I can't think of anything more frustrating than running out of battery juice. Just this weekend, I dug out my Sony DSC T30 digicam to discover it was almost out of battery power, again. This happens to me all time, since I often forget to recharge the battery after the last use. Times like these make me wish digital cameras were solar powered, or better yet, I wish camera bags had a built in emergency charger.

I've seen emergency chargers mostly for cell phones, and Robin Raskin wrote a post about other battery updates, such as the USBcells which charge up via USB. But what happens when you don't have a USB port around either?

I'm all for using an energy source that's always around, except on a cloudy day: the sun. Gearlog found a solar-powered camera case equipped with solar panels ready to charge AA camera batteries. The Nova Solar Camera bag is big enough to hold a digital SLR camera, three lenses, and features adjustable dividers and foam to customize the interior. The bag also charges your other gadgets, including your cell phone or MP3 player when you're out enjoying the great outdoors. I think solar bags are great for emergencies when you don't have an inverter or extra batteries around.

Here are other solar suggestions:

Juice 2 Go: Portable Power
Beam Me Up Scotty!
Solar Girl Power