Once a battery is charged....

[theMusicMan]

... as in when the light on the charger is green, should one remove it from said charger...?

 

[pxl8]

Depends on the charger, but if it's detected the battery is full it will (should) stop charging. I've left my Canon batteries in the charger for a couple of days with no ill effects.

 

[mmcp42]

I leave mine in overnight
They might get a small trickle charge, but the electrickery is quite clever these days

 

[CT]

I leave mine for about an hour after the light comes on (unless I'm in a rush) I'm sure in one of the camera manuals it recommends leaving them a while after the light comes on.

 

[Jimmy_Lemon]

I tend to forget to charge them so end up waiting for the light to go green then whip the battery out. Have left them on over night before. Doesnt seem to make any difference though.

 

[theMusicMan]

Okies, thanks all.

 

[photostar_1]

On a similar thought....once charged up, if you leave them in a case in your bag...how long will they "hold" that charge? If I don't use my spares for a while, should I re-charge before going out with them? I'm always worried they will have somehow lost their charge in the waiting period.

 

[Jimmy_Lemon]

Not sure Photostar, I only have two batteries and they live in my grip so both get used a bit, would be interesting know though.

 

[Gofer]

The manual for the Canon 400D does say that the supplied battery should not be left on the charger for more than 24 hours to protect it from premature deterioration. I can't find any mention of any similar warning in either my Pentax K10D or my Olympus E410 manual. As regards storing a camera battery fully charged long term, this apparently is not recommended as the battery will deteriorate quicker. Most manuals seem to recommend charging your battery the day before you intend to use it regardless of the battery's state of charge. I try to alternate each of camera's batteries so as they all get charged fairly regularly.

 

[oldgit]

Modern chargers (ie them 'wiv a green charge light) wont kill your batteries if you leave them in a bit too long. However if you leave them in for several days then they will get repeated top-ups which will effect and degrade the charge profile of the battery (always a good idea to run em from full to empty once in a while / if not every time).

Re-Chargeable batteries are getting better. The older style NiCad batteries typically lost 1% of their charge per day. New ones last much longer, but still lose charge faster than an Everready/Duracell.

 

[moomike]

I leave mine to charge overnight but have started to notice battery life going down quite rapidly - this may just be due to the age of the batteries though (my 1D ones that is, I have noticed no ill effects with my 5D's ones but it's early days yet) :shrug:

 

[Janice]

Photostar....

I believe they dont hold their charge well just sitting somewhere..and you should recharge just before you use them, however, that said... in your camera they are just "sitting there" aren't they, if you are not using it for a while and mine have never drained like that.

So in effect............I dont know......even though I thought I did!!

 

[photostar_1]

Photostar....

............I dont know......even though I thought I did!!

..Thanks....I think?

 

[digitalfailure]

I want a charger with a green light :annoyed:

Mine just stays red

I re charge the Canon battery when it's down to one flash, the AA's for the flash get a roasting before I go out, and sometimes a warm up in the car if i'm driving from venue to venue.

 

[Ratty]

photostar.
They will be OK for quite a long time just left(obviously not months/years)
You'll do more harm by giving them a boost charge before use TBH. Some batteries still have a memory retention capability.

 

[Marcel]

I leave mine in the charger until I remember to take it out and put the other one in.

Then I put them both into the battery grip where they stay until I remember to charge them.

I sometimes charge them before a days shooting, sometimes not. I just do it when I remember, theyve never even dropped much.

 

[Pooks]

As far as I am aware, most batteries for Digital SLR's now are designed for a 'trickle' charge. They will perform better over time when topped up now and again rather than being run until they are out of charge and charged again.