Michael Chang

Starting on January 1, 2008, the TSA is enforcing new restrictions on the lithium batteries that are allowed in checked luggage and carry-on bags (both rechargeable and non-rechargable).

Here’s the official TSA posting:

http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/assistant/batteries.shtm

This is an official DoT page referenced by the TSA, detailing battery classes:

http://safetravel.dot.gov/whats_new_batteries.html 

 (Yes, it’s an official page, believe it or not…)

Now, let the confusion begin…

• According to this site, the equivalent lithium content (in grams) is roughly 0.3 times the battery’s rating in A-h (amp-hours).
• A lithium-ion cell has a native voltage of roughly 3.7 V.

So, take the Nikon EN-EL4a (for the pro-series cameras) as an example.  It provies 11.1 V, which is three lithium ion cells (each 2500 mAh) stacked in series.  The gram-equivalent lithium content is thus

3 cells x 2.5 Ah x 0.3 = 2.25 grams of lithium in each EN-EL4a

The Nikon EN-EL3e is 7.4 V (two 3.7V lithium cells in series) with a 1500 mAh rating, so it’s lithium-gram-equivalent is

2 cells x 1.5 Ah x 0.3 = 0.9 grams of lithium in EL-EL3e

Points of clarification: Lithium Metal vs. Lithium Ion

• Lithium metal (non-rechargeable) isn’t the same thing as lithium ion (rechargeable), so the 2 gram limit for lithium metal batteries doesn’t apply for the rechargeable camera batteries.  It’s difficult to find a lithium metal battery that’s over 2 grams of lithium.  The CR123A’s and other small lithium metal (i.e. non-rechargeable) batteries are nearly all under 2 grams of lithium.

What does all this mean for our rechargeable camera batteries???…

• You cannot check any loose lithium batteries into your check-in luggage (rechargeable lithium ion or non-rechargeable lithium metal)
• If your lithium ion battery is installed in your DSLR, you can check it into the luggage (only if the battery is installed).  The same goes for your lithium metal battery in your Pocketwizard: you can put it in your luggage if it’s installed in the device.
• You can bring as many rechargeable DSLR camera batteries in your carry-on luggage as you like, as long as the contacts are covered or as long as the batteries as kept in sealed ZipLock bags.

Now, whether TSA scanners will know which batteries are lithium metal (non-rechargeable) vs. lithium ion (rechargeable) and which are under 8 grams of lithium (basically all DSLR lithium ion batteries) is going to be interesting.

Happy travels…

My most widely-used lenses on the DX-sensor format body (a.k.a. Nikon, DSLRs before the D3) are

17-55 mm f/2.8

85mm f/1.4

30mm f/1.4 (Sigma)

The 17-55mm range is a favorite on the 1.5x sensor crop format. I think the new 24-70mm f/2.8 on the D3 is going to be an outstanding combination. 85mm f/1.4 is great for portraits, although a little long on a DX body. The Sigma 30mm f/1.4 is an oustanding, fast lens IF you can find a decent copy. It took me 5 tries to get one that didn’t have issues like HSM motor squeaking, infinity-focus issues, close-in focus miscalibration, aperature deformation (non-symmetric aperture), etc.

Yes, there are other nice lenses out there which I also use, but the three above sastify 70% of the shooting. The 70-200mm f/2.8 and 12-24mm f/4 come into play for most of the other times. The new 14-24mm f/2.8 is looking really nice for FX, full-frame shooting on the D3. I can’t believe Nikon didn’t leave the option for a polarizing filter on this great piece of glass. Maybe the 17-35mm f/2.8 will make its comeback now.

What’s missing from the Nikon lineup?…

Updated primes with AF-S (internal focusing motors) and VR

300mm f/4 VR, an updated wide-angle tilt-shift lens

If there’s time, an updated 28mm f/1.4 would be great

The D3 and the 24-70 + 14-24 combo is a great start, though! Now’s a great time to get a used D2Hs, D2X, or D200.  The best bargain out there is the D40, in my opinon, or the D40x if you want to splurge…

I had a musing months ago that you could make a lot of money if you owned the right top-level domain. Now, it seems that the us.com domain is selling yourdomain.us.com to attract people who want a “.com” in the domain name, but don’t mind the extra “us.” tagged in front. Strangely, the .us domain is really underused, already. .mobi never took off (yet, at least). .tv is really not much in use, either.

How long will it be before .com names are replaced by something more chic? 10 years? 20 years? Even sooner? When that time comes, things are going to be a mess– domain name fights and lawsuits everywhere. The only other example, (that I can think of on a coporate level) where there’s a rush to register names are vanity phone numbers: (800) MY-NAMES or something of the sort.

Why trade stocks and precious metals when you can trade internet domain names, instead?… Also, has anyone ever noticed that GoDaddy = god addy = god addresses?… Interesting…