a7R Digital Camera
You can shop for whatever solar panel suits your fancy, you simply need to order a USB charger so you can use whatever panel you get to charge your camera specific batteries.
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