Unless you have access to AC power in any situation, having a charged camcorder battery is critical to the ability to record video in many situations, such as your child's school play or soccer game. Most camcorders come with a rechargeable lithium ion battery that is good for an hour's worth of recording; often, you can also buy an extended life battery good for anywhere from three to seven hours of recording. However, batteries do eventually wear out.
Initial Symptoms
It is hard to initially tell when a camcorder battery is starting to die, but one of the most common symptoms is decreased recording time. If you think you have a fully charged battery, but can only record for 30 minutes, the battery may be in the process of dying. However, in these situation, it may be possible that you didn't charge the battery enough; you may have also used it under power-draining conditions, such as cold weather. Therefore, it is important to start to track how much recording time you are getting from each charge.
Battery Bar
Most camcorders have a battery bar in the viewfinder that will tell you how much your battery is charged. If the charger is green and indicates your battery is fully charged, but it doesn't show full strength upon putting it into the camcorder, your battery may be starting to die.
False Charging
False charging can be another symptom of a dead battery. If you leave the battery on the charger overnight, but don't get a decent amount of time recording once you've re-inserted it into the camcorder, it is time to replace the battery.
Don't Overcharge
Don't try to overcharge your batteries; remove them from the charger when the charger says they are charged. Leaving them on to try to maintain the charge, or to give what is a dying battery a full charge, can damage both the battery and charger.
Checking Death
At a certain point, the camcorder battery simply won't charge. When this happens, replace it. If you are unsure of whether or not this is the case for your situation, plug in the camcorder to your AC power. If it still works, but the battery still won't turn it on, then the battery is dead. The one caveat to this is that sometimes, rarely, a charger will go bad, so if you get a new battery, charge it and then it doesn't work, the charger is probably bad.
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