My memory is fading.......................

[peeps27]

I have a D60 and use a mix of Canon's own BP511 and independants. I have had the Canon batteries for 18 months and have given fine service. I have just returned to the UK from Cambodia and for some strange reason neither battery will retain their charge.
I went to Donington Park for the Moto GP and one battery lasted for only 30 images :x
I read the Canon instructions with the battery which says "If the battery packs start to give you much less operating time than usual...it has reached the end of its life and must be replaced".
- Am I expecting too much for them lasting beyond 18 months ?
- Is there a battery discharger I can buy for the BP-511??

The independant battery (Uniross I think) is still performing as normal.

Any useful feedback?

Paul

[Mitchkitter]

batteries often wearout after 12 months,

mine actully went out in 6! <granted i had taken 7,000 pictures in 6 months :P>


Basically the metal that makes up the battery can only bend back and forth from charged, to discharged so many times..... after that it just begins to die...

[Jon]

LiIon batteries do have a finite life, between 300-500 cycles IIRC. If you used them fairly heavily (recharged every other day or so), they could be at EOL. There's not a memory problem with LiIon like there was with NiCD, and most LiIon batteries have circuitry built in to keep them form discharging too fast, or charging too fast for that matter. If you want to try running them down, best I could suggest is turn off power saver, shove a loaded chip in and set it to running a slide show. Otherwise, like Canon says, they're dead, Jim.

[Mark Kemp]

Yep, I reckon mine are fading a bit. I have 3 BP511s. A couple of years ago one battery would last a days shooting, now its usually two. Not that serious yet but I suppose I will have to retire one or two of them in the next year or so. Not a lot we can do about it though.. entropy is inevitable, even more than death and taxes :cry:

[peeps27]

that both batteries have given up at the same time. They haven't been used heavily either, but thanx for replies.

[Jon]

You might try cleaning the contacts. The thermal protection circuitry may be kicking in if they're heavily oxidized, or they just may have trouble pushing out enough juice through a non-conductor.

[arumdevil]

here is some usefull info on lithium ion batteries:

http://www.batteryuniversity.com/parttwo-34.htm

[ron chappel]

Mine first one started fading after a few months! :cry:
Luckily the cheap brand ones are an excellent cost effective allternative.