Lotus7 Offline Upload & Sell: Off
|
I may be tempting fate or risking tarnishing my karma, but so far I've been quite satisfied with the half dozen 1 to 2 year-old Wasabi and Neewer LP-E6NH batteries used in my R5/BG-R10 combo and my EOS-R, and the couple of 4 to 5 year old Wasabi LP-E6n's my wife uses in her 80D.
However, although I've received a dual Wasabi charger with a battery purchase, I NEVER use it. Instead I always use the Canon OEM chargers (we now have three). The life expectancy of any Lithium Ion battery pack is highly dependent on charging it correctly. Proper charging can extend the life of a Li I camera battery, while incorrect charging can dramatically shorten it. Functional life is also seriously dependent on the way the battery is used.
Factors that can have a significant effect on the useful lifetime of a LP-E6N or NH include:
1. Discharge limit: Allowing a Li I cell to discharge to less then 20% capacity will shorten its life, and allowing a Li I battery to remain in a fully discharged condition for days can severely shorten its lifetime.
This is a common cause of failure of camera batteries. Never let a discharged LP-E6NH sit around.
I always pull my batteries when they get down to 20%. Squeezing out those few last shots is not good for your battery's health.
2. Improper charging profile: Li I batteries are correctly charged by using a regulated time/current/voltage profile. Initially, a constant current is passed through the battery. At a pre-determined point either sensed by the first-derivative of the battery voltage fluctuation, or the cell temperature rise, the charger should switch to a constant voltage mode. Once in the constant voltage mode, the charge current is monitored and when it finally drops to a predetermined level, the charger may or may not then switch to a lower, "hold" voltage.
Canon OEM chargers seem to use an excellent charge "profile". The profile used by an inexpensive, almost-free charger supplied with a battery purchase is unknown and may be far from optimum. I've checked one such charger and found it used a fixed constant-voltage regulator and had no temperature limit capability. Using such a simple, basic charger, or even one with a sub-optimum charge profile can certainly shorten battery lifetime.
3. Attempted charging at freezing temps.: This is a less common occurrence, but can seriously damage a Li I battery. Starting charging with a Li I battery at a temp less than 0 deg C. (32 deg. F.) will cause Lithium plating which will dramatically shorten lifetime, increase internal resistance (which limits performance in high load conditions like fast shutter bursts) and can even cause dangerous internal shorts.
If a Li I battery has been left out in a freezing car overnight, always allow it to warm up to near room temperature before attempting to charge it.
Remember, Li I batteries have varying rates of self-discharge which tends to increase as they age. A new Li I battery may loose only 2 or 3% of its stored energy per month, while a well-used one might loose 10% per month. Additionally, Canon cameras that use the LP-E6N/NH all use some current when the "Main Power Switch" is in the OFF position. That switch DOES NOT actually disconnect the battery, but instead it simply powers down most, but not all of the camera's electronics. A battery should be left in the camera to keep the internal clock running and the circuits that respond to a memory card insertion. That means a battery left in a camera will be slowly discharged at a rate much higher than its own "self-discharge" rate if it were not installed in a camera.
Sorry for the lengthy post. Thanks for reading and hope this info is helpful.
|