Apple Laptop Batteries

June 18, 2008 | Tips & Tech Support, Doug

Disclaimer

We are not chemists, electrical engineers, or any other form of battery experts. This post is a direct response to requests for information. We’ve researched the questions we most commonly receive about Apple Laptop Batteries and condensed the results into a short post. With that in mind, we lead with our sources, to encourage further research. This information is only applicable to Lithium Ion batteries used in all current and recent Apple laptops.

Sources

• Battery Universe Guide, by Cadex, a manufacturer of batteries & chargers
• Apple’s official recommendations
• Wikipedia’s Li-Ion article
• Coconut Battery Program for Analyzing your Batteries
• How Stuff Works Article on Li-Ion
• SMC Fan Control 1.2 (we’ve tested this version on our 17″ MacBookPro running Tiger and Leopard)
• SMC Fan Control 2.1 (newer version we have not tested)

Conclusions

Go through at least one discharge cycle per month.

It does not matter if this is one full cycle at one time, or multiple partial cycles spread out throughout the month.

Calibrate the battery once a month.

This will improve the accuracy of the power meter in the menu bar, not the capacity of the battery. Calibration instructions.

Avoid storing batteries that are fully discharged.

If at all possible change to another battery before it is fully discharged.

Avoid storing fully-charged batteries in a hot place.

Leaving a fully charged battery in a hot car will reduce its capacity. This includes a fully charged battery in your computer. Removing the battery from a plugged-in computer is one option, but has severe drawbacks (imagine working on an important file when your mag-safe power adapter is pulled loose). Though not found in the sources, we note that a less extreme option is to raise the minimum speed of your internal fan using SMC Fan Control (Intel-Based Laptops only). This will keep your laptop cooler and should reduce the effect of heat on the maximum capacity of the battery. The effect of this program on the longevity of the internal fan is not known, but it has been running on one of our 17″ MacBookPros for two years.

For long term storage charge the battery to about half charge.

Apple recommends 50%, Cadex recommends 40%. The universal agreement is that storing batteries fully charged or fully depleted is a bad idea. Storage temperatures between room temperature and refrigerator temperature are acceptable. Freezing is not recommended.

Your battery should hold 80% of its original capacity for 300 charge cycles, but will drop quickly thereafter.

The drop in capacity is much faster after 300 cycles than before (capacity vs time is a downward curve). You can find the number of cycles by Apple > About-This-Mac > Power. You can also use Coconut Battery for a more user-friendly readout.

If your battery is dying prematurely Apple may replace it under warranty.

If your capacity is shot and you are not yet to 300 cycles take your computer to the Apple Store and ask if they can replace your battery. According to forum discussions the resulting compensation will vary from nothing to a free on-the-spot replacement.

Li-Ion Batteries have a shelf life regardless of storage method.

Cadex references 3 years as a normal shelf life but confirmation could not be found in other sources.

License Key Activation

June 5, 2008 | Tips & Tech Support, Doug

Owning a copy of Capture One Pro entitles you to using C1 on two computers.  With the release of Capture One 4.1, Phase One has simplified the system that tracks and manages your use of Capture One installations. You can deactivate a particular installation from within Capture One or manage the keys remotely using your Phase One Profile at phaseone.com.

See this Activation Management article in the Phase One knowledge base for details.

Don’t mess with the dot

May 30, 2008 | Tips & Tech Support, Tim

Recently I had a call from a customer whom had a large number of RAW files disappear from his hard drive while renaming them. He was using a Phase One digital back, Capture One Pro and a Mac computer. My first thought was either the naming had taken place in the file browser or with another software package. However upon investigation, he had renamed the RAW file in Capture One. Turns out he had wanted to break up the order of the files… then he planned on sorting the thumbnails by name. Unfortunately when renaming the images, he added a “dot” or “period” in front of the existing name. When working with computers there is a old saying, “don’t mess with the dot”. “Periods” and “slashes” (/) as most of you know can relate to the lowest level of command, DOS or UNIX systems all use these symbols.

