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A Quick Tip - How To Tell A Charged Battery From An Empty One
When I go on a photo session, I sometimes take a few en-el3a batteries for the session. I Just dump them all in my bag. When I finish using a battery, I put it back in the bag. How do I know which battery is empty and which is full? - The solution is easy, when a battery is charged, I wrap it with a rubber band before I put it in the bag. The battery with the rubber band on can not be placed inside the battery compartment. So before I use it I have to take the band of. After I am done using it, I put I in the bag again. Of course without the rubber band now.
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A Quick Tip - How To Tell A Charged Battery From An Empty One
Film canisters are also an issue. That's why I love the 'left' and 'right' side pockets in my camera bag. Not only for batteries, but for film canisters as well. All new stuff goes on the left. All used stuff goes on the right. When shooting (2) film and (1) digital bodies the pockets are large enough for both … which are almost … the same (issue)
The rubber band thing is a simple, cheap and wonderful suggestion!
AA batteries and memory cards.
With AA batteries, I've bought cases which hold 4 AA batteries, the cases are clear(ish) plastic and I've used a red sharpie to mark one end of the case and a green sharpie to mark the other end of the case. If the + side of the battery is pointing to the Green side of the case then the battery is good, if it's pointing to the Red side of the case it's been used.
Can do the same thing with memory cards, if the label side is facing green, then it's empty (or not full)...
-John
I do the same thing in video production
I work at a televison studio and we faced the same dilema with rechargable camera batterys. Which did we charge? What needs to be charged? So after some other ideas that no one could remember for more than a day (tupperware labeled "good" and "spent", gold star stickers, placing a battery face up or down). We came up with the rubberband solution. Anything without a rubberband goes on a charger, anything with one is ready for action. It's a cheap, simple, but valuable way to avoid facing a flashing NO BATT. symbol.
Swap the batteries
I keep track of which batteries are fresh and which are used by using various cases that hold 4 batteries at a time. When they are fresh, all the batteries point in the same direction. When they are used they alternate direction (like they do when they are in the camera/flash). It's easy to see at a glance which sets are fresh. After I charge a set, they all go back in the same direction.
Abe
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