Battery Pack Care and Maintenance

The Do's and Don'ts of Battery Use

Battery Do's:

Fully charge/discharge battery up to 3 cycles before achieving full capacity of a new battery

Fully discharge and then fully charge the battery every two to three weeks for battery conditions.

Run the device under the battery's power until it shuts down or until you get a low battery warning. Then recharge the battery as instructed in the user's manual.

Remove from the device and stored in a cool, dry, clean place if the battery will not be in use for a month or longer,

Recharge the battery after a storage period

Ensure maximum performance of the battery by optimizing the device's power management features. Refer to the manual for further instructions.

Battery Don'ts:

Do not short-circuit. A short-circuit may cause severe damage to the battery.

Do not drop, hit or otherwise abuse the battery as this may result in the exposure of the cell contents, which are corrosive.

Do not expose the battery to moisture or rain.

Keep battery away from fire or other sources of extreme heat. Do not incinerate. Exposure of battery to extreme heat may result in an explosion.

My new battery isn't charging. Is it defective?

Usually NO. New batteries come in a discharged condition and must be fully charged before use. It is recommended that you fully charge and discharge the new battery two to four times to allow it to reach its maximum rated capacity

It is generally recommend an overnight charge (approximately twelve hours). It is normal for a battery to become warm to the touch during charging and discharging.

When charging the battery for the first time, the device may indicate that charging is complete after just 10 or 15 minutes. This is a normal with rechargeable batteries. New batteries are hard for the device to charge; they have never been fully charged and not "broken in." Sometimes the device's charger will stop charging a new battery before it is fully charged. If this happens, remove the battery from the device and then reinsert it. The charge cycle should begin again. This may happen several times during the first battery charge. Don't worry; it's perfectly normal.

How can I maximize the performance of my battery?

There are several steps you can take to help you get maximum performance from your battery:

Prevent the Memory Effect - Keep the battery healthy by fully charging and then fully discharging it at least once every two to three weeks. Exceptions to the rule are Li-Ion batteries which do not suffer from the memory effect.

Keep the Batteries Clean - It's a good idea to clean dirty battery contacts with a cotton swab and alcohol. This helps maintain a good connection between the battery and the portable device.

Exercise the Battery - Do not leave the battery dormant for long periods of time. We recommend using the battery at least once every two to three weeks. If a battery has not been used for a long period of time, perform the new battery procedure described above.

Battery Storage - If you don't plan on using the battery for a month or more, store it in a clean, dry, cool place away from heat and metal objects. NiCad, NiMH and Li-Ion batteries will self-discharge during storage; remember to recharge the batteries before use.

 

Battery Recommendation

Casio NP-20 Battery   Casio NP-40 Battery  Canon NB-2L Battery Canon NB-1LH Battery

Re: How to Pick a Digital Camera

• First of all, you must get to know your device:
• What is device's input voltage? ( V)
• What is its power consumption ( Wattage ) ?
• What is Maximum current drain ( A) ?
• What is your expected running time by a battery pack ?
• Decide battery pack voltage you will choose
• Battery pack voltage must be equal or a little higher than your device's need.
• If you need a exact voltage, which battery pack can not provide, you may consider to use a DC-DC regulator
• Decide Battery pack's Capacity  ( mAh or Ah)
• Battery capacity is depended on how long you need to run your device ( hours ), which can be calculated as the follow:
• ( Ah) = Device's Wattage (W) x Time to run ( Hours) / Battery Voltage (V)
• For example, if using a 12V battery pack, and run 10W DC device for 10 hours, you need choose a battery pack with capacity > 8.3Ah, e.g

( 10x10)/12 = 8.3

• 1000 mAh = Ah,  higher mAh will provide longer running time.
• Decide Battery pack's Max. discharging current
• Before order battery pack, you must pay attention on battery pack's Max. discharging rating on the specification or description. Please don't think any battery can take any current drain.
• You shall know your device's max. discharging current. If you don't know , you must measure it by a multi-meter.
• The battery pack's Max. discharging rate of the chosen Battery must be higher than that device requires
• Choose Li-Ion, NiMH or Lead acid battery?
• All types of rechargeable battery will work for you. Question is size and weight. The table below lists the advantages and disadvantages of these batteries for your reference

Chemistry	Cost	Weight	Temp	Cycle	Shelf Life	Volts
			( ℃)	Life	(months)	per cell
Lead Acid	$$	Very Heavy	-65 to 80	300	12	2.0
Nickel Cadmium	$$	Heavy	-20 to 65	500+	6	1.2
Nickel Metal Hydride	$$$	Moderate	-10 to 65	500	12	1.2
Lithium Ion	$$$$	Light	-20 to 60	500+	12	3.7
Lithium Polymer	$$$$$	Light	-20 to 60	500+	12	3.7

• Li-Ion batteries has the highest energy density ( mAh/weight), and become more and more popular. However, Li-Ion may explode and cause a fire if it dose not use properly.
  
