TechRadar Verdict
If you’ve got one camera and one battery, you don’t need another battery charger. But if you’ve got two cameras, spare batteries, a flashgun, battery grip and a smartphone, the ProCube 2 could be perfect for keeping all your kit fully powered up.
Pros
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Charges two batteries at once
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Also charges AAs and smartphones
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Car adaptor included
Cons
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More expensive than a regular charger
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Not all camera batteries supported
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Pretty bulky for a camera bag
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The ProCube 2 comes in five different versions - Canon, Nikon, Panasonic/Fujifilm combined, Olympus and Sony. Each one will charge between two and four different battery types, and it accommodates different sizes with a removable battery plate that clips into the top.
The ProCube 2 will only charge certain common batteries from a camera maker’s range, so it’s important to check yours is amongst them. We tested the Nikon version, which has battery plates for Nikon EN-EL14 and EN-EL15 batteries – which does cover much of the current entry-level/enthusiast DSLR range.
The Canon version charges LP-E6, LP-E8 and LP-E17 batteries, the Panasonic/Fujifilm version accepts DMW-PLC12, BLF19, BLG10 and NP-W126 cells, the Olympus model takes BLN-1, BLS-5 and BLH-1 batteries, while the Sony version accepts NP-BX1, NP-FW50 and the latest NP-FZ100 batteries – the NP cells are used in Sony’s A7 mirrorless camera range.
There are quite a few bells and whistles you won’t find on your regular charger. For a start, the ProCube 2 will charge two batteries simultaneously, and a digital display on the front shows how much top-up charge has been added to each as a percentage. It doesn’t show the initial charge level, though, so while you can get an idea of how much longer the battery will take to charge fully, you won’t know how much charge it started with.
Godsend for landscape photographers
Charging a set of four AA batteries is simple. The battery tray just drops on to the top of the cube and attaches magnetically. And when the batteries are charged, you can take out the tray and use it to store them until you need them.
Round the back of the ProCube 2 is a USB charging port delivering 2.4 amps, so that’s extremely useful for topping up a smartphone, a tablet or one of the increasing number of cameras offering USB charging.
On top of all that, the ProCube 2 comes with plugs for the UK, US and Europe and – usefully – a 12V car adaptor. This could be a real godsend for landscape photographers and travellers who are away from mains power for hours or even days on end.
