Battery Calibration question...

RacingSnake

RacingSnake

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Gavin
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Hi Guys,
my camera told me I should calibrate the battery.
So I've stuck it on calibration mode and it's flashing at the '14 hours' mark.... I was hoping to go out tonight to catch my barn owls and don't have a spare battery!

Will it do any harm if I remove it before it's complete and use it? then stick it on calibration overnight?

(Battery is a canon LP-E19)

Thanks in advance!
 
It was not being harmed when the notice came up.
So I doubt it would be harmed.
However if the process of calibration entails a full discharge recharge cycle it might not have much charge in it if you stop the process.

Seems like you need a second battery, if only for these situations.

I would be uncomfortable only having a single battery with any device.
 
None whatsoever!
Your battery pack has 3 Li Ion cells in it and they get out of balance after a while - no big panic it is just a fact of life with Lithium based cells. All the "Calibration mode does is perform a very slow (and usually unnecessary) full discharge and then re charges whilst monitoring and balancing the voltage of the individual cells in the pack. That is why there are so many contacts on your battery pack.
Don't worry about it just press the "Calibrate" button when you next charge your battery pack and won't need it in a hurry!
 
holty said:
never heard of a battery needing calibration !
Click to expand...

All Canon 1 series camera battery chargers from the 1D3 onward have this facility.as do the Nikon equivalents.
 
Thanks Guys
@johnf3f probably just as well, as I unplugged it anyway :D lol
Useful info to know anyway :)

I can't afford a 14 hour recharge at the moment as I'm out dawn and dusk watching Barn Owls (y)
 
johnf3f said:
All Canon 1 series camera battery chargers from the 1D3 onward have this facility.as do the Nikon equivalents.
Click to expand...

nikon don't have this thats why i have never heard of it
 
Ive done my 1DX II batteries and it never takes the full 14 hours. Usually more like 5 or 6
 
whats does the calibration actually do to the battery ??
I've got a d500 and a d750 do my batteries need calibration
 
holty said:
whats does the calibration actually do to the battery ??
I've got a d500 and a d750 do my batteries need calibration
Click to expand...

What it does is completely discharge a battery and recharges to full capacity. Just charging alone may not give the battery the total amount of capacity it is capable of. All batteries have a life span and this process may extend that a bit more
Do they need calibration? that depends on how many times they have been charged up, but won't do any harm if calibrate every so often, no set must do after some many charges
 
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holty said:
whats does the calibration actually do to the battery ??
I've got a d500 and a d750 do my batteries need calibration
Click to expand...

It balances the voltage on the individual cells, this is generally only needed with Lithium based cells - which we use!

I am not certain but I think the chargers for cameras that use 2 cell packs (like yours) do this automatically - though I could be wrong! If you look at your battery packs and charger you will see that there are 4 contacts - the only use for the extra two contacts is for cell balancing as only 2 contacts are needed for actual charging.

Hope this makes sense!
 
one of my battery chargers with calibration facility

2nk2exh.jpg
 
My new battery turned up yesterday, so I stuck on my old battery for calibration.
I put it on at 13:30 yesterday, and it finally finished back at 100% charge at 09:30 this morning!! That is an eye-watering 20 hours o_O
 
RacingSnake said:
My new battery turned up yesterday, so I stuck on my old battery for calibration.
I put it on at 13:30 yesterday, and it finally finished back at 100% charge at 09:30 this morning!! That is an eye-watering 20 hours o_O
Click to expand...

Obviously well past having it done then. Though it might indicate one of the cells is in some way not up to scratch. And is not keeping up when recharged in the normal way.
 
Terrywoodenpic said:
Obviously well past having it done then. Though it might indicate one of the cells is in some way not up to scratch. And is not keeping up when recharged in the normal way.
Click to expand...
I've never done it, and it was fairly fully charged before I started... but I'll keep a close eye on it over the weekend at RIAT (y)
 
The time it takes to calibrate a battery depends on how much charge is left on the battery.
This is because it discharges any charge first, then re-charges it.
I've had issues with my 1D IV and on my previous 1D3, where I'd calibrate the battery, and the message would still be there afterwards!
Usually it would go away after a few charges later, but no idea why!!!
 
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