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Battery Life on S100FS

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Greg Photo Sydney said:
After most recent charge of S100fs battery: 459 shots on Sunday then
333 shots today for total 792 shots. This at full resolution &
including one download from camera to PC. This is significantly
higher than S9500 on four rechargeable A4s. Is my battery at freak?
Click to expand...
If you never look at the LCD, shutting it off immediately (I presume that a simple half press of the shutter will do that), then you should get much better battery life. But that's not realistic for most people, as they want the opportunity to shoot again if they need to change compensation for the specific image ... so they look at the image and histogram etc ...

--
http://letkeman.net/Photos
http://kimletkeman.blogspot.com
 
... Using LCD rarely and no flash, I am getting around 400. I went out today and shot 350 images, on a fully charged battery, before running out of steam. I was jumping in and out of the menu constantly though to change settings.
--
Rgds, Dave.
Have fun - take lotsa pix.
http://www.redbubble.com/people/pixplanet
 
Kim, I think he was talking about resetting IS so that it isnt active all the time but only when shooting. I'm not sure exactly how that works, I mean does it only activate on a half press (thats how I envision it). Anyways, there seems to be a HUGE variability with some quoting numbers in the 200's and others quoting numbers in the 1300's. Seems the majority are getting in the 300's somewhere which seems OK, not great but there are a lot of electronics on this camera to run. If you can get 350 out of a battery buy one spare and that should suit all but the most trigger happy users.
Ted
Kim Letkeman said:
Bejersey said:
probably the key, so I reset mine there
Click to expand...
Does it mean that you never chimp? If that is the case, then your
images are going to be less than optimal as you are trusting the
meter implicitly without adjusting compensation to the subject. Not
quite realistic use of such an advanced camera ...

--
http://letkeman.net/Photos
http://kimletkeman.blogspot.com
Click to expand...
--
http://photobucket.com/albums/y260/tdkd13/
 
... I'm with you. In practice, using LCD rarely and no flash, I am getting around 400. I went out today and shot 350 images, on a fully charged battery, before running out of steam. I was jumping in and out of the menu constantly though to change settings.
--
Rgds, Dave.
Have fun - take lotsa pix.
http://www.redbubble.com/people/pixplanet
 
... I'm with you. In practice, using LCD rarely and no flash, I am getting around 400. I went out today and shot 350 images, on a fully charged battery, before running out of steam. I was jumping in and out of the menu constantly though to change settings.
--
Rgds, Dave.
Have fun - take lotsa pix.
http://www.redbubble.com/people/pixplanet
 
... Good advice.

I don't have a spare battery yet, but have ordered one. I would recommend carrying a spare for anyone going out for a long days shooting.

My mileage seem to be around 380 shots (average) and this is with IS on at all times, doing lot's of menu changes, zoom continuous preview and with occasional use of LCD but not using flash. I'm not a flash person :
--
Rgds, Dave.
Have fun - take lotsa pix.
http://www.redbubble.com/people/pixplanet
 
... The S100fs has DIS - This means there are two (3 really - Off also) modes where you can set image stabilisation to either, always be on - 'Continuous' or, set it to be 'Shooting Only' which, yes, means it is activated on a half shutter press.
--
Rgds, Dave.
Have fun - take lotsa pix.
http://www.redbubble.com/people/pixplanet
 
Hi Dave
In this point the manual seems wrong!
Option 2) is the same as on the panasonics.
Only a full press of the shutter will activate the IS!
Half press of the shutter will have no effect on the previewed image
on the screen/EVF.
Regards
Bernie
Lloydy said:
... The S100fs has DIS - This means there are two (3 really - Off
also) modes where you can set image stabilisation to either, always
be on - 'Continuous' or, set it to be 'Shooting Only' which, yes,
means it is activated on a half shutter press.
Click to expand...
 
Bernie said:
Hi Dave
In this point the manual seems wrong!
Option 2) is the same as on the panasonics.
Only a full press of the shutter will activate the IS!
Half press of the shutter will have no effect on the previewed image
on the screen/EVF.
Click to expand...
I happen to like seeing a stabilized image in the viewfinder, so I would likely leave the cam set to mode 1 ... however, I can see a slight improvement in battery life using mode II. But people don't stand there all day with the shutter half-pressed, so my guess is that the difference for any one individual is small ... all these big differences between people are merely the product of differing styles ...

For anyone trying to get a handle on battery life, I think following the numbers in the DPReview are still the best bet. Which means for any normal vacation for someone like me, a second battery is a must. And both must be charged every night. Not something I would enjoy ... but each to his own.

--
http://letkeman.net/Photos
http://kimletkeman.blogspot.com
 
tdkd13 said:
Wonder why Fuji didnt bother to tell its customers this small piece
of advice. Fuji has rated the battery life at 230 to 250 images, if
all that was necessary is to reset IS as you have done, they should
have said so, at least in my opinion. Hopefully this will be the
trick all users can use to extend battery life.
Click to expand...
Because either this mode is less effective (OIS needs a bit of time to stabilize and track) and/or it is much less pleasant to look through an unstabilized viewfinder at such long focal lengths ...

--
http://letkeman.net/Photos
http://kimletkeman.blogspot.com
 
That would explain my battery longevity.

