As more electronics adapt to the nearly universal USB-C charging standards, fewer gadgets are shipping with chargers in an attempt to reduce e-waste. I don’t mind reaching for the junk drawer to grab one of the dozens of charging bricks that I already have to charge a new phone, but charging a camera is arguably different than charging a smartphone – and I’m starting to get seriously annoyed at all the cameras shipping without a vital component: the charger.
Many modern mirrorless cameras will recharge via USB-C, and camera makers have started putting USB-C cables in the box instead of dedicated wall chargers. Even cameras that cost several thousand dollars like the Sony RX1R III don’t include a charging cable in the box.
As someone who reviews cameras for a living, I probably open more new camera boxes than the average photographer, and lately, very few seem to come with an actual dedicated charger anymore.
I get that a majority of households already have charging bricks and USB-C cables, and that e-waste is a very real problem. But here’s the thing: charging a camera isn’t like charging a smartphone, and cameras shouldn’t be following smartphones' lead in taking the chargers out of the box.
Smartphones typically don’t have removable batteries, cameras, however, do, and many photographers, myself included, need to have a handful of batteries to keep shooting. Charging multiple batteries one at a time inside a camera with a USB cord is an annoying and long process, not to mention the fact that you then can’t use the camera because it’s too busy doubling as a charger.
Cameras are also best stored in protective cases – leaving a camera sitting out on a shelf or table to charge is just asking for dust build-up and accidental bumps to send it tumbling to the floor.
I admire the reason behind excluding chargers from the box, which is to reduce waste, both by eliminating unnecessary chargers from the landfill and reducing the size of the camera’s packaging. But here’s the thing – buying a separate charger requires another box, another shipment – is that really reducing waste?
Not including a charger in the box for an entry-level camera is probably saving some e-waste, sure. But I think cameras over a certain price point should have a separate, dedicated charger included. I imagine a number of pro photographers share my pet peeve with USB-C charging, and I have to wonder how many photographers buying pro-grade equipment are then buying a separate charger in a separate shipment and in a separate box.
I don’t mind not having a charging brick every time I update my smartphone. But I’ve never once put a camera charger in the junk drawer, never to be used in favor of USB-C charging. (That scratchy neck strap that comes in the box, though, that’s usually destined for the junk drawer). Charging with a dedicated charger tends to be faster, and I can still use my camera or tuck it safely in a padded case in the meantime.
One of the first things that I bought after I bought my last camera? A dedicated charger, because, alas, one wasn’t included in the box. But, at least by being forced to buy my own separate charger, I could choose to upgrade to a dual charger and get my multiple camera batteries charged and ready twice as fast – so perhaps I shouldn’t complain.
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