Car/Home USB chargers, why do they specify camera brands/models.

[Lola]

I do not understand why USB chargers specify what cameras they will work with and some they won't.

To my way of thinking, a charger should work fine irregardless of brand or model. Is this some kind of sales gimmick to keep people confused and buying more chargers then they need ?

There is no way someone can/will keep track of whether his charger is on some OK list (normally). The makers of the chargers seem to gladly inform you that their chargers will not hurt your equipment, then turn right around and specify what it can be used with, while saying it has special circuitry to tell how to charge a device at maximum safely, this is irresponsible double talk (I call it BS)!

I bought a home charger last week (with all the special circuitry) and have charged devices (very fast) that are NOT on the OK list and are better then the original charger that came with the items by quite a bit. So, I will continue to use the charger on all my devices unless someone here can point out WHY I shouldn't, expressed with facts.

 

[niko]

3rd party cheap or no-name charger may be fine for some time but it will not guarantee you long term realiable work. Built quality， microchips， transformers， adapters，converters， materials used for cable， shielding，assembly quality， QC check， warranty etc. and so on. Its all make difference.

 

[Lola]

3rd party cheap or no-name charger may be fine for some time but it will not guarantee you long term realiable work. Built quality， microchips， transformers， adapters，converters， materials used for cable， shielding，assembly quality， QC check， warranty etc. and so on. Its all make difference.

Sorry Nico, I was so irked I forgot to say which brand USB charger I bought, this is it, from a name brand company although after I received it I realized it didn't have a model # or anything else except for the name of the manufacture on the side. They do seem to sell a lot of them and it's guaranteed for 18 months if they honor it in case of problems!
https://www.amazon.com/gp/B0196JB1ZS
I'm used to seeing model numbers and serial numbers on devices, it adds to the validity of the product to me. Although I have no reason at this point to think they are dishonest and really hope it is made of good parts. I guess about a year from now I'll know if not sooner.

 

[niko]

Sorry Nico, I was so irked I forgot to say which brand USB charger I bought, this is it, from a name brand company although after I received it I realized it didn't have a model # or anything else except for the name of the manufacture on the side. They do seem to sell a lot of them and it's guaranteed for 18 months if they honor it in case of problems!
https://www.amazon.com/gp/B0196JB1ZS
I'm used to seeing model numbers and serial numbers on devices, it adds to the validity of the product to me. Although I have no reason at this point to think they are dishonest and really hope it is made of good parts. I guess about a year from now I'll know if not sooner.

Anker is well known brand and till now I do have myself good experience with this brand.

 

[russ331]

I bought an Anker 5 port charger in August 2014. An excellent product that I use every day to charge iPad, Android phone, MP3 player, etc.

 

[Deacon]

I've had great luck with Anker stuff, too.

To answer your question @Lola they put that stuff in there for search terms. If they put iPhone and Samsung or whatever, it's because when all those people (who don't know any better) search for one then hey hope theirs will show up near the top of the list.

 

[Lola]

Anker is well known brand and till now I do have myself good experience with this brand.

Don't get me wrong, I'm complaining about the fact that companies put that BS in their adds about the devices their chargers will work on. Any smart charger should be able to charge any device in it's category like phones, tablets, cameras, etc,. They are leading people to think they need more then one charger.

 

[Rajagra]

There's probably no issue if you are content with standard charging, but there are different types of "fast" charging methods that will only work with certain brands.
E.g. I have an Anker charger https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/B017VXARME that supports Quick Charge 3, but I'm fairly sure my phone can't use that. But it's still a good charger at a decent price.
Similarly I have https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/B00Q2GFP4M with iSmart Charging (whatever that is), and a bunch of portable chargers.
I've yet to have any problem plugging any device into any charger, unless you count the delay while working out which port's amp rating is the right match for the device (and I don't know why I even bother working it out, to be honest.)

I think the main concern should be to avoid buying the very cheapest chargers to save a few quid, then getting home to find your house burned down. There are some appallingly badly built devices available now. As much as despised EU bureaucracy, it did protect us from this type of thing for a while.

