OT: NiMH battery life

[Trius]

I mentioned this is in the Gordy strap thread. I attempted to do a C&C shot of my Oly 35 SP this morning, using an Olympus C2000 digicam. (I know, it's ancient and only 2MP, but it's all I need for now.)

The batteries had just been charged, I swear, but after three shots (TIFF, using the LCD for composing at close range), I got the damn "battery low" flashing icon.

This happened yesterday with another set of batteries. None of my batteries have been used all that much, though I've had them for about 2 years. In fact, I don't use the camera much, so when I charge batteries I tend to just leave them in the charger until I need them.

So am I caring and feeding for the batteries improperly? Do NiMHs simply degrade over time irrespective of use? The suspect batteries are Ray-o-Vac AA size. Does brand make a difference? I've never had these particular batteries depelete so rapidly in the past.

Or maybe the camera is just getting old and eating batteries. That would be a bummer.

Earl

 

[Kat]

How long after last charge before you used them?

 

[Socke]

My oldest set are GP 1300mAh which has just recently gone bad. It's about 5 years old. The second oldes set are four 1800mAh Ansmans which used to hold enough power for some 100 flashes in my TLA30 but are now down to some 60 to 70.
My first dedicated BP511 batterie for the Canon Powershot G1 survived some three years.

All in all, they die pretty fast after the first signs of weakness. I got some more use out of old NiMHs by discharging them in a flash and loading them in a slow charger. Around 20 hours for 1800mAh and 24 for 2000mAh batteries.

 

[Trius]

Kat: I didn't use them for a few months after the last charge. They were sitting in the charger, (it's a one-hour rapid charger) which I suppose doesn't maintain a trickle charge after they're full. The second set had been charged overnight, so either that set isn't holding a charge well, or maybe I had left the camera on. I'm on set "A"again, while set "B" charges again. We'll see. Thanks to all for the feedback.