Does Cold Weather Kill A Camera Battery Faster?

[x635 4,066]

Couldn't get anymore picture because my battery died.

Eng51ine got some great shots from the Purchase fire when it was 11 degrees out before his batteries ran out.

I've always wondered, does the cold weather drain a camera battery faster? When it's cold here, my batteries seem to have a shorter cycle then in summer.

Thankfully, I'm neurotic and carry multiple battery packs, but I've always been curious.

[38ff 250]

Extreme temps kill just about all types of batteries faster.

[PFDRes47cue 653]

Eng51ine got some great shots from the Purchase fire when it was 11 degrees out before his batteries ran out.

I've always wondered, does the cold weather drain a camera battery faster? When it's cold here, my batteries seem to have a shorter cycle then in summer.

Thankfully, I'm neurotic and carry multiple battery packs, but I've always been curious.

I would have to believe so. If you look at any battery, they all don't last as long in the cold. I have noticed this with car batteries, cell phone batteries, laptop batteries, regular batteries (AA, AAA, C, D, 9V, etc).

The cold temperatures act as an inhibitor which slow down the internal reactions. This results in less electrons flowing through the circuit which means less power produced...

Edited January 23, 2011 by PFDRes47cue

[Ed Harvey 26]

Yes cold weather will kill batteries quickly. At the Cranwell Fire in Lenox, MA(12-22-10) temps were sub freezing I had to sparingly use my Sony point and shoot camera as the batteries were partly charged. Luckily I had recently charged my Canon Rebel XT battery which considering the conditions lasted a surprising 700+ frames and for about 3 hours. I still believe if it had been warmer I could have probaly kept shooting. One trick I've used at other scenes is to take the battery out of the camera and warm it up somehow, I have just put it in my pants pocket for about 15 minutes this may give you a bit more shooting time. Long and short of it is having plenty of batteries and keeping them charged up.

[Pedro911 22]

I've used "MacGuyvered" neoprene sleeves for cameras in cold weather and seems to prolong battery life. No actual impiracle data. Might consider cutting up liner from old bunkers to make a custom sleeve for further insulation.

[TR54 239]

Eng51ine got some shots from the Purchase fire when it was 11 degrees out before his batteries ran out.

Yes, definitely had that occur at the Purchase fire the other night. My Nikon D60 battery charge went down very quickly.

Just for that reason I kept my Cannon power shot SD800 pocket camera ready . I plan on buying a second battery.

I believe this could be the situation with fireground portable radio batteries as well during the extreme cold.

[JetPhoto 626]

When its cold out as others said if you have a small camera you can put it in your pants pocket but the best way is in your coat near your chest. This is the warmest area so slide it in when your not snapping. it helps.

And yes always have multiple battery's, even in the summer when I roll up on something I make sure I grab a 2nd battery from my bag just in case so I don't have to walk who knows how long back to the car for a replacement and possibly miss "the shot"

Stay warm I think it's warmer in Alaska right now.

[FFFORD 27]

why do people put their batteries in the fridge? I never understood that.

[SRS131EMTFF 471]

The short answer is yes cold weather does lessen battery life. Essentially all a battery is is a chemical reaction. In most cases it is the reaction with Lithium ions (Li) and another cation in an equilibrium reaction. Once you connect the terminals of the battery to the terminals of the device you change the equilibrium of the reaction forcing an increase in concentration of the useless cation and decrease in concentration of the useful Lithium. The reaction is reversed by adding energy (heat is one from of energy). The lithium ion equilibrium reaction is temperature dependent much like most other chemical reactions. The closer to absolute zero, 0 Kelvin or -273 celsius the slower the chemical reaction. Since a device needs a pre set amount of energy at a given time with the chemical reaction occurring at a much slower pace at lower temperatures the device is not getting enough energy from the battery as it needs and is thus shutting down. Its not that the battery has any less energy in it (well thats not 100% true with older/corroded batteries whose equilibrium reactions have been changed or have been abused but the point still stands), its that the battery can not transfer that existing energy to the device because the reaction is occurring too slowly for it be any use.

[Guest Photounit]

They put the batteries in the fridge to slow the chemical reaction which is exactly whats occurring when your batteries fail in the cold...........The cold suspends the chemical reaction.......

I suspect that a big part of the problem you are having with your batteries failing is that they are not fully charged when you go to use them....The rate of self discharge for any battery depends on the temperature at which it's stored. Stored at 70 degrees F (20 C) NiMH batteries will lose up to 40% of their charge within a month. If they are stored at a higher temperature, they will self discharge at an even higher rate. Stored at a lower temperature they self discharge at a lower rate..... In other words if you don't use your camera for a month your only at 60% charge and if you go two months, your only at 20% ..... Both of these figures are if your batteries are in good shape and haven't been used heavily...... Most people are not aware of this........

There are many types of batteries such as Nicad (Nickle Cadmium - old chemistry which is becoming uncommon) NiMH (Nickle Metal Hydride) LiO(Lithium Ion) Li Po(Lithium Polymer) Lithium, etc...... Each has their trade offs and advantages...... For photography usage, the best AA/AAA batteries for cold weather use are ENERGIZER ULTIMATE Lithium's. They are non rechargeable but they work at temperatures from -40°F to +140 °F (-40°C to +60°C) and they also have a shelf life of 15 years and have a very high energy density compared to NiMh cells - IOW, they will power your camera/flash longer...... I have used these but they are expensive..... IMO,they make good back up batteries in the event your normal batteries fail...... The next best bet is the SANYO ENELOOP..... These are rechargeable but come precharged and have a very low self-discharge rate.....They supposedly will lose less than 15% of their capacity in 12 months which is not bad at all..... These are only rated at 2000 mAh compared to some NIMH batteries that are rated up to 2700 mAh but have a better discharge curve which in the end will mean they will probably deliver just as much energy as a higher rated NiMH battery.... The ENELOOP are also relabeled and sold by SONY under the CYCLE ENERGY label (Apparently SONY has other batteries using the same name that aren't the ENLOOPS - The Batteries you want the label is mostly white) Here's a link to info on the ENLOOP Batteries One of their selling features is their low temperature performance.....

There are plenty of new developments in battery technology and most of this is centered around Lithium Polymer technology...... The most interesting is what is called carbon nano tube technology...... Making the cells electrodes out of carbon nano tubes will increase the batteries capacity ten-fold, increase the life of the battery substantially (Number of discharge - recharge cycles) and also improve its cold weather performance...... Here's a link to and article about carbo nanotube batteries Carbon nano tube batteries

In the meantime, I suggest that everybody keep their batteries charged regularly......

Edited January 23, 2011 by Photounit