A Boring Chore
Mar 18, 2018 16:09:08 #
At my stage in life and living where the range of sights is narrow (some places have more interesting things per square mile than my entire State) my batteries sit unused and generally ignored for weeks at a time. So if I haven't been doing much my batteries could not be ready, so I have to make a calendar reminder to 'check batteries.' No this means taking a battery out of the camera and putting another in to check for charge. Can you think of anything ele that is more boring. Wonder why they don't sell battery meters for this chore. Bleh.
Mar 18, 2018 16:14:54 #
Well wouldn't you still have to periodically put the battery in the battery meter to check it?
Mar 18, 2018 16:50:42 #
Although Li-ion batteries do self-discharge very slowly, once they reach a certain low voltage threshold, the internal protection circuitry will prevent recharging without some real heroics, and unless you have the knowledge and equipment to “awaken” them and allow charging, they are essentially useless. Moral to the story is to periodically charge your batteries.
Mar 18, 2018 16:53:47 #
TriX wrote:
Although Li-ion batteries do self-discharge very slowly, once they reach a certain low voltage threshold, the internal protection circuitry will prevent recharging without some real heroics, and unless you have the knowledge and equipment to “awaken” them and allow charging, they are essentially useless. Moral to the story is to periodically charge your batteries.
Hopefully that threshold is way below the point where my camera says "replace battery"!
Mar 18, 2018 17:44:40 #
Easier just to have two or more batteries for each camera. I keep the spares fully charged and when a battery gets low I swap it for a charged one and put the low one in a charger to charge it.
John_F wrote:
At my stage in life and living where the range of ... (show quote)
Mar 18, 2018 19:13:18 #
Cheer up John! It's just "Cabin Fever" ...., happens every year around this time.
Mar 18, 2018 19:27:58 #
John_F wrote:
At my stage in life and living where the range of ... (show quote)
John, does not your camera menu allow you to see the state of battery charge?
Ron
Mar 18, 2018 19:36:15 #
Longshadow wrote:
Hopefully that threshold is way below the point where my camera says "replace battery"!
As long as you don’t leave it in your bag for 6+ months without using/charging/checking (done that).
Mar 18, 2018 19:41:11 #
TriX wrote:
As long as you don’t leave it in your bag for 6+ months without using/charging/checking (done that).
Mar 18, 2018 20:53:02 #
John_F wrote:
At my stage in life and living where the range of ... (show quote)
Take all batteries out of cameras and put them on the chargers. Use chargers that trickles charge just to keep the battery always full.
Mar 19, 2018 07:00:02 #
John_F wrote:
At my stage in life and living where the range of ... (show quote)
If a camera is sitting for more than a month, I remove the battery. As for charging them, I do that if I am going out to shoot, and the charge is low. Otherwise, I just leave the batteries alone and shoot.
Where I do have a chore is with iPods and cell phones. I've accumulated quite a few, and every month or two, I charge all of them.
Mar 19, 2018 07:22:20 #
billnikon
Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont
John_F wrote:
At my stage in life and living where the range of ... (show quote)
I have a solution, move to Florida. Problem solved. Your welcome.
Mar 19, 2018 09:09:49 #
Mar 19, 2018 09:11:53 #
Set a reminder to charge your batteries periodically. That is what I do.
Boring yes but productive.
Boring yes but productive.
Mar 19, 2018 10:03:40 #
John_F wrote:
At my stage in life and living where the range of ... (show quote)
Hey John, I don't have any suggestions about your battery, but I don't agree that MN is uninteresting. You're just a short drive to the most scenic parts of the U.S., up and around the big lake. I wish I could get up there every week but it's quite a drive for me. And there's lots to photograph in the Twin Cities - St Croix river area if you can just get around the traffic. Not sure how the winters are up there tho.
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