Hmm, interesting alternative to Eneloops. I'm always interested in seeing good deals on LSD NiMHs. But I think I would spend the additional $4 and buy Eneloops, because they are proven and don't cost much more.
Thanks for the great review! Frontpage'd and Sticky'd.
In Germany are two ALDI groups and each has special brands. ALDI Nord (has TopCraftt) and ALDI Süd (has ACTIV) - the founders of ALDI were two brothers and the decided to share Germany in two part. One of the brother controll the north, the other the south. They expand in different countries, Belgium is part of ALDI Nord.
Look at the DX-link and you will notice date stamps under "post a new topic".
It would not be much use IMO, to post self-discharge specs for like under 1 month period of time... (item has not been at DX for long, I bet old has had it even for less time...)
The Aldi LSD batteries have really low selfdischarge, but i did not measure the selfdischarge.
I use the green ones for more than two years, and they are still very good (the capacity is about the same as when they were new). And they are always "ready to use" when i need them in the external flash (Canon 430 EX II and 580 EX). I just keep the batteries in the camerabag, and use them when they are needed. Never had any problem with selfdischarged Aldi LSD batteries.
I still have a set of the Ready to use AA's in the original package, i bought these in june. I can test the capacity (out of the package, without charging) of these and compare them to the others wich i have tested in june. If the capacity of these are about the same, then the selfdischarge is low. I will put them in the Maha right now and post the results later.
Here are the results of the Top Craft Ready To Use, thati bought a few months ago.
This is the capacity of the batteries, right out of the package, to check if they are really LSD’s.
Discharged @ 1000mA.
Battery 1:1423mAh
Battery 2:1533mAh
Battery 3:1451mAh
Battery 4:1505mAh
That is about the same as the ones I tested a few months ago, so these are really LSD batteries.
The batteries were manufactured 10- 06. If we assume they were charged and packaged at the same time then they are over 12 months old so must be lsd to
Yeah Turnigy still seem the better price if you're buying decent quantity although price does depend on where you live because shipping varies. Because of their shipping prices it tends to get better if you're buying more. E.g I pay $28.06 all up for 14 Turnigy cells (~$2.004 for 1) from HK compared to $28.55 for 12 BTONE cells (~$2.379 for 1) or $37.50 for 16 BTONE cells (~$2.344) from DX Bulkrate. $76.18 all up for 42 Turnigy cells (~$1.814 for one) from HK compared to $89.20 for 40 BTOne cells ($2.23 for one) or $97.95 for 44 BTOne cells (~$2.226 for one) from DX Bulkrate. Although past something like 6kg it may be better to seperate in to 2 orders for HK (but that's a lot of batteries!)
Edit: Just a note, calculations for BTONE based on 4 packs from DX (http://www.dealextreme.com/p/btone-rechargeable-1-2v-2100mah-aa-batteries-4-piece-pack-91886) since they are cheaper then the 2 pack
The 2000 2 pack and 2100 4 pack seem to be the same thing except 2 and 4 pack (both packs say 2100).
An interesting point, it's commonly claimed on the other placethere are only 4 makers of LSD batteries although I haven't ever seen great evidence for this. The Sanyo Eneloops (now comes in multiple flavours) which are made in Japan, the Maha/PowerEx Imedion which come in 2100 (rated min 2000) and 2400mAh (rated min 2250) capacities and are made in Taiwan, the GP ReCycko (Turnigy and Kodak Precharged are believed to be this) which only come in 2100 mAh which are made in China and tend to be a little fat, and the Yuasa-Delta (Panasonic, GS Yuasa, Rayovac Hybrids and blacktop Duracell) which come in 2100 and 2500 capacities and are also made in China.
Both the Eneloops and Imedions have white tops whereas the other two have black tops. (Well not sure about the newer higher capacity etc variants.) http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?218956-The-different-varieties-of-LSD-cell
The interesting thing is these are white tops, but labelled as made in China. There are a few others I've seen like this e.g. Camelion https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/380
(Some UNiROSS Hybrio look and perform like Eneloops despite being labelled as made in China)
They look somewhat similar to Imedion (small button top with no vent, ridge near top) but Imedion are always marked as made in Taiwan. No one really seems to know much about these variants. I note from eneloop vs. Kodak Pre-Charged Voltage Maintenance | Candle Power Flashlight Forum it seems there are other Unilast/Uniross Hybrios which are different again and from the description seem to be different from any of the other so it’s rather confusing.
The 2500mAh and 2100mAh rated capacities seem to be similar to the Yuasa LSD variants despite being white top (from what I can tell the 2500mAh Yuasa branded ones are black tops too). Perhaps they’re from Yuasa but a different factory? (There was some suggestion the Hybrios were Yuasa.) Or perhaps there’s more LSD manufacturers by now.
P.S. I came across http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?312022-Fake-Eneloops while researching. I have to admit to laughing when it was suggested the (minute number of) people who can actually recognise the old Eneloop design would matter to Sanyo.