View Full Version : How long does your camera battery last
I'm looking at new digital cameras and the camera I like (can afford that is...) does not take AA batteries - it has a rechargeable lithium battery.
How may photos can you typcially get out of 1 charge?
I just bought a new Coolpix and it's supposed to get 1000 shots per set of batteries. I'll believe it when it happens. Nice camera though.
1000 per charge or 1000 before you have to replace the battery?
Tipi Walter
04-12-2008, 17:30
I wouldn't get a digital camera with AA batteries. They just don't last long enough. I have a Sony Cyber Shot with a lithium rechargable battery and in the dead of winter I go thru two batteries on a typical 15 day trip. In the summer one battery will last 10 days and take several hundred pics.
Ive hiked with a Canon G7 for 7 days, and its proprietary/rechargeable battery lasted the whole trip... And I took over 300 pics!
Ive hiked with a Canon G7 for 7 days, and its proprietary/rechargeable battery lasted the whole trip... And I took over 300 pics!
Ah... great, that's what I wanted to know. Currently I use regular lithium AA batteries and they will last a week and 200+ pics in my camera.
Only problem is my daughter lost my camera. :(
hopefulhiker
04-12-2008, 17:58
You can use those lithium replaceable batteries. they last longer... but I know you want to take the recharger with you...
I have a Canon A710IS and with 2 AA lithium I can get over 1000 shots in superfine. Same camera with 8 megapixels rather than 7.1 mp cost $100 less than I paid. Sells for $199 at Walmart and Office Depot. Great camera 6x zoom, view finder, manual settings etc.
Check that. The 8mp camera similar to mine for $199- only has 4x zoom
I have a Canon A710IS and with 2 AA lithium I can get over 1000 shots in superfine. Same camera with 8 megapixels rather than 7.1 mp cost $100 less than I paid. Sells for $199 at Walmart and Office Depot. Great camera 6x zoom, view finder, manual settings etc.
Check that. The 8mp camera similar to mine for $199- only has 4x zoom
I was just at Wally World and they've got most of their digital's on clearance. They've only got one AA capable camera left (a Kodak) and the rest are proprietary lithium rechargeable. I'll probably just pick one of those.
No Belay
04-12-2008, 18:53
Bought a Nikon S600 a couple weeks ago, charged the battery to full and used it till it quit. 214 ten megapixel shots with maybe 10-15 flash shots. Nice thing about it is that replacement batteries are about the size of a match book and not allot heavier than one. I bought 3 on E-bay for $7 apiece.
I went with the S600 because it has a 28mm equivalent lens which is great for landscape and close range group shots. The Pelican box I keep it in and the camera together weigh 11oz. A bit heavy but the Pelican is almost bullet proof and allows me to carry the Nikon on my shoulder strap for immeadiate access.
Earl Grey
04-12-2008, 19:01
I STILL have the same li-on batteries I used on my thru last year in my camera.
X-LinkedHiker
04-12-2008, 19:16
Yes most lithium batteries will last more than 300 pictures sometimes into to 8-900 range. Obviously depending on workload, flash consistency, and shooting mode.
1000 per charge or 1000 before you have to replace the battery?
Before replacement.
Tennessee Viking
04-13-2008, 01:38
I have a FujiFilm with rechargables. I usually take about 20-100 pics on hikes. And they last me for days.
AA's vs proprietary Lithiums
I got to give battery life to the Lithiums.
But if you are out on trail, and your lithium batteries decide to die. Your screwed, unless you want to pay the extra $20-80 for an extra battery (depending on the brand and model camera).
With AA's, you just pay $10 for a 4pack of rechargeables. Maybe another $10 for the charger. And they even have car and USB chargers now.
For the real clue on increasing battery life...set your camera for screensaver or battery saver functions. Display screen will power down after a few seconds when it becomes idle. Then after a minute of being idle, the camera will do an auto power off.
Or even set you camera display to off. And try not to view the archive of pictures on your camera. And always shoot with the sun behind you foregoing the flash. The display and flash are usually the big power hogs on cameras.
KevinAce
04-13-2008, 01:45
I have a Canon Rebel XTI and have yet to run the battery completely dead. I've taken 500 pictures at a time without it dying (no clue how close it was). To extend battery life, limit your use of the LCD screen (sucks down a ton of juice).
I have a Polaroid 8mp camera for sale, takes AA's. Will post it later in the for sale area...
Rocketman
04-13-2008, 11:08
I don't exactly remember the details, but I shot 3,000+ pictures on the AT and I used just 2 sets of AA Li batteries.
For the long walk, I didn't want a built-in recharge battery. This worked out just fine. No charger to bother with, and the Li batteries were all carried, as they are somewhat lighter than AA alkaline ones.
desdemona
04-13-2008, 14:43
Looking at the LCD is what really eats the batteries!!
I have a Powershot and not enough experience to say how fast it goes thru them. The Nikon 880 I had had a teeny LCD screen, and didn't eat them too fast.
