BP-511A Battery Storage

I purchased a second BP-511A battery for my 30D before going on a 3 week vacation so I would be able to swap out batteries when needed. Now that I am back in the real world and do not normally use the camera enough to need a second battery on "stand-by", I was wondering what you guys recommend for storing an unused battery.
Should I store the second battery charged, or after it's power is drained, or would it be best just to keep using both and rotating the two batteries into use?
Thanks,
Tom

roqdawg wrote in post #3633632
I purchased a second BP-511A battery for my 30D before going on a 3 week vacation so I would be able to swap out batteries when needed. Now that I am back in the real world and do not normally use the camera enough to need a second battery on "stand-by", I was wondering what you guys recommend for storing an unused battery.
Should I store the second battery charged, or after it's power is drained, or would it be best just to keep using both and rotating the two batteries into use?
Thanks,
Tom

Buy a Canon battery grip and use both at the same time. you'll be surprised how much better the camera feels with a bigger grip and a little more weight.

I disagree on the 'two batteries at once in the grip' - at least for my uses. The last thing I want is more weight - when I've got an f/2.8L zoom on the camera and my Newton flash bracket (which is arguably the lightest of the truly professional brackets) with a Qflash on it, the setup is quite heavy enough!

Moreover, if you have one battery in the grip, and one in your bag, you know you have a full battery to swap to. If you have both batteries in the grip, you have two part discharged batteries and if you get a battery low warning, you're in trouble.


You should store the battery fully charged, and I suggest rotating the batteries when you charge them - charge the spare, move it into the camera, then charge the battery that was in the camera.

David

DavidW wrote in post #3634951
I disagree on the 'two batteries at once in the grip' - at least for my uses. The last thing I want is more weight - when I've got an f/2.8L zoom on the camera and my Newton flash bracket (which is arguably the lightest of the truly professional brackets) with a Qflash on it, the setup is quite heavy enough!

Moreover, if you have one battery in the grip, and one in your bag, you know you have a full battery to swap to. If you have both batteries in the grip, you have two part discharged batteries and if you get a battery low warning, you're in trouble.

You should store the battery fully charged, and I suggest rotating the batteries when you charge them - charge the spare, move it into the camera, then charge the battery that was in the camera.

I am in 100% agreement with David's advice....

Thanks for the advice guys...guess I will continue to rotate the batteries into service.
Tom

I have the grip and it's the best. Buy yourself two sterlingtech batteries for 20 dollars and another charger for another 15 dollars and you're set.

I use both and when I go low on battery, I take the two out and charge both at the same time and then swap the full batteries (both) into the grip.

Extra weight...well..add another 5 pounds and start lifting it everyday to compensate for the extra < 1 kilogram of extra weigtht of the battery, maybe 2 kg for the grip as well. lol.

nutsnbolts wrote in post #3637550
I have the grip and it's the best. Buy yourself two sterlingtech batteries for 20 dollars and another charger for another 15 dollars and you're set.

I use both and when I go low on battery, I take the two out and charge both at the same time and then swap the full batteries (both) into the grip.

Extra weight...well..add another 5 pounds and start lifting it everyday to compensate for the extra < 1 kilogram of extra weigtht of the battery, maybe 2 kg for the grip as well. lol.

Good to have a sense of humor, but if you have had to cover a wedding continuously for 10 hours, you quickly learn that every Kg matters!

I use a grip for both my cameras. But I also have the AC adaptor so if I'm shooting at home or cleaning my cameras I use AC power, whenever possible. I have 4 batteries for each which easily cycles if I need it, to date I haven't had a problem with the camera dying because of the lack of power. Oh, I have a power inverter in my truck as well...

Wilt wrote in post #3643948
Good to have a sense of humor, but if you have had to cover a wedding continuously for 10 hours, you quickly learn that every Kg matters!

I know what you mean believe me. I was at a wedding for 8 hours or so and my right arm felt like it was going to fall off.

Then again, I know I'm out of shape. lol

nutsnbolts wrote in post #3645626
I know what you mean believe me. I was at a wedding for 8 hours or so and my right arm felt like it was going to fall off.

Then again, I know I'm out of shape. lol

When I use to shoot video for weddings, with one an 8 lbs camera and another camera that is about 12 lbs...by the end of the day my arms, shoulders and back was jelly!

I've found this a really useful resource - quite revealing.

http://batteryuniversi​ty.com/

Charged batteries generally lose up to 40% of their charge after 60 days in storage. I agree that you should alternate your use of batteries.