Rechargeable Batteries – beware of the drain!

I have just written about what a big difference good rechargeable batteries make on the road. You can’t compare regular alkaline batteries with good rechargeable batteries. There’s no comparison. When I use good rechargeable batteries I can actually enjoy taking pictures without having to worry about my batteries dying.

However, with that being said, one more thing is also important to be told. Rechargeable batteries, while they hold lots of power they hold it for very little time if not used. What do I mean by that?

The same great batteries that I have mentioned (Sanyo/GE 2700 mAh) did not hold any charge when not used for 6 or 7 days. After some research on the web I found out that this problem is common to all NiMH batteries. So, my advice is: make sure you charge your batteries right before you want to use them. Don’t rely on batteries you’ve charged before but haven’t used for a while…you will be very disappointed.

Or buy the new Eneloop batteries from Sanyo/GE. These hold a bit less power (only 2000 mAh) but they hold their power for a long long time when not in use. If you use these batteries you don’t have to worry about recharging them the day before you plan to use them. And one more thing: when you buy them they come ready to use even though they might have waited in the warehouse for a few weeks or even months.

I was almost ready to send my camera back to the manufacturer to be fixed because the lens would not open or close. I had two sets of batteries that I have recharged a week before but haven’t used at all. I put both of them in there an still the lens would not open or close. I though for sure my camera is broken (even though it’s only 5 months old). Then I read a bit more online and decided to recharge my batteries again and then when I tried my camera with refreshed batteries…everything worked!

Essentials for organizing your digital photos

Here are the essential products and services I have come to rely on for many years to keep my media collection organized and safe. Even though these are affiliate links, I wholeheartedly recommend them.

Excellent Lightroom and Picasa alternative. If you need a cheaper and simpler photo manager then ACDSee Photo Studio for Mac (save 20% until Feb 15) or ACDSee Pro for Windows (save $20 until Feb 15) is my preferred solution for organizing all my media. It has a very fast browser, great image editing and it's simple to use.

If you do a lot of image editing like I do, I recommend using Adobe Lightroom Classic CC via the annual Adobe Creative Cloud subscription. Lightroom has best photo editing capabilities even though it comes with a steeper learning curve. If you do image editing, Adobe Lightroom is my favorite.

I recommend Backblaze Cloud Backup for affordable & reliable unlimited cloud backup. I have been using Backblaze for backing up all pictures & videos for more than 5 years now. All my invaluable digital memories are safe and secure. This is the best solution especially if you have a large quantity of media files.

Use a reliable & affordable external hard drive for backing up everything on your computer. It is absolutely essential for keeping all your memories backed up and safe.

Start organizing now using detailed, step-by-step instructions and videos:
Personal Coaching (closed) Independent Course Private Lessons
Reference book Basics book Picasa book

YOURS FREE! 10 crucial steps most people miss when organizing their digital photos

Most people want to just organize their digital pictures and ignore these crucial steps right at the beginning...when they are shooting and transferring their digital pictures. Then they wonder why they can't organize their digital photos! Avoid most people's mistakes and start on the right track!

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