Charging habits

Charge with a charger that matches the battery type, as the pairing guide explains: a mismatched charger is the most common cause of poor charging. Charge in a moderate environment, not in extreme heat or cold, and do not leave a battery charging unattended for longer than the charger and the battery are made for. A battery that is charged well will serve its shoot; a battery that is charged carelessly will fail early, whatever its quality.

Charge before the shoot, not during it, where the workflow allows: a battery charged the night before is ready when the shoot starts, while a battery charged between takes may not be. A team that plans charging into its schedule — how many batteries, charged when, by which chargers — will rarely run out, and a team that improvises charging will often run out at the worst moment.

Storage conditions

Store batteries in a cool, dry place, away from direct sun and from metal objects that could short the contacts. Heat ages batteries, damp corrodes contacts, and a shorted battery is a safety risk, not just a dead battery. A storage box that keeps batteries separated, dry, and cool is a small investment that protects a larger one.

Store batteries partly charged, not fully flat and not fully full, where the battery type allows: a battery stored flat for a long time may not recover, and a battery stored full for a long time may age faster. The exact storage level depends on the battery type, and the specification for the exact type, confirmed in the inquiry, is where it is stated, if it is stated at all.

Checking before use

Check the battery before use: its contacts, its fit in the camera, and its charge level. A battery with damaged contacts, a swollen case, or a charge that drops unexpectedly should not be used, and should be set aside for inspection. Safety comes before schedule: a battery that looks wrong should not be pressed into service because a shoot is waiting, and a shoot that waits for a good battery is better than a shoot that fails on a bad one.

Check the charge level the night before, not on arrival at the shoot. A battery that reads full the night before and flat in the morning has a problem, and the morning of a shoot is the worst time to discover it. A routine — charge, check, pack — repeated before every shoot, will catch most problems before they matter.

Labelling and rotation

Label batteries by type and by age, so a team can tell them apart without guessing. A team with several battery types, several ages, and several chargers needs labels more than it needs memory: memory fails under pressure, while a label does not. A simple system — type on the battery, date on the case, charger matched by label — will prevent most pairing errors.

Rotate batteries in use, so no single battery bears all the work while others sit unused. A battery that is used constantly ages faster, while a battery that sits unused for months may degrade in storage. Rotation spreads the work and the ageing evenly, and it ensures every battery is checked regularly, because every battery is used regularly.

Travel with batteries

Travel changes the rules: batteries in transit face vibration, temperature changes, and transport regulations that vary by carrier and by destination. Pack batteries so their contacts cannot short: in cases, with caps, or separated by dividers, never loose with metal objects. Check the carrier's rules before travelling, because a battery that cannot travel as packed will delay the whole trip.

Carry spares, but carry them wisely: enough to cover the shoot, plus a margin for a battery that fails, but not so many that transport becomes a problem. A shoot that runs out of batteries fails, and a trip that cannot transport its batteries fails earlier. The battery care guide explains the general rules, and the carrier's rules explain the specific ones for a given trip.

When a battery should be retired

A battery should be retired when it no longer holds a useful charge, when its case is damaged or swollen, when its contacts are corroded beyond cleaning, or when it behaves unpredictably — dropping charge suddenly, or heating unexpectedly. Retirement is a safety decision, not a cost decision: a battery that is kept in service past its safe life risks the camera, the shoot, and the person using it.

Retire batteries through the proper channel for your area, not through general waste. Batteries contain materials that should not go to landfill, and many areas have collection points for them. A team that retires batteries properly protects its people, its equipment, and its environment, and it costs nothing more than a trip to the collection point.

What care does not do

Care extends a battery's useful life and keeps it reliable, but it does not make a poor battery good, restore a dead battery, or change a battery's type. A battery that was wrong for the camera will still be wrong after careful charging, and a battery that has aged past its life will not be revived by storage. Care is maintenance, not repair, and a battery that needs repair should be retired, not nursed.

Care also does not replace the specification: the care guidance for an exact battery type comes from its specification, confirmed in the inquiry, not from a general guide. This guide explains the general rules; the specification explains the specific ones for the type you order.

Questions this guide raises

How do you charge, store, label and rotate your batteries, and when do you check them? What do you do with a battery that looks wrong, and how do you retire one that is past its life? Those questions, answered as a routine, will keep your batteries reliable, and reliable batteries are the basis of a shoot that goes as planned.

If your team has no routine, write one: charge the night before, check before packing, label by type and age, rotate in use, retire when wrong. A written routine, followed by everyone, beats a good habit held by one person, because teams change and routines remain.

A final word on routine

Battery care is a routine, not a rescue: charge the night before, check before packing, label by type and age, rotate in use, retire when wrong. A routine followed by everyone on a team beats a good habit held by one person, because teams change and routines remain, and a routine written down can be taught to a newcomer in minutes.

If your team has no routine, write one today, starting from this guide: the charging rule, the storage rule, the checking rule, and the retirement rule. Four rules, written on one page, will keep your batteries reliable, and reliable batteries are the basis of every shoot that goes as planned.