Just curious, can this camera be charged via the usb cable? Thanks.

Afraid not. The standard battery is 7.2V. USB is 5V.

Perhaps one day.

Thanks for the response. Yeah I figured not. I was packing for a trip and had that thought. Didn't have time to test it in any way and the manual obviously says nothing about it. So, had hoped someone had discovered that this was true when they tried it....

Best,

Will

Say your battery has a meltdown while charging (especially if you use third party batteries)...would you want that to happen in a $50 charger, or a $650 camera?

Also people have had issues with third pary batteries swelling when charging...would you rather have them swell outside the camera so you can't insert them, or have them swell inside the camera and have them permanently stuck in the camera?

Wow, thanks for the condescending response. You must be so much smarter than the engineers at every cell phone and laptop manufacturer in the world who allow their products' batteries to be charged in the devices they power, let alone an increasing number of camera manufacturers who do so also, including Olympus (I have the TG-1 whose battery is charged in-camera).

So thanks sooooo much for the logic lesson. I can now drop dead today and be happy because I was blessed with the opportunity to witness your enlightened wisdom.

You know, you could have simply said something cordial like, "personally, I'd be worried about charging my battery in my expensive camera in case it overheats, etc. After all, look at the trouble Boeing is having with their lithium batteries on their new jetliner. " But, your approach is so much better....

You must be responding to a different message...don't know where your anger comes from.

Laptop manufacturers don't usualy use third party batteries...there have been MANY recalls for defective laptop batteries that have had issues, some where the laptop went up in flames; actually recently just had a Macbook at work where the battery started swelling and pushing the touchpad up. I HATE the fact that my current Mac doesn't allow user removal of the battery...if you spill water on it all you can do is watch the laptop self-destruct, rather than removing the battery.

Actually, my one laptop was designed so you can charge the battery externally, so it would charge much faster than it could charge in the laptop.

As for cellphones they don't have battery capacity of the camera, so it's a lot less electrical current and heat.

Third party batteries do come with a risk, but 'your sermon' was unnecessary. A simple sorry in reply would have sufficed.

__________________
Ross
I fiddle with violins (when I'm not fiddling with a camera).
Cameras: Olympus OM-D E-M5 with HLD-6, E30 with HLD-4, E520.
Lenses: M.ZD12-50, M.ZD60 Macro, M.ZD75-300 Mk II, MMF-3, ZD14-42, ZD40-150, ZD70-300, ZD14-54 II, ZD35 macro, EC14, EX25, OM50 1.8, OM28 2.8, Sigma 150mm F2.8 APO Macro DG.
Flashes: FL36R X2, FL50R, FL50. Other: Soligor bellows & adapters. Velbon Sherpa 600R tripod.

An apollogy for what? I've used the exact same explanation several times before on different forums, and have never gotten any negative reaction to my post. Can't why here should be any different.

When someone asks for advice, that is what they would like, not a lecture & especially one that can be seen as condescending!

A simple sorry for offending the original poster would have been nice & not more defence of your answer. That's all I'm saying on this.

__________________
Ross
I fiddle with violins (when I'm not fiddling with a camera).
Cameras: Olympus OM-D E-M5 with HLD-6, E30 with HLD-4, E520.
Lenses: M.ZD12-50, M.ZD60 Macro, M.ZD75-300 Mk II, MMF-3, ZD14-42, ZD40-150, ZD70-300, ZD14-54 II, ZD35 macro, EC14, EX25, OM50 1.8, OM28 2.8, Sigma 150mm F2.8 APO Macro DG.
Flashes: FL36R X2, FL50R, FL50. Other: Soligor bellows & adapters. Velbon Sherpa 600R tripod.