The battery is the life of a camera that’s why you should have the best battery for your camera. Different camera batteries take different amounts of time to charge fully. So, it is necessary to know about camera battery charging time for proper maintenance and charging.
Digital cameras’ battery takes an average of two hours to charge if you use a dedicated charger. If you use the USB cable to charge through a computer, it will take four hours. However, these times differ from model to model. In addition, temperature, charger, and battery quality also influence charging time.
Here I will show you how long a camera battery takes to charge. So, let’s begin.
How Long Does It Take to Charge a Camera Battery?
Generally, it takes two hours for the camera battery to charge fully at room temperature. It is not a fixed time because charging times depend on other factors such as room temperature, battery quality, battery recharging capacity, charging method, etc.
Let’s say if your room temperature is less than 50° Fahrenheit, then it could take four hours to charge fully. Besides that, if you use the battery for a longer time, its recharging capacity will be reduced significantly. In this case, the battery will take more time to charge.
In addition, charging methods are another important factor that significantly influences charging time. If you don’t use the original charger and cable, the battery will take more time to charge fully.
Moreover, the charging source also has a significant influence on charging time. If you use a laptop to charge the battery, the battery will take more time to reach full capacity.
So, the average charging time of the camera battery is two hours, and it could increase depending on temperature, charger, battery, and charging method. Apart from these, charging times differ from brand to brand. Let’s know the charging times of the most popular camera brands one by one.
Canon Camera Battery Charging Time
Undoubtedly, Canon is the most popular digital camera brand. Canon offers a wide range of cameras. Now the question is, how long does it take for a canon camera battery to charge?
Canon cameras come with different battery series, and they take different times to charge. For example, LP-E6, LP-E6N, and LP-E6NH. LP-E6 takes two hours, LP-E6N takes two hours and ten minutes, and LP-E6NH takes two hours and forty-seven minutes to charge fully.
LP-E6NH takes more time because it has more power compared to others. So, Canon batteries take at least 2 hours to charge fully at room temperature. Recommended charging temperature for the canon battery is 50° to 86° Fahrenheit. This time could change depending on room temperature and charging method.
Nikon Camera Battery Charging Time
Nikon is another popular digital camera brand all over the world. Its batteries take one hour and fifty minutes to charge fully. However, it varies depending on battery models and room temperature. For example, the EN-EL14a battery takes two hours and fifty minutes to charge fully. This charging time could be increased if the room temperature is lower than 50° Fahrenheit.
Sony Camera Battery Charging Time
Sony is a well-known brand when it comes to digital cameras. They make one of the world’s best digital cameras. The charging time of the Sony camera batteries depends on camera types and battery packs. For example, DSC-QX10/QX100 digital camera takes one hour and fifty-five minutes, and DSC-WX500 takes 230 minutes to charge fully at room temperature of more than 50° Fahrenheit.
The average charging time of the Sony battery is two hours. However, it may change depending on room temperature, battery models, and charging methods.
GoPro Camera Battery Charging Time
It’s time to talk about GoPro camera battery charging time. The average charging time of the GoPro battery is two hours if you use supplied charger. If you use a computer, it will take four hours to charge fully. Moreover, charging time will be increased if the room temperature is lower.
Olympus Camera Battery Charging Time
You can’t ignore Olympus when it comes to digital cameras because it offers a wide range of cameras. If you use Olympus dedicated charger, the battery will take an average of two hours and thirty minutes to three hours to charge fully. But this time may increase depending on temperature, battery charger, and battery recharging capacity.
Tips and Tricks to Charge Your Camera Battery Quickly
Here are seven tips and tricks for charging the camera battery:
1. Ensure room temperature is 50° to 86° Fahrenheit
When charging the battery, ensure that room temperature is between 50° to 86° Fahrenheit. The battery takes more time to charge at low temperature; battery charge doesn’t last long if charged at low temperature.
2. Use recommended chargers
You should avoid using unofficial chargers or cables for charging your camera battery. Non-Recommended charger and cable slow down charging speed and reduce battery’s recharging capacity.
3. Never touch battery or remove charger while charging
Avoid touching the battery while it is charging. Moreover, ensure that you never remove the charger until charging is complete. Sudden charger removal in charging time will reduce the battery’s charging capacity.
4. Shut down the camera
If you want to charge the battery within the camera, shutdown it, then start charging. If you charge the battery within the camera while it is running battery won’t charge perfectly.
5. Use charger for compatible batteries
It is the number one rule for charging camera batteries. Never use a non-recommended battery. It is not good for your camera and charger. If you use non-recommended batteries, it will take more time to charge and may damage your camera.
6. Cooldown battery before charging
After using the camera, remove the battery and wait to cool it down. When you use the camera, battery temperature increases; charging the battery when it is hot is not good for battery health.
7. Stop charging when the battery is fully charged
It would be best to stop charging the battery when it is fully charged. If you continue charging the battery after charging is complete, it will damage the battery’s recharging capability and performance.
How to Extend the Life of Your Camera Battery?
Here are a few tips to follow that can extend your camera battery life.
