La Crosse Technology BC-900 AlphaPower Battery Charger

This charger works great, tells me if my old batteries are still viable, slow-charges, rapid-charges, reconditions batteries, is fairly compact in size, and the price is acceptable. Plus, it's really freakin' easy to use. I don't think I've ever given 5 stars before, but this product deserves it.

I do wish I'd saved some money and gotten the BC-700, because I really don't need the extras.

One note: full reconditioning of old or unused batteries can take days... No two ways around that, it's not the fault of the charger, and very very few chargers do a real reconditioning.

Honestly, I don't see any reason to buy any other charger for A or AA batteries. And, no, I have absolutely no ties to this company nor its distributors.

After much reading I decided on this Lacrosse. I have traveled extensively in China and I use AA cells in digital cameras and other high-drain devices-flashes etc. Since I am using high MAH Powerex cells as well as a whole bunch of older Energizers which are still doing well after 4-5 years of use I wanted a charger that would individually charge cells and enable me to match sets of cells. It works well, is easy to program and VERY IMPORTANTLY is small, light , and will take 220 volts as well as 110. No heat issues or other problems so far. The rest of the kit is a nice freebie. Because of free shipping this is a better deal than E-bay or any other merchant I could turn up. Thomas Distributing got my business for the Powerex AA's but not this charger because of the fine print in their return shipping charges. And I wish you good luck if you are getting into the whole set of issues involving precharged AA's . Watch out for the size of the batteries if you have a battery door problem prone camera like the Coolpix 990's, 880,s etc. Some of those new Kodak cells are huge and could put a lot of stress on your battery door. The Powerex are fine in terms of size.

this charger seems good, the package was nice, etc. It's important to note that the adapters allow you to use a AA cell in a spot where a D cell should go - a pretty bad idea, as the capacities are very different.

Nice charger, but it doesn't charge C or D cells.

As long as this charger is around $40, it's a better buy than the "newer" BC-700. To quote a review here on Amazon for the BC-700 by NLee:

"Except for the color, the BC700 looks exactly the same as the better-known BC900. However, it is actually a "handicapped" version of the old charger. Its charging current can only go up to 700mA in three steps (200/500/700). The BC900, on the other hand, can go up to 1000mA for 4 cells, or 1800mA for 2 cells. Also the BC900 package includes eight NiMH rechargeable cells (4 AA and 4 AAA), eight C/D cell adaptors, and a carrying case. The BC700 does not come with any bonus items. "

This is the second one I've purchased. I haven't used all the advanced features, so I can't assure you that they all work per the hype, but what I've used has worked very well.