I read somewhere that you can get more power if you cover the "T" (center connection spot), on the battery. I thought that connector was just for the charger to trickle charge the battery once it got hot. But apparently the camera does something with that connector as well. Just for grins I used an NB-5H battery that was shutting my S10 off because of low power. I covered the center connector with paper and tried it......WOW now the battery had more power for many more shots! Anyone know anything about how and why this is so?
Reading mode:
Install the app
How to install the app on iOS
Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature may not be available in some browsers.
-
Welcome to the new forums! Please read this first. For known issues we are working to resolve, click here.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
S10 Battery Question
- Thread starter Resist
- Start date
After thinking about this some more I've come up with a possible solution. The battery may heat up slightly during use and the camera uses the "T" connector (on the battery), to sense the heat. If so, could it be that the camera then says the battery is low (when in fact it is NOT), just to keep the heat down? Hmmmmmm. Wish I could find something else about this in writing.I read somewhere that you can get more power if you cover the "T"
(center connection spot), on the battery. I thought that connector
was just for the charger to trickle charge the battery once it got
hot. But apparently the camera does something with that connector
as well. Just for grins I used an NB-5H battery that was shutting
my S10 off because of low power. I covered the center connector
with paper and tried it......WOW now the battery had more power for
many more shots! Anyone know anything about how and why this is so?
Just tried out my theory. I used a freshly charged and hot battery. The camera didn't give a low battery indication or shut down. So much for my theory.After thinking about this some more I've come up with a possible
solution. The battery may heat up slightly during use and the
camera uses the "T" connector (on the battery), to sense the heat.
If so, could it be that the camera then says the battery is low
(when in fact it is NOT), just to keep the heat down? Hmmmmmm.
Wish I could find something else about this in writing.
Can anyone confirm this ?I read somewhere that you can get more power if you cover the "T"
(center connection spot), on the battery. I thought that connector
was just for the charger to trickle charge the battery once it got
hot. But apparently the camera does something with that connector
as well. Just for grins I used an NB-5H battery that was shutting
my S10 off because of low power. I covered the center connector
with paper and tried it......WOW now the battery had more power for
many more shots! Anyone know anything about how and why this is so?
Where are all the S10 owners when you need them?Can anyone confirm this ?I read somewhere that you can get more power if you cover the "T"
(center connection spot), on the battery. I thought that connector
was just for the charger to trickle charge the battery once it got
hot. But apparently the camera does something with that connector
as well. Just for grins I used an NB-5H battery that was shutting
my S10 off because of low power. I covered the center connector
with paper and tried it......WOW now the battery had more power for
many more shots! Anyone know anything about how and why this is so?
Matt G62671
Member
As an S10 owner I've just accepted short battery times as a fact of lfie!
HEe hee.
HEe hee.
Where are all the S10 owners when you need them?Can anyone confirm this ?I read somewhere that you can get more power if you cover the "T"
(center connection spot), on the battery. I thought that connector
was just for the charger to trickle charge the battery once it got
hot. But apparently the camera does something with that connector
as well. Just for grins I used an NB-5H battery that was shutting
my S10 off because of low power. I covered the center connector
with paper and tried it......WOW now the battery had more power for
many more shots! Anyone know anything about how and why this is so?
I understand this, that's why I made an external battery pack. But I was just wondering about what I discovered with the NB-5H battery. Does anyone else have an answer to this? I've e-mailed Canon, but as of yet no reply.As an S10 owner I've just accepted short battery times as a fact of
lfie!
HEe hee.
I own a s20 and I think I read something like this on the web. Didn't try it yet.
Are you sure it won't damage the camera, the battery or both?
I lent my s20 to a friend, maybe I'll experiment it when I have my camera back. Sorry for my english...bye.
Are you sure it won't damage the camera, the battery or both?
I lent my s20 to a friend, maybe I'll experiment it when I have my camera back. Sorry for my english...bye.
That is what I'm trying to find out here. Canonn still hasn't answered me!Are you sure it won't damage the camera, the battery or both?
Here's the reply I got from Canon:
Thank you for your inquiry. On behalf of Canon, we apologize for any
difficulties or inconveniences that you may have been experiencing with
your Canon product.
To acquire the information that you are requesting, you will need to
contact the battery's manufacturer.
I hope this answer addresses your concern. Please be sure to include
all previous correspondence with your reply.
Thank you for your interest in Canon. We look forward to assisting you
in the future.
Sincerely,
Trenis
Product Support Representative
Amazing isn't it? I sent them another email informing them the battery only has their name on it and they should know about their own product. They make a Proprietary battery and they say I should contact the manufacturer!?
Thank you for your inquiry. On behalf of Canon, we apologize for any
difficulties or inconveniences that you may have been experiencing with
your Canon product.
