Charging station

[Malcolm Debono]

Due to the ever increasing amount of chargers piling up for cameras, recorders, LEDs and what not, I've been thinking of building some sort of charging station in a pelicase so I'd only need to plug one plug and charge everything at once.

Has anyone done anything similar? This should help keep things organised when I'm home and definitely comes in handy when travelling!

[Adrian Tan]

Hey Malcolm, I think that's a brilliant idea. Among other things, it could reduce surface clutter around a house and thereby increase a partner's happiness levels. But I also think that, for myself, it wouldn't work away from home -- mainly because I don't want the extra bag. As it is, the car is pretty full to bursting, and when I walk into a venue with all my crap, the managers' faces start to purple.

There's always two guys sitting on my shoulders. One says, "Take more gear. You know you want to." The other says, "Reduce gear. You'll move and set up and pack away faster, you'll get more shots, you'll hurt your back less," and at the moment I'm listening to the second guy.

In terms of alternatives to a charging station... Could you take more batteries instead (though obviously there's a not-insubstantial cost there), and just have a permanent charging station at home? Or is there some sort of compromise? Instead of a charging station, could you construct (or have someone construct for you) a large charging unit that fits into an existing bag? The idea would be to get rid of all wires, and get rid of the time needed to plug things together -- you'd simply take the unit out of your bag and connect to a power outlet.

[Clive McLaughlin]

I use a B&Q plastic toolbox. I drilled a hole. Unwired the main plug, passed the lead through and rewired the plug on the outside. All batteries etc charge inside with lid closed. Useful for bringing to weddings as it doesn't scream high value, and doesn't look overly unsightly.

[Malcolm Debono]

Thanks for the feedback. To clarify, I'm not looking into bringing this at a wedding (have more than enough batteries for that!) but rather leave it wherever I'm staying when I leave home on work for a day or two. Some sort of plastic toolbox / container should also do the trick and would probably be quite cheaper.

[Arthur Gannis]

I like to lug around the least amount of weight and gear. I carry chargers and extra batteries that are fully charged in a small suitcase that always stays in the trunk of my car. This kit consists of a camera battery charger with two batteries and a led light charger with 2 batteries. Also in it are small tools, gaffer's tape, first aid kit, a few extension cords and a flashlight. That's it. My spare camera is also in the trunk in a case with a spare led light and both loaded with fully charged batteries and a blank media card. I hate charging batteries at venues as they either get forgotten or stolen. My entire rig weighs less than 6 lbs that I walk around with, and even that is too heavy. Right behind my shoulder bracket are two camera batteries and a led light battery in a pouch to also add counterbalance. If you plan ahead and charge the day before, you don't need to lug the kit around,leave it in the car, just bring extra batteries with you without the chargers at the venue.
Gone are the days of tape and bulb lights that required 30 lbs of brick batteries alone. Today's cameras and led lights consume very little and only require small light batteries. Have enough battery juice available to do 3 weddings back to back, just to say. I never lug chargers around.

[Peter Rush]

Nice idea but I don't take anything to a venue that requires plugging into the mains - otherwise I fall foul of the PAT testing jobsworth. (maybe that's just a UK thing)

Pete