Rechargeable batteries in Europe, and downloading photos

Before you go, do a search for Internet cafes in the places where you are going to be. I was in Germany last October, and I found them "few and far between". Seems most users in Germany now have home hookups, so the cafes are disappearing. In two weeks, I found only four cafes - one place had 2 computers, and two places had only 1. I watched an entire tennis match in a sports bar in Weikersheim while waiting for the one computer to be free, and I finally had to leave disappointed.

Fortunately, however, a lot of hotels, etc, even small Mom and Pop B&Bs, have Wifi connections.

Most camera power supplies today run on 230V. There's no need for a "converter". Just look at the PS and if it says something like 100-240V, 50-60 Hz, all you need is a little plug adapter.

Lee is correct about the cafes. Second, even if you can find one, often they do want you uploading material. Sometimes you can find photoshops that will burn CDs. Personally I would not use a charger. Just use Lithium batteries. My experience with a Canon is that they last forever and extra two or four backup should cover you trip.

Two things that use battery power are leaving the camera on longer than necessary and large pictures.

I have learned to only turn the camera on when I am ready to take a picture and to turn it off immediately when I am done.

Cameras use battery power to store the picture; the larger the picture is, the more battery power is used. Carefully consider what sized pictures you really need to take. I only display my pictures on my computer or, occasionally, print them at 5x7. I have found that 1024x768, or maybe a little larger, less than 1MPixel is all I need. That takes less storage space and less battery power.

Thanks for the great info. In regards to the suggestion to just buy a plug adapter for my battery charger...won't I need a power converter? Are the wall sockets in Europe AC or DC? And does that matter?

The wall receptacles in Europe are 230V, 50 Hz AC. If your cameras power supply says something like "100-240V, 50/60 Hz" it should work fine, but on the continent you need something so that your plug, with its two flat blades will adapt to the two round pin receptacle. You would need a different adapter for the UK.

I previously said that only the continental receptacle were 230V, but power all over the EU is supposed to be going to 230V. Continental Europe, which was previously 220V is supposed to increase over time to 230V, and UK, which was 240V, is supposed to reduce theirs to 230V.

That explains that. Many thanks!

Last summer I used a power adapter that I purchased in Berlin. I found it was better than using one with an adapter plug. My old charger did not have a cord and I a hard time getting the adapter and the charger to say connected. I was constantly balancing it and propping it up with guide books. The one I bought in Berlin was made to go with the local system and so was care free. I bought in Ka De We camera deparment.

Pam

When you use those cafes they have to have a burning software installed on their PC.
Why not just buying a few mem cards? They come really cheap now days. In my areahere there is a store called Microcenter.They sell 2GB for $11. Ot get them off ebay. Another good site I buy things like that is buy.com When a 516 MB memory card was about $50 (years ago) anywhere else I got 2 of them for $10 each.
You don't need to get a brand name, it's the same technology on any brand.

A number of years ago I had a digital camera that took AA's. I traveled to the UK and bought a charger when I got there. It worked great. I took an extra set of recharable batteries with me and just rotated them. It worked great. In reguards to the SD cards, I would just bring extras, they aren't that costly at Costco and they are small.

Terrific suggestions and many thanks for the price heads up on getting the photos dumped.
I actually got 3 2GB SD cards for $7 apiece on woot.com awhile back, so that might just cover us on our 3 week excursion.