Hi!
Let say you have not shot your *ist-D or flashes for 6 weeks. You have several sets of NiMH batteries. You know that the now stale batteries will poop out quickly in your *ist-D, but will probably hold their own in a flash unit.
You can use NiMH in Pentax flashes? You really can? Like AF 220T can take NiMHs? That's new to me.
You decide to go out shooting, but for all you know, you’ll wind up with no shots using either the DSLR or the flash…
Do you ---
1 Recharge everything; after all, the batteries are stale…
I would recharge the batteries I knew were dead. I wouldn't care for memory effect.
2 Drain everything and then recharge to eliminate any possible memory – assuming (of course) that your charger does not already drain and charge.
I don't think that potential loss of capacity due to memory can make or break my day...
3 Recharge a couple set of batteries for the camera, let the other drain out in the flash and recharge the later.
No, but then again I did not know about 1. above.
4 Stop worrying and just shoot, replace the batteries as needed, and if you come up short at the end of the day, switch to film…
Sometimes I take my MZ-6 with my just for such occasion.
So – should I fire up the charger? Start draining batteries, or just stop worrying?
The last option is the most viable to me :). Just charge the suckers as necessary.
I have two sets of GP batteries at 2000 and 2300 MAh that I use. I also bought a set of Minwa (noname, I suppose) 2300 MAhs that I've put in my wireless keyboard, which probably wasn't too good an idea after all.
When I go for a shoot where I know I may run out of juice I would charge one set full (the other is in the camera). I would also take with me the batteries that came with the camera - the disposables...
So far, I've been left batteryless only once (Jostein can attest to this) and since then I've learned at least some of the lesson.
Just my cents...
Boris