Since OSX is a UNIX based system, typing a period in front of the file name turns that file into a hidden file…. hidden from the OS itself. The file actually exist, without any data change, but finding it can be an adventure. In my tech support case, I happened to have maintenance program called Cocktail (http://www.maintain.se/cocktail/index.php) which will allow you to view all hidden files on your computer.

This allows you the opportunity to find and remove the “dot” from the name, returning your files from the dead. With this program my customer was able to retrieve all of his files and learn a valuable lesson without the loss of his photography.

Tim

Technical Services

Canon Tethering in OSX 10.5.2

May 27, 2008 | Tips & Tech Support, Tim, Doug

The Problem

The most recent release of the mac operating system broke the ability to tether a Canon dSLR to Capture One 3.7.8, but the fix is very easy. The reason for the problem is that Apple included a program associated with Apple’s photo program Aperture, which interferes with Capture One’s ability to connect to the camera.

The Short-Term Fix

1. Open [Hard Drive / Applications / Utilities / Activity Monitor]
2. Select the process Type8Camera and push “Quick Process”

This will allow the camera to tether to Capture One until the computer is restarted.

The Long-Term Fix

1. Open [Hard Drive / System / Library / Image Capture / Devices] and copy the file “Type8Camera.app” to a different folder (e.g. your desktop) as a backup.
2. Delete the file “Type8Camera.app from the Devices folder.

This will prevent the problematic program from launching and permanently* solve the problem. It will also prevent Aperture from tethering to your dSLR.

*It is unclear whether a major OS upgrade (such as the upcoming 10.5.3 release) or updating/installing Aperture will restore this file and require deleting it again.

Capture One 4.1.1 Tips & Tricks

May 23, 2008 | Tips & Tech Support, Doug

Who trains the trainers?

At Capture Integration we are constantly working to improve our customer support. With the release of Capture One 4.1 and the Phase One 645 Camera we’re holding educational seminars (dates and locations here). But who trains the trainers?

In advance of our Atlanta and High Point seminars our head of tech support, Tim Palmer, spent a week training with Jon Gilbert, from Phase One US Tech Support. With our seminars in Miami and West Palm Beach approaching it was my turn this week to spend time with this guru of Phase One. I’ve been shooting fashion, portraits, and product shots with Capture One 4.1 since the beta, but there were no shortage of tips, tricks, and behind-the-scenes knowledge. For those unable to attend the coming seminars I’m listing some of what I took home.

Tips, Tricks, and Background knowledge after the break…

Continue reading Capture One 4.1.1 Tips & Tricks…

Shooting with Mamiya 645AFDII & P30+

April 21, 2008 | Tips & Tech Support, Chris

Over the weekend I was shooting for an old client of mine.  We were shooting small products for their catalog and web.  We were cooking through the shoot when we came to a group of 10 products that were all similar shape, but different colors.  I had my assistant just quickly drop and I would shoot away.  I started quickly popping through them, but at the end of the 10 items, realized that my C1 Pro had shut down.  I was amazed that all I did was re-launch my software and watched my files pop in to C1 Pro.  I didn’t loose any of the shots!

Procedure to Setup & Troubleshoot Fuji 680III

April 18, 2008 | Tips & Tech Support, Doug

We’ve prepared the following guide for users of Phase One + Fuji 680III systems. Anyone who uses these systems and has comments or additions are encouraged to send them to doug@captureintegration.com. If you’ve found while searching for an immediate mid-shoot fix skip to the last two sections for common problems and their solutions. A downloadable 1-page PDF is available.

The full set of instructions are after the break.

