Scouring your camera bag, you have all your most important gear: cameras, lenses, memory cards, and batteries. With the adoption of mirrorless cameras by many photographers, we have also adopted more batteries. When my primary camera was a Nikon D850, I could shoot roughly 1,800 photographs on a charge. I am using the Nikon Z7 II as my primary camera, and unfortunately, I get about 400 photos per battery. I am charging and purchasing batteries more than ever before. Enter the Hahnel Pro Cube 2 charger, a game changer in the battery charging game.
Introduction
The Hahnel Pro Cube 2 charger is a game-changer in battery charging. It is a dual-battery charger with interchangeable battery plates that can charge AA batteries. If you are unfamiliar with Hahnel, it is a 65-year-old company that creates quality photographic accessories for your camera. Hahnel offers various accessories, including battery chargers, batteries, flash triggers, and speedlights.
Build Quality
When it comes to gear, quality is always crucial. It's an investment; we don’t want to replace any gear every few years. The Hahnel Pro Cube 2 charger's build quality is what you would expect; it is made of plastic and metal. But don't let that fool you. The overall build quality is very nice, weighing around one pound. You can confidently pack it in your luggage or camera bag without worrying about its durability. I threw it in my camera bag and traveled over 3,000 miles on my recent Route 66 trip, and it held up like a champ, even sliding off the dash of the SUV a few times.
Features
The Hahnel Pro Cube Charger is packed with very robust features for a battery charger.
Non-Wired Interchangeable Charge Plate: I owned the original Pro Cube and disliked that the charging plates were wired, so changing them out was a slight pain. The Pro Cube 2 now has non-wired interchangeable plates, making swapping out plates a breeze. The Nikon-compatible version comes with the EN-EL15 and EN-EL14 plates, allowing me to charge my batteries for my Nikon Z7 II, Z6 II, and Z30, which I use for content creation. This is a lifesaver as I only need one charger while traveling.
Charging Times of 100 Minutes
Charging a Nikon EN-EL15C battery with a Nikon dedicated MH25a charger takes approximately two hours and thirty-five minutes. When you are in a pinch, that is a while to wait. According to the manufacturer, you can fully charge two batteries in the Pro Cube 2 in a hundred minutes or one battery in an hour. From experience, I find it to be less. The best option is to charge two batteries simultaneously, saving time!
12V Car Adapter and US/UK/ Euro plugs included
When traveling by vehicle, it's great to charge batteries between stops. The Pro Cube 2 is supplied with a 12V car adapter, allowing you to plug it into a 12-volt outlet for use in a vehicle! This erases the need for a power inverter to plug the charger into. It is also supplied with UK and Euro plugs for overseas travel. You shouldn’t have trouble using the charger just about anywhere between these adapters!
Screen With Data
The charger sports a nice screen that provides real-time data on your battery's health and the amount of charge that has been transferred to it. The screen also displays the mAh or milliamp hours; according to Hahnel, 300 mAh equals 150 photos.
Traveling with the Pro Cube 2 over a total of 10 days on the road and regular usage in the office. Overall, the charger is very convenient while traveling, allowing me to keep fresh batteries on hand, and the quick charger is a must for me as well.
Summary
I have traveled with the Pro Cube 2 for over ten days, used it regularly in the office, and have experience with both the original and updated versions. Overall, the charger is very convenient while traveling, allowing me to keep fresh batteries on hand, and the quick charging is convenient. It can be used in a vehicle and charge two batteries simultaneously, all while displaying valuable data on its screen. This would be an excellent charger replacement for your camera's included charger. I have even considered adding one more to my collection!
What I Liked
- Fast Charging
- 12V Car Adapter
- Build Quality
What Could Be Improved?
Easy access to change the interchangeable charge plate: The original plates were wired and were difficult to change. The updated version is now non-wired, but you must use the supplied key, the tip of a ballpoint pen, or a paper clip to depress the button to change the plate. This is not the most convenient thing to do while traveling. The key is small and could easily be lost.
Final Thoughts
Yes, it's just a battery charger and not that exciting. But this charger would make an excellent addition for any photographer to add to their gear pool at a very affordable price. It is well-built and capable of reliably charging your batteries at a fast rate!
Should of had a USB C PD input, so any 24w and above phone charger etc could run the battery charger and one less thing to carry
Agreed!
There are USB-C PD to barrel cables on Amazon for different voltages. You can of them for ~$10. I of several and they work like a charm for different types of devices
My Zf uses the same batteries (including tossing an old en-el15 in) and still averages well over 1000 shots per charged battery. My Z9's easily hit up to 2000 per charge -- 400 on the Z7 II seems crazy low.
That's what I thought. I found that Nikon rated it at around 400 shots per charge.
The only thing I hate about this charger is that there’s no way to get a couple more in my country. I stumbled upon a used one that was bought abroad 3 years ago and I bought it right away. It has been my main charger ever since.
I love it and thought about buying another!
They missed an opportunity for USB-C PD input. One method that I like to use are USB chargers connected to a 100 watt hour power bank, thus allowing me to charge various batteries while in the accessory case. I use slower USB chargers since I also bring multiple batteries with me.
A convenient package would be a device like that but with more customizability, e.g., more modularity for simultaneous charging of 2 AA batteries, and 2 other customizable slots for 2 different camera batteries.
I love mine, being able to charge from the 12v in the van is a game changer, it does need a 2024/25 update tho as the PD innovations since its conception are needed to keep it current! Hähnel are a great company overall