[Anto Modded]

I bought 2 new batteries from 7 dayshop and i previously bought batteries from another and 2 of them went dead within 2 months. Cheap batteries i admit but my question is now that i have 2 new ones do i stick them in the canon charger and when the light goes green they are charged or if i leave them in will they still be charging even though the light is still green. And finally i was told when you but new batteries to charge them for upto 24hrs to get the max out of them in future charges. Just wondered what do you guys wreckon is best. All good hearing stuff on the web etc but would be nice to hear opinions from members on a photo site that have opions and som knoledge. (not putting anyone down, just opinions from a non photo site is where i read some charging suggestions & i wreckon better get feedback from a site dedicated to photography)

Sorry if i rambled on. Any opinions etc would be great

[Dabhand16]

Most branded batteries I've had say to extend the first charge for anything between 16 - 24 hours - even when the lights indicate a full charge has been reached. Only exception I've seen is my Son's Panasonic video camera. This said (from memory) 1.5 hours! He bought a third party battery for it for about £10, and that seems to be fine.

Also the instructions tend to say that in the first few uses to drain them right down until the camera tells you it is flat before fully re-charging again.

NiCd are the worst, although are not common now. You have to run them down every time before re-charging to avoid the 'memory effect' where they will not accept a full charge. NiMh are better and once the first few cycles are over you can 'top up' even when not fully charged, and Ni-ion are best.

I've got some third party batteries for my video camera, and have not had any problems with them.

Some say to store them long term discharged, and others say about 40% charged.

You often see batteries with vastly different prices, and the dearer ones often have longer warranties, but I'm not sure if you can use this as a measure of quality. There are lots of sites that specialise in batteries, but again, I don't know if they are any better that any others.

I've used keene electronics in the past, not the cheapest, but were recommended by others. They were about half the price of branded ones.

[Markulous]

Li-ion, which are what're used predominantly in camera battery packs, have in-built charge level detection and will 'switch off' the charger (turn light green and prevent further charging). This is to prevent overcharging (for which there's a safety issue). I have never seen evidence to suggest it was better or worse to leave a battery 'on charge' for long periods of time

They can be charged from any charge state as they don't suffer 'memory effect' but do not like being totally discharged (again, in-built protection against this) which is why they're supplied half-charged (they also retain their charge if not used, unlike NiMH). However, they have a limited life, whether used or not (2-3 years) from date of manufacture

[Anto Modded]

Thanks for the info people.

[silkstone]

Yes, assuming they're not faulty you can charge them quite safely in the Canon charger, but charging stops once the light is constant and there's no need to leave them in the charger after that.

The standard Li-ion batteries can stand around 300 charge cycles, after which they're toxic waste. I have one that's over six years old (came with a Canon G2) and it still works, but doesn't hold as much charge as newer ones.

[Steve]

I always believed that with the Canon CB5L charger (at least) even after the red light was fully illuminated that it was still trickling charge into the battery for up to 15mins longer.

Basically to absolutely fully charge you were advised to leave it charging for 15 mins after the charging cycle appears to have completed. I can't remember for sure where I picked up that information but seem to have a suspicion that it was in the Canon instructions themselves.

Does anyone else have any knowledge of this?

[brian wright22]

Originally Posted by Markulous

Li-ion, which are what're used predominantly in camera battery packs, have in-built charge level detection and will 'switch off' the charger (turn light green and prevent further charging). This is to prevent overcharging (for which there's a safety issue). I have never seen evidence to suggest it was better or worse to leave a battery 'on charge' for long periods of time

They can be charged from any charge state as they don't suffer 'memory effect' but do not like being totally discharged (again, in-built protection against this) which is why they're supplied half-charged (they also retain their charge if not used, unlike NiMH). However, they have a limited life, whether used or not (2-3 years) from date of manufacture

Excellent Markulous, yes I did some early tests with my Canon 350D charger and Li-ion batteries and connected the charger and Li-ion battery to a test rig I had made. You will notice that there are positive + , negative - and T terminals .The T terminal is the reference voltage sensing for folding back the charge which normally starts off at about 510ma and slowly drops to about 250ma until the battery is so called fully charged and then the charge drops to zero.
So there is no benefit or detriment to leave the battery connected once the Amber led has changed to Green. I hope this helps.
Brian

[Steve]

I have just turned to my 20D manual for clarification.

Page 19 'Recharging the battery' about 3/4 the way down the page in bold...

After the red lamp lights,continue to charge the battery for an hour to attain full charge

So although I was incorrect with 15 mins, it does seem that with the Canon chargers and BP511A, BP514, BP511 and BP512 battery variants that charging continues for an hour after the light is fully illuminated.

[silkstone]

Well I never knew that!

If all else fails, read the manual.

[brian wright22]

Originally Posted by Steve

I have just turned to my 20D manual for clarification.

Page 19 'Recharging the battery' about 3/4 the way down the page in bold...


So although I was incorrect with 15 mins, it does seem that with the Canon chargers and BP511A, BP514, BP511 and BP512 battery variants that charging continues for an hour after the light is fully illuminated.

There's obviously a need to check out your charger/battery combination perfomance here should anyone experience poor battery capacity because my charger goes to zero when the green led shows. See previous post of mine. I will check my 350 D manual when I can find it!!
Iv'e now found the 350D manual, there's no mention of leaving the charger on or any reference after the amber LED goes to Green.
But certainly the charge current reduces to zero ma when the led changes to green.This is for the NB-2LH 650ma hr Li-ion batteries.
For replacment I have used Duracell Direct with prices mid way between Canon and rock bottom. Ie BP 514,512,511 &A versions £18.21 inc vat & postage. For the NB-2LH £28.79 inc vat & post.2. Duracell gives 12 months warranty.
Brian