Canon Camera Power

Solar Charger for the
Canon BP-511A Battery
and options for powering your Canon EOS dSLR anywhere

Looking for a solar charger for your Canon BP-511A battery? This application note covers the products & methods used to charge your Canon BP-511A battery pack far from any grid power.

The Canon BP-511A is a 7.4V battery pack. As such, taking it portable requires some special equipment to support your Canon charger or 3rd party aftermarket charger. We also present alternative chargers that offer more versatility for operating off-grid and taking your Canon EOS on serious wilderness expeditions.

There are 3 key components to your portable power system for the BP-511A (& BP-511, BP-512, and related battery packs)...

1. Charger base
2. Solar storage battery
3. Solar panel

See our demonstration video to see how these parts go together.

Which products you choose will depend on the number of shots you take, your travel destination, the time of year, and the nature of your trip (ie how much time you spend in camp vs hiking/kayaking, etc.).

Let's look at each component...

The BP-511A Charger Base...

At 7.4V, the BP-511A battery is typical of many dSLR batteries. The charger that came with your Canon EOS is AC only, meaning that it was designed for plugging into the wall.Since creating AC power requires additional equipment & system complexity, and since you are not likely to encounter an outlet where you are going, we will look into DC chargers for the BP-511A.These are ones that can plug into 12V solar panels & solar storage batteries (in addition to your car & home power).

We recommend the following advanced universal chargers, and dedicated AC/DC charger...

Select: Ansmann Digicharger Vario
- OR - Ansmann Vario Pro
- OR - 3-Way Universal Charger
Universal chargers that will work with all your camera batteries (3.7V & 7.4V), and offers both AC, DC (car) input plugs. No custom battery plates.

-OR- Select: BP-511A Charger
A compact AC & DC charger base for the BP-511A (& related battery pack models like the BP-512).

The Solar Storage Battery...

Properly charging a Canon BP-511A battery pack while out in the field requires a portable power system that can provide a constant source of power to the charger base. At the core of this is a battery pack that stores the power produced by the solar panel. Without this solar storage battery, your BP-511A charger would be at the whim of the sun, with the charging rate fluctuating throughout the day, plus you would not be able to charge at night, which is often the most convenient time. A solar storage battery also permits your charger to operate at its normal performance level.

Q: Do you have to wait until the storage battery is full?
A: No. Plug your charger in any time.

Q: Do you have to unplug from the solar panel before connecting your charger to the storage battery?
A: No. Plug the charger into the storage battery whenever you need to, and take advantage of having the solar panel do some of the work.

The best options for solar storage batteries are lithium battery packs offering enough reserve to charge your Canon EOS battery pack a little more than two times before it will need to be recharged itself. The solar storage battery must also be capable of delivering more than 8.4V power in order to be able to properly charge the 7.4V BP-511A.

We recommend the following products...

Select: The Novuscell 24
Very small & light, offering up to 2 charges of the BP-511A, & a huge range of device support including 12V DC for the Ansmann Digicharger Vario Pro, & 5V USB for other small electronics

-OR- Select: The Novuscell 50
Very compact, offering up to 4 charges of the BP-511A, & a huge range of device support including 12V DC for the Ansmann Digicharger Vario Pro, & 5V USB for other small electronics

Need to charge more than just the camera?
Larger battery packs are available. Click here to have our solar calculator give you a real-world estimate of what you should use.

The Solar Panel...

Want to be able to charge as you go by using a small solar panel that will provide your camera with endless power?
Choose one of the following solar panels designed for lightweight expeditions. These connect easily to the battery packs listed above, or direct to the battery chargers listed at the top of the page...

Option #1: PowerFilm 5 folding
- OR - SunLINQ 6.5
*Generates one complete BP-511A charge every day
The smallest, lightest option available

Option #2: PowerFilm 10 folding
- OR - SunLINQ 12
*Generates 2 complete BP-511A charges every day
Any extra power can be used to charge other electronics

Option #3: PowerFilm 7 rollable
*Generates a little more than one complete BP-511A charge every day
The best water resistant option for marine environments

For just the Canon BP-511A battery, 4-7 watts is usually plenty. If you have other equipment to charge (laptops, GPS, iPods, etc), then consider a larger panel.

What about small 'Hybrid' solar chargers like the Solio or Brunton Restore? While these chargers have the ability to drive the DC battery charger for 7.4V, they are a little underpowered for most needs. They only store approximately half the amount of power as your BP-511A, so you can't hold much in reserve, plus the solar panels on these chargers are less than 1 Watt, meaning that it would take them several days to replace the power taken from their on-board storage under real-life wilderness conditions.

Check our Solar Panels page for a complete listing of the folding, rolling, & flexible solar panels we carry.

Want additional advice?

Not all needs are the same, so if you need any advice or direction in creating a portable battery charger for your Canon EOS camera, or other equipment, please send us the details...
Email: customers@modernoutpost.com

You might also find it useful to see what our real-world solar calculator suggests. Click here.

* Solar panel performance is based on typical mobile usage patterns during summer months (May through Aug). It is recommended that the panel be deployed for most of the daylight hours for best results.