Battery Conservation Tips
SUMMARY: Make your digital camera batteries last longer. Here's how.
Are you always running out of battery power just before you take that perfect picture with your digital camera? Here are some tips to conserve your batteries when you are out "snapping away".
1) Turn off your digital camera when not in use. If you are in a situation where you must snap pictures quickly, this may not apply as turning digital cameras on and off take a few seconds, and may cause you to miss a picture-taking opportunity. However, if you are taking a leisurely stroll and can afford a couple of seconds before snapping a still subject, by all means, conserve your digital camera's energy!
2) Many digital cameras have a regular viewfinder and an LCD viewfinder. While the digital LCD viewfinder has its benefits, it can drain battery power. Turn it off when applicable and use your regular viewfinder for taking pictures.
3) Don't stop after taking every photo and look at the picture in your digital camera's playback mode. Granted, you sometimes need to look at photos immediately after shooting them in order to make sure your exposure is correct, the lighting is ok, etc., but doing this does use up your digital camera's battery power.
4) If you are using MicroDrive media, be forewarned that these miniature hard drives may take up quite more power than Compact Flash cards.
Use these tips and you'll save some digital camera battery power for when you want to take that perfect picture. But, of course, the best tip to make sure that you don't run out of power is . . . take some extra charged batteries with you on trips!
Those Batteries Won't Stay Charged Forever
SUMMARY: Digital camera batteries may lose their charge over time. Don't let under-charged batteries keep you from taking great photos!
If you infrequently use your digital camera, you may think that you after you use your digital camera, recharge your NiMH batteries, wait a few weeks or months, then use your digital camera again, that your batteries will be charged and you'll be ready to snap photos, right?
Oops... Do that and you'll be stuck with a non-functioning digital camera or one that just blinks a picture showing a dead battery.
Rechargeable batteries don't stay charged forever. They tend to lose a little bit of their power every day. If you charge your batteries and frequently use your digital camera, you will probably never notice this loss of power. However, after a couple of weeks, the power loss may be noticeable, and after a couple of months or longer of non-use, those once ready-to-go batteries may have lost enough power to make them unusable.
Don't get caught in this trap. Always charge your batteries before every trip, and make sure to use a battery charger with a sensor that prevents over-charge.
What is mAh?
SUMMARY: What does mAh mean when it comes to digital camera batteries?
mAh stands for Milliamp Hour, a technical term for how much power a particular battery will hold. Digital camera batteries with higher mAh values theoretically last longer without requiring a recharge, allowing you to take more photographs before you have to replace your batteries.
It is recommended when placing batteries in a digital camera that their mAh values match. Otherwise, it is possible that one lesser mAh battery will drain before the others, causing extra strain on the remaining batteries or causing your digital camera to not work until all batteries are replaced.
Take Batteries Out of the Digital Camera
SUMMARY: Remove batteries from your digital camera when not in use.
If you are not planning on using your digital camera for a while (months?), it may be wise to take your batteries out of your digital camera for storage. This reduces the chance of battery leakage and corrosion, which can seriously damage your digital camera's internals.
Batteries in Cold Weather
SUMMARY: Bring along extra batteries if you plan on taking photos in the cold winter months.
If you plan on taking digital photos in colder weather, such as right after a snowstorm, note that batteries may hold their power for shorter periods of time than in warmer weather. You may either want to bring extra batteries during your photo shoot or look for digital camera batteries specially rated to handle colder temperatures.
Never Get Batteries Wet
SUMMARY: Water can corrode batteries, damaging them and possibly your digital camera.
If it is raining, or if you are near an area of running water such as a waterfall, be extremely careful when changing out your digital camera battery or batteries. Get a safe distance away from the water or water vapor before you do so. Water can corrode your battery or batteries, possibly causing leakage, and this can damage your digital camera as well if you insert the wet batteries. |
