Photography

AA battery management for photographers

9 Comments
My AA batteries now have a safe haven, never to run loose and create havoc in my camera bags, leaving me to wonder if they're spent or still good

I’m pretty sure I’m not the only photographer with this problem.

I’ve tried rubber bands.

I’ve tried Gaffer tape.

Gaffer tape works good but it’s too pricey to be used that way.

If you use any kind of portable electronics that is power thirsty, then you’re probably buying batteries in bulk at a discount store like Costco, Home Depot or Wal-Mart.

Those packets usually contain 48 AA batteries at a good price.

I’ve tried to pry the packet carefully around the sides and see if I can reseal or tape the opening close when I’m done taking out what I need.

I’ve made a hole that’s just big enough to extract the battery and taping over the hole.

No one way works better.

Since I found these wonderful AA plastic battery containers, I break open the packet and pop them 4-at-a-time into one of these.

My Speedlights use 4 AAs so these containers are perfect.

Now my AA batteries never roll around or come loose anymore.

The best part?

They cost a whopping 20 cents $2 each so I picked up a 5 pack(2 in a pack) of them from Meritline.

By the way, I’m  an affiliate of that retailer.

Why not? If you guys buy this item by clicking through here, I’ll be able to retire. 😉

So, if you guys use something else for battery management, do share them with me under comments.
Peter Phun Photography |


Micro SD, Secure Digital Card, Card Reader, USB Pen Drive, MP3 player, CF Compact Flash card

9 thoughts on “AA battery management for photographers”

  1. Greetings Rob,
    Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment. The same thing with the batteries happened with a tv photojournalist friend of mine except he had a 9v battery.

    It came into contact with his car keys and he was at a press conference.

    I love your blog pictures of Nyoman in Bali btw. No, I don’t know him but I think it’s wonderful that you showed the early picture and then the recent one. That’s why we do what we do, when we take pictures, isn’t it?

    I grew up in Penang, Malaysia where there used to be an Australian airforce base in Butterworth ( no longer called that btw)

  2. I’ve used these plastic battery holders for a few years now Peter; ever since a replacement set of AAs I had in my trouser pocket shorted out on some loose change. The subject I was photographing at the time was mystified whenI began hopping around frantically scrabbling at the contents of my pocket. The coins became so hot it felt like I had been stung on the thigh by a hornet.

  3. Hello Mark,
    Thanks for taking the time to share where you get your battery cases. I haven’t found a case for the Canon CP-E4 which takes 8 batteries yet, so I’ll be heading to Thomas Distributing.

    Your work is wonderful. Are you still in the news business? If not, how long ago did you leave?

  4. I get my battery cases from Thomas Distributing . I use the 4 pack for my rechargeable batteries that go in my hot shoe flashes and the 8 battery cases to reload my Canon CP-E4 external battery pack.

  5. Hello Andy,
    Thanks for commenting. I really think these boxes I found are perfect for storage and transporting of my AAs.

    Since we always change all 4 batteries, this is good way to get a handle of them. Yes, I do miss the battery holders for the Vivitar 285s. They made changing batteries so much easier.

  6. Thanks for posting that link to the battery holders. I purchased a powerex smart charger not too long ago and it came with two cases like these except they hold 8 AAs. I think that the 4-pack solution is better than the 8-pack based on weight and the added risk of the remaining 4 batteries falling out. I still carry 4 with a rubber band and have them arranged with alternating polarity in my pocket just like they go into the 430EX, that way, I can pop the door open, dump the old ones, and slam the new ones in there and slip the rubber band off. Of course, using a 285HV negates this little trick, but I guess there’s always a spare battery holder for those too.

  7. Danny,
    Thank you so much for sharing that hyperlink. Looks like the case you have in mind is for the entire container. That is way better than the cardboard/plastic wrapper they come in.

    I really like the ones I found because whenever I’m working, I need to replace my AA batteries in mulitples of 4, so carrying them in those containers makes it easy and they are small.

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