Continue reading Procedure to Setup & Troubleshoot Fuji 680III…

Multipop Device works with Hasselblad H1, H2

April 8, 2008 | Tips & Tech Support, Doug

At a customer’s request I checked to see if our Multi-Strobe-Pop device would work with the Hasselblad H1/H2 body. In short, this setup will work if you 1) tape over the communication pins on the digital back and 2) disable”Magazine Exposure Lock” (custom option #6) on the body. More details after the jump.
Continue reading Multipop Device works with Hasselblad H1, H2…

Mac Computer Performance

April 3, 2008 | Tips & Tech Support, Doug

I came across this digest of mac computer benchmarks today. For the uninitiated the benchmark used here was GeekBench which measures raw processing and memory power. Hard drive speed, graphics card performance, and other factors which come into play in the real world are not taken into account with this benchmark, so for instance the MacBookPro and MacBook score similarly even though real world performance may differ. Even so, this provides a useful point of reference which will correspond best to the speed a computer can process raw files to TIFFs.

http://www.primatelabs.ca/blog/2008/04/mac-performance-april-2008/

High Dynamic Range - Highlight and Shadow Recovery

March 5, 2008 | Tips & Tech Support, Doug

Overview of HDR

Phase One digital backs capture tremendous dynamic range. The new HDR adjustments in Capture One 4.0 taps into this dynamic range to easily recover clean, accurate, and natural detail from deep shadow and blown-out highlights. The process is simple and straight forward. Best of all, using Capture One 4.0 you can compare different variations (see image to the right) of HDR, exposure, and contrast to create exactly the look you and your client want.

An alternative method, Photoshop’s Merge-to-HDR, can offer powerful solutions in difficult shooting situations, but it requires tremendous computing power and post processing time.  Also, due to the need for blending multiple captures, the subject must be completely still making it unsuitable for landscape or models. In contrast, the HDR tools in Capture One 4.0 has none of these handicaps.

Continue reading High Dynamic Range - Highlight and Shadow Recovery…

Multiple Strobe Pops for Interior Lighting with Phase One

March 4, 2008 | Guest Writers, Tips & Tech Support

This article is was contributed by our valued customer, Jeffrey Totaro. You can check out his website at www.jeffreytotaro.com. If you are a customer and have a technique to share with the community please contact Doug Peterson.

_

Digital photography provides many excellent solutions to photographic challenges. But coming from 4×5 film I missed one previously film-only technique: multiple strobe pops while shooting interiors. I have developed a unique switch-box that brings the multiple pop method to Phase One digital backs. The device is built by Kapture Group, and available for purchase from Capture Integration. The device can also be used for other long-exposure and multiple exposure techniques.

Continue reading Multiple Strobe Pops for Interior Lighting with Phase One…

Canon Wireless

February 28, 2008 | Tips & Tech Support, Tim

I just spent a couple of days testing the Canon WFT-E2/E2A wireless transmitter here in Atlanta. It was connected to a new Canon 1ds Mark III and our computer platform was the MacIntosh G5 tower (Dual Power PC processors). Other computers used in this test was a Apple 17″ Powerbook (Dual Intel processors) and a Apple 12″ Powerbook (Single Power PC processor) & a G5 Quad (4 Power PC processors).

A few things you should know up front:

1> It appears it is best if your computer has a built-in Airport card. Attempts to connect using a computer with an external Airport failed repetitively, however connection to computers with built in cards worked with each attempt.

2> You must have Solutions Disk 14 or newer installed first. This disk does not come with the wireless transmitter rather it is part of your camera kit. If you have a older version, download the newer version from Canon’s website.

3> Use PTP connection, it is a direct link between your Canon and your computer. Attempts to connect through our network failed, although some customers have reported success, research showed that that not all networks are compatible and set-up can be complicated.
4> Our testing showed these transfer speeds:

—–A> JPEG Small - averaged 3 seconds from capture to display.

