Interpreting compact camera battery metrics
Original post
Hello. This isn't specifically tramping but I figure people here will have some experience with cameras and camera batteries.
Have compact cameras reduced in effective battery power capacity since the AA days, or am I mis-interpreting the metrics?
My last couple of trampey cameras have been a Canon Powershot A710 and then an A720. Both awesome little cameras albeit now dated, and both of which take AA batteries. With them, I've never had any low-battery-capacity issues as long as I stuffed them with 2x 2500 mAh NiMH rechargeable batteries, and kept a charged spare set just in case. I never thought about this objectively until now that I need to compare it, but review sites such as http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/A720IS/A720ISA6.HTM rate its CIPA battery life for that type of battery at between 400 and 900 shots, depending on the whether the LCD is switched on at the time. (Unlike today's compact cameras, they still gave it a viewfinder.)
AA batteries are dead in the compact camera market replaced by the more compact and light-weight lithium-based camera batteries (I'm sure others know more than me which is why I'm asking), and the sorts of cameras I've been looking at are these ones: http://bit.ly/VM0lG0
If you scroll down the page, the CIPA battery life stated for these cameras is only 230, 320 and 260 by comparison... and according to the reviews, the one in the middle is considered really really good in today's compact camera market.
So I'm starting to get concerned about what to expect, especially since camera batteries these days aren't as easily bought on the road. Obviously battery life depends on how you use the camera, but I'm looking for something that'll last at least as well as my current camera if I use it in a similar way.
Has effective battery power really gone down-hill from what was possible with AA batteries, or is there something about the CIPA standard which has changed over time that I'm mis-interpreting here?
24 comments
the better the camera the less likely you wil need a flash.
i'm amazed with the latest cameras the amount of times i think it will need a flash that it doesnt, i can get away with shooting in some low light conditions no problem without a flash. again the rx100 is amazing.. bigger sensor cameras cope a lot better in low light.
as i said, compact cameras are a bit of a trade off. no one designed them to last for long tramping trips. they are just designed to get through the day and recharge at night. hen you see how small the batteries are you'll see why...they are only a couple of mm thick.. if you're worried about running out of battery, then get a spare or a camera with more battery life...
Thanks @waynowski, I got your message. As I mentioned though it's not really in the range of stuff I'm looking at.
sony generally are making very good cameras now.. nikon use their sensors. lumix ar also great, they've caught up to canon in compact cameras...
the lumix has a leica lens, extremely good optics.
Izogi I'm totally with you.
I used to have a fantastic Panasonic Lumix, bought in 2005, ran on 2 AA batteries (I got those rechargeable ones called NiMH or something similar). It would take 500-600 photos on one battery charge, even though I would spend a while each evening reviewing the day's pictures. I went to Mongolia for a month and took three sets of batteries, they lasted me for the trip. I also had the reassurance that I could buy any old AA batteries if mine ran out, although regular AA's didn't last very long. It even went through a wash cycle in the washing machine and survived undamaged!
Unfortuantely it was stolen last year when I was in Singapore. (Along with all my photos from my 2 weeks in South Africa).
I went to many shops looking for a replacement that ran on AA batteries and was told over and over again that no one is making them any more :-( No decent cameras I could find expected a battery charge to last more than 250-280 photos. However they had stupid features like face recognition and even Cat and Dog recognition. (Automatically identifies a Cat's face and sets the focus and exposure optimally for the face.)
I wish people wouldn't insist on making things "better" when it means you get all sorts of crappy features you don't want, and lose the ones (like battery life), that were really important to you!
I have a toughened/waterproof Lumix that I took on a 6-month trip and only had to charge it up every month or so (although I kept the flash switched off most of the time). I had come from using a Canon that used AAs and was worried about being caught short but the battery life of this was so good I could still take several hundred photos when the indicator was only 1/3 full.
@chris1, don't forget the birthday modes (where you can record which kid it is in the photo having the birthday, or something like that). I also miss viewfinders, which went the way of the dodo on these cameras about 2-3 years back in exchange for LCD displays that are apparently more visible but apparently drain more power. I guess someone's just decided that mid-range compact cameras have to cater towards people who are as likely to buy based on available colours and don't have as many practical needs. :(
My new favourite is veering towards a Fuji Finepix F770EXR, which seems to have at least comparable optical reviews in the contexts I like to take photos and really relatively good battery life in the poor field that it is, but also has easily the most favourable GPS reliability reports from several independent sources compared with any other one in the range I've checked out, and since that's one of the things I'm keen to experiment with it's quite tempting. It also has a nice pseudo 3D mode which could be fun to experiment with in the hills (short of buying an actual 3D camera which I won't do right now). Worst case I'll learn something and get something else eventually anyway.
Based on other people's experiences I think I'll end up finding non-AA batteries satisfactory enough and still get far more than the 200-300 photos that the CIPA standard suggests, but it's annoying not having the option there. I'll probably take @madpom's suggestion and grab a few generic batteries.
Thanks for all the tips and feedback, everyone.
you can go one size up in cameras and get a viewfinder, canon g12 and 15 have one. they are still pretty small cameras... and get a better battery.
Yes but they used to cost half the amount and weigh less. The G12 weighs about 1.5 times as much as my older Powershot A720 and still doesn't reach the same CIPA rating.
Somewhere along the line someone's just decided to shunt more useful features and design away from cheaper cameras in exchange for other features that drain more power from smaller batteries, and the industry's followed.
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| Started by | izogi |
| On | 10 October 2012 |
| Replies | 23 |
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