Recently, i noticed a problem with my 40D. The battery level always shows only 1 bar. im using a genuine canon batter and one OEM battery.when i charge these batteries, the charges light stops blinking in less than 5 minutes, indicating that the batteries are fully charged. however, when i put then in my camera, the battery level goes back to just one bar in less than 5 minutes. any ideas on what the problem could be?
I've had many genuine canon batteries do this after about a year or so: charge quickly but hardly nuttin' in there. Some guys claim you can condition the battery to properly hold a charge when in this condition. I never could bring any back from the dead (well, my cellphone battery was able to hold a full charge again after I let it sit for 6 months). My SterlingTreks last about twice as long as the Canon 511.
That is what's happening to my battery right now but mine's directly related to my charger. Ever since I dropped it, charging time seems to last less than a minute. I just reattach the battery and the plug again and again until it charges normally like they should, yeah pain in the ***, really. When I put it back in the camera, it can take a day's worth of shooting. Unfortunately for me, problematic chargers like this are not covered by the warranty.
One quick note as a response to the charging issue, is that when the light goes to a steady state on the charger, it does not mean that the battery is charged. It means that it is at least 90% charged. It can take up to 30 minutes for the battery to completely charge once that light has gone solid.
At the same time, if you are getting to a solid light and then it says there is only 1 bar, that should not be the actual charge as 90% should not show up as 1 bar.
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