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Q on recharging lithium ion battery

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mom51949

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Does it hurt to recharge the battery if it's only been partially discharged/used? I want to recharge it in order to have max battery capacity for tomorrow's outing.
 
No it doesn't thats the major advantage of lithium ion batteries.

If your battery would be anything else than lithium ion it will hurt and you should try to avoid it.
mom said:
Does it hurt to recharge the battery if it's only been partially
discharged/used? I want to recharge it in order to have max battery
capacity for tomorrow's outing.
Click to expand...
 
mom said:
Does it hurt to recharge the battery if it's only been partially
discharged/used? I want to recharge it in order to have max battery
capacity for tomorrow's outing.
Click to expand...
Mom,

It is true that lithium-ion batteries do not have a memory and you can charge them as often as you like. Fully discharging a lithium battery often can damage the battery and shorten its life. I think the camera will shut down before the battery gets to the point it will damage the battery. I am pretty sure the battery in our camera does not contain a smart chip. The smart chip tells the camera exactly how much battery power remains. My Motorola Startac cell phone has this feature. I believe in our 6900 cameras the battery life indicator is handled by the camera firmware with an algorithm. Fully cycling the battery thru the camera a few times, when it is new, should give the camera a more accurate estimation on battery life. On the other hand Fuji may have just fixed the battery algorithm based on their battery. It would not hurt to cycle the battery a few times just in case.

I have read a few comments on this forum about short battery life. I wonder if this determination is made by viewing the camera indicator or by the camera actually shutting down. Just cycling the battery a few times thru the camera may make a difference. The Canon Pro 90 IS definitely had to be cycled before the camera could estimate battery power.

Ga2ryC
 
By that do you mean its better not to recharge a new battery before it needs it?

mom
[email protected] said:
It is true that lithium-ion batteries do not have a memory and you
can charge them as often as you like. Fully discharging a lithium
battery often can damage the battery and shorten its life. I think
the camera will shut down before the battery gets to the point it
will damage the battery. I am pretty sure the battery in our
camera does not contain a smart chip. The smart chip tells the
camera exactly how much battery power remains. My Motorola Startac
cell phone has this feature. I believe in our 6900 cameras the
battery life indicator is handled by the camera firmware with an
algorithm. Fully cycling the battery thru the camera a few times,
when it is new, should give the camera a more accurate estimation
on battery life. On the other hand Fuji may have just fixed the
battery algorithm based on their battery. It would not hurt to
cycle the battery a few times just in case.

I have read a few comments on this forum about short battery life.
I wonder if this determination is made by viewing the camera
indicator or by the camera actually shutting down. Just cycling
the battery a few times thru the camera may make a difference. The
Canon Pro 90 IS definitely had to be cycled before the camera could
estimate battery power.

Ga2ryC
Click to expand...
 
Mom,

I guess that is the best thing to do. And the only good reason is that your battery's life is measured in terms of the number of charge cycles it can live through. While that number is large, the best approach really is to not charge unless you need to.

-Yogesh
mom said:
mom
[email protected] said:
It is true that lithium-ion batteries do not have a memory and you
can charge them as often as you like. Fully discharging a lithium
battery often can damage the battery and shorten its life. I think
the camera will shut down before the battery gets to the point it
will damage the battery. I am pretty sure the battery in our
camera does not contain a smart chip. The smart chip tells the
camera exactly how much battery power remains. My Motorola Startac
cell phone has this feature. I believe in our 6900 cameras the
battery life indicator is handled by the camera firmware with an
algorithm. Fully cycling the battery thru the camera a few times,
when it is new, should give the camera a more accurate estimation
on battery life. On the other hand Fuji may have just fixed the
battery algorithm based on their battery. It would not hurt to
cycle the battery a few times just in case.

I have read a few comments on this forum about short battery life.
I wonder if this determination is made by viewing the camera
indicator or by the camera actually shutting down. Just cycling
the battery a few times thru the camera may make a difference. The
Canon Pro 90 IS definitely had to be cycled before the camera could
estimate battery power.

