quick way to drain battery?

[neoserenity333]

does anyone know a quick way to drain the battery on an Xti?
i was hoping to recharge it to the full amount for shooting some indoor photos tonight at a party, but i heard it was best to completely exhaust the battery before recharging it (for the first time).

the little battery icon says that i have 2 bars remaining ("adequate power remains"), so do you think this will last me for about 100+ photos with basically 100% flash usage? problem is, i think it might have been at that stage for a while (I've taken 200 shots so far).

thank you so much for any help!

[GaryS]

Lithium Ion batteries last best when you keep them near a full charge. Running them down before recharging actually shortens their life.

Best to drop it on the charger now and have it fully charged for your party..

[neoserenity333]

oh, got it, thanks! did a little reading on the Li-ion batteries: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium_ion_battery#Guidelines_for_prolonging_Li-ion_battery_life

thanks for your speedy rescue!

so the whole thing about exhausting a battery before you recharge it for the first time to maintain the battery life doesn't apply to lithium ion batteries?
(i was still thinking back to the Ni-Cd batteries)

[griptape]

Correct, Lithium Ion and Ni-Cad hold charges in very different ways. No need to drain before refilling. Thank god ni-cad is a thing of the past.

[24Peter]

Thank god ni-cad is a thing of the past.

And mullets too. :eek: