BG-ED3 Battery life

Last month I purchased a BG-ED from B&H. Along with it I also got 2, 1500mAH batteries also from B&H. Many times I see folks ask how long do batteries last etc. So I ran the test twice. I was using a 10D with BG-ED,two 1500mAH batteries and the Canon 100-400 (L) IS lens. That is the only lens I used and it always had IS on. On the first test I got 605 pictures taken and the second test I got 622 pictures taken before I needed to recharge the batteries. Hope this helps someone.

JZ

I saw a post elsewhere about the best way to manage batteries - Li Ion versus NiMH. It suggested topping off lithium cells was better than running them all the way down. Is this something others would agree with since I have been running mine until they were pooped before recharging from old habits on NiCads etc.

Knowledgable answers gratefully received.

Most of us have discarded our NiCd batteries in favor of other types. I think we should forget our NiCd charging strategies at the same time.

Lithium ion batteries don't seem to show the same "memory effect", and I don't have any problems with mine whether I recharge them from dead, from 50% charge, or from 90% charge.

I don't know how you are using NiMH batteries except maybe in a flash unit.

---Bob Gross---

The post was about 1D MkII which apparently still has NiMH.

No 1D MkII cameras have been mentioned in this thread.

---Bob Gross---

Your right. In my original question I mentioned how it had been triggered by a different thread. That was the one that also covered the battery in the 1D MkII. Sorry for any confusion. I just wanted to find out if I should treat Li Ion cells the same as NiMH. (I do have some of those in my flash, though.)

LiIon lifetimes are typified by total number of complete discharge/recharge cycles. That is, if the battery is rated for 1000 cycles, then doing 2000 half-discharge/re-charge cycles is approximately the same (I'm really stretching things here, but in the largest sense, it's mostly true).

So, it really doesn't hurt the lifetime of the batteries by only partially discharging them before re-charging. It seems that the only thing that can hurt them is to run them down flat, then leave them for long periods in storage (aside from subjecting them to defective chargers, or short-circuiting them -- but then you might not live to tell the tale). LiIons don't self-disharge as quickly as other battery chemistries, but they are meant for active users, like cell phones, MP3 players, Gameboy Advance SP, and the like. If you use a LiIon-driven package only once every six months, you might find that the battery will no longer accept a charge when you go to use it. That is usually due to a safety circuit in the battery package that disconnects the cells to prevent dangerous chemical reactions. It's actually dangerous to run a LiIon cell too flat, and there are safety electronics in the packages to prevent this from happening, especially to prevent you from attempting to recharge a cell in that condition.

Also, because a lot of electronics will pull a miniscule amount of current from the battery when switched off, if you do intend to not use a unit for a few weeks, it's a good idea to remove the battery. I have a Canon camcorder that behaves this way. If I leave the battery on the unit, it will run it down in a matter of days. If I remove the battery, it will still have a reasonable charge on it when I go to use it a few weeks later.

The most annoying thing about LiIon's and the reason you don't seem them used in more applications, is that they have a per-cell voltage of 3.6V. This means that they don't easily replace the more common 1.2V to 1.5V cells you normally encounter. The circuit has to be essentially redesigned to run off of multiples of 3.6V cells (3.6, 7.2, etc.) instead of multiples of 1.5V (1.5, 3.0, 4.5, etc.)

I have the Canon one and a 1300MAH one that I use in Big Ed. This past Sat, I shot between 650-700 pics and was showing that is was still some to go. No problems noted. It was reccommending charging, but I wasn't bothered, not to mention that I needed to get back home to sort the charging. Now just to add to this, these batteries are over a year old and have been in use since April, '03.

Your benchmark really doesn't say anything usefull (sorry).. Compactflash or Microdrive? RAW or jpeg? How long period of time was the test measured in? Continious shooting, or a lot of walking around (idle-time) in there?

Cause I don't have the BG-ED3 (yet), and several times I've shot 500+ images in jpeg-mode with a Microdrive from a roughly half-full - 2/3 full original BP-511 (1100mAh). Though that was concert-shots where I pretty much fired continiously for 500 frames, and didn't have much idle-time at all.. But I think this forum have agreed quite good that idle-time isn't considered much of a power-drain. You also states you used IS, and I don't know how much power the IS drain (quite a lot I might expect). But those 1500mAh batteries, are that some third-party batteries?

I would love to see the test done again. Preferably several of them. One in jpeg, one in RAW, one with CF, one with Microdrive, one with IS, one without, etc, etc..