I have been a photographer for a long time and have owned many (60?) different cameras. UPS just delivered me 2 news ones - Canon 90D. I have never met a camera that was setup properly out of the box. They sell these things to the general masses and one cannot expect it to be proper arranged for what you individually will be shooting. I just had one of my students over for 3 hours so that we could fine tune his new Canon 80D for him. I am offering help. I can try to advise you with your new or old camera as far as setting goes. IMO, a big deal. Probably best done through tree mail. Here I am assuming no one else has the same camera as you but who knows? Gene

One big incentive for setting up and using your camera properly - battery life. I have students all the time with the same camera as I have who are getting 500 - 800 shots per battery. I average 4500.

Gene got an early visit from Santa!

Please share your tricks and tweaks to maximize battery life. My battery goes dead way sooner than I would like. What can I change to make that better?

That's very generous of you, Gene. Setting up a camera is more important than customizing a new computer, IMO. (But I guess it all depends on who you are...)

Regarding battery life in the long run, one thing you can do is not wait until your battery goes dead before you recharge it. If this is your regular impetus for battery changing (rather than recharging before it is completely dead), the battery's full charge level will decrease quicker, making each recharge shorter lasting.

It does depend somewhat on the battery chemistry, though - some batteries don't have an issue with repeated deep-cycling, whereas others will fail quicker if they are deep-cycled (i.e. discharged below about half their capacity).

All current batteries are way more high tech than you can imagine. No more memory issues. Can be drained, can be charged at any time, etc. I just got new cameras and some new very inexpensive batteries and so far it looks like I might get 8K shots per battery.

Actually, I can imagine - I am an electrical engineer. Lithium-ion batteries (the most common ones now) don't have the memory effect. They have inbuilt electronics to protect against over-charging and excessive discharging. However, they are more volatile (read: prone to explode/catch fire) if damaged (remember the Samsung Note 7 problem?).

That's not to say that you don't need to look after them, though. If not in use, Li-ion batteries actually prefer to be stored with a partial charge (i.e. 40-50%). Because they have inbuilt electronics to manage charging, it also helps many devices if they are fully discharged every so often so that the device (i.e. a smartphone) can accurately represent the state-of-charge (just don't do this on every cycle, as that decreases battery life).

They also self-discharge, just like any other battery. So you can't just store them indefinitely; if a Li-ion discharges too far, they cannot be recharged easily (and if they have gone too far, it's actually hazardous to try to recharge them).

So I'm kinda right and kinda wrong, but I will take the credit for sparking this interesting and informative discussion.
The half charge for lithium ion battery storage is something I've read in several places.

I have heard that these batteries lose 20% of their capacity every year, so you need to replace them about every three years.

I'm afraid that's not quite correct, @pikaia. The regular disposable ones do decline at about that rate. The capacity loss of rechargable Lithium-ion batteries, though, is primarily affected by how you use and care for them.

Generally the capacity loss for Li-ion rechargeables is directly related to the number of cycles and depth of cycle (i.e. how far you discharge it). There are multiple Li-ion chemistries as well, which also affects lifespan and energy density (so how much energy you can fit into a battery of a certain size). For example, if you always run them down to 0% state of charge before recharging, then they will fail quicker than if you always recharge them when they get down to about 50%.

I have batteries that are very old, very used and still work just fine. Since everyone is always in a hurry, many battery chargers will indicate the battery is fully charged when it is 85-90% charged. Leave your battery in the charger longer. Overnight is good. Here is one tip that will give you considerable extra battery life. Leave your camera on. Turn it on when you are about to start shooting and then leave it on for the rest of the day (if you think you will be shooting more.) It takes a fair amount of energy to start and stop a camera. It has to remember what it was doing and where it was, etc. I am talking about the on/off switch. Go to the menu and tell our camera to fall asleep as soon as possible. For most cameras that is 1 min. Your camera will wake up quickly, you will not miss a shot.

OK, you have had your camera "on" all day long. You removed the card and cut or copied your files to your computer. You are done shooting, about to go to bed perhaps. Now for a 3 step routine. Insert card and press review. It should say no images. This is a test of 2 things. Did you get all the files into the computer or not. Did you accidently hit the lock switch on the card inserting it. It will let you know. Now, in the menu, format the card. Still in menu, check battery level. Turn camera off so it will clean itself. If my battery was at 70% or less, I put it in the charger for the night. I also leave the battery door open. A reminder that there is no battery in the camera. Gene

Here is another simple change you can make to our cameras settings that will save a lot of battery juice. Out of the box all cameras are told to automatically review pictures. Every time you take one the camera will put it up on the rear of the camera for a few seconds. Serious waste of power. Find review in the menu and turn it off. You can still review any time you want by pressing review. The image stays there until you hit review again or tap the shutter button. You are in control. I take one shot and hit review. Looks good. Now I am about to take 20 more, or 80 or 500. I am busy taking pix, I do not have time to look at the reviews. I want you to be doing 2 things when you are out there. Enjoying the day. Taking pictures. If you are starring at the back of or camera you are doing neither. OK, many people say that reviewing their pix is one of the joys of digital photography. Fine, just carry more batteries with you. Even though I get a lot of shots from each battery, I carry 10 batteries for my 2 cameras. I also walk around with over 2TB of memory. Gene

That's interesting that you have found a correlation between the review and battery usage, Gene. My expectation would have been that the review setting would have had little to no impact at all (at least on digital cameras where the screen is also the viewfinder), as the power usage is in keeping the screen on.

Does your camera have the above functionality? If so, I suspect the impact on battery life may have more to do with the time required for taking photos, as opposed to the review function itself (i.e. waiting a few seconds between images for the autoreview to clear, as opposed to just snapping away and checking the images later on a computer).

Personally I find it easier to review my photos later on the computer (where I have a decent-sized screen), as typically my phone or camera screen isn't big enough to show up any minor motion blur or other issues. So I'd rather take a number of photos of my subject and then pick the best one or two later on the computer.

My camera has a viewfinder so putting anything on the rear screen takes more power. Like live view and review. You must have a camera where you are in live view all the time basically. Still reviewing has a cost. Yes, I advise all my students to not delete on the run. That small screen does not reveal detail. You have enough memory and battery power with you, no need to delete in the field. Yes, editing on the computer is best. Now if you took a pix of your foot because you were fumbling with the buttons, delete it. This longer battery life just might involve some behavior modification on your part. Ideally, no reviews is best. Again, you can review all you want if you carry extra batteries.

I do give private lessons. I had one woman come for some travel picture tips. She was about to leave for what many consider a trip of a lifetime, The Alaskan cruise. Immediately followed by the Trans Canada railway journey. She had one battery which was at 65%, didn't think of taking the charger with her. One memory card which was 40% full. Sigh.

I know someone who took their Alaskan Cruise last year. I asked her how many pictures they had taken. I am thinking 20k - 30K? She said 550. Perspective. I am very biased. Pictures are important to me. Used to be a major part of my income. Batteries and memory are big deal to me. Even though I am getting older every other month, and more feeble, I have been known to take a lot of pictures. Set my own personal record for most pix taken in one day last Sept. - 142,105. Suppose you found yourself in the right place at the right time with great light. A fascinating subject. Something that you might never see again. You have the right equipment, you know what you are doing, you know the are coming out. How many pictures would you take?

How long does it take to edit 142, 105 photos?

Not as long as you might think. One thing I teach in my advanced classes is how to edit efficiently, quickly. Of that number I kept, and I am picky, something like 84K.

I'm thinking weeks!