--des
LIhikers
04-13-2008, 21:19
I have a Cannon A630 Powershot and it takes 4 AA batteries. On a mid-February dogsledding trip, where the temperature ranged from 25 below zero to 20 above, I took a little over over 500 picures on a new set of Alkyline batteries. Plus I'm still using that same set of batteries in the camera now. I have the LCD set so it displays the picture for 2 seconds after you take it.
Ramble~On
04-14-2008, 04:53
I have a Canon Rebel XTI and have yet to run the battery completely dead. I've taken 500 pictures at a time without it dying (no clue how close it was). To extend battery life, limit your use of the LCD screen (sucks down a ton of juice).
I have an XTi and a battery grip which I have never come close to draining despite days of near continuous use. But I don't hike with this heavy monster...do you?
Canon Powershot A620, takes four AAs. I went about 600 miles in six weeks on one set of NiMH rechargeable AAs. Took about 500 pictures or so.
How long a camera battery will last depends on the amount of autofocusing action, the amount of flash use, and most of all on how long the LCD screen is on. In comparison, the number of photos has little effect on battery life. (at least that's how it works the way I normally use it) In a day (6-12 hours) of intense use my FZ-7 will use two batteries. In a half day of really intense use (a LOT of reviewing and deleting images on the screen) my D80 depleted a fully charged battery once. I could have gone through two whole batteries that day. Otherwise I usually use less than half a battery charge in a day. I always carry a fully charged spare for the D80 and two fully charged spares for the FZ-7. (FZ-7 batteries are smaller, it has an electronic viewfinder, and the autofocus spends more time hunting) Also helps on days when you forgot to charge a battery.
I just got about 200 shots on my Sony Cybershot camera before I had to change batteries. I bought an extra battery and when I was "in town" the first thing I would do was charge my cell and camera battery. Ref4418
Gray Blazer
04-18-2008, 22:44
I'm still in the stone age. My camera uses 2 AAs. Yes, the Li ones last longer. It's worth it to me to buy and carry an 8 pack because if there's one thing I hate, it's the camera turning off when you are trying to get a series of pics of something. I took 60 pics of an awesome sunset on Mt Mitchell and just when it started getting good, the batteries gave out.
For my Grand Canyon hike, I bought a Canon Power Shot SX100 with a 10X zoom. I was a total newbie to digital and played around alot, using alot of power just to learn, and took over 700 pictures with the same set of AA lithium batteries. They never ran out. I was still using the same batteries long afterwards. The camera is heavy, but I just put the pack on my front shoulder strap. I wished I had it on my AT section last year and not a disposable. The picutre quality is amazing. It does power down after a time and turn off to save life. I could not get used to the teeny cameras that I had to use a fingernail to push a button. I need something I could handle and be idiot proof and durable. The camera handled the trip very well in varying temps. I took alot of batteries, but did not need them. Guess I could have taken more clothes after all! I think it would be heavy for a thru, but I was impressed with the AA Enegizer lithum batteries which were recommended. I did not have a clue and do not hold myself out as any kind of expert on cameras.
I wound up getting an entry level Canon Powershot and 2 AA lithium batteries lasted my entire trip (5 days). I took 163 pictures and it's still got plenty of juice left. That's plenty for me.
Kerosene
04-21-2008, 21:04
I bought a second proprietary battery ($35 and 0.5 oz) and carry it on section hikes for the insurance. For my camera (Pentax Optio S5i), I think that zooming, turning the camera on-and-off, and reviewing pictures has a bigger impact on battery life over the course of a week than simply taking pictures.
I also sprung for a 1 GB memory card, which is more than large enough for a few weeks of pictures (most pictures are taken at 3 megapixel resolution).
terpodion
04-25-2008, 15:07
I'm surprised no one mentioned this yet, maybe it's common knowledge, but I still find people who don't know about it, mostly kids, but there is a thing called battery memory. It works like this; The first time you charge one of these NiMH or NiCad batteries (maybe other types too, I don't know) you MUST charge it all the way. If you only charge it half way that all that it will ever charge. Half way. It won't charge any further. I found that with my kids they are so anxious to get their various digital toys up and running that they don't let the batteries charge the first time, then complain that they don't last long very long. I always charge my camera batteries way long after the "full charge" light comes on and they have lasted me years. I also always make it a point to run them until they are pretty much dead too. I think that helps also. They are the AA sized batteries and the camera is a Sony Cybershot. As already stated the battery life is determined by how much power the camera is consuming, not how many pictures are taken. The screen takes the lion's share of power so if you can and want to take a lot of pictures all in a row, turn the screen off.
Types of batteries:
Ni MH is Nickel Metal Hydride. Ni Cad is Nickel Cadmium. Li-ion is Lithium Ion. These are the common types of rechargeable batteries. Li-ion don't seem to have the memory problem.
Common everyday batteries are Alkaline. Don't even bother using them in a camera. They just don't last and in my experience they even get hot.
Lead - Acid is the oldest type. It's what is in your car. Hybrids may use a different type. I don't know. I never poked around in one but it seems like it would be a lot of fun to take one apart.
Cheers:
T