Photography Course: Camera Battery ⋆ FullPress

With digital I always shoot in automatic and the camera does everything by itself. Can I modify something and put something of my own in it? [7/8]

We finally bought our digital camera and the immediate question is: I would like to use my camera right away, is that possible?

No. Restrain the urge to turn it on and instead charge the battery to the maximum following the instructions for use. Your camera will thank you because in the future the charge will last longer. And in any case, whether it is a small compact or a sophisticated reflex, buy a second battery together with the camera. It is an expense you will not regret, even if, as you will read shortly, many suggest buying another one only when needed, because its life depends very much on the manufacturing date.

But why dwell on the battery? Well, if you buy a car you will want to know what engine it has, how much it consumes, how fast it goes, what tires it has, etc. With a camera it is the same: you will ask yourself how many megapixels it has, how fast the shutter speed goes, what type of exposure meter it uses... Among all this information we will also need to know how many shots we will be able to take before the battery runs out...
In any case, without needlessly describing the various types of batteries that are on the market, know that 99.99% of the time your camera will have a very modern Li-Ion battery, i.e. lithium ion.

What does it mean? It pollutes less than other batteries because it is recyclable, it is a third lighter, it takes up less space, it has a very slow self-discharge, that is, it retains its charge for a long time when not in use (the reduction is in the order of 5% per month), it has a high power and has no memory effect, so if it is recharged when it is not yet completely discharged it will still charge up to its maximum capacity.

The problems? It costs a lot and should never be completely discharged because it could be damaged, even if cameras have an automatic shutdown system that activates before the critical threshold. And then its life depends on the year of construction and not on how many times you charge or discharge it. Yes, because if it is stored at 25° C a fully charged Li-Ion battery permanently loses about 20% of its capacity every year; if instead it is charged at 40% it loses “only” 4%. Therefore when you buy any electronic device the batteries are only partially charged. Also know that with higher temperatures things get worse, so be careful never to leave the camera in the car under the sun…
And finally, if water or even just humidity gets inside a Li-Ion battery it can explode! So be careful both in summer at the beach and in winter under the rain...
In short, five years of average life…and then the battery necessarily needs to be replaced.

Let's move on to the advice: the first is to never let it run down completely and not to keep it permanently at maximum charge. Then try to optimize the number of recharges by doing them frequently and for a short time. It should also be said that Li-Ion should be stored in the cold, perhaps in the fridge and brought back to room temperature in 24 hours before use.
Well, finally the charge is finished. Now insert the battery and turn on the camera. If you really want to use it right away, all you have to do is leave the default settings, select the automatic program and shoot. Usually the program is labeled “AE Program”. In this mode your camera will take care of setting the shutter speed and aperture and sometimes even the sensitivity. Later we will see what these parameters are and when and why to change them.