Battery Question

[Mark_48]

This is a question pertains probably most to the 20D and any others which have the fast startup times.

In the cameras that have fast startup times I believe somewhere I read that the camera when "OFF" is not really off, but actually in sort of a sleep or standby mode. Thus the quick start is just simply waking the camera up. In this off mode the camera is still using the battery, just at a lower rate of current.

The 20D instruction booklet states if the camera is not to be used for a prolonged period a low electrical current may be discharged excessively and battery life may be affected.
- What would Canon consider as a prolonged period?
- And when off, how long will it take to deplete the battery to the point where the sleep/standby mode shuts down or just plain goes haywire? This of course would depend on the charge it had remaining.

I've been trying to remember to remove the battery after I use it, but occasionally that doesn't happen and it may stay in the camera a couple of weeks at a time. It aways seemed to have had enough juice to power up after a couple of weeks.

And has anyone accidently removed and reinstalled the battery with the power switch not in the "OFF" position? I haven't done this, but am curious if the camera would boot up correctly or display the elusive "err99". :shock:

As one can see, I've been reading the manual and the fine print as well !! 8-)

Mark........

[tim]

I've never heard of this before, you could do some tests by putting the battery in the camera with the switch already in the on position to test your theory.

If you take out the main battery the small button cell will be used to store your presets, which means it could run out a lot sooner than you expect. I wouldn't worry about battery life, it seems fine, if you leave the battery in the camera and don't use it for a few weeks throw it on the charger for 10 minutes the night before you need it and it'll be fine. Alternately buy another battery, they're only like $12 from sterlingtek.com

[FlyingPete]

And has anyone accidently removed and reinstalled the battery with the power switch not in the "OFF" position? I haven't done this, but am curious if the camera would boot up correctly or display the elusive "err99". :shock:


Yes and no, as in I normally change battery whilst the camera is on, as I am lazy and I have not read anywhere not too, and no I haven't had a Err99 as a result. It can't be much different to running the battery to flay, then changing, I have been doing that often due to my #&@*! battery life issues.

[robertwgross]

When the main power switch is off, you would think that the camera is completely dead (except for the memory battery holding up the memory). However, some parts are still alive. The CF card interface is still able to function, and you can see that by popping a CF card into the slot and closing the door. The CF activity light will come on for an instant, even with the main power switch off. That shocked me the first time I saw it.

The main power switch certainly shuts down power to the lens and the autofocus system there.

---Bob Gross---

[Mark_48]

I've never heard of this before, you could do some tests by putting the battery in the camera with the switch already in the on position to test your theory.
I didn't want to experiment and find I ended up with a locked up camera that I couldn't reset, but it looks like FlyingPete answered that..


If you take out the main battery the small button cell will be used to store your presets, which means it could run out a lot sooner than you expect. I wouldn't worry about battery life, it seems fine, if you leave the battery in the camera and don't use it for a few weeks throw it on the charger for 10 minutes the night before you need it and it'll be fine. Alternately buy another battery, they're only like $12 from sterlingtek.com
I guess I wasn't so concerned about shortening battery life, so much as what may happen to the camera if the battery voltage gets real low in off/standby mode. Could there be any potential corruption of the firmware? I sort of compare it to a PC in that you have main power for the operating system (WinXP for instance) and a smaller battery to back up things like the clock and BIOS settings. If you have a main power dip while some program is executing or writing data, the operating system could concievably get corrupt and not be able to read data or reboot. Maybe I'm just being a little overly paranoid with the prevalence of err99's or freezeups that show up around here. I've a couple of weddings coming up in the near future and probably everything will go well, but the idea of having a camera fail at a critical moment scares the crap out of me. Even with having a backup.

And by the way Tim, I bought 3 batteries from Sterlingtek. You mentioned them in enough threads that you sold me on them. Delivery was quick and so far they seem to be good batteries. :D

[johnnybfan]

Historically, (?) rechargeable batteries lose their charge even when not in use. NiMh batteries are notorious for that. Don't know about the li-on batteries, though.

[FlyingPete]

Historically, (?) rechargeable batteries lose their charge even when not in use. NiMh batteries are notorious for that. Don't know about the li-on batteries, though.
LithiumIon are supposd to be better, but I have read that leaving them fully charged and unsed for longer lengths of time is not good for them, the documentation I have read says you should store them in a flattened state.

Don't see this as an issue for the battery in the camera though, we are talking weeks to months, and if you have you camera unused for that long...

[tim]

And by the way Tim, I bought 3 batteries from Sterlingtek. You mentioned them in enough threads that you sold me on them. Delivery was quick and so far they seem to be good batteries. :D

Those guys should start giving me a comission ;)

[FlyingPete]

Those guys should start giving me a comission ;)

Send them an email, with links to all your recomentations for their batteries, they might send you soem freebees!

[tim]

I already sent them an email a while back asking if they have a referral program, I didn't get a reply. Dunno how they can make much money on the bats at the prices they charge anyway.

[robertwgross]

I guess I wasn't so concerned about shortening battery life, so much as what may happen to the camera if the battery voltage gets real low in off/standby mode. Could there be any potential corruption of the firmware?

No.

The only time you should worry about firmware corruption is if you are changing/upgrading firmware from one version to another, and if you are doing this with a marginal battery.

During all normal operation, firmware is non-volatile. If the battery goes flat, the whole thing just shuts down. You will likely get a corrupt card write of the last image you were shooting or storing, and that is about all.

---Bob Gross---

[Starfleet_EMH]

NiMh are supposd to be better, but I have read that leaving them fully charged and unsed for longer lengths of time is not good for them, the documentation I have read says you should store them in a flattened state.

Don't see this as an issue for the battery in the camera though, we are talking weeks to months, and if you have you camera unused for that long...


Maybe this link with FAQ's could shed some light about NiMH batts:

http://www.alltekpower.com/faq/index.asp?c=6

EMH

[robertwgross]

Maybe this link with FAQ's could shed some light about NiMH batts:

http://www.alltekpower.com/faq/index.asp?c=6


Although that has some good information about NiMH batteries, I think the original poster was asking about his 20D and its battery, which is a lithium ion type.

---Bob Gross---

[FlyingPete]

Maybe this link with FAQ's could shed some light about NiMH batts:

http://www.alltekpower.com/faq/index.asp?c=6

EMH

Opps I actually meant LithiumIon, not NiMh :oops:

[Jon, The Elder]

Typical shoot = Turn on 20D (with grip, so 2 batts) shoot for 6 to eight hours. Change 1 gig cards is only "time Off".
Using 28/135IS and or 70/200f4 all the time. Plenty of chimping. Typical recharge time for BOTH batteries (I use my charger from my 300D also) is 30-40 minutes. I consider full charge to be when light burns steady + 10 minutes. Yes I know what the manual claims.
Averaging 300-480 shots per day.

This is in 50° like now or 20° in Winter/Fall