Promaster Charger Trio Making Market Debut

By Staff On May 23 2005 - 6:00am

New from Photographic Research Organization (PRO) is the Promaster XtraPower Traveler, a lithium-ion “world” charger designed for use with digital cameras and camcorder batteries.

The lightweight, compact and portable unit includes such features as compact plug-and-charge design that requires no wires or A/C adapters, quick-charge circuitry that charges most batteries in two hours or less and automatic switching power supply for worldwide use.

Suggested retail range is $29 to $49.

The Promaster XtraPower Express charger is said to be the first ultra-fast nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) charger designed to power up standard NiMH AA/AAA batteries to full capacity in 20 minutes or less. The Express charger uses a special charging circuit and dual cooling fans to charge at a lower temperature than most fast chargers, which extends the battery life and allows for more charging cycles, said PRO.

The unit automatically recognizes the capacity of each battery; tests the integrity of each cell; and charges one, two, three or four cells individually until maximum capacity is reached. The Express charges batteries to 95 percent of capacity before reverting to trickle charge mode, resulting in the delivery of 20 percent more power with every charge.

The Express, at a suggested $69 to $99 retail range, is packaged with four high-capacity 2400mAh AA NiMH batteries.

The third new product from Promaster is the XtraPower VersaCharge and VersaCharge custom battery plate packs, said to provide an “intelligent” solution to a user's battery charging needs. This charger is designed to charge virtually any digital or camcorder battery.

Most six-volt batteries can be charged directly on the base station. Others can be charged by using an optional custom charging plate. Custom charging plates are included with the VersaCharge pack offered for all major brands, including Sony, Canon, Nikon, Casio, Fuji, Kodak, Pentax, Olympus, Konica Minolta, Sharp, JVC and Panasonic.

Features include flexibility to charge anywhere from AC current or through a DC auto power outlet, circuitry that automatically senses battery voltage and chemistry type, reconditioning circuit that eliminates memory effect when charging nickel cadmium batteries, and constant current and voltage charge modes for lithium-ion and SLA batteries.

Suggested retail range is $49 to $69.