Lightbulb police? (was RE: Anyone off to VCF-UK)

On 08/06/10 19:31, Tony Duell wrote: Point taken. But they were the exception rather than the norm. Store a lithium-ion pack fully discharged and you're asking for trouble (if it self-discharges below ~3.5V most chargers won't touch it). Wouldn't be surprised if half the "dead" digicam and phone batteries were just discharged below the "minimum" mark; a 3.8V PSU with a 10mA limit will bring them back into the land of the living in a fairly short span of time. Li-ion and Li-polymer are generally best stored about half charged. Not sure about NiMH or Nicad, it's been a while since I read the spec sheets. AIUI Pb-acid and Pb-gel are best stored charged with a monthly top-off charge. Leave them on all the time and they sulphate -- or is that leaving them discharged? Again, been a while since I skimmed the spec sheets. Let's see what I've got in my kit box... Olympus OM10: Two SR44s, 35mm film. Have used it in some pretty rough conditions. Olympus OM4 w/ Winder II: Same story, two SR44s, but it eats them MUCH faster than the OM10. If I actually cared, I'd replace it with an OM4ti or an OM4 Mk.II (which have a newer, low-power controller board). You can theoretically use an OM4 with a flat battery, but you're limited to 1/60sec shutter speed and lose the metering. I still miss the multi-spot metering on the OM4. That was NICE, and if anyone ever ports CHDK to the EOS 7D, I'm adding it (might have to hack up live-view mode a bit but who cares!) :) Canon EOS 33v w/ battery grip: Two CR123 batteries, 35mm film, all-electronic. TTL metering, motor drive, autofocus (7-spot), and all the bells and whistles you could want. Doesn't balance well with any of the "L" series metal-body lenses. Canon EOS 7D w/ battery grip: Digital. Two lithium batteries in the grip (or one if you remove the grip), 18 megapixel APS-C sensor. 8 fps continuous burst for 19 shots on RAW (with a suitably fast memory card). VERY nice bit of kit, had it since release day (the privileges of working in a camera shop) and it hasn't let me down yet. Have previously owned: Olympus Trip 35. Let my brother borrow this, he rewarded my generosity by smashing the selenium cell. Now the metering is shot to buggery :( Canon EOS 400D w/ grip. Sold when I upgraded to a 40D Canon EOS 40D w/ grip. Sold when I got the 7D. New owner asked if he could have his money back because he "had a bit of an accident" with it... he'd dropped it in a duck pond. Idiot. I'm probably going to start with something like a Proxxon MF70 micro-mill; at the very least it'll be useful for accurately drilling and cutting holes in front panels. I can knock holes into metal and plastic panels, but I can never get the edges straight, they always look a bit bumpy :-/ -- Phil. classiccmp at philpem.me.uk http://www.philpem.me.uk/