To acquire the information that you are requesting, you will need to
contact the battery's manufacturer.
I hope this answer addresses your concern. Please be sure to include
all previous correspondence with your reply.
Thank you for your interest in Canon. We look forward to assisting you
in the future.
Sincerely,
Trenis
Product Support Representative
Amazing isn't it? I sent them another email informing them the battery only has their name on it and they should know about their own product. They make a Proprietary battery and they say I should contact the manufacturer!?
Here is another responce from Canon. More than the last but still lacking information:
Thank you for writing to us.
No influence on the camera whatsoever. It may or may not make a
difference with the battery and it's charging but again does not affect
the camera.
Thank you for your interest in Canon. We look forward to assisting you
in the future.
Sincerely,
Douglas
Product Support Representative
Thank you for writing to us.
No influence on the camera whatsoever. It may or may not make a
difference with the battery and it's charging but again does not affect
the camera.
Thank you for your interest in Canon. We look forward to assisting you
in the future.
Sincerely,
Douglas
Product Support Representative
Here is some interesting information someone else wrote:
Last month I bought a Maha powerbank battery belt pack
for my Canon S20. It took me some time to modified the
DC Coupler to connect with this belt pack. Unfortunately
it only can last less than 20 shot before camera felt
low battery and shut down automatically. It's so strange
because this guy is rated 1800mAh and suppose to be able
to take tons of photos before next charge.
Today I used a multimeter to measure its voltage and was
surprised to find that Canon S20 would complain low-batt
when voltage was lower than about 6.4V. It's unbelievable
since a new duracell 2CR5 is measured only 6.3V or less.
How can a 2CR5 work well?
Finally I got the reason. When I use DC Coupler to power
up S20, the battery status shown in Zoom Browser, which
is a software provided by canon, is 'AC Power'. Seems that
S20 discriminate voltage requirement between external AC
input and battery. But how can it know it's an DC Coupler
but not 2CR5 or NB-5H?
After comparing it to 2CR5, I saw a metal contact on the
top of DC Coupler, which is different from 2CR5. Then I
decided to cover a paper on that contact to isolate it
from a spring contact in battery compartment. Know what?
It worked!
Wow, it means I can use LCD viewfinder unlimitedly. What
a exciting news. I'm so glad because I've thought this
belt pack totally a garbage and planed to throw it into my
trash bin.
I thought it may be useful to guys who also make battery
pack for S20 yourself so I post it here. Sorry for poor
English.
Regards,
Leo
P.S. I did the work in a hurry and forgot to measure the
voltage of that odd contact. Is there anyone who has DK110
can do it and post the result? Another concern is that as
far as I can remember, NB-5H does have 3 contacts, too.
Do you guys have any idea about it? Does it mean Canon can
recognize different battery by measuring voltage in this
odd contact? Post your result if you can get it done.
Last month I bought a Maha powerbank battery belt pack
for my Canon S20. It took me some time to modified the
DC Coupler to connect with this belt pack. Unfortunately
it only can last less than 20 shot before camera felt
low battery and shut down automatically. It's so strange
because this guy is rated 1800mAh and suppose to be able
to take tons of photos before next charge.
Today I used a multimeter to measure its voltage and was
surprised to find that Canon S20 would complain low-batt
when voltage was lower than about 6.4V. It's unbelievable
since a new duracell 2CR5 is measured only 6.3V or less.
How can a 2CR5 work well?
Finally I got the reason. When I use DC Coupler to power
up S20, the battery status shown in Zoom Browser, which
is a software provided by canon, is 'AC Power'. Seems that
S20 discriminate voltage requirement between external AC
input and battery. But how can it know it's an DC Coupler
but not 2CR5 or NB-5H?
After comparing it to 2CR5, I saw a metal contact on the
top of DC Coupler, which is different from 2CR5. Then I
decided to cover a paper on that contact to isolate it
from a spring contact in battery compartment. Know what?
It worked!
Wow, it means I can use LCD viewfinder unlimitedly. What
a exciting news. I'm so glad because I've thought this
belt pack totally a garbage and planed to throw it into my
trash bin.
I thought it may be useful to guys who also make battery
pack for S20 yourself so I post it here. Sorry for poor
English.
Regards,
Leo
P.S. I did the work in a hurry and forgot to measure the
voltage of that odd contact. Is there anyone who has DK110
can do it and post the result? Another concern is that as
far as I can remember, NB-5H does have 3 contacts, too.
Do you guys have any idea about it? Does it mean Canon can
recognize different battery by measuring voltage in this
odd contact? Post your result if you can get it done.