 

[Lola]

There's probably no issue if you are content with standard charging, but there are different types of "fast" charging methods that will only work with certain brands.
E.g. I have an Anker charger https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/B017VXARME that supports Quick Charge 3, but I'm fairly sure my phone can't use that. But it's still a good charger at a decent price.
Similarly I have https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/B00Q2GFP4M with iSmart Charging (whatever that is), and a bunch of portable chargers.
I've yet to have any problem plugging any device into any charger, unless you count the delay while working out which port's amp rating is the right match for the device (and I don't know why I even bother working it out, to be honest.)

I think the main concern should be to avoid buying the very cheapest chargers to save a few quid, then getting home to find your house burned down. There are some appallingly badly built devices available now. As much as despised EU bureaucracy, it did protect us from this type of thing for a while.

Hi Rajagra, when you talk about Quick Charge 3.0, that's proprietary circuitry from Qualcomm. If you get it in a charger it must be in the device you are charging also to perform it's Quick Charge. I've never used it because I don't own any device that uses Qualcomm's Quick Charge circuitry.
Most of the other brands will have some sort of named circuitry that will allow charging considerably faster (up to 2.4 amp) then the normal chargers you see advertised. The charger you have from the first link has both the Qualcomm and the other kind of circuitry, If the device you are charging doesn't have the Qualcomm 3.0, the charger will default to the other, Best of both worlds

I thoroughly agree on staying away from the really cheap chargers as they may do as you say, safety first always!

 

[jokiin]

the various quick charge products you see also adjust the voltage in many cases, not just amperage, some are cross compatible b ut it's a bit of a mixed bag as to what works with what in some cases

 

[Village Idiot]

I just ordered one of the Anker 2 port chargers to use indoors with the Zero Edge Z3 Plus I just got but have not installed yet. I am glad to see mostly good comments about the Anker brand. Since I have not seen any comments about the Z3 Plus, I am wondering if I made a mistake there.

 

[Rajagra]

Another thing I've started doing is using a timer on my chargers. You're not supposed to leave things charging unattended (yeah, right!) but if you use a timer you reduce the fire risk and also protect the battery from excessive charging.

I use this one, it's quick to switch on and set to a duration you like, from 15 minutes to 8 hours in steps that double with each button press. 8 hours is good for an overnight charge and you don't have to worry about forgetting to turn it off the next morning. Shorter times are good for top ups without fully charging, which is kinder to most battery types.


ANSMANN AES-1 Zero Watt Energy Saving Timer Plug
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/B005C9S0I8

 

[kamkar]

Not forgetting the times where fake fruit company chargers have burned down peoples homes.

I dont have chargers plugged in at home unless i am using it, this mean the 1 charger on my computer table i use for upgrading firmwares and so on here, and then the charger i use for powering my tablet on my bedside table ( well actually its a cardboard box filled with cut up cardboard from other boxes so all in all i quite flammable bedside "table" )
But i always unplug that charger when i get up.

Regarding my phone, then i dont need to charge that at home, that's done on my 1 - 2 times a week lengthy drive.

All other kind of chargers and PSUs i have are also unplugged when i dont use them.

I have always been pretty apprehensive about my robot vacuum cleaner as it is always "armed"

 

[Lola]

Not forgetting the times where fake fruit company chargers have burned down peoples homes.

I dont have chargers plugged in at home unless i am using it, this mean the 1 charger on my computer table i use for upgrading firmwares and so on here, and then the charger i use for powering my tablet on my bedside table ( well actually its a cardboard box filled with cut up cardboard from other boxes so all in all i quite flammable bedside "table" )
But i always unplug that charger when i get up.

Regarding my phone, then i dont need to charge that at home, that's done on my 1 - 2 times a week lengthy drive.

All other kind of chargers and PSUs i have are also unplugged when i dont use them.

I have always been pretty apprehensive about my robot vacuum cleaner as it is always "armed"

I'm doing exactly like you are except I'm using 1 home charger for everything (made by Rav), works really great. I don't leave anything like that plugged in at home, especially with those type of batteries, to me that's like asking for trouble!