I SUPPOSE I could post this on a camera site, but I have come to respect and trust the advice here so much, I’d rather ask YOU all.
I have a Nikon pocket camera, and the batteries last for nuttin’. I can use the camera for about 20 photos over 1.5 hours, and the batteries are shot.
I have a recharger loaded with four batteries, so I can switch, but then overall the camera is usable for only a short period, even with that.
I am looking for a small pocket size camera with a terrific battery life.
Whatchoo say….? What have you used that you are happy with?
Hector
Replies
skip the rechargeables if ya can...
many cameras aren't geared up for the 1.2 volt output...
and will dine on rechargeables...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
I have similar issues with non rechargeables.
MikeInsert initially amusing but ultimately annoying catch phrase here.
I have a Canon Elph that works pretty well. It uses a specific rechargeable battery that's about the size of a small box of matches, and I've taken as many as 150 or more photos on a single charge (that number drops if they're flash pictures, of course.) The battery is so small it's easy to keep a spare in my pocket.
As with the Canon Elph, I use Panasonic Lumix cameras (on my 3rd now). They have an impressive battery life - no exact numbers, as it's rarely out of juice. I average about 20 gig of photos and videos with my digital cameras a year. Over a week of vacation, I'll take a mix of photos and videos, between 200 and three hundred total. I'll recharge the battery once during that week, just to be safe so i don't miss anything.
They come with one great LiIon battery, but I buy an extra one from OneCall.com. They seem to be the best price/shipping combination. That way if I find the one in the camera is too low, I pop in the other one while the first recharges. Since its LiIon, I know it will have a charge!
Tu stultus es
Rebuilding my home in Cypress, CA
Also a CRX fanatic!
Look, just send me to my drawer. This whole talking-to-you thing is like double punishment.
Edited 2/8/2009 1:28 pm by xxPaulCPxx
Edited 2/8/2009 1:30 pm by xxPaulCPxx
the olympus seem to do well....
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
What is the Ah rating of the rechargeable batteries? You can get AA batteries that have 800mAh up to 1200mAh... big difference in capacity.
How old are they? Typical charge/discharge cycles is a finite number depending on discharge rate... could be as little as 1000 cycles. If they are more than a couple of years old with regular use, I would consider new ones.
I have a Canon G2 and a much newer and smaller shock, dust and waterproof Olympus. Both use LiIon batteries... those batteries *do* last a long time as long as they are operating at 45* and warmer. Those LiIon batteries are unique, so you can't just pick some up from any store- that means a spare is advisable... maybe a small inverter for the car, too.
Your camera may have battery issues as part of the design- some of the Canon models that use AA batteries have absolutely terrible battery life... to the point where fingerprints on the battery contacts cause problems. Reading reviews of camera models helps here.
Some of the features of my Olympus will only work with an Olympus branded memory card that *naturally* costs about 2x as much as a generic xd card... something else to watch for.
I picked out a Panasonic Lumix for mom with the 10x Leica optics. That one works nice, too. More versatile in the zoom department than my Olympus, but not waterproof. No special memory card issues, either.
Edited 2/8/2009 1:42 pm ET by danski0224
+1 for the panasonic lumix.
As others have stated, it's the combination of batteries and camera. Find any camera with built in batteries. I've tried AA rechargables in my Olympus and I get 10-20 flash pictures. In my wifes little kodak that charges from a USB connection, I get 50-70 pix.
Hector,
How old are the batteries ?? I have a Nikon pocket type and the batteries last longer than I have ever needed them to. We probably took 150 pics last summer at a family reunion and never had a problem.
My Wife has a Sony that is about 4 years old and just recently the battery life has gone way down. I just attribute it to the batteries reaching the end of thier useful life.
Bill Koustenis
Advanced Automotive Machine
Waldorf Md
I've got an older Kodak Easyshare a few years old with the rechargeable pack; I get several hundred shots, charge it every few weeks.
No joke - you know how many I've posted here!
Forrest
Are you still alive?! We haven't seen a thread from you in AGES! Must be that office life is wearing you down.
jt8
lotsa worse things happen to better people than me every day. --Snort
The biggest thing you can do is turn off the display and use the optical view finder. That is the battery hog. If your camera only uses the display for aiming plan on using lots of batteries.
With lithium batteries in my Canon A400 I usually go a whole vacation, shooting hundreds pictures on a single pair of batteries. Flash will cut into that and looking at your pictures on the camera will really eat into it.
If the batteries of the more compact units are anything like the Rebel, they'll go for years on one battery. Well, maybe not, but since I bought my Rebel I am constantly astounded by how many shots and flashes I get from a single charge. I've had no trouble shooting a couple hundred picks, several of which were with flash.
Run a search on opinions on the matter. I did on the Rebel and the positive things said of it turned out to be wholly true.