Camera battery question

[samintx]

Should I take out the batteries on the cameras I'm not using every day? I read some place you should not leave them in sitting idle cameras. True/false?

[MikeF]

If they are standard alkaline types I would. However, the Li-ion packs in the EOS-10D sat in the camera for 10 years (before replacement) with no issues (obviously, the camera was set to off).

[archipirata]

As MikeF said, take regular alkaline batteries out of anything that is going to be sitting idle for an extended period. They are better than they used to be but can still rupture, leak, and damage whatever they were in if left sitting too long. Had an old speedlight that got destroyed that way. Never heard of anyone having any similar issues with the Li-ions.

[OWC Jamie]

Given the (somewhat rare ) propensity for a li-ion to swell or bulge, for a device getting put in a drawer or out of sight and not used every day, battery removal might be prudent.

[testcase]

I'd agree with billb. If the battery has been removed, the possibility of damage due to battery leakage is eliminated. Just remember where you put the battery. I've started using zip lock bags to keep accessories together. You could have the battery in a small zip lock bag and then, place that bag and the camera (along with any other accessories), in a bigger zip lock bag. When a wall wart is involved, I include a 3x5 card with the specs and, the device that said wall wart is for. It would be nice if more companies labeled their wall warts but sadly, that seems to be a rare occurrence.

[tenders]

I keep camera batteries in, even if I'm not using them for a month or so, because (1) you never know when you'll want to grab your camera for something, who wants to be chasing batteries around at the last minutee and (2) I hate reprogramming the internal clock.

[pqrst]

testcase wrote:
When a wall wart is involved, I include a 3x5 card with the specs and, the device that said wall wart is for.

I write the device the wall wart is for and tape it to it. Saves a huge amount of time. And I, too, put the device and it's wall wart in the same ziplock bag.

[pqrst]

Does anyone know how nimh batteries do relative to leakage? I have a pentax dslr that uses nimh aa batteries and I hadn't give it a thought before.

[Filliam H. Muffman]

I use a silver Sharpie style paint pen to write what the walwart is for.

[Lew Zealand]

pqrst wrote:
Does anyone know how nimh batteries do relative to leakage? I have a pentax dslr that uses nimh aa batteries and I hadn't give it a thought before.

I have a 20 year old PowerBook 5300ce which I just fired up (never mind why) but it's original Apple NiMH battery has leaked and made a mess of the contacts. Luckily, the mess doesn't go beyond the contacts (the thing booted and everything, even with a 15 year old replacement HD in it) so it actually booted just fine to OS 8.6.

The battery alone is heavier than the new MacBook.