I virtually never look and the LCD and I make exposure compensation decisions on the fly ie before the shot is made, not after. Then I move on, 100 per cent attention on composition and subject variation.

I find it much easier to make exposure judgements in the electronic viewfinder as opposed to the LCD in outdoor lighting (most of what I do).

That's the revolutionary advantage of live view and why I like the true digital camera model.

It's interesting that camera manufacturers are now siting the exposure compensation button right next the shutter button rather that away on the side or some other obscure location. I ride the + - button and command dial constantly when shooting digital which is still a bit of a dexterity challenge for me. And makes me think it would be nice to have an exposure compensation ring on the lens barrel somewhere near the zoom ring. Now that would make things really easy.

Also interesting that I never use the exposure compensation facility on my film slr: it was always a redundant feature for my sort of photography. How thing have changed.
 
Looks like we're seeing some explanation for the extreme variation in experience of battery life with the S100fs.
Like you, I hardly use the LCD but unlike you, don't use the menus much either.
Would explain the numbers I am getting.

I am paranoid about running out of power part way through a shoot anyway, so always carry overkill in backup. I've always got a couple of fully-charged spares in the bag.

I was moved to comment on this issue with the S100fs several weeks ago because such a big deal was being made of this issue here.... and so wide of the mark in my own experience. Ring any bells?
 
Greg Photo Sydney said:
It's interesting that camera manufacturers are now siting the
exposure compensation button right next the shutter button rather
that away on the side or some other obscure location. I ride the + -
button and command dial constantly when shooting digital which is
still a bit of a dexterity challenge for me. And makes me think it
would be nice to have an exposure compensation ring on the lens
barrel somewhere near the zoom ring. Now that would make things
really easy.
Click to expand...
Pretty much all dSLRs have that button close to the shutter because it is so critical to successful exposures. It is nice to see the P&S cams getting the most important exposure tool as a button ... and in the right place. How sad that Fuji had it on the compacts and then removed it ...
Greg Photo Sydney said:
Also interesting that I never use the exposure compensation facility
on my film slr: it was always a redundant feature for my sort of
photography. How thing have changed.
Click to expand...
Very useful for slide film, not that useful for print film because of the amazing latitude. I used to shoot a Pentax Spotmatic II ... pure manual metering ... and did all the compensation by watching the needle.

--
http://letkeman.net/Photos
http://kimletkeman.blogspot.com
 
Greg Photo Sydney said:
Like you, I hardly use the LCD but unlike you, don't use the menus
much either.
Click to expand...
Do you use and trust full auto instead?
Greg Photo Sydney said:
I am paranoid about running out of power part way through a shoot
anyway, so always carry overkill in backup. I've always got a couple
of fully-charged spares in the bag.
I was moved to comment on this issue with the S100fs several weeks
ago because such a big deal was being made of this issue here.... and
so wide of the mark in my own experience. Ring any bells?
Click to expand...
You consider the issue overblown ... it does not match your experience ... and yet you carry two fully charged spare batteries at all times ... which for many people is quite an increase in hassle.

So which is it? The issue does not exist, or the issue does exist and you recommend carrying extra batteries?

--
http://letkeman.net/Photos
http://kimletkeman.blogspot.com
 
... Different folk will get different numbers but I'm happy with what I am getting.

My Sony 828 does about the same but, when it was reviewed, battery life was quoted as double the S100fs. Go figure :

All the 'overblown' comments are coming form those who don't own the camera and, frankly, (no, better not say that).

Well, I've been called the 'Chief Apologist' for the S100fs. So be it. Great camera. No apologies needed !!!
--
Rgds, Dave.
Have fun - take lotsa pix.
http://www.redbubble.com/people/pixplanet
 
When I read the numbers of photographs taken on a day.., I think I must be doing something wrong. GrinZzzz :-)

I shoot, at the most, 200 pictures during an entire weekend but 100 is a more realistic number.

I do have a cheap (€ 25) spare battery but so far I didn't need to change batteries while on a shoot. At home there is always one battery in the charger.

I also switch the camera off between shots, but when shooting I use continous stabilization and never check a photo on the LCD... unless I think I've done something wrong.
C1 = 400% dynamic range and C2 = RAW, I could do with a C3 and C4 :-)
Half my shots are composed through the EVF and the other half with the LCD.
 
Surely nothing right....or wrong with the number of shots taken in a day.

It must be a matter of personal style in what a photographer is attempting to achieve. Long live the difference!

I'm not in the habit of counting the shots taken per battery charge and only did so a couple of times in response to some odd comments here.

As I mentioned, the S100fs battery outperforms the four rechargeable A4s used in my 9500. It is also lighter and doesn't fall out of the camera and roll away from me when changing batteries in haste.

This has to be progress.
 
... Nothing wrong.

The most I would normally shoot in a day is about 50 - 100.

If I go out for a full day, specifically for shooting, I may take between 200 and 500, but it depends what I'm shooting.

Wouldn't have done that with film, would we ?

In the studio, I normally hook my cameras up to an external supply as I am constantly reviewing on a portable DVD or big screen TV, and the camera is on the whole time.

This always seems to drain power more than leaving it on and letting the battery 'refresh' occasionally.

--
Rgds, Dave.
Have fun - take lotsa pix.
http://www.redbubble.com/people/pixplanet
 
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