Battery Charged?

[TheGoofster]

I was just wondering if when you first purchase your new camera, does the rechargeable battery that comes with it already have some charge on it, or do you need to charge it up before using it? I know it doesn't really matter one way or the other, but I will probably be excited about finally getting my camera, and would love to start shooting right away.

Also, about how long does it normally take to charge the battery? It looks like I'll be getting the Nikon D5000 (instead of the D3000 I had been thinking about).

 

[pointandshoot]

Staring at a new camera with battery charging as I type. You should fully charge your battery before use. And yes, it is painful to wait.

Chuck

 

[Bstanley]

Lithium-Ion batteries (most modern camera battery packs) do not gain anything from fully charging them before first use - unlike nickel based batteries, i.e. NiCad or NiMH.

However you do want to run a new Lithium-Ion battery all the way to empty as soon as possible (and every 30 or so charges after that) and then fully charge it (depends on your charger instructions - it could be a 3 hour wait or an 8 hour wait).

This will basically reset the internal electronics in the battery pack that identify full, low, empty, etc to the camera. If you don't run it to empty every so often the internal sensor will basically start reporting that it is low at a higher and higher point. Running it past that point - especially until the device stops working will force the sensor to recalibrate.

Oh Sorry - to answer the first part of the question - If it's a Lithium-Ion battery it will probably have a pretty decent charge on it. They self-discharge very slowly compared to NiCad or NiMH.

 

[shafke]

Whenever I get a new piece of equipment with rechargeable batteries I will usually power it up at first to verify it actually works and turns on, set the date/time/etc and then charge up the battery.

 

[ssanders79]

It seems like it takes forever to get that battery charges, but I always do it before I use my equipment. When I got my DSLR I used the charge time to read the manual for the first time.

 

[shafke]

It seems like it takes forever to get that battery charges, but I always do it before I use my equipment. When I got my DSLR I used the charge time to read the manual for the first time.

Read the what? Isn't that thing in the box with the letters M A N U A L just packing material or something so the camera doesn't bounce around too much? Either that or something from Manual who inspected it.

 

[wenrob]

The short answer is it only takes an hour or two to charge. The first thing I do is set up the charger and battery so I have no idea if there is any actual charge but the wait for the Nikon batteries is almost painless. With my D40 and D90 by the time I had things set up and skimmed the manual my battery was charged.

 

[seashoreCM]

It's unpredictable whether the battery was charged when you brought home and opened the brand new item. I have received items where the battery used without an initial charge lasted a very short time.

If you run down the battery until the camera quits, there is the possibility that the memory card could become corrupted, notably if you just took a picture at that moment. If you wish to run down the battery, spend some time using the LCD viewer to just look at pictures.

The jury is out regarding running down the battery until the device quits. Battery packs usually contain several "cells". Should one cell discharge faster than another, it is possible for that cell to be damaged while you run the device more. The low battery indicator will probably come on when one cell has gone dead. For those folks who finish the discharge of batteries on a test stand equipped with a voltmeter, I suggest stopping the discharge and putting the battery in the charger when the overall voltage drops by the voltage of one cell.

The jury is also out regarding leaving batteries in the charger for long periods of time. I suggest not leaving them in for more than the maximum time the instructions recommend for charging.

>>> something from Manuel who inspected it

 

[jann1033]

It's unpredictable whether the battery was charged when you brought home and opened the brand new item. I have received items where the battery used without an initial charge lasted a very short time.

If you run down the battery until the camera quits, there is the possibility that the memory card could become corrupted, notably if you just took a picture at that moment. If you wish to run down the battery, spend some time using the LCD viewer to just look at pictures.

The jury is out regarding running down the battery until the device quits. Battery packs usually contain several "cells". Should one cell discharge faster than another, it is possible for that cell to be damaged while you run the device more. The low battery indicator will probably come on when one cell has gone dead. For those folks who finish the discharge of batteries on a test stand equipped with a voltmeter, I suggest stopping the discharge and putting the battery in the charger when the overall voltage drops by the voltage of one cell.

The jury is also out regarding leaving batteries in the charger for long periods of time. I suggest not leaving them in for more than the maximum time the instructions recommend for charging.

>>> something from Manuel who inspected it

good answer as always seashore,I learned something new

so that's who Manual is ! although my stuff seems to always be inspected by some guy who doesn't want me to eat the little salt packet he dropped in there by mistake. evidently there is a lot of thief in their office break-room and he has to label each and every one. swhoo, glad i don't work there. although husband always says it makes his fries taste odd when he uses it .

 

[Bstanley]

If you run down the battery until the camera quits, there is the possibility that the memory card could become corrupted,

Indeed. It would be prudent to not be taking an important shot when the battery does run out of electrons. Fortunately you can run it down without being in the middle of something critical with a little planning.

The jury is out regarding running down the battery until the device quits. Battery packs usually contain several "cells". Should one cell discharge faster than another, it is possible for that cell to be damaged while you run the device more. The low battery indicator will probably come on when one cell has gone dead. For those folks who finish the discharge of batteries on a test stand equipped with a voltmeter, I suggest stopping the discharge and putting the battery in the charger when the overall voltage drops by the voltage of one cell.

Because the internal chemistry of Li-Ion batteries enables them to fail by rapidly oxidizing to the point where they can explode ALL Li-Ion battery packs have relatively sophisticated internal electronics to prevent it - one characteristic of these protective circuits is that they prevent any cell from dropping below a 'problem' voltage level.

If you have a Li-Ion battery pack that seems to drop from 'Full' to 'Low' faster than it should - ie it's not 3 years old or it hasn't been exposed to 'back windshield in Houston' kind of temperatures - try running it for as long as it will run - you may find that it will run quite a while blinking 'Low'. When you recharge it you'll probably notice that it will now run longer between 'Full' and 'Low'. You aren't going to get any longer life - just a longer period between it indicating 'Full' and 'Low' - because the internal setpoint for 'Low' had gotten out of whack.