—–B> RAW - averaged 22 seconds from capture to display

Continue reading Canon Wireless…

Compact Flash Card Readers

February 28, 2008 | Tips & Tech Support, Doug

At the request of a valued customer we ran a test recently of the practical speed of various firewire card readers. This was not a brand comparison or a full-blown test. We compared the three card readers we had on hand as a reference point created for a specific customer and shared here for anyone interested. The full Compact Flash Card Test Results can be found in the Accessories page of our Test section.

Tethering with 4.0 and 3.7.8

February 18, 2008 | Tips & Tech Support, Doug

When Capture One 4.0 Pro is released it will sport several major enhancements including the choice when shooting tethered to always jump to a new incoming capture, or to ignore incoming captures so that an assistant or digital tech can check the focus, exposure, and composition of previous exposures while the photographer continues to shoot.

Until them you can use a combination of Capture One 4.0 and Capture One 3.7.8 to accomplish the same thing. Please view the Google video below for a full explanation, or download or view a higher quality version that requires Quicktime.

_

OSX Leopard for Photographers

February 15, 2008 | Tips & Tech Support, Personal Blogs, Doug

Capture One 3.7.8 Brings Leopard Compatibility

OSX Leopard was released in October, 2007. It has lots of new features, some of which are very useful to photographers. Capture One 3.7.8 brings full Leopard compatibility to Phase One shooters. As with any change to your workflow, it is strongly suggested that you set up a dry run; it is never a good idea to have an important job or shoot as your first test.

Here are several of the features in Leopard most likely to help photographers.

Time Machine [Automatic Incremental Backups with a Space Themed User-Interface]

There are only two kinds of data: data that is backed up, and data that hasn’t been lost yet. Time Machine is a very simple to use backup solution. It has limitations, and it is not unique, but if you don’t have a backup solution yet, or aren’t happy with the simplicity of your current solution, Time Machine may be for you.

Continue reading OSX Leopard for Photographers…

Batch Processing in 4.0

February 7, 2008 | Tips & Tech Support, Doug

In Capture One 4.0 the ability to batch process is not obviously implemented, but it IS there! In fact, once you know the secret you will unlock a powerful new tool. The key is the batch modifier key (no pun intended). You can read the Two page PDF from Phase One. However, the bottom line is this:

Holding shift when you press “process” will process all selected images!

You can use shift either when pushing the “process” button in the sidebar or when you select process from the pull down menu. This principle holds true for some of the auto adjustments as well as to the process button. For example, hold shift and press the “A” for auto in the upper right of the White Balance section to auto white balance all selected images.

_

_

C1 4.0 launches when I sync my iPhone

February 6, 2008 | Tips & Tech Support, Personal Blogs, Chris

Everyone that I know that has an iPhone loves it. I have found one little bug if you have Capture One 4.0 loaded on your Mac and try to sync your iPhone, it launches Capture One and iTunes at the same time. Here is a work around that Doug Peterson told me:

1. Open Spotlight

2. In the Spotlight window type “image capture”

3. Image Capture should show up under Applications

4. Open Image Capture and go to preferences

5. Under the General go to Camera

6. Choose No Application and this should solve your issue

Installing Capture One 3.7.7 in 10.5

January 17, 2008 | Tips & Tech Support, Personal Blogs, Tim

If you find yourself in need of Capture One 3.7.7 on a computer that has 10.5 OS (Leopard) on it you will have to do a manual installation.While Phase One does not officially support 10.5 as of yet, they have promised a soon-to-be-released update (named 3.7.8). In the meantime the manual installation will allow you to utilize the software. There will be a few features that either will not work at all or will only work sporadically - the installer is a prime example. It doesn’t work. Of course if you are reading this you probably already know that.

The most notable error we have found using 3.7.7 is that the import from CF card dialogue does not work. A progress bar will appear and the import will seem like it is working, but no files will actually be copied into your capture folder! This could be catastrophic if you select to “trash files after import” since the files would be deleted from the card but not copied to your hard drive. We have also heard of some difficulties with tethered Canon shooting.

Continue reading Installing Capture One 3.7.7 in 10.5…