• In current stage, we always suggest customer to use NiMH battery pack for high current application ( < 1C rate ), not Li-Ion , because Li-ion  protection in high current application still is not matured yet
• Choose a Battery Charger
• Please always follow our suggestion to choose a smart charger. So called smart charger must has automatic power cut-off function when battery is full.
• Never use NiMH battery charger for Li-ion battery pack, it will cause battery exploded
• Always charging your battery with attention, and put battery in a fire-proof container ox box to avoid any accident.
• Understand risk to use NiMH and Li-ion battery. Please read our safety warning before buying a battery

Camera Battery Recommendation:
Canon NB-1LH
Canon NB-2LH
Casio NP-20

Re: How to Pick a Digital Camera

Canon NB-2L camera battery is a replacement camera battery for canon cameras

Canon NB-2L Battery[http://www.canon-digital-camera-battery.co.uk/batteries/canon-nb-2l.htm] fits for Powershot S30/S40/S45/S50/S60/S70,etc

How to Pick a Digital Camera

After years of buying expensive rolls of film, and paying to have all of your pictures developed just to find the two or three you'll keep because they're not blurred or people's heads aren't chopped off, you have decide to find out about digital cameras.There are so many digital cameras to consider, with prices and features that may make your head swim, you think there has to be a way to help you make your decision.

Step1

Don't buy more than you need. Think about how and where you'll use your camera. How experienced are you? Do you want a camera that is simple to use, or are you more of an artist and you want better control over your pictures? How much can you afford to spend?

Step2

Decide what resolution you need. Digital photographs are comprised of dots, called megapixels. The more megapixels making up the picture, the higher the resolution will be. Digital camera manufacturers have told us that more is better. However, unless you intend for a lot of your pictures to be printed in a large size, 4-5 megapixels is plenty.

Step3

If you plan to take pictures of subjects that are far away, consider what kind of zoom feature you will need. In the digital camera world, there are two types: Digital zoom and optical zoom. Digital zoom simply enlarges each pixel electronically, while optical zoom involves a physical lens magnification of the image you are photographing. Digital zoom is redundant because you can just as easily increase the size of your picture on your computer. So disregard all the hype put forth by the manufacturers, and look at cameras with the best optical zoom features.

Step4

Before you buy a digital camera, do some research. Don't simply rely upon the advice of the helpful sales person. He may know less than you do, or he may recommend a camera because of an incentive. Also, read magazine reviews or go online to help you narrow your choices.

Step5

Once you have decided on the right camera for you, negotiate the price with your retailer. Add to your confidence by checking the Internet for the prices charged for the camera you want to buy. While some retailers may refuse to budge on the price of the camera, they may be willing to include memory cards, batteries or a camera case with your purchase.

Replacement Camera Battery Recommendation:
Canon NB-1LH Camera Battery Pack
Canon NB-2LH Camera Battery Pack
Canon NB-4L Camera Battery Pack
Canon NB-5L Camera Battery Pack
Canon BP-511 Camera Battery Pack

How to dry a wet digital camera

If your camera has been dropped into water, don't panic. You can still dry the camera out before too much damage is done. This method sounds insane but it really works.

Steps

Rice Bowl Method

1. Disconnect the battery as soon as possible. The battery is the part of the digital camera that is most likely to be damaged by the water. The camera is more vulnerable to water damage if it's under tension.
2. Remove any memory sticks.
3. Put enough rice into a bowl/container that you can bury your camera in it.
4. Submerge your camera into the bowl of rice. Make sure the camera is completely covered.
5. Wait for the moisture to drain out of the camera for a few nights or up to a week.
6. Don't try to turn it back on before it's completely dry.

