I heard that the life of a li ion battery is optimised if cycled between 25% to 85% (approx). Deep discharge is life limiting, as is continuous charging when using a laptop. I understand a camera is different, and I suspect the battery management turns the load off preventing a completely flat battery. Its usual for battery chargers to be 'intelligent' in that they prevent over charging. Regarding new batteries out of the box (and who knows how long it's been on the shelf), they are normally 50% charged on most products ive read about, that's to protect the battery. Charging prior to first use sounds like a good idea, and is not detrimental.