TomW
New member
Just for grins I used an NB-5H battery that was shutting
I recently got a Canon S10. The NB 5H would shut off after about 20 shots, so after reading here, I covered the center hole and the battery continued to power the camera. I will have to do some more experiments, as this camera is new to me.Where are all the S10 owners when you need them?Can anyone confirm this ?my S10 off because of low power. I covered the center connector
with paper and tried it......WOW now the battery had more power for
many more shots! Anyone know anything about how and why this is so?
W
wonton
Guest
I have s10 and s20, the batteries were giving me about 50 shots each (I have 5). Reading the posted messages here about NIMH battery, I brought a RadioShack universal charger to condition (discharge) and charge all my batteries. They gave me many more shots.
After reading these messages, I charged two of my batteries fully, put them in my s10, M settign with flash on in lowest resolution with a 123 MB CF; using just the optical viewer but check the numbers with the display, each battery gave me over 500 shots (yes, 500+) continously!
My advice is that you run your new battery thru a few cycle, discharge it completely, either run the slideshow function or better yet get a charger that discharges, you would find the battery is more powerful than when it is new.
wonton
After reading these messages, I charged two of my batteries fully, put them in my s10, M settign with flash on in lowest resolution with a 123 MB CF; using just the optical viewer but check the numbers with the display, each battery gave me over 500 shots (yes, 500+) continously!
My advice is that you run your new battery thru a few cycle, discharge it completely, either run the slideshow function or better yet get a charger that discharges, you would find the battery is more powerful than when it is new.
wonton
I recently got a Canon S10. The NB 5H would shut off after about 20Where are all the S10 owners when you need them?Can anyone confirm this ?my S10 off because of low power. I covered the center connector
with paper and tried it......WOW now the battery had more power for
many more shots! Anyone know anything about how and why this is so?
shots, so after reading here, I covered the center hole and the
battery continued to power the camera. I will have to do some more
experiments, as this camera is new to me.
I have cycled my batteries several times and they are still the same. You got a Radio Shack charger that will fit the NB-5H batteries? Anyway someone has told me that the NB-5H may be designed to shut off the camera early because draining a Ni-MH battery may actually hurt them. I find this hard to believe and am still waiting to hear from a Tech at Canon.I have s10 and s20, the batteries were giving me about 50 shots
each (I have 5). Reading the posted messages here about NIMH
battery, I brought a RadioShack universal charger to condition
(discharge) and charge all my batteries. They gave me many more
shots.
After reading these messages, I charged two of my batteries fully,
put them in my s10, M settign with flash on in lowest resolution
with a 123 MB CF; using just the optical viewer but check the
numbers with the display, each battery gave me over 500 shots (yes,
500+) continously!
My advice is that you run your new battery thru a few cycle,
discharge it completely, either run the slideshow function or
better yet get a charger that discharges, you would find the
battery is more powerful than when it is new.
wonton
TomW wrote:
Steven S
Forum Pro
I'm going to try the "conditioning" of my abtteries before even using them once. As was reported on the Nikon SLR forum, with the Dx1, a 3 time cycle of conditioning [discharging], and charging is recommended before using the batteries the 1st time. So the S300 charger and other similar cams by Canon does not have a conditioning feature? [still waiting for my cam to arrive]. If it doesn't, I'll have to try the Radio Shack universal charger/conditioner solution.
W
wonton
Guest
http://www.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1010&page=1&message=1035008
There was an extensive posting for the s20 battery which is the same one for s10. Please read them.
wonton
There was an extensive posting for the s20 battery which is the same one for s10. Please read them.
wonton
I have cycled my batteries several times and they are still theI have s10 and s20, the batteries were giving me about 50 shots
each (I have 5). Reading the posted messages here about NIMH
battery, I brought a RadioShack universal charger to condition
(discharge) and charge all my batteries. They gave me many more
shots.
After reading these messages, I charged two of my batteries fully,
put them in my s10, M settign with flash on in lowest resolution
with a 123 MB CF; using just the optical viewer but check the
numbers with the display, each battery gave me over 500 shots (yes,
500+) continously!
My advice is that you run your new battery thru a few cycle,
discharge it completely, either run the slideshow function or
better yet get a charger that discharges, you would find the
battery is more powerful than when it is new.
wonton
TomW wrote:
same. You got a Radio Shack charger that will fit the NB-5H
batteries? Anyway someone has told me that the NB-5H may be
designed to shut off the camera early because draining a Ni-MH
battery may actually hurt them. I find this hard to believe and am
still waiting to hear from a Tech at Canon.
I did some research about the Radio Shack unit Cat#23-250. Although it looks like the Maha unit MH-C777 unit, they are NOT the same. The Maha unit seems to be the better one. The difference being the voltages it can charge. It is also less expensive! But after looking at the Maha site I notice their Plus unit. It costs more but has a nice LCD screen for information.
