How to know the spare battery in your camera bag's at full power

 

 

 (Photo by John Cameron on Unsplash)

    Unless you're using your cellphone as your camera, batteries are going to be one of those accessories you'll need for your camera.

    It's usually a good idea to have more than one battery for your camera, as it gives you backup if you are out shooting for an extended period.

    But with multiple batteries you need to come up with a way to ensure that your batteries are fully charged. Trust me, there's nothing more frustrating than being out shooting and discovering that your spares are deader than Elvis.

    There are a few methods for doing this. One involves putting a little stick-on slider device on the battery, where the green side means the battery's good and the red side means the battery is due for a date with the charger.

    Those work fine if the battery clips to the outside of the camera or light body. My wife's camcorder batteries are mounted on the outside, so a setup like that would work just fine.

    But this doesn't work with the tight tolerances of an internal battery compartment.

    I've come up with a simple system, particularly after acquiring a second camera body and purchasing additional batteries for it.

    First, I've numbered each battery to ensure that they're all getting equal wear and tear, as well as knowing that the next number in sequence should have a full charge.

    Then, I added a rubber band to the battery and the plastic bag it sits in. If the battery's good to go, the band is wrapped around the bag. If the battery's spent, I put the rubber band in the bag with the battery, giving me an additional visual cue.

    I do something similar with the rechargeable AA batteries I use for my voice recorder and speedlight. If the batteries are wrapped with a rubber band, they're charged. If they're loose in their bag, then they're dead soldiers.

    What are your suggestions for tracking your batteries?

Need to RTFM? There's an app for that

    For a lot of people, the manual that comes with your camera or other equipment might be something you read once — if at all —and put it away.

    But with today's cameras being essentially computers with a lens, it doesn't hurt to keep the manual handy, especially when you need to remember how to use a feature that you've only operated occasionally.

    The obvious answer is to keep the camera manual in your bag, but that puts additional wear and tear on a cheaply made paperback. Heck, even the cover's paper, so it's not going to last too long in your bag.

    Or you might be like me, and there's no room in your bag for all the gear you carry.

    (For the record, I've never regretted having something in there and not using it. On the other hand, I've kicked myself plenty of times because I didn't have a piece of gear I realized I needed.)

    But there's a high tech way to carry the manual for every piece of kit you have without it taking up any additional room, or getting chewed to pieces in your bag.

    Every manufacturer has downloadable PDFs for their manuals on their websites. All you need to do is log in with your phone/tablet and download the file, where you can read it using a PDF reader on your phone.

    Personally, I also upload the books on to Play Books, Google's e-book reader, which can also handle PDFs. It allows me to access the books from my phone or any computer. You can do the same with the Books app on the iPhone.

    Since there's also a local copy on my phone, I can access the files on my phone even if there's no service.

    In addition to my camera manuals, I also have the instructions for my digital recorder and my speedlight on the virtual bookshelf.