Camcorder Battery F.A.Q. & Tips

• Camcorder Battery Usage Tips


1. A new camcorder battery comes in a discharged condition and must be charged before use (refer to the devices manual for charging instructions). Upon initial use (or after a prolonged storage period) the digital camcorder battery may require three to four charge/discharge cycles before achieving maximum capacity.
2. When charging the camcorder battery for the first time the device may indicate that charging is complete after just 10 or 15 minutes. This is a normal phenomenon with rechargeable batteries. Remove the digital camcorder battery from the device, reinsert it and repeat the charging procedure.
3. It is important to condition (fully discharge and then fully charge) the camcorder battery every two to three weeks. Failure to do so may significantly shorten the battery's life (this does not apply to Li-Ion batteries, which do not require conditioning). To discharge, simply run the device under the digital camcorder battery's power until it shuts down or until you get a low battery warning. Then recharge the battery as instructed in the user's manual.
4. If the camcorder battery will not be in use for a month or longer, it is recommended that digital camcorder battery be removed from the device and stored in a cool, dry, clean place.
5. The milliamp-hour (mAh) rating of the Hi-CapacityT camcorder battery will often be higher than the one on the original battery. A higher mAh rating is indicative of a longer lasting (higher capacity) battery and will not cause any incompatibilities. A Hi-CapacityT digital camcorder battery will, in most cases, outperform the original by 30% to 50%.
6. New camcorder needs to be fully charged and discharged (cycled) a few times before it can condition to full capacity. Rechargeable batteries undergo self-discharging when left unused. Always store a digital camcorder in a fully charged staged for storage.
7. Don't short circuit terminal or store your digital camcorder with metal parts. Don't connect and disconnect the camcorder within a short interval to prevent irregular charging of the rechargeable battery.
8. It's okay to use different brands of digital camera batteries in the same device -- for example, Energizer, Duracell, and generic. Voltage is voltage, and the device neither knows nor cares that made the camera batteries you put in it. Remember, you can mix brands but not types
9. Camera Batteries self-discharge quicker when it's hot. They're fine at room temperature, but once it's over 90o or so, they'll start losing their charge faster. So don't leave digital camcorder in a hot car.
10. Don't overheat. Do not attempt to charge non-rechargeable batteries. This will overheat them and could cause a fire. Keep camcorder batteries out of hot places, like your car. Your car can be an oven, and baking your digital camcorder batteries shortens their life.
11. Store properly. Keep your camera batteries in a cool, dry place. The refrigerator is cool, but not dry. You could store your camera batteries in the refrigerator and maximize their life by using a silica gel to keep the batteries dry. This however, is an expensive and inconvenient option.
12. Don't short the connections. Keep your camcorder batteries organized. Don't let the ends touch the wrong thing or you'll short the digital camcorder battery.
13. Don't mix and match your camcorder. Use the same chemistry and brand. Never mix rechargeable and non-rechargeable batteries. That's very dangerous to you digital camcorder
14. Invest in a good charger for your camcorder. NiMH batteries should not be charged in a NiCad charger, unless the charger is specifically made for both chemistries. There are cheap chargers and there are expensive chargers. Make sure the charger you get has good reviews and is well made. Chargers with micro-controller chips are usually the best choice of your digital camcorder.
15. When charging your camera batteries occasionally discharge them fully before recharging them. This is especially helpful to NiCad batteries. Be careful not to discharge too deeply. (Less than 1v per cell for NiCad and NiMH. E.g., a 3.6v pack to no less than 3v.) Discharging to absolute zero will make your battery useless. It's best if you have a charger with a conditioner that will cycle the digital camera battery for you.
16. Be sure to store your camera batteries properly. Do not leave your batteries in a hot car, or in humid conditions. The best storage conditions are a cool, dry place. The refrigerator is fine if you stick in a packet of silica gel with your digital camera batteries in a sealed bag to keep them dry. It is a good idea to charge your NiCad or NiMH batteries fully before use if they have been in storage.
17. Many camera battery packs are made up of individual battery cells. When digital camcorder batteries are purchased to be made into a pack it is a good idea to equalize the charge on the batteries before building the pack.
18. Equalizing the camcorder batteries is nothing more than ensuring the voltage on each cell is within a very close range at the same state of charge (i.e. fully charged).If you do not equalize the batteries properly before building a pack, the charge and discharge cycles will be harder on some of the cells and will effectively shorten their life. Once a cell fails the entire digital camcorder pack will be weaker because of the one defunct cell.
19. The first way is to connect the set that will go in the camcorder pack in a parallel configuration. Leave them in this state for at least 24 hours. The cells that have a higher charge will charge the ones with a lower charge and digital camcorder will all equalize.
20. Camcorder Rechargeable batteries have been around for quite a while, and if you have been around for a while too you probably remember all the trouble with digital camcorder rechargeable batteries when the NiCad (Nickel Cadmium) rechargeable batteries first came out. There were major problems with memory effect and poor performance and most consumers gave up on using them before the technology had much of a chance to improve