Well I ended up ordering the Maha MH-C777 Plus unit. If this unit lets me get more shots out of my NB-5H batteries it will be worth it!
Well I ended up ordering the Maha MH-C777 Plus unit. If this unit lets me get more shots out of my NB-5H batteries it will be worth it!
W
wonton
Guest
My charger stop working when I was visiting Paris, but I had enough batteries for the rest of the trip. I took it back to the San Francisco RadioShack store where I brought it in May though I have not proof of purchase, they gave me a new one in stock.
Do keep us inform on your new charger!
wonton
Do keep us inform on your new charger!
wonton
I did some research about the Radio Shack unit Cat#23-250.
Although it looks like the Maha unit MH-C777 unit, they are NOT the
same. The Maha unit seems to be the better one. The difference
being the voltages it can charge. It is also less expensive! But
after looking at the Maha site I notice their Plus unit. It costs
more but has a nice LCD screen for information.
Well I ended up ordering the Maha MH-C777 Plus unit. If this unit
lets me get more shots out of my NB-5H batteries it will be worth
it!
I think the internal resistance of 2CR5 is higher then NB-5H. NB-5H provide a more stable voltage but it drop rapidly when almost empty. When using NB-5H, S10 turn itself off earily maybe just want to ensure everything including CF writing works before the rapidy voltage drop. block the T connection you may take more pictures, but there may be a risk of unsccessful CF writing and lossing pictures.
I think the T connection is for battery type identification purpose. 2CR5 do not have T connection, NB-5H have around 11K ohms resistance inbetween T and -. The dc coupler DR-100 have 0 ohms.
I have also messured the current consumption of my S10 for reference:
Off : 0.12mA
PC connect : 160mA
Play mode : 0.44A
REC mode (LCD off) : 0.12A
button hold : 0.8A
CF writing : 1A
REC mode (LCD on) : 0.86A
button hold : 1.09A
CF writing : 1.13A
I think the T connection is for battery type identification purpose. 2CR5 do not have T connection, NB-5H have around 11K ohms resistance inbetween T and -. The dc coupler DR-100 have 0 ohms.
I have also messured the current consumption of my S10 for reference:
Off : 0.12mA
PC connect : 160mA
Play mode : 0.44A
REC mode (LCD off) : 0.12A
button hold : 0.8A
CF writing : 1A
REC mode (LCD on) : 0.86A
button hold : 1.09A
CF writing : 1.13A
Here is some interesting information someone else wrote:
Last month I bought a Maha powerbank battery belt pack
for my Canon S20. It took me some time to modified the
DC Coupler to connect with this belt pack. Unfortunately
it only can last less than 20 shot before camera felt
low battery and shut down automatically. It's so strange
because this guy is rated 1800mAh and suppose to be able
to take tons of photos before next charge.
Today I used a multimeter to measure its voltage and was
surprised to find that Canon S20 would complain low-batt
when voltage was lower than about 6.4V. It's unbelievable
since a new duracell 2CR5 is measured only 6.3V or less.
How can a 2CR5 work well?
Finally I got the reason. When I use DC Coupler to power
up S20, the battery status shown in Zoom Browser, which
is a software provided by canon, is 'AC Power'. Seems that
S20 discriminate voltage requirement between external AC
input and battery. But how can it know it's an DC Coupler
but not 2CR5 or NB-5H?
After comparing it to 2CR5, I saw a metal contact on the
top of DC Coupler, which is different from 2CR5. Then I
decided to cover a paper on that contact to isolate it
from a spring contact in battery compartment. Know what?
It worked!
Wow, it means I can use LCD viewfinder unlimitedly. What
a exciting news. I'm so glad because I've thought this
belt pack totally a garbage and planed to throw it into my
trash bin.
I thought it may be useful to guys who also make battery
pack for S20 yourself so I post it here. Sorry for poor
English.
Regards,
Leo
P.S. I did the work in a hurry and forgot to measure the
voltage of that odd contact. Is there anyone who has DK110
can do it and post the result? Another concern is that as
far as I can remember, NB-5H does have 3 contacts, too.
Do you guys have any idea about it? Does it mean Canon can
recognize different battery by measuring voltage in this
odd contact? Post your result if you can get it done.
Keyboard shortcuts
- f
- Forum
About
Editorial content
Cameras & Lenses
All content, design, and layout are Copyright © 1998–2025 Digital Photography Review All Rights Reserved.
Reproduction in whole or part in any form or medium without specific written permission is prohibited.
When you use DPReview links to buy products, the site may earn a commission.
©GPS Media - Guides, Products, Services.
Reproduction in whole or part in any form or medium without specific written permission is prohibited.
When you use DPReview links to buy products, the site may earn a commission.
©GPS Media - Guides, Products, Services.