Reduce the Brightness of the Camera’s LCD
Does your camera feature the range finder? If yes, I have good news for you; you can stop your camera’s LCD screen from draining the battery.
How?
You need to turn off the LCD screen.
What if my camera doesn’t feature the range finder? In this case, you can reduce LCD brightness.
You can significantly extend your camera’s battery life by shutting down the LCD or reducing its brightness.
Shutdown Continuous Focus
Continous focus is a great gift for photography from the digital camera. However, it drains the charge of the battery significantly. If you don’t shoot moving objects frequently, you can disable continuous focus. It is a great way to extend your battery life.
Ensure Warm Condition
Too hot and too cold conditions are bad for the battery. And it is the same for the camera battery. Too cold conditions drain the battery fast and reduce battery power drastically. That’s why you should keep your battery warm all time. If your shooting area is too cold, you can use heat packs to warm the battery.
Enable Sleep Mode
Sleep mode is another effective tool for extending the camera’s battery life. If you enable sleep mode, the camera will stop draining the battery if it detects no actions. When you push the camera button, it will wake up from sleep mode and start taking shots.
Stop Unnecessary Use of Flash
Do you know the number one cause for battery draining in digital cameras?
It is flash!
If you stop using flash to take pictures, you can significantly extend your camera’s battery life. So, stop using flash in bright light.
Check Previous Shots When Necessary
Taking shots and previewing is a natural habit of photographers. This activity drains the battery significantly. To extend the battery life, stop previewing every shot. Instead, you can preview the necessary shots. This way, you can increase the battery life greatly.
What to Do If Your Camera Battery Won’t Charge?
It would be a disaster when you need to take important shots or are in a hurry to complete your photography assignment but the camera battery doesn’t take charge. All photographers face this issue sometimes in their life.
So how to fix the camera battery that doesn’t take charge?
Here are a few things you can do to fix the battery if it doesn’t take charge, and they are:
Check the charger if it is working or not
If you are using a charger, ensure that it is working properly. Check out the charger cable if it is damaged or not. If the cable is changeable, try a new cable. Don’t forget to check out the power outlet.
Unplug and replug charger and camera
Sometimes improper plugging disrupts battery charging. So unplug the camera/charger pack and charger and replug, then check if the battery is charging or not. In most cases, this method will solve the problem. If not, follow the next solutions.
Clean camera battery and charger
If your charger and power outlet is ok, but the battery is not charging, you need to clean your charger and battery. Sometimes dirt on the battery’s metal block charging. It goes the same for the charger, clean charger’s metal part. After that, check if the battery is charging again or not.
Check if the battery is seated correctly or not
To charge your camera battery, you must ensure that it is seated correctly in the charger. So, remove your battery and check if it was seated correctly or not, and place the battery in the charger properly.
Is your battery damaged?
If you have tried the above techniques and still the battery is not charging, your battery could be damaged. So, check for battery damage; search if there is any scratch or bent available on the battery or not. If you find a scratch or bent on the battery, it could be the battery’s damaged part.
In such cases, check the warranty card to see if the warranty is still available or not. If the warranty is not available, buy a new battery.
How to Choose the Right Camera Battery?
The battery is the lifeblood of digital cameras. Professional photographers understand this better than anyone else. To get the best service, the right camera battery is a must for every photographer.
However, choosing the right battery is not an easy task. Choosing a camera battery is harder than choosing a camera. To choose the right battery, you need to follow a few rules. Here are a few things you should keep in mind for choosing the right one, and they are:
Know Your Requirements
It is the first thing you should consider while choosing your camera battery. Ask yourself a few questions; What is your actual requirement, your shooting environment, how long you shoot, and your budget.
Why should you need to know these questions’ answers?
If you are an occasional photographer, you don’t need extra batteries. If you shoot at cold temperatures, you would need high-quality batteries. Moreover, if you shoot for a longer time, you will need multiple batteries.
Let’s say you are an occasional photographer and looking for extra camera batteries; disposable camera batteries could be the best choice for you. On the other hand, if you are a professional photographer and need to shoot at a cold temperature, a rechargeable lithium-ion battery is the best option for you.
Camera Battery Types
You should know which type of battery is right for you to choose the right camera battery. When it comes to camera batteries, generally, there are three types; rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, nickel-metal hydride rechargeable batteries, and disposable batteries.
If you are a professional photographer and need longer power, a lithium-ion rechargeable battery is the best option for you. In addition, you can store disposable batteries for emergency use. On the other hand, if you are an occasional photographer and need to shoot for a day, you can go for cheap disposable batteries.
So, pick the right type of battery according to your needs.
Choose Recommended Brands
These days, all digital camera brands make and sell extra batteries. However, there are third-party camera batteries. Digital camera manufacturers recommend batteries for their models, including their ones. So, it is better to pick one from your camera brand’s recommended list. Keep your camera away from unknown third-party batteries; they can damage your camera.
Conclusion
The battery is crucial equipment for the digital camera. Camera battery charging time varies from brand to brand and model to model. Moreover, the charging time depends on temperature, charger, battery quality, etc. Don’t charge the battery when it charges fully. Use techniques to extend your battery life, don’t just charge and use your camera battery.