Li-ion battery in cold weather

W

Will

Joined
Jan 4, 2003
Messages
659
I am looking for a new digital camera, and one of my requierments is being able to use it in cold weather. The one I have now uses AA's, but for compactness I am looking at one that takes a rechargeable Li-ion battery (Canon SD800 IS). Alkaline and NiMh batteries don't work at all in even slightly cool (50°F) weather, which is unacceptable. I know Li primaries work expecptionally well in cold, but I wonder how Li-ion compare. Does anyone have experience? Maybe I should play it safe and get another AA model so I can use Li primaries in it.

Will
 
As far as I know, none of the batteries work in cold weather. The chemical in the battery will freeze and it will stop working. Best to buy a battery pack and keep that in your jacket and then connect it with a wire to the camera. That way, it will continue to work in extreme weather. Or just use a manual camera with film like me :P

singteck
 
I've had trouble with flashlights in cold weather until I switched to Lithium's. Alkaline and Ni-cads gave me a lot of trouble in cold weather.
 
Even lithium-ion batteries fade at severe temperatures -- 0 F. and colder. I use a manual 35mm for backup in cold temperatures.
 
Cougar Allen said:
Where did you get that information???

Li-ion batteries have good cold weather performance. You can get precise figures at the Batteries Included forum at www.candlepowerforums.com
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Personal experience. When I said "don't work at all", I meant in my camera. The digital camera (I have) is extremely sensivitve voltage and even the slightest voltage drop, the low battery light flashes and the camera won't turn on. In appliances less sensative to voltage (flashlights, MP3 players, etc.), this is less of a problem, the battery life is only reduced, and usually only obviously at temperature closer to freezing.

Will
 
Alberta Ed said:
Even lithium-ion batteries fade at severe temperatures -- 0 F. and colder. I use a manual 35mm for backup in cold temperatures.
Click to expand...

Thanks for that bit of info. Although not a as good as Li primaries, sounds a lot better than NiMh and alkaline. I know Li-ion is suppose to be better than alkaline, but was wondering how much better. NiMh have the reputation for being better than alkaline, but it is hardly (if at all) noticable. Fortunatly I don't spend too much time out at temps below 0°F - at least not yet.
 
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