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H5 Battery life issues

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raven880

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Attending the daylong Peace March in DC last weekend was my first time using my H5 for long periods. I was dismayed when I found that my batteries only lasted 45 minutes or less and that was not with continuous shooting. I powered off the camera between shots. Flash was off and part of the time I had the lcd off. It was just luck I had taken what I had thought was "too many" batteries in my backpack so I was able to keep using it. I also used my little P200 that has a proprietary Sony battery and it lasted forever.

Is my battery usage normal? Could there be a problem in the camera itself that is draining the batteries so quickly? When the first set ran down after maybe a dozen shots, I thought it was because they were "rechargables" and had lost some power. But after that I was using new AA's and they ran down just as quickly. I hate to relegate this camera to just short events/quick shots as it's long zoom makes it more useful for these kinds of things than the R1.....which I should have taken instead.
Thanks for your suggestions.
Paula
 
if you're not using the camera much, the normal AA rechargables will self-discharge over time. Also, if they're relatively new, they need a few cycles of draining and recharging before they will take a full charge.

You might want to try the new Sanyo Eneloop batteries. They come fully-charged and there is almost no self-discharging, so are more appropriate for infrequent use.
--
-Jerry
Sony V1 and H5 - Still learning...

'The camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera.'
-- Dorothea Lange

http://www.pbase.com/icicle50/root
 
I'll check out the batteries you suggested. However, only the first set I used that day were rechargeables. The rest were all regular AA's....new ones....and should have had full charge.
Paula
 
Thank you for that link. I'll be spending my time reading up on this. It's the first time I've ever had issues with battery life on any of my cameras .....2Sony FD's...CD 100...F707...R1...P200 Nikon 8800 and Panasonic TZ1. But all of those use proprietary batteries and I did have doubts about using regular AA's when I bought the H5 but I know that many people prefer being able to use those because they are readily available so I figured they must have a decent life. I had given my Panasonic TZ1 to my daughter but I am considering getting another one for it's high zoom level AND long battery life. I like the features of the H5 more but the battery life is just not acceptable.

Paula
 
Until my batteries had been recharged multiple times (probably 5) I was doing good to get 50 shots on a fresh charge. Because I tend to shoot in spurts 200 on one day then none for weeks I sometimes got less than 10 on a charge. At Christmas I purchased 4 Rayovac Hybrids (same technology as the Eneloop). So far, 5 weeks later, I have taken over 300 photos and 50 20 sec (or more) videos on one set of batteries that have never been charged.
--
Sarge
Official 'AAK Certified' H Series Duck Club Member.
Miranda,Pentax K2-K1000,Sony FD-71-707-H5
Coming soon my web albums at http://www.sony-snapper.com
 
than rechargeables...by a long margin.

These types of cameras just don't play well with Alkalines - the rechargeables with a full charge used within a day or two should yield you at least 300 shots and many hours before dying...whereas alkalines are often dead long before 100 shots.

The Eneloops are better if you want to have some non-rechargeables on hand - they will last as long as the fully charged rechargeables. But generally, don't use alkalines except for emergencies.

Another good idea that many of us do is to buy 4 more rechargeables and a good charger. Before I go out shooting, I charge all 6 rechargeables. Load two in the camera and the other 4 in a pocket, and you've got enough battery power to shoot well over 1,000 pictures and last for over 12 hours. Since good rechargeables (2700, 2900, etc) can be picked up for around $2 each...and can last for years of recharging cycles...it's a great, inexpensive option.

--
Justin
galleries: http://www.pbase.com/zackiedawg

(I'd be honored and overjoyed to have any of my posted photographs critiqued, commented on, or post-processed - I can attribute everything I know about photography to the wonderful people who have done this for me in the past!)
 
zackiedawg said:
than rechargeables...by a long margin.

These types of cameras just don't play well with Alkalines - the
rechargeables with a full charge used within a day or two should
yield you at least 300 shots and many hours before dying...whereas
alkalines are often dead long before 100 shots.

The Eneloops are better if you want to have some non-rechargeables
on hand - they will last as long as the fully charged
rechargeables. But generally, don't use alkalines except for
emergencies.

Did you mean to write Energizer Lithiums instead of Eneloops in the above paragraph?
Click to expand...
--
George B
C&C always welcome. PP and repost OK.
 
raven880 said:
I like the features of the H5 more but the
battery life is just not acceptable.
Click to expand...
Reread the other posts.

Either use freshly charged NiMH, Eneloops, or 1.5v Lithium Primary cells. You'll get several hundred pics over several hours.
R2

--
*
You are free to offer critique of any of my images.
Editing and reposting them on this forum is permitted, and even encouraged.

http://www.pbase.com/jekyll_and_hyde/galleries
 
Battery life with 2700 mah batteries is excellent, I get 300 or more shots per charge, but as has been mentioned only after being "conditioned" for 4/5 cycles. This means letting the batteries run down until the camera switches off and ignoring the flashing low battery icon.

--
Patrick
 
I'm absolutely baffled at what people get out of their standard NiMH batteries in terms of numbers of shots. With my former H1 I used 1.5 sets during one week shooting in Portugal something like 350 pictures.

With th eH5 in Italy I used close to 2 sets for something like 550 shots spread over a week .. Even with a 2 weeks shooting and having 4-5 spare sets I hardly think anyone could run into problems. I agree that "eneloop" technology will be more reliable.

Batteries were correctly conditioned and are always charged/topped_up prior to starting a shooting session (I always carry 5 sets of 2) all are 2500mAh. Ergo do not rely on residual charge if your batteries have been hanging around, idle, for 2-3 weeks :-)
--
if needed, email me at : [email protected]
Horum Omnium Fortissimi Sunt Belgae !
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Thanks for catching that! So much talk mentioning Eneloop, and I just had it on my brain! I meant the lithiums.

--
Justin
galleries: http://www.pbase.com/zackiedawg

(I'd be honored and overjoyed to have any of my posted photographs critiqued, commented on, or post-processed - I can attribute everything I know about photography to the wonderful people who have done this for me in the past!)
 
Thanks. I guess I didn't realize there were different grades of rechargeables. I'll look for better ones as the ones I have never seem to last long.
 
froxfield_rover said:
Battery life with 2700 mah batteries is excellent, I get 300 or
more shots per charge, but as has been mentioned only after being
"conditioned" for 4/5 cycles. This means letting the batteries run
down until the camera switches off and ignoring the flashing low
battery icon.

--
Patrick
Click to expand...
This was something else I had not been aware of and my rechargables hadn't been recharged that often. Thanks.
 
I've found the Eneloop batteries to be everything that is claimed about them (so far). I got an 8-pack of them for $29. at Circuit City (the only store where I've seen them locally) and they have met all my camera needs. The Sony 2500 MaH NiMH batteries that came with my H5, have almost completely lost their usable power, after sitting for 3 weeks after charging, but the Eneloops seem to have lost no power at all, one month after charging.
--
Steve McDonald
 
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