Lithium batteries, in general terms

Lithium and lithium-ion name the chemistry of most rechargeable camera batteries. A chemistry description tells you what the battery is made of and how it behaves in general: lithium batteries hold charge well between uses, deliver steady power during a shoot, and can be recharged many times. Those are general properties of the chemistry, not claims about any specific battery described on this site, and no capacity or cycle figure is stated here, because none is evidenced.

A buyer who hears lithium should understand it as a chemistry word, not as a quality grade. Two lithium batteries can differ greatly in capacity, size, and the cameras they fit, because chemistry is only one part of a battery: its form, its contacts, and its protection circuit all matter too. The inquiry should name the camera kind and the battery type together, so the supplier can confirm the right battery from real stock information, rather than from a chemistry word alone.

V mount batteries, in general terms

V mount batteries are the larger, mountable batteries used on broadcast and professional video cameras. The V mount is a mounting system: a plate and a locking mechanism that hold the battery on the camera rig, connect it electrically, and let it be swapped quickly. The mount is part of the system, not an accessory: it determines which batteries fit which rigs, and a battery with the wrong mount cannot be used, however good it is.

V mount batteries serve rigs that run for hours and power accessories as well as the camera: lights, monitors, wireless transmitters. A battery that only powers the camera is not enough for that world, and a battery that cannot mount securely is a handling problem, not a power solution. The V mount applications guide explains the uses in full, and the battery types guide explains the type itself.

Universal charger concepts

A universal charger aims to cover several battery types with one unit. The idea is practical: a team that runs several camera kinds does not want a different charger for each, and a single charger that serves several types reduces the chargers a team must carry, charge, and keep track of. Universality is a coverage claim, and it should be judged by which types it actually covers, not by the word alone.

A universal charger does not cover every battery, and its coverage should be confirmed type by type in the inquiry: name the battery types you use, and ask whether the charger serves each one. A charger that covers three of your four types is not a universal charger for your team, whatever its description says. The charger selection guide explains the charger types, and the pairing guide explains how batteries and chargers match.

Rechargeable versus single-use

Rechargeable batteries can be charged and reused, while single-use cells are used once and discarded. For camera work, rechargeable batteries are the norm: a shoot needs several batteries, and buying single-use cells for every shoot would be expensive and wasteful. The rechargeable type is also the type that needs a charger, which is why batteries and chargers are described together on this site.

The rechargeable choice brings a second decision: how many batteries, and how many chargers, a team needs. A team that shoots all day needs enough batteries to cover the day, and enough chargers to refill them overnight. Counting batteries without counting chargers, or chargers without counting batteries, is the most common planning error, and it is avoided by planning the pair together.

Digital, mirrorless and DSLR batteries

Digital camera batteries are the batteries made for digital cameras as a class. Mirrorless batteries serve mirrorless cameras, which have no mirror mechanism, and DSLR batteries serve DSLR cameras, which do. The two camera kinds often use different battery shapes and capacities, and a battery that fits one kind will not necessarily fit the other, so the camera kind is the first thing an inquiry should name.

A buyer who names the camera kind will receive a specific answer, and a buyer who names only the word battery will receive a general answer that fits no camera. The distinction is not pedantry: it is the difference between a battery that fits and a battery that does not, and between an order that works and an order that must be returned. The battery types guide explains the distinctions in full.

Battery packs

A camera battery pack groups cells into a single unit, which is useful when a camera needs more capacity than a single cell provides. Packs are common where a camera runs for a long time, or where a rig powers accessories as well as the camera. A pack's value is its capacity in a single unit: one pack to charge, one pack to mount, one pack to swap, instead of several cells handled separately.

A pack is still a battery, and it still needs a matching charger: a charger for single cells cannot be assumed to charge a pack, and a charger for one pack type cannot be assumed to charge another. The inquiry should name the pack type explicitly, as it would any other battery type, and ask for the charger that serves it by name.

What the type names do not tell you

Type names tell you the chemistry, the camera kind, or the mounting system. They do not tell you the capacity, the size, the contacts, or the protection circuit of a specific battery. Those answers come from the specification for the exact type, confirmed in the inquiry, not from the type name. A buyer who assumes a capacity from a type name alone will assume wrongly, and a buyer who assumes a fit from a type name alone may receive a battery that does not fit.

Type names also do not tell you the certificates that apply to your market, the quantity terms, or the lead time. Those are order terms, confirmed in the inquiry, not properties of a type. The bulk battery inquiry page lists the confirmations, and the inquiry process page explains the sequence.

Questions this guide raises

What camera kind do you shoot with, and which battery types does it use? How many batteries must be ready at once, and where does charging happen? Which charger types serve your batteries, and does a universal charger cover all of them? Those four questions, answered in your inquiry, will produce a specific reply, and a specific reply is the basis of a safe order.

If any answer is missing from your inquiry, add it before sending. A missing answer in an inquiry is a question the supplier must ask back, and every round of questions costs time. A complete inquiry, naming the camera kind, the battery type, the quantity, and the market, is the fastest route to a confirmed order.