Battery life
 

I bought a Sony Mavica 100 last summer, which has a rechargable battery.
To date, I have not been impressed.

For example, this afternoon when I turned the camera on, it showed I had
89 minutes left on the battery. I connected the camera to my VCR to see
if I could record directly to video tape.

I never got around to it. After viewing a few pictures on the tv, the
low power symbol began to blink. This was after about 10 minutes of use.

This battery has been recharged about half a dozen times, each time
taking close to 2 hours. This for very little photo taking time per
charge.

With my film camera, as long as I have film, I can keep shooting.
Digital would be pretty much useless on an extended backpacking trip.
The battery would be run down in short order, with no way to recharge
it.

Is this just a bad battery that doesn't hold a charge, or is this par
for the course when it comes to rechargable batteries for digital
cameras? Is the same thing expected with all digital cameras with
rechargables?

Re: Battery life
 

On Thu, 10 Jun 2004 16:12:49 -0400, jwr4@webtv.net wrote:

>I bought a Sony Mavica 100 last summer, which has a rechargable battery.
>To date, I have not been impressed.
>
>For example, this afternoon when I turned the camera on, it showed I had
>89 minutes left on the battery. I connected the camera to my VCR to see
>if I could record directly to video tape.
>
>I never got around to it. After viewing a few pictures on the tv, the
>low power symbol began to blink. This was after about 10 minutes of use.
>
>This battery has been recharged about half a dozen times, each time
>taking close to 2 hours. This for very little photo taking time per
>charge.
>
>With my film camera, as long as I have film, I can keep shooting.
>Digital would be pretty much useless on an extended backpacking trip.
>The battery would be run down in short order, with no way to recharge
>it.
>
>Is this just a bad battery that doesn't hold a charge, or is this par
>for the course when it comes to rechargable batteries for digital
>cameras? Is the same thing expected with all digital cameras with
>rechargables?
>

I'd say your batts are N/G... what type are they?

I had very poor performance with my Minolta Li batteries, it seemed I couldn't
even fill the memory card with pics (64m) before the battery's ran out! I put
up with it for a while, then I bought a spare set of batts from Radio Shack -
much to my surprise, they last several days!! So I'd say the batts I got with
the camera were defective...

Now things are different - my new Nikon D70 battery's hold a charge for several
weeks and hundreds and hundreds of pics!! Lots of flash use too!!

So it depends a lot on the camera as well...

Re: Battery life
 

jwr4@webtv.net wrote:
> I bought a Sony Mavica 100 last summer, which has a rechargable battery.
> To date, I have not been impressed.
>
> For example, this afternoon when I turned the camera on, it showed I had
> 89 minutes left on the battery. I connected the camera to my VCR to see
> if I could record directly to video tape.
>
> I never got around to it. After viewing a few pictures on the tv, the
> low power symbol began to blink. This was after about 10 minutes of use.
>
> This battery has been recharged about half a dozen times, each time
> taking close to 2 hours. This for very little photo taking time per
> charge.
>
> With my film camera, as long as I have film, I can keep shooting.
> Digital would be pretty much useless on an extended backpacking trip.
> The battery would be run down in short order, with no way to recharge
> it.
>
> Is this just a bad battery that doesn't hold a charge, or is this par
> for the course when it comes to rechargable batteries for digital
> cameras? Is the same thing expected with all digital cameras with
> rechargables?
>
>
>
>
Probably the result of a poor battery, and a camera inappropriate to the
use you have in mind. I took about 200 pictures with one set or
rechargeable NIMH batteries while on vacation, and that included
extensive use of the LCD for review between photo opportunities. Some
cameras just use more battery power than others.

Re: Battery life
 

You're not the only one. Even though the InfoLithium blurb states
down-to-the-minute state of battery condition this is often not the case -
The FM-50 battery in my S-70 has failed me on a number of occasions and I
prefer the AA NiMH batteries because in an emergency ordinary alkalines with
work just as well.

<jwr4@webtv.net> wrote in message
news:24458-40C8C0C1-267@storefull-3315.bay.webtv.net...
> I bought a Sony Mavica 100 last summer, which has a rechargable battery.
> To date, I have not been impressed.
>
> For example, this afternoon when I turned the camera on, it showed I had
> 89 minutes left on the battery. I connected the camera to my VCR to see
> if I could record directly to video tape.
>
> I never got around to it. After viewing a few pictures on the tv, the
> low power symbol began to blink. This was after about 10 minutes of use.
>
> This battery has been recharged about half a dozen times, each time
> taking close to 2 hours. This for very little photo taking time per
> charge.
>
> With my film camera, as long as I have film, I can keep shooting.
> Digital would be pretty much useless on an extended backpacking trip.
> The battery would be run down in short order, with no way to recharge
> it.
>
> Is this just a bad battery that doesn't hold a charge, or is this par
> for the course when it comes to rechargable batteries for digital
> cameras? Is the same thing expected with all digital cameras with
> rechargables?
>