Discharging Camera Batteries?

Pop Photo magazine put out the 'tip of the week'

• Beware of memory build up. This is mostly a problem with NiCd type batteries and not the NiMH batteries will retain a “memory” and if not allowed to go completely dead or completely discharged prior to charging they won’t be able to recharge fully. Read the information that came with your battery to see if discharging is required.

I remember when I used to race RC trucks I used to have a wired setup with automotive light bulbs and a connector to discharge the batteries fully before recharging them. Does anybody do this, I can't imagine just leaving the camera on would be a way to accomplish this. I could buy some of the standard automotive light bulbs and solder them together.

The problem would be how to attach the wires to the BP-511A terminals since there isn't a simple plug. Also which of the 4 terminals do I need to connect to... I guess I can meter them but I'm not sure if connecting the lights wrong could do damage other than to the lights.

Do not do this with the LiIon batteries in your camera. Running them absolutely flat shortens their life expectancy.

As Jon said, don't do this to your BP-511A's, it is not necessary. This tip refers to Nickle Cadmium batteries and are use very little these days in favor of NiMh and other hybrid batteries which do not require the same type of maintenance.

Well ok then. Maybe with my rechargeable AA's...

Again, only if they're NiCd, not NiMH. And you'd be hard-pressed to find NiCd rechargeables these days, due to the toxic nature of the cadmium.

Jon wrote in post #8041911
Again, only if they're NiCd, not NiMH. And you'd be hard-pressed to find NiCd rechargeables these days, due to the toxic nature of the cadmium.

Oh yeah I guess they are NiMH. Thanks for the responses.

No No No NO NOOOOOOO!

Just adding my voice to the mix, this is the sort of Bad Advice that gets published in Ink where it actually costs $$ to do so and they have editors etc...?

I have a fairly recent Pop photo that had an article on showing your Photos on your new widescreen HD TV.

It said, "1080i is currently the highest resolution HD TV and displays a 1024 x 720 pixel resolution, or about a 2 Megapixel image file"


Can you find all the things wrong in that one sentence?

CyberDyneSystems wrote in post #8042103
No No No NO NOOOOOOO!

Just adding my voice to the mix, this is the sort of Bad Advice that gets published in Ink where it actually costs $$ to do so and they have editors etc...?

I have a fairly recent Pop photo that had an article on showing your Photos on your new widescreen HD TV.

It said, "1080i is currently the highest resolution HD TV and displays a 1024 x 720 pixel resolution, or about a 2 Megapixel image file"


Can you find all the things wrong in that one sentence?

Is this a test? 1080p is the highest res HDTV today, it can display 1920 x 1080, and that is about 2.1 Mpixels

I haven't heard a claim that Pop Photo was a good magazine in decades!

Wow, this thread should be deleted! When I saw the suggestion of hooking up wires to your LiIon battery pack to discharge it I about lost it! Hope everyone reads this thread through...