Tips

• Rice tends to draw moisture to it (that's why people put it in salt shakers).
• This may work for other electronics as well.

Warnings

• This may not work if your camera was on during the fall into water.
• You may have to replace the battery or memory card if one was present.
• There is no guarantee this will save your camera.
• Don't use salt to bury your camera in. This will probably make the camera useless

Didital Camera Battery Recommendation:

 Olympus BLM-1 Camera Battery Pack

 Olympus BLS-1 Camera Battery Pack

 Olympus LI-10B Camera Battery Pack

 Olympus LI-12B Camera Battery Pack

 Olympus LI-30B Camera Battery Pack

 Olympus LI-40B Camera Battery Pack

 Olympus PS-BLS1 Camera Battery Pack

 

How To Replace a Digital Camera Battery Charger

Your digital camera battery charger isn't even part of your camera, but without it you can't get your digital camera to work-or at least not for more than a few hours. It's a bit of a catch 22: you can't keep your battery charger with your camera at all times, it's just not practical; but you also need to have it handy in case your digital camera's battery needs a charge. For me, this means moving it all over the house to different wall sockets and even taking it with me on trips when I know I'll be using my camera a lot. All this shifting and moving about inevitably results in a misplaced or-when I'm finally ready to admit it-lost digital camera battery charger.

A lost digital camera battery charger poses a serious problem: it can be hard to find a replacement, but your digital camera still works fine. Although the hunt for a matching battery charger can be frustrating, if you know your digital camera's make and model, you should be able to find a replacement battery charger by utilizing one of the below sources.

1. Digital Camera Manufacturer. If you go to your camera manufacturer's website, you should be able to browse for replacement parts. As long as you know the make and model of your camera (which you should be able to find printed on the camera itself), you can assure yourself that you'll be getting the appropriate replacement digital camera battery charger. Visit Canon, Sony or any other major digital camera manufacturer's website to find replacement parts. Or, if you're more comfortable speaking to a person, you can call your digital camera manufacturer's 800 number for assistance.
2. Third Party Vendor. If you're looking for a discounted digital camera battery charger, you may want to look at sites like  www.canon-digital-camera-battery.co.uk  or www.digital-camera-batteries.org . These third party vendors often sell replacement parts from a variety of manufacturers at discounted rates. You must still know your digital camera's make and model to assure that you are purchasing the appropriate replacement. You may be able to find universal digital camera battery chargers as well, but you should double check to ensure that your camera's battery will fit in the universal charger you are considering.
3. Individual Vendor. Sites like eBay and Craigslist allow individuals to post ads for items that they are trying to sell. Ebay is a mixture of businesses and individuals and encourages buyers to bid on products in an auction-like environment. You'll likely have better luck on eBay than on Craigslist since it boasts a larger quantity of more sophisticated sellers. However, check both if you're looking for a deal and you might just luck out.
4. Retail Store. Electronics retail stores like Circuit City and Best Buy sell digital camera accessories, including battery chargers. Anywhere that you can buy a digital camera, you can probably buy a digital camera battery charger. Check your camera's make and model, then either head to the store or get online to browse through your digital camera battery charger options.

Didigtal Camera Batteries Recommendation:

Casio NP-100 Camera Battery Pack

Casio NP-20 Camera Battery Pack

Casio NP-30 Camera Battery Pack

Casio NP-40 Camera Battery Pack

Casio NP-L7 Camera Battery Pack

How to make digital camera battery work extra time?

Like other portable consumer electronic devices, digital cameras use batteries as their power source. All batteries have one major drawback: they only last for a limited time. In this article we will explain what camera features consume the most energy and how you can squeeze more life time out of your digital camera battery.

There are many types of battery. Your digital camera might be using disposable batteries or maybe it uses rechargeable ones. Rechargeable batteries use a variety of technologies such as nickel cadmium, lithium ion or lithium polymer. Battery technology has advanced in the last years but digital camera battery life time is still considerably short. It is very frustrating to come across a great photo opportunity just to find out that you have run out of batteries.

When it comes to power consumption not all digital camera features are equal. Some of the digital camera greatest features are high energy consumers. By knowing which features consume the most energy you will be able to avoid or minimize using those features save energy and get more life time from your batteries.

