hollyhock

Over the years I have purchased many batteries for my Canon Rebel XTi.

Unfortunately I didn't data them. Is there a way to tell how much life a battery has left? I only want to take the newest batteries on a trip.

Thanks folks.

SierraDeltaPhotog Loc: Prescott, AZ elevation 6,000 ft

Not sure about your Rebel, but my 7D has a menu item for Battery info that advises remaining capacity, shutter count & recharge performance.

hollyhock

Thanks!! I'll check that out :)

rgrenaderphoto Loc: Hollywood, CA

Any camera will tell you the % of charge remaining and an estimate of image storage. What you want is an indication of the mean time before failure (MBTF), the life cycle of your battery. As in a lot of things, the answer is "it depends." Lithium Ion batteries have a finite lifecycle of about 300 - 500 FULL DISCHARGE TO FULL RECHARGE. Environmental factors, heat, cold, shock, etc can alter this. But ask yourself, how many times have you discharged your camera's batter 100% while in use?

Googling the subject, I found this handy dandy chart:

So, a 200% discharge will yeild 300 - 500 cycles, but look at what happens if you only discharge to 25%" 2000 - 2500 cycles.

Like I said, "it depends."

hollyhock

HaHa.....clearly I have no idea -- never kept records of my battery behavior -- and probably won't. So, it looks like I just take them all....and make sure I have a few backups with me at all times.

Thanks for your time....interesting stuff!

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Give it a full charge and spend a day shooting. If it lasts for lots of shots and lots of hours, it's good. A bad battery will not take a full charge, and it will not last long. I've always bought off-brand batteries with a charger.

https://smile.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Canon+Rebel+XTi+battery

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Good chart. Frequency of use is also a factor. Lithium battery chemistries like to be used pretty hard. Use, charge, use, charge... If you store at 50% remaining charge, they last longer.

I have generally had most rechargeable battery types (NiCd, NiMH, and Lithium types) last about five calendar years and die quickly after that, especially when they've had little use. Power reserve falls off noticeably in year three or four.

Frankly, I love Lithium batteries, except when they explode. Do not drop, short, shoot, or crush!

Our two 2009 Priuses BOTH turned over 140,000 miles last week, and we still get the same mileage we did when they were new, which means the NiMh cells are in reasonably good shape. They were made in 2008... I've had some NiMh AA cells last six years, and others die in three. Most last about five.

I never want to see another NiCd battery! Even the ones that say, "no memory effect" have a memory effect. They quickly lose the ability to hold a charge, even when used with "conditioners" that discharge, recharge, and trickle charge until full.

Ricker Loc: Salt Lake City, Utah

I'm in agreement with rgrenader and burk added to the discussion but I'm unclear relative to the statement concerning the mileage obtained by both of burk's Priuses. Am I to understand that both vehicles can be driven the same approximate distance using essentially the same percentage of full charge that was obtainable when the batteries were first used?
Best regards, Ricker

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Yes. The Prius is a hybrid, meaning all the energy used by the car comes from the internal combustion gas engine (ICE). The ICE charges the battery whenever it runs to assist with acceleration or load. The battery powers the wheels through two electric motors most of the time. When the car is coasting, slowing down, or braking, it turns the motors into generators and charges the battery, storing much of the kinetic energy through conversion. It's that regenerative braking (and some other computerized tricks) that give you the extra mileage from an engine that should only get about 30 MPG.

You can judge efficiency (battery system health is part of that) by the mileage over ten tanks of gas (there's a bladder in the gas tank, so any one measurement is not likely to be accurate). When new, my Touring Edition got 42.1 MPG in Spring. Now, I'm getting 42.3 in Spring. My wife's Standard Edition got 46.1 when we bought it used with 49,500 miles on it. Last I checked, she was getting 45.9. Close enough. Prius mileage generally falls off when the high voltage battery deteriorates significantly.

Mileage also falls off a few MPG in Summer (A/C is quite a draw!) and a few MPG in Winter (Heat takes energy, too). At 75MPH with a Sears X-Cargo car top carrier full of luggage and four adults, the extra weight and wind resistance lower mileage to 33 on mine (13 MPG better than the Sienna minivan we used to have).

There are a surprising number of Prii still on the road after 13 years. They are amazingly trouble-free, and easy to live with.

Ricker Loc: Salt Lake City, Utah

Thank you for the clear explanation, burk. Interesting that you two have hybrids that actually achieve close to 50 mpg when driven with reasonable loads.
When BMW, Mercedes and Porsche soon introduce their respective electric vehicles in a strong competitive response to Musk's Tesla, we shall see some interesting reflections by today's hybrid car manufacturers, perhaps. Of course it's likely that the soon to be introduced German electrics will be "sports" cars with 0-60 mph around 2 seconds, much like Teslas with 2.3 seconds to reach 60 mph from a standstill.
Best regards, Ricker

rgrenaderphoto Loc: Hollywood, CA

I was in a Prius Taxi 5 years ago, and noticed that the odometer was at 299,999 miles. I asked him if he had to get a new set of batteries at 100,000, because that was the projected lifetime.
He smiled and said, 320,000 miles on the original battery. The odometer stopped at 299,999 so he dedicated one of the trip odometers to keep track.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Yeah, the next wave of mainstream cars will be all-electric vehicles. That will probably happen some time in the next decade. Availability of practical charging stations, plus batteries that can be swapped out every 300 miles or so on long trips, will be key.

Ricker Loc: Salt Lake City, Utah

Warren Buffett has very significant holdings in two Chinese battery manufacturing companies, both of which are designing, testing and producing lithium batteries for vehicles, among other things. Allegedly, some prototypes are achieving 600-750 miles in lightweight vehicles before requiring a recharge/being "swapped". Costs are obviously relatively very high at this point in time and reliability and safety concerns are being evaluated before these batteries will be released for sale to vehicle manufacturers etc.
Nice to hear of such progress as it could revolutionize driving in our and many other countries.
The almost million dollar 918 Porsche hybrid is screaming fast but a car that can travel 500 miles before recharging, while zipping along from time to time, has yet to be created.
Best regards, Ricker

DJphoto Loc: SF Bay Area

The only time I want a battery for a prime mover is in my RC airplanes. I enjoy driving a responsive fun to drive car. Give me an IC powered car with a manual transmission. Just say no to CVTs. I want 3 pedals. Save the manuals!

Zoom Zoom!

Ricker Loc: Salt Lake City, Utah

Right on! I drive a 911 Carerra 4S with a 6-speed manual and an IC engine of course.

I am readily resistant to battery driven cars and cars that drive themselves; if I'm behind the wheel, I'll do the driving, thanks.

Best regards, Ricker