Very different. For one thing, lithium is not nickle.
It was only the old NiCd cells (25 years ago) that had the so-called "memory effect".
NiMH and Lithium, no memory, recharge early and often. Same as your lead acid car battery. Good battery practice.
Here is some knowledgeable advice:
Frequetly Asked Questions on How to Charge Batteries
It says things like:
- Control discharge. Each cycle wears the battery down by a small amount. A partial discharge before charge is better than a full discharge. Apply a deliberate full discharge only to calibrate a smart battery and to prevent “memory” on a nickel-based pack.
- Avoid abuse. Like a machine that is exposed to strenuous work, a battery wears down more quickly if discharged harshly and if force-charged with high currents.
There's no reason to be cruel to our batteries.
Early and often is good for the battery, and good for our shooting schedule too. I carry spares, but I have never needed a spare camera battery (speaking of one day - recharge at night, if significant use).
FWIW (of interest to me): I drive a Toyota Prius (a hybrid with batteries). It uses about 170 D cell NiMH cells in series, about 200 volts. The D cells are square and have connector tabs on them, but they are just NiMH D cells, 7 amps. The car computer is charging them all the time, and yet the battery warranty is eight years (nothing else is near 8 years). However, the computer will not charge them over 80%, or let them go under 40%. Full discharge is not a good thing.