The biggest energy consumers in a digital camera are the LCD screen and the motors that move the mechanical components of the camera such as the lenses when focusing or zooming. Digital cameras allow viewing of photos that were just taken on a small LCD screen. Some of them also allow shooting photos using the LCD instead of the traditional viewfinder. An LCD screen consumes relatively a lot of energy. This is the reason why all digital cameras turn off the LCD after a certain amount of time of no usage.

The other big energy consumers are the motors. Digital cameras have motors the move the lenses either to change the zoom or to focus. Motors consume relatively a lot of energy when moving the digital camera optical components. And finally the flash is a big energy consumer too. Shooting photos using the flash consumes more energy that shooting photos without flash. So what can you do in order to minimize power consumption and get more life time from your batteries?

• Turn off the LCD and use the viewfinder: If your camera has one, use the optical viewfinder instead of the LCD for composing your photos. Using the camera menus, disable the LCD by turning it off. Since the LCD consumes a lot of energy every time you are using it to take a photo or to look at your objects and compose a photo you are wasting energy. Only use the LCD when you must for example when taking an overhead photo when the optical viewfinder is not usable.
  
  
• Minimize photo previewing: The LCD consumes a lot of energy. When you preview photos on the LCD you are wasting digital camera battery life.
  Only use the LCD to view photos when you need to do so for the benefit of the next photos shooting � for example to check if a composition was right or if the lighting was good. Do not use the LCD to view photos for fun or to show photos to others. Wait until you are on your computer or in your office or home to do that.

• Do not use continuous focus when not necessary: Every time your camera focuses it consumers energy. The motors that move the optical components in order to focus consume a lot of energy. You cannot avoid focusing of course but you can avoid focusing that is not necessary. For example, your digital camera can be set to continuous or single focus. For moving objects such as in sport events continuous focus is used so your can stay focused on the object until you are ready to take the photo. In those cases as long as you press the shutter button half way down the camera will continue to focusing on the object. To save energy minimize that time to the minimum necessary. For example if you plan to shoot a photo of a runner at point A only press the shutter when he gets close to that point. Holding the shutter button down and following the runner for a longer time than needed to capture him at point A wastes a lot of energy.
  
  
• Do not press the shutter button half way down for no reason: Every time you press the shutter button half way down and do not take a photo you waste energy. When pressing the shutter button half way down the camera goes through a series of processes getting ready to shoot a photo. It focuses the lenses, it wakes up electronic components and gets the flash ready if needed. Avoid pressing the shutter half way down when you do not plan to shoot a photo.
  
  
• Carry another battery: Two batteries have twice the energy of one. Carry an extra battery if you are planning for a long shooting session or if you are not sure how many photos you will shoot and how long you will be away from your charger. Some photographers always carry an extra battery with them � batteries are very small and light and carrying an extra one is really not a burden. One thing to remember when carrying an extra battery is to always make sure that it is fully charged - there is no use in carrying an empty battery! Batteries tend to lose their charge even if they are not used so if you are carrying an extra battery for a few days or more remember to recharge it even if you did not use it.
  
  
• Recharge whenever you can: Charge your battery (or batteries if you carry an extra one) at least once a day or whenever you are back to your office, home or hotel. Even if you did not take many photos and you think the batteries have enough power in them it is better to make sure by fully charging them rather than to take the risk. You never know how long your next photo shooting session will be and when will your next recharge opportunity will be. Batteries slowly lose their charge even when not used so always recharge your extra battery too even if it was not used.
  
  
• Plan for battery consumption: The most important thing is to plan for battery consumption. For example if you are leaving your home or office for a short photo shooting session of an hour you are not going to have any battery issues. In such cases you can ignore all the guidelines and just shoot photos freely in the way that is most convenient to you. If you are going out for a long day of photo shooting in scenarios that require flash and maybe continuous focusing (just as shooting a sports event) � plan ahead for power consumption take an extra battery or maybe two refrain from using features that are not necessary for your session such as previewing photos on the LCD or using the LCD as a viewfinder.

In conclusion until battery technologies improve to the extent that battery life is so long that it practically lasts forever you will have to be conscious about how you use your digital camera in respect to power consumption.

 

Battery Recommendation:

Sony NP-BG1 Camera Battery Pack

Sony NP-FC11 Camera Battery Pack

Sony NP-FR1 Camera Battery Pack

Sony NP-FS11 Camera Battery Pack