AC130: battery questions

[Tom Sheats]

Other than a slight difference in size, what's the difference between the CGA-E/625 battery that came with the camera and the auxiliary VW-VBG6 batteries?

Also, with some rechargeable batteries, it's recommended that you wait until the power is completely depleted before recharging. If it's even practical, is that true of these batteries?

 

[Greg Smith]

The CGA-E/625 and VW-VBG6 batteries are fully interchangeable in both cameras and chargers. I've never seen the CGA-E/625 for sale as a standalone product; it seems to only be shipped in the box with the AF100/AC130/AC160 cameras. I received one with my AF100, but all my other batteries are VW-VBG6's. The CGA-E/625 I have is marked as 5800 mAh while the VBG6's say 5400 mAh (even though they are physically larger). In practice, I haven't noticed any difference in running time between the types.

Lithium-ion batteries do not have the "memory effect" that was associated with nickel-cadmium technology (although some articles I've read dispute that it was ever a real issue). Therefore, there is no advantage in fully draining them before recharging (except to delay having to change the battery).

In fact, for the longest possible service life, a local electric vehicle expert has told me that Li-ion batteries should not be discharged below 30% of their capacity, nor charged above 70%. I don't find that to be a realistic recommendation for use "in the field" because it means you only get 40% of the possible energy out of the battery on each cycle, and you have to judge when the battery is 70% full and manually disconnect it from the charger at the right time in most cases. But it has led me to prefer changing batteries a little before they're fully discharged, if possible. Bad things can happen to Li-ion cells if they're discharged way too far, but virtually all devices using them are designed to shut off well before they reach the danger point.

- Greg

 

[Tom Sheats]

Thanks for the info. No, I don't think it's realistic to only use the batteries between 70 and 30 percent capacity, for this camera or for an electric car.