Ga2ryC
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
mom said:
mom
[email protected] said:
It is true that lithium-ion batteries do not have a memory and you
can charge them as often as you like. Fully discharging a lithium
battery often can damage the battery and shorten its life. I think
the camera will shut down before the battery gets to the point it
will damage the battery. I am pretty sure the battery in our
camera does not contain a smart chip. The smart chip tells the
camera exactly how much battery power remains. My Motorola Startac
cell phone has this feature. I believe in our 6900 cameras the
battery life indicator is handled by the camera firmware with an
algorithm. Fully cycling the battery thru the camera a few times,
when it is new, should give the camera a more accurate estimation
on battery life. On the other hand Fuji may have just fixed the
battery algorithm based on their battery. It would not hurt to
cycle the battery a few times just in case.

I have read a few comments on this forum about short battery life.
I wonder if this determination is made by viewing the camera
indicator or by the camera actually shutting down. Just cycling
the battery a few times thru the camera may make a difference. The
Canon Pro 90 IS definitely had to be cycled before the camera could
estimate battery power.

Ga2ryC
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
mom,

It will not hurt the battery to top it off at any time. The camera itself my need the battery cycled through it a fully a few times so the firmware can determine. using an algorithm , and your actual usage to give you a more acurate estimate on how much power is left in the battery.
Ga2ryC
 
Yogesh Sandhuja said:
I guess that is the best thing to do. And the only good reason is
that your battery's life is measured in terms of the number of
charge cycles it can live through. While that number is large, the
best approach really is to not charge unless you need to.

-Yogesh
mom said:
mom
[email protected] said:
It is true that lithium-ion batteries do not have a memory and you
can charge them as often as you like. Fully discharging a lithium
battery often can damage the battery and shorten its life. I think
the camera will shut down before the battery gets to the point it
will damage the battery. I am pretty sure the battery in our
camera does not contain a smart chip. The smart chip tells the
camera exactly how much battery power remains. My Motorola Startac
cell phone has this feature. I believe in our 6900 cameras the
battery life indicator is handled by the camera firmware with an
algorithm. Fully cycling the battery thru the camera a few times,
when it is new, should give the camera a more accurate estimation
on battery life. On the other hand Fuji may have just fixed the
battery algorithm based on their battery. It would not hurt to
cycle the battery a few times just in case.

I have read a few comments on this forum about short battery life.
I wonder if this determination is made by viewing the camera
indicator or by the camera actually shutting down. Just cycling
the battery a few times thru the camera may make a difference. The
Canon Pro 90 IS definitely had to be cycled before the camera could
estimate battery power.

Ga2ryC
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
It usually takes just a few complete cycles thru the camera to determine how to properly allocate the battery power. Once it is established the firmware uses an average over a longer period of time to change to a shorter cycle period. I don't think it hurts to recharge the battery when it is convenient as long as you are cycling it occasionally thru use.

Ga2ryC
 
Ah, now I understand! I've ordered a spare battery and external charger which should arrive next Monday. So my having to recharge before the battery is low in order to get through a photo outing should no longer be a concern. :)
Yogesh Sandhuja said:
Mom,

I guess that is the best thing to do. And the only good reason is
that your battery's life is measured in terms of the number of
charge cycles it can live through. While that number is large, the
best approach really is to not charge unless you need to.

-Yogesh
Click to expand...
 
From my past experience, shorten battery life caused by keeping it charge fully all the times or let battery drain "discharge" completely dead. Prolong battery life: let it discharge to about 25% charged left then charge it to fully like ups and downs will last longer. I have known this on NiCD or NiMH but not sure about Lithium-type recharge. Tom
mom said:
Does it hurt to recharge the battery if it's only been partially
discharged/used? I want to recharge it in order to have max battery
capacity for tomorrow's outing.
Click to expand...
 
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