35
Using an electronic viewfinder or LCD screen to compose the image uses more battery life than a standard viewfinder
Using an LCD screen for the majority of device settings uses more battery life than physical, dedicated buttons
Smaller physical devices may, by design, have smaller batteries
25
Is there really no way