[Gian]

Hello All,

I have two questions for you.

Preparing for a two weeks trip to the Kazakh Altai region, I had bought two extra batteries.
I wanted to have the GPS on all the time, so I was worried about battery drain.
Because I worked in MF all the time (more on that later), maybe, my first two batteries were more than enough, and I was able to charge them now and then.
Can I store the new unused batteries without charging them?
Should I rather resell them? I do not plan another trip like that in the foreseeable future.

I shot in MF because I noticed that my camera AF is really off focus with all my lenses.
Is there something I could do myself, like cleaning a sensor or whatever, or should I send it to service?

Thanks for your advice,

ciao,

-Gian

[aaacb]

Can I store the new unused batteries without charging them?

What I remember reading is that, stored at a normal temperature (a cabinet, as opposed to somewhere in the sun) and partly charged (say 50-80%) is the best way to reduce how much the battery degrades over time. You could need them in 2-3 years and they'd work just fine.

my camera AF is really off focus with all my lenses

Have you tried micro adjusting focus? Older cameras such as the k10d don't have that function, I'm guessing yours may be since you didn't mention using live view. But if your camera supports it, it can really help. If not, the next thing to try is using a hand air blower on the AF sensor (under the mirror, look up on the forum or youtube). Do not use compressed air from a can. If dust gets on that it can affect focus accuracy. If that still won't do, then service is probably the way to go, perhaps the af sensor got misaligned.

[Bob 256]

With Lithium batteries, it doesn't hurt to store them in any state of charge (unlike lead acid which will go bad if stored below 90-100% charge) as long as you keep an eye on them and recharge before they self-discharge to a low state which is really hard to recover them from. That's why around 50% is recommended (100% can result in some internal corrosion so its best to be below that). Higher temps are bad because of self-discharge and corrosion issues so store them in as cool conditions as possible. The new unused batteries should be good for quite a while but eventually self-discharge will get them into a danger zone so if you keep them, check them in a year or so and maybe top them up a bit (not 100% though). Selling them on ebay or the equivalent is an option, but I value all my extra batteries just like a film stash ("batteries are the new film").

[Gian]

Bob, Aacb,

thanks for your comments!

-G

[stihlmania]

Not enough information to really suggest any possible fix. What lenses are you using? I assume you are using a K3/ K3-II...post some photos with exit data.......way too many variables here...