Brought to you by lead tech, Noah Nelson
This pandemic is allowing film gear all over the world to be extremely lazy right now. You probably have your gear laying around doing absolutely nothing, much like myself, who hasn’t left home in over a week. Yikes!
And also like me, your gear suffers without the necessary upkeep. In an ideal world we’d be filming so frequently our batteries would be used and charged and used again. In fact, this consistent use of batteries is what keeps them in good shape. But now, while productions are put on hold, your shelved batteries are at risk of diminishing.
Don’t worry, I reached out to a couple companies for their best practice suggestions:
- Anton Bauer suggests keeping all batteries on the charger while not in use. If you have more batteries than chargers, they suggest rotating the batteries every two days so each one has time to charge.
- Freefly (Movi) recommends charging their batteries once a week with an additional hour on each charge to make sure it re-cells.
- Canon (LP-E6) suggests keeping batteries in a cool area with a partial charge.
These recommendations are based on the time it takes the cells in the battery to properly balance. I’ve also known companies to suggest discharging batteries to 50% power to store for longer than a week. No matter the battery, the absolute best practice for maintenance is to reach out directly to the issuing company. Ask them how you can keep your gear healthy and long-lasting. We’ll make sure our equipment remains in top shape for your next rental.
Let us know in the comments below if you have other recommendations for maintaining gear. Thanks!