Battery question for the 50D

[Spinning]

I haven't had the camera very long so I have no clue how long the battery last. Old camera used AA so pretty much had to recharge if the camera sat for a few days...
How should I be charging this camera? I use the camera about 3 times a week. So far not a huge amount of picture taking....Friday we have my son's 5th grade awards party. I am responsible for creating a slide show. I need to be sure the carmera is charged. I have charged the battery twice and it is about 1 month old.....

[Spookonthe8ball]

Just charge the battery again to top it off the day before you plan to use it. I have had no battery problems at all shooting 300- 400 shots on a single battery. I do recommend having a spare for the days where you might be using the onboard flash for fill light or something. It's always a good idea to have a backup battery.
Spook

[Mark_48]

A couple of extra batteries won't cost too much from this online vendor....

http://sterlingtek.com/

I've bought most of my batteries from them and you'll find that others will recommend them as well.

I used to recharge my batteries right after a day of shooting and then top it off before using it maybe a week later. I had read somewhere it's better for the battery to simply recharge the night before you shoot rather than attempting to keep it fully charged all the time.

[canon_A620]

I use it until it's around 50% full, then charge it right before I go to use it again. Li-Ions don't like to sit around fully charged which is why I only charge prior to use.

Obviously I drain it to more than 50% capacity if I'm taking lots of shots. But for general shooting, I follow the rule of thumb above.

[FLiPMaRC]

The VERY FIRST thing I buy for all my cameras are extra batteries.

I have 5 batteries for my 450D. 1 came with the camera (OEM), and the other four are eBay batteries. I've used eBay batteries for years with my other cameras and have not had any problems. I just make sure the power rating is higher than the OEM battery.



OT: I just recently bought one pack of Eneloops & one pack of Imedions for my 430exII. I have tons of rechargeable AA batteries averaging 2600mAh, and hated the fact that they don't hold their charge. Everytime I needed them, I needed to recharge them first.

[canon_A620]

If you're going to go with a spare battery (or batteries), have a look at these (http://www.diamondbackbatt.com/search.aspx?find=Canon+50D). I'm going to purchase a spare for my G10 and 450D. Heard great things about these batts on another forum, run time and fit.

Edit: Modified link to show all of the packages for the 50D replacement batteries. You can buy a kit containing (2) 50D batteries and a nice travel charger.

[Nickcanada]

The VERY FIRST thing I buy for all my cameras are extra batteries.

I have 5 batteries for my 450D. 1 came with the camera (OEM), and the other four are eBay batteries. I've used eBay batteries for years with my other cameras and have not had any problems. I just make sure the power rating is higher than the OEM battery.



OT: I just recently bought one pack of Eneloops & one pack of Imedions for my 430exII. I have tons of rechargeable AA batteries averaging 2600mAh, and hated the fact that they don't hold their charge. Everytime I needed them, I needed to recharge them first.

What's the deal with those? do they hold their charge better?

[canon_A620]

What's the deal with those? do they hold their charge better?eneloop are, IMO, the best NiMH batteries on the planet. I use them in all my cams that take AA cells.

They retain 85% of their charge after a year of sitting idle. Plus, they hold their voltage under load better than many of the higher capacity, standard NiMH cells. For this reason, it's not uncommon to get more shots out of a set of 2000 mAh eneloops than a set of 2700 mAh NiMH cells.

If you can't find eneloop cells locally, look for Duracell Pre-Charged. But, look for the cells that were made in Japan and have a white area surrounding the positive terminal. These are referred to by some of us as "Duraloops". They're simply eneloop cells re-branded as Duracell Pre-charged.

I use eneloop/Duraloop cells in a lot of other devices as well.

[Nickcanada]

eneloop are, IMO, the best NiMH batteries on the planet. I use them in all my cams that take AA cells.

They retain 85% of their charge after a year of sitting idle. Plus, they hold their voltage under load better than many of the higher capacity, standard NiMH cells. For this reason, it's not uncommon to get more shots out of a set of 2000 mAh eneloops than a set of 2700 mAh NiMH cells.

If you can't find eneloop cells locally, look for Duracell Pre-Charged. But, look for the cells that were made in Japan and have a white area surrounding the positive terminal. These are referred to by some of us as "Duraloops". They're simply eneloop cells re-branded as Duracell Pre-charged.

I use eneloop/Duraloop cells in a lot of other devices as well.

Sweet, thanks for the info. I think I saw some at costco the last time I was in there.

[FLiPMaRC]

:D Yeah, what he said.

LOL ... Duraloops. I've never heard of those :D

I got mine here: http://www.thomas-distributing.com/index.htm

A review: http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=677074

[canon_A620]

I've done quite a bit of business with Thomas Distributing over the past 5 years, you can't go wrong with them. I also recommend the Maha MH-C9000 if you're looking for a good charger for your eneloop/other NiMH cells.

[Mark_48]

Can a standard NiMH charger be used with the Eneloops?

[canon_A620]

Sure, as long as it can charge cells with a rating of 2000 mAh.

[Spinning]

Thanks! I know I need to get a spare battery or two..

[FLiPMaRC]

I've done quite a bit of business with Thomas Distributing over the past 5 years, you can't go wrong with them. I also recommend the Maha MH-C9000 if you're looking for a good charger for your eneloop/other NiMH cells.

I've been using the old C204F (http://thomasdistributing.com/maha-mh-c204f.htm) :)