At 02:11 PM 12/23/2005, Don Williams wrote:
Just under five weeks. Then I charged it and it's been connected for 8
days and still reads 6.2 volts. After this charge it measured 6.35 volts.
I think the initial charge (as it came from the dealer in Helsinki) was
not quite full -- it measured 6.15 volts when I first connected it to the
camera. I take dozens of pictures a day and even used it to transfer files
to the PC via the USB cable. Now I use a card reader because its more
convenient and a lot faster.
However. The battery ran down to 4.2 volts and the camera discharged the
NiMH batteries as well. So I think a week should be subtracted from the
total. But so what? Its so easy to charge this battery and it'll never let
you down by closing the shutter on a cleaning tool -- as the mains can
easily do. But I suggest checking the voltage before you start cleaning. I
plan to charge it every couple of weeks in the future. Perhaps every
second Sunday.
By the way I set the charger to 2 amps in the morning intending to leave
it charging for 6 to 8 hours. But I forgot and went to bed. At 4:00 I
remembered, leapt out of bed and turned the charger off. The charging
light had gone out and the battery was not hot -- proving the charger
circuitry was working correctly.
Don
Thanks for the report. I doubt that the battery was fully charged when you
first got it. All the batteries of this type that I ever purchased came
with directions to charge them before the first use. In my experience, I've
never gotten a new one with a full charge. So, you probably would have
gotten noticeably longer usage, had you charged the battery fully before
using it.
I'll eventually get around to building an external battery pack for my
camera and flash unit. I'm wondering if I should use two separate
batteries, one for camera and another for flash, or whether it would be
safe to run both from one large battery. I'm just wondering if the flash
unit introduces any surges or spikes in the battery voltage when it
violently discharges and then recharges. (I suppose I'll have to get out
the oscilloscope and find out.) I wouldn't want any voltage spikes or sags
affecting my camera.
take care,
Glen
