Camera batteries..

jackdaw

Hi
just wondering is it best practise to allow batteries (the "pack" kind that come with DSLRs) ... to run out completely before charging them ?


I have a shoot tomorrow and my 5D II battery is at 20% (yes i still need to get my spare!) ...

I heard its bad to charge a battery unless it's completely out .. as in it shortens the life of it ...


or is that just with the normal kind of batts like AA ?

Thanks

AnimalRights

Not too sure but I let my battery drain completely every 2nd or 3rd time, just like my mobile phone battery actually!

Creamy Goodness

just charge it.

is the shoot tomorrow earning you money?

just charge it, better to have a slightly - and i use that term lightly - imperfect battery than having a battery running out during a shoot.

a battery running out in the middle of a shoot will lose you money, and make you look amateurish.

ohh, and JUST CHARGE IT.

coylemj

Li-Ion (Lithium-Ion) batteries which are the standard in most mobile phones and cameras with proprietary (as opposed to AA) batteries do not suffer from the 'memory effect' so it's not strictly necessary to discharge them fully before each charge. However they do deteriorate over time whether they're used or not so unless you need two batteries for normal use i.e. hot standby, you shouldn't buy a second battery until the first one shows signs of nearing it's end of life, otherwise if you've kept the spare battery to use when the first one is worn out, you may find that the second battery is clapped out too even though you never used it.

My electric toothbrush has an internal Ni-Mh battery and the user's manual recommends that you fully discharge the battery every six months, this is not necessary with Li-Ion batteries.

jackdaw

Creamy Goodness wrote: »

just charge it.

is the shoot tomorrow earning you money?

just charge it, better to have a slightly - and i use that term lightly - imperfect battery than having a battery running out during a shoot.

a battery running out in the middle of a shoot will lose you money, and make you look amateurish.

ohh, and JUST CHARGE IT.

cheers!!

earning me money !!!

I WISH!!

challengemaster

Stop. Worrying.

Seriously. Just charge the battery.

kensutz

And read a few manuals :pac:

jackdaw

challengemaster wrote: »

Stop. Worrying.

Seriously. Just charge the battery.

not worrying .. simple question...

challengemaster

Lol, every thread you start is in some way related to _SOMETHING_ about your 5DmkII and what *MIGHT* be bad for it.

If you asked me, that's worrying.

Unfortunatly, covering it in bubble wrap doesn't allow full function usage. If you're really that worried buy the body armour or something (if you already havent)

Suggestion: Go take pictures. Stop worrying about small things, life's too short to fret about these things.

conkeroo

Its not good for the battery to let it run all the way out every time. Doing this reduces the amount of charge cycles/life expectancy. Similarly, charging the battery when its only half drained uses a full charge cycle and this also lessens the length of time the battery will be at its peak, so to speak. Let the battery run completely out once every two or three months and you should get maximum performance/life out of it.

CabanSail

I wouldn't get too fixated about it. Batteries are not that expensive really.

I look at Batteries & Memory Cards to be the equivalent of Film Expenses.

Charge the battery when it needs it. If you have an important shoot on the make sure it's topped up no matter what. When you notice that the charge is not lasting very long then retire that battery.

Concentrate on important stuff like taking photo's & not fiddling with the gear so much.

ThOnda

I have switched to didjital only recently, but I can only second CabanSail's note. Batteries and cards are consumables, as is(was) film. It is still cheaper though :pac:

Edit: I've just realised that I have 1.5 times more battery capacity than memory cards

Fionn

theres a calibration feature for my camera's batteriesi've not used it but the manual says the less depleted the battery is the longer it takes to calibrate up to 10 hours to drain and 2 hours to fully recharge. The charger will indicate if the battery needs replacing
I generally ensure i've got at least over 50/60% if i was going out shooting and for a big event (hundreds of photographs) 100%
it wont do your battery any harm to just stick it on charge for half an hour or so!

conkeroo

CabanSail wrote: »

I wouldn't get too fixated about it.

Whos getting fixated? It was a question, just a question. Camera batteries can be up to to 100 euros a go but good luck to you if you don't need to worry about that. Though I think most would like to have an idea as how to get the best life expectancy out of the batteries.

CabanSail

€100 for batteries? I think most pay about a tenth of that for a battery.

Let's assume that you do pay €100 a battery. You will get at least 400 shots a charge. Even abusing the battery you will get at least 50 cycles out of it.

SO ... 20,000 shots .... that's 2c an image .... even with really silly figures like that it's still very cheap.

conkeroo

CabanSail wrote: »

€100 for batteries? I think most pay about a tenth of that for a battery.

Let's assume that you do pay €100 a battery. You will get at least 400 shots a charge. Even abusing the battery you will get at least 50 cycles out of it.

SO ... 20,000 shots .... that's 2c an image .... even with really silly figures like that it's still very cheap.

Point taken but the op didn't ask should they fret too much about the charging of the battery, they asked what was best practice when charging it.

Calina

ThOnda wrote: »

Edit: I've just realised that I have 1.5 times more battery capacity than memory cards

You need a few more CF cards V.

OP, in general, if you have a shoot, I'd be worrying more about that than slightly shortening the life of your battery. I can't remember what battery the 5D II takes but for the most part, you are more likely to be replacing the camera before you replace the battery even so. Also, buy a spare battery.

Yappyhour

HI
I need a bit of advice about getting a new battry for my Canon EOS 1100D DSLR camera. I was told I need a better battery than the one that came with the camera. Any advice? where to get one etc?
Cheers

AnimalRights

The battery that came with your Canon 1100D is 100% perfectly fine.

Kenny Logins

Hey OP, how's that battery holding up?

eoglyn

Following...


My three 5d mkii batteries are nearly three years old. Need to know now if i need to start saving to replace them soon :P

Calina

I have a 5 year old 40D and none of its three - branded - batteries are giving trouble.