Use/maintenance of battery (G9)

[Playdope]

Could somebody tell me if there is a proper way to store/maintain a camera if it is used relatively INfrequently? Should the battery be removed? Should the battery be drained and recharged?

On a side note, which are the highest quality and most powerful aftermarket batteries available that will help to offer the most downtime when diving with the camera?

Thanks!

 

[jeraldjcook]

Could somebody tell me if there is a proper way to store/maintain a camera if it is used relatively INfrequently? Should the battery be removed?

Although not necessary, removed is safer. If the battery were to short somehow (very unlikely), or drained too low (again very unlikely) the camera would not be ruined.

Should the battery be drained and recharged?

Li-Ion batteries do not need to be drained before being recharged. Personally, I store my Li-Ion batteries at whatever charge they're at when I'm done using them, unless they're dead. I recharge them when I'm ready to use them again.

On a side note, which are the highest quality and most powerful after market batteries available that will help to offer the most downtime when diving with the camera?

Quality wise, it doesn't get much better than Canon. They'll stand by their product should something happen to the battery.

SterlingTek offers a "1700mAH" battery. The mAH is a bunch of huey but they are a very popular brand of battery and dirt cheap. A few Canon owners on another forum have done some testing and they last marginally longer than the Canon ones. The highest capacity cells that fit in the battery (the NB-2LH uses 2 cells) are currently 900mAH so anyone offering higher capacity than that is blowing smoke.
Canon NB-2LH 1700mAh Equivalent Batter
TWO Canon NB-2L / NB-2LH 1700mAh Battery Pack Equivalent
But at $10.50 a battery just buy a couple extra.