How many spared batteries

[Einst_Stein]

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BP-SCL4 is only available from Leica. It raised the concern of long term availability.

For now,  2~3 are enough for normal use, but considering to use SL for, say, 10 or more years, how many spared batteries would you keep?

The same question can be applied to other Leica cameras, such as M 240.

Edited March 16, 2020 by Einst_Stein

[Photoworks]

I got 3 last month in Europe , and then they didn't have anymore anywhere in stock.

I would suggest to buy them in Europe for 140Euro. In the US they are $275.

[NOERML]

I dunno. In the age of digital photography, I seldom think in terms of 10 years or more. When it comes to lenses, perhaps, but the body? I don't believe I will be using it in 5 years. And, given heavy use, it probably will not survive that amount of time anyway. I have three, but never needed more than 2 on any single day.

[jankap]

The batteries annoy. For almost every new camera a new type of battery is developped. Last week I bought the last one (worldwide!) for my Lytro Illum.

It seems, that in some time I have to buy a used camera to get a spare battery for my one.

[jaapv]

If you keep the old batteries, there are quite a few cell replacement services.

[Joakim]

How well does batteries age if you don't use them or if you use them very little? Is it worse than normal use or better? If unused batteries doesn't age well it would be kind of pointless to build up a reserve stock.

[michali]

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1 hour ago, Joakim said:

How well does batteries age if you don't use them or if you use them very little? Is it worse than normal use or better? If unused batteries doesn't age well it would be kind of pointless to build up a reserve stock.

You have a valid point, I would think that batteries need to be used. I label and number my batteries and use them in sequence one after the other.

[Photoworks]

if you don't use it, keep the charge at 50% and store in dry place.

Only charge it again before needing it.

But personally I would move on to a new camera after it comes out..

[caissa]

Using external battery banks is far cheaper and more elegant and largely independent of the camera. With two batteries and two battery banks you can go several days (and costs less). But of course Leica is grateful if you buy a dozen batteries ...  🤣

Aging in modern lithium batteries is no problem, if you adhere to the recommendations. (Longtime storage with a level between 40-60%). Using a battery only a little never is or was a problem even with older technologies. But there are special batteries for very low usage like digital clocks.

Still regarding the price, building up stock that is rarely used makes no sense. In the future probably most devices will have a common power source (usb ?). So investing in proprietary internal batteries is a bad strategy.

A usb pd device can be used on SL2 and S1 or S1R, while the internal batteries are not exchangeable.

If you want to optimally use lithium batteries, then read the instructions for Tesla cars. They are very successfully optimizing the technology and its usage. Some cars have now even reached 1 million km (on two batterie packs and three drive units), a value not common in fuel driven cars. (Ok the driver did it in 5 years, that means 600km per day. A bit crazy. Not really a pleasure for me. Still impressive technology.)

Edited March 17, 2020 by caissa

[panoreserve]

vor 2 Stunden schrieb michali:

You have a valid point, I would think that batteries need to be used. I label and number my batteries and use them in sequence one after the other.

Just like I do (SL1&2; 4x BP-SCL4).

[scott kirkpatrick]

I barely have enough to take a single spare with me.  So I always charge a battery when I come in and swap in the spare  So far I haven't run out.  If I do, I have a battery pack and a C to C USB cable that I hope will help.  I know it will charge a battery in camera, and it seems to generate enough current (1 amp@5 volts) to run the camera.

[hmarkweidman]

I have four batteries. I think the amount of use you get per charge is also dependent on the camera settings you use in the SL2. The SL2 seems far worse, in terms of battery drain, than the SL. If shooting action in one of the Continuous shutter modes and auto focus, the batteries drain significantly quicker than say, in a manual focus, single frame exposure mode.

[Einst_Stein]

15 hours ago, jaapv said:

If you keep the old batteries, there are quite a few cell replacement services.

This is helpful. Where to find them?