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Hi

I just purchased a Powershot A310, refurbished. I just got new AA batteries
and have been playing around with the camera for around 1/2 hour..learning
the features and stuff. The camera is now telling me to change the
batteries after 1/2 hr of use, and then it shuts down completley. The
batteries are still good as it powers up my CD & MP3 players with ease and
with al kinds of battery life left.

This can't be right? Anyone have an issue like this and should I be
bringing this back ASAP?

thanks

Bacchus wrote:

> Hi
>
> I just purchased a Powershot A310, refurbished. I just got new AA batteries
> and have been playing around with the camera for around 1/2 hour..learning
> the features and stuff. The camera is now telling me to change the
> batteries after 1/2 hr of use, and then it shuts down completley. The
> batteries are still good as it powers up my CD & MP3 players with ease and
> with al kinds of battery life left.
>
> This can't be right? Anyone have an issue like this and should I be
> bringing this back ASAP?

If you're using regular non rechargeable batteries, this is normal
for digital camera use. Regular batteries have a higher internal
resistance which gives them a less than desireable discharge curve.

Get yourself some Nickle Metal Hydride batteries and a charger. Not
only will the batteries last *much* longer, but you'll save money in
the long run by not having to buy more batteries.

On Tue, 12 Jul 2005 18:36:16 -0400, Bacchus wrote:

> I just purchased a Powershot A310, refurbished. I just got new AA batteries
> and have been playing around with the camera for around 1/2 hour..learning
> the features and stuff. The camera is now telling me to change the
> batteries after 1/2 hr of use, and then it shuts down completley. The
> batteries are still good as it powers up my CD & MP3 players with ease and
> with al kinds of battery life left.
>
> This can't be right? Anyone have an issue like this and should I be
> bringing this back ASAP?

It's perfectly normal. Digital cameras require far more energy
than those other devices. My Sony CD player (that plays my MP3s)
gets roughly 40 hours of playing time from a single AA battery.
Even if your CD player and camera were both designed to shut off
when the voltage drops to, say, 1.1 volt per cell, when you take the
batteries out of the camera, the battery voltages might quickly rise
to 1.4 volts. That's how alkalines function. Then place these same
batteries in the CD or MP3 player, and under their much lighter
load, the batteries might drop from 1.4 volts per cell to only 1.38
volts, allowing them to get many more hours out of the batteries
that are dead as far as the camera is concerned. And most digital
devices are far less tolerant of low voltages than their analog
counterparts. When the batteries go dead in any of my electronic
radios, I can easily get them to play for another 20 to 30 hours in
almost any cheap analog radio, assuming the volume isn't turned up
too high.

Newer cameras get much longer life from alkaline batteries, but in
yours, you should use NiMH rechargeables, and I'd imagine that if
you use the camera the same way that you did while learning to use
it, you'd get at least an hour per charge, maybe a lot more. And if
you were using the LCD display extensively, then by disabling it and
using only the optical viewfinder (I'm not familiar with the A310,
but assume that it has one instead of an electronic viewfinder/EVF),
you'd get far longer battery life, even with alkaline AA batteries.

"Bacchus" <> writes:

> I just purchased a Powershot A310, refurbished. I just got new AA batteries
> and have been playing around with the camera for around 1/2 hour..learning
> the features and stuff. The camera is now telling me to change the
> batteries after 1/2 hr of use, and then it shuts down completley. The
> batteries are still good as it powers up my CD & MP3 players with ease and
> with al kinds of battery life left.
>
> This can't be right? Anyone have an issue like this and should I be
> bringing this back ASAP?

If you're using alkaline AAs in a camera the vintage of the A310, it's
quite likely normal behavior. Alkaline batteries can't support the
high current draw of these cameras except at the *very* beginning of
the battery's life, so they will fail to run the camera when they
still have plenty of power for less demanding uses, just as you
noticed.

Half an hour is about what I'd get from alkaline batteries in my old
Epson 850. NiMH rechargables (which is what that camera came with)
will last a LOT longer. Lithium primary batteries will also last
longer, but they're pretty expensive (I keep a set for emergency
backup, since they store a lot better than NiMH).
--
David Dyer-Bennet, <mailto:dd->, <http://www.dd-b.net/dd-b/>
RKBA: <http://noguns-nomoney.com/> <http://www.dd-b.net/carry/>
Pics: <http://dd-b.lighthunters.net/> <http://www.dd-b.net/dd-b/SnapshotAlbum/>
Dragaera/Steven Brust: <http://dragaera.info/>

Now my camera is not handling the ac adpatar I have for it.


--
Kevin Oye
Oye's Outlet
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Local: (416) 850-6972
Long Distance: 1-(800) 791-OYES (6937)
http://stores.ebay.ca/Oyes-Outlet

"David Dyer-Bennet" <dd-> wrote in message
news:...
> "Bacchus" <> writes:
>
> > I just purchased a Powershot A310, refurbished. I just got new AA
batteries
> > and have been playing around with the camera for around 1/2
hour..learning
> > the features and stuff. The camera is now telling me to change the
> > batteries after 1/2 hr of use, and then it shuts down completley. The
> > batteries are still good as it powers up my CD & MP3 players with ease
and
> > with al kinds of battery life left.
> >
> > This can't be right? Anyone have an issue like this and should I be
> > bringing this back ASAP?
>
> If you're using alkaline AAs in a camera the vintage of the A310, it's
> quite likely normal behavior. Alkaline batteries can't support the
> high current draw of these cameras except at the *very* beginning of
> the battery's life, so they will fail to run the camera when they
> still have plenty of power for less demanding uses, just as you
> noticed.
>
> Half an hour is about what I'd get from alkaline batteries in my old
> Epson 850. NiMH rechargables (which is what that camera came with)
> will last a LOT longer. Lithium primary batteries will also last
> longer, but they're pretty expensive (I keep a set for emergency
> backup, since they store a lot better than NiMH).
> --
> David Dyer-Bennet, <mailto:dd->, <http://www.dd-b.net/dd-b/>
> RKBA: <http://noguns-nomoney.com/> <http://www.dd-b.net/carry/>
> Pics: <http://dd-b.lighthunters.net/>
<http://www.dd-b.net/dd-b/SnapshotAlbum/>
> Dragaera/Steven Brust: <http://dragaera.info/>