Question re: battery charging

[mudder]

G'day,
Dumb question time about battery charging...

If I'm not sure whether my primary battery has enough charge left to cater for a days shooting, I might charge up my second battery (another EL3) and leave that in the bag, just in case...

But, if that secondary battery doesn't get used for a while, how long would a fully charged battery hold its charge if just sitting in the bag?

Also, does that do any "harm" to a battery if it's fully charged and doesn't get used for a while? Does that influence the next charge or anything?

Just wondering...

Cheers,
Mudder

[Raydar]

Doesn’t do them any harm mate.
If going out for the day I charge both the night before regardless how much is left in them.
I’ve had one sitting in my bag for over a month, it took 10 minutes to charge so they hold there charge for some time.

Cheers
Ray

[mudder]

Bewdy,
I'm not up with modern battery technology so I had no idea...
Thanks Raydar...

Cheers,
Mudder

[Raydar]

No probs mate

You are pretty safe with the lithium batteries these days; they will take a lot more mishandling then the NiCad’s

Cheers
Ray

[Onyx]

You can leave the spare in your bag full charged. Although it's not ideal, the entire purpose of having that second is that it's charged and ready for use should your primary run outta juice.

If you have a 2 batteries, swap their roles every charge - eg. when the primary cell in camera needs charging, swap in your spare and charge up the first and have that as spare. Don't always use 1 and keep the other as spare. Since they'll both likely die at about the same time (2-3years down the track) no matter how much you use them.