battery observation

There has, from time to time, been discussion of battery performance in
cold weather. Last week I was out for five days of 'hike and bike' in
Grand Teton and Yellowstone. I was preparing breakfast at the Jenny Lake
campground when I noted two deer strolling through the campground - about
50 feet from my table. Grabbed my camera and lo and behold - it started
up and immediately shut down. I thought this was a little funny since it
was showing a full charge the day before. Swapped in my backup battery
which was fully charged before I left - it showed 1/3 charge, but did get
a couple of shots. Later in the day, after it warmed up, it showed a full
charge and I did about 60 or so shots - and it still going.

I have been out showshoeing in the winter with no problems, but that's
not quite the same as being sub freezing all night.

Camera is a Kodak P850 with original and OEM backup battery.

On 26 Sep 2010 14:32:42 GMT, ray wrote:

There has, from time to time, been discussion of battery performance in
cold weather. Last week I was out for five days of 'hike and bike' in
Grand Teton and Yellowstone. I was preparing breakfast at the Jenny Lake
campground when I noted two deer strolling through the campground - about
50 feet from my table. Grabbed my camera and lo and behold - it started
up and immediately shut down. I thought this was a little funny since it
was showing a full charge the day before. Swapped in my backup battery
which was fully charged before I left - it showed 1/3 charge, but did get
a couple of shots. Later in the day, after it warmed up, it showed a full
charge and I did about 60 or so shots - and it still going.

I have been out showshoeing in the winter with no problems, but that's
not quite the same as being sub freezing all night.

Camera is a Kodak P850 with original and OEM backup battery.

The Li-ion battery that the P850 uses is more tolerant to cold
temperatures than most batterey technologies. The Yellowstone
area this time of year is not really cold. It's just cool, so maybe
your problem is related to the voltage sensor and not the battery?

On 26/09/2010 21:30, ray wrote:
On Sun, 26 Sep 2010 11:07:43 -0400, tnom wrote:

On 26 Sep 2010 14:32:42 GMT, wrote:

There has, from time to time, been discussion of battery performance in
cold weather. Last week I was out for five days of 'hike and bike' in
Grand Teton and Yellowstone. I was preparing breakfast at the Jenny Lake
campground when I noted two deer strolling through the campground -
about 50 feet from my table. Grabbed my camera and lo and behold - it
started up and immediately shut down. I thought this was a little funny
since it was showing a full charge the day before. Swapped in my backup
battery which was fully charged before I left - it showed 1/3 charge,
but did get a couple of shots. Later in the day, after it warmed up, it
showed a full charge and I did about 60 or so shots - and it still
going.

I have been out showshoeing in the winter with no problems, but that's
not quite the same as being sub freezing all night.

Camera is a Kodak P850 with original and OEM backup battery.

The Li-ion battery that the P850 uses is more tolerant to cold
temperatures than most batterey technologies. The Yellowstone area this
time of year is not really cold. It's just cool, so maybe your problem
is related to the voltage sensor and not the battery?

As noted, this is the first time I've seen the problem. I've been out in
colder temps, but not of that duration. It was below freezing for several
hours. I'm not pointing the finger at the battery or the sensor, just
noting the issue.

Digital cameras can have this sort of problem though more commonly with
NiMH cells - the initial focus servo current can be enough to bring the
terminal voltage low enough to convince the camera that the battery is
out of juice when you first switch on in cold conditions. This may be a
combination of mechanical and electronic effects - cold lubricants tend
to be stickier. Sometimes you can switch off then on again using manual
focus to take photos when the battery is playing up because of cold.

I am a bit surprised it is cold enough for that big a change now. I
usually see it in somewhat colder conditions with a borderline battery.

I have had bother with cold batteries before an keep one set in an
inside jacket pocket as reserve.

Regards,
Martin Brown