Battery or not: Kind of a crazy question. How many of you store your cameras with the battery left in the camera? How many take it out; and why? Is there any aging going on with the...

portcragin Loc: Kirkland, WA

Kind of a crazy question. How many of you store your cameras with the battery left in the camera? How many take it out; and why? Is there any aging going on with the battery left in? Is there any benefit from keeping all those resisters and capacitors energized by leaving the battery in or does this age the camera? Does the camera age more or less with the battery left in or out. I told you it was a strange question. From a guy whose been shooting for over 50 years.

Good shooting

dpullum Loc: Tampa Florida

Read a scientific study regarding the depolarization of electrolytic capacitors suggesting that it will take decades to be a problem:
https://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/8794/do-electrolytic-capacitors-have-a-limited-shelf-life

If the camera sits idle with no battery then it puts a load on the internal battery if there is one [film cameras had them]. Without voltage the date / time memory will fade away requiring reseting.

nimbushopper Loc: Tampa, FL

It depends how long the camera is going to sit without being used. I have 4 digital cameras and leave the battery in all of them and have never had a problem since switching to digital in 2004. I do use them often though. Another consideration is that the camera has an internal battery(not access able by you) to remember settings, time, etc, and this battery is kept topped off by the main battery. So if you remove the main battery for awhile this internal battery will go dead and you'll have to reset everything after putting in a charged main battery.

Lithium ion batteries are not supposed to be stored in a discharged state, another thing to consider!

Apaflo Loc: Anchorage, Alaska

portcragin wrote:

Kind of a crazy question. How many of you store your cameras with the battery left in the camera? How many take it out; and why? Is there any aging going on with the battery left in? Is there any benefit from keeping all those resisters and capacitors energized by leaving the battery in or does this age the camera? Does the camera age more or less with the battery left in or out. I told you it was a strange question. From a guy whose been shooting for over 50 years.

Good shooting

None of the specific things you cite are actually of any concern, but there other problems that need to be handled appropriately.

Don't be concerned with leaving batteries in the camera while the camera is being used. Hour to hour and day to day is not a problem.

When a camera is not used for several days the problems start, and at two or three weeks of non use there is no question that the battery should not remain in the camera.

Batteries use chemical reactions to generate electric power, that is where the potential lies for trouble. During normal use a battery that becomes defective will most likely be immediately obvious, but one that goes bad while being stored will not be spotted.

During storage a bad battery will usually produce heat. That will cause the battery to expand and become stuck in the camera. The battery may leak and the corrosive chemicals will seriously damage the camera.

portcragin Loc: Kirkland, WA

Most computers have a internal battery to keep the eprom chip energized. it's usually good for a minimum of 5 years. Do todays DSLRs have an internal battery? Never given it much thought.

Good shooting

Dale Evans - Amaetur Loc: Baton Rouge, La

My biggest problem with batteries is letting my spare batteries run down outside of the camera.
I have never had any damage to a camera because I stored a battery in the camera until it ran down.

portcragin Loc: Kirkland, WA

Either have I and I've had lots of cameras.

berchman Loc: South Central PA

Apaflo wrote:

None of the specific things you cite are actually ... (show quote)

I have left batteries in cameras for months unused (Nikon D800, Fuji X-T2) and never had a problem.

Apaflo Loc: Anchorage, Alaska

berchman wrote:

I have left batteries in cameras for months unused (Nikon D800, Fuji X-T2) and never had a problem.

But if you ever do, what would have been an infrequent an relatively inexpensive problem is instead a very costly repair.

Nobody said that leaving batteries in the camera is guarranteed to cause a problem. Just that there are easy ways to avoid the very expensive though very rare problems that can happen.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

I leave them in the cameras, check them once a month or so.

portcragin Loc: Kirkland, WA

From the response we've received so far it would appear that most people have no problem leaving the battery in the camera, checking occasionally. I find that interesting especially with the cost of todays DSLR bodies. Appreciate the responses.

Good shooting

BebuLamar

Some high end cameras like the D5 has replaceable battery for the clock but most has a non user removable rechargeable battery for the clock. If you remove the main battery for a long time this battery would be dead. If the battery is left dead for a long time you may not be able to charge it any more.

dpullum Loc: Tampa Florida

berchman wrote:

I have left batteries in cameras for months unused (Nikon D800, Fuji X-T2) and never had a problem.

Yes Berchman, you and I stand together on this. Too often people live in a previous world of 100s of years old battery technology in which batteries swelled and corroded. Our new Lithium Technology, well our batteries may explode and you and I would get a new camera from the insurance. [kidding]

Like the Virginia Slim Cigarette ad says, "we have come a long way baby." Certainly applies to modern battery technology.

Spirit Vision Photography Loc: Behind a Camera.

Dale Evans - Amaetur wrote:

My biggest problem with batteries is letting my spare batteries run down outside of the camera.
I have never had any damage to a camera because I stored a battery in the camera until it ran down.

Go with Eneloops.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Kiron Kid wrote:

Go with Eneloops.

Does Eneloop make an LP-E5 equivalent?