This might sound obvious, but it’s important to give your battery a full charge before you begin taking photos. If you insert the battery into your camera right away, you will fi nd that it has a little bit of juice in it, but plugging it in with the battery charger will give you more shooting time and will get the battery off to a good start.
Once you’ve got a fully charged battery in your camera, you can register it from the setup menu. This is extremely helpful when you have more than one battery, because it will tell you information about each individual battery, such as the remaining charge, the number of photos you have taken with that battery since its last charge, and the recharge performance (Figure 1.1).
REGISTERING YOUR CAMERA’S BATTERY
- Turn the camera on.
- Press the Menu button on the back of the camera to bring up the menu list.
- Use the Multi-Controller to select the last setup menu tab (third tab from the right).
- Select the Battery Info option using the Set button (A).
- Press the Info button on the left side of your camera.
- Select Register, on the bottom left, to register your battery (B).
EXTRA BATTERIES AND BATTERY GRIPS
It’s wise to have at least one spare battery with your camera at all times. You never know when you will need it—maybe you find that you are doing more shooting than anticipated, or you realize that you forgot to charge the one that’s in your camera. Another option is to use a battery grip, which is an optional accessory available for most DSLRs. While not
essential, it is very useful for battery life since it holds up to two batteries at a time. It’s also beneficial for shooting in general if you don’t mind the extra bulk. What I like most about it is the ability to shoot vertically and make use of the extra shutter release and buttons on the grip (Figure 1.2).
