GENorkus Loc: Washington Twp, Michigan

For me, the lithum batteries are rotated every time I finish a shoot. Rechargable Alkaline type would be also if I had any but I don't anymore.

Regular AA or AAA's are used with flashes and remotes and mostly get replaced before anything goes wrong.

No rechargables alkaline here either since those type need recharging before finishing a shoot were-as regular type are cheap and last about four times longer in the first place. Much less need to haul around a bunch of batteries.

(By the way, I do consider my "worst case" scenario and plan out my battery, camera, and lens needs. We all should unless you are an infrequent shooter!)

Of my three camera bodies which might be used daily, weekly, or monthly, for my fun or freelance work,

It was mentioned by another to recharge them in body. When your batteries get "older", I would remove them each time. I mainly use factory batteries but do have a few third party type.

In over ten years of doing it on a rotational basic, I have found some of the 3rd party batteries begin to swell up. Slowly at first but larger none the less.

In a time span of about a year, those batteries began to become difficult to remove from the body and put back in. Those were thrown away.

I still have a few cheap 3rd party batteries but over time that number seems to be getting less. The factory type are still working fine.

To recap things, remove lithum batteries to recharge and check. I consider four to six months to be a short time, (Equipment storage temperature can change that thought.),

Check them but basically don't worry about them.

stu352 Loc: MA/RI Border

I remove the lithium batteries from my Canons when not in use. As an aftermarket battery aged, it actually swelled up a little bit so that it became an interference fit in the battery compartment. Imagine if one did that while it was in there... there's little to grab to pull it out.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

For a few weeks.... sure, just leave them in (but check that they still have power.... some cameras drain the batteries even when turned off).

For a month or two, I'd say take them out to be safe.

Today's lithium are relatively safe to leave in. Old alkaline batteries were prone to leaking and causing corrosion. I always make a point of removing those from accessories and older cameras that use them. Nicads were better, but still can leak. Lithium are best, rarely cause problems.

I had a lithium in a phone swell up and "burst" while on charger, though (damaged the phone). So I wouldn't charge them in my cameras, if that were even possible. (It's not with my DSLRs... But I see in-camera charging a "feature" being advertised with some newer models.)

Yes, sometimes a battery "goes bad" and swells up, as some others noted and that phone battery of mine did. In regular use, I change batteries out for rechargning fairly regularly.... usually at least once every week or two and sometimes more often than that. I haven't seen a camera battery swell up that way and would catch it pretty fast.

Bill_de Loc: US

In one of the WARNING boxes on page 17 of my camera manual it says: ALWAYS CHECK WITH THE HOG!

---

charles tabb Loc: Richmond VA.

You saved me some typing :-)
My Sony manuals from my cameras said the same thing.

charles tabb Loc: Richmond VA.

You saved me some typing :-)
My Sony manuals from my cameras said the same thing.

Bill_de Loc: US

He saved you so much typing you did it twice.



--

mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

I have always left a battery In my camera bodies over the last 12 years, even for those cameras to that might not be used for a few months, and never had any issues. Now, if I have a semi-retired body that I may not use for many months/years I certainly would remove the battery in those circumstances.

sv3noKin51E

OAMAN, ah, the eternal battery question:) Many good answers. As long as the lithium ion battery in the body is well-maintained and not allowed to fully discharge, it's not a problem. In the rare instance when we haven't used a camera in a week, all batteries are removed and checked each weekend, with a check placed on the battery checklist so they never get below 30% before a full recharge. Knowing when a battery was purchased, how far it was discharged/and when it was last recharged offers insight into how how long it should last before replacing. Some units discharge faster than others depending on the state of the internal button cell. We once left a main battery in for a month and it was down by 1/3rd so we replacing the button cell. Extreme cold or heat and repetitive (full) discharge cycles are enemies of the battery.

charles tabb Loc: Richmond VA.

I REALIZED THAT I WAS PUTTING MY ANSWER WITH QUOATING THE WRONG MESSIGE.
Sorry ! ! !

n3eg Loc: West coast USA

A few weeks is OK. I usually go for a few months. A few years, no way.
I always swap with a newly charged battery after a few months.
This will keep the coin cell battery that saves the clock info from going dead.

That was for a lithium battery. I just noticed you said "batteries." If this is a point and shoot or bridge camera that uses NiMH batteries, they should be left in but swapped out every two weeks.

boberic Loc: Quiet Corner, Connecticut. Ex long Islander

That's just 1 of the reasons why I use a battery grip. If the Batteries leak(I leave them in) Theyy won't damage the camera.

reverand

Depends on the camera. I always left my batteries in my old film cameras, although for long lengths of time, that can lead to corrosion of the batteries, which will foul up the camera. Digital cameras, however, work differently. When the battery is in the camera, and the camera is off, there is still a small drain on the battery, because the LCD window stays lit. Might as well not run the battery down. I always take the batteries out of my digital cameras when I'm finished shooting.

Bill_de Loc: US

No reason to be sorry. It just struck me as funny.

---

ronpier Loc: Poland Ohio

I always keep a battery in my DSLRs and just switch them off when charge gets low or not to be used for awhile. Works for me since the internal battery in the D50 is starting its 14th year of use and has never discharged. The 512mb and 1gb cards in the D500 get rotated with the other (newer) 2gb cards, get formatted in camera only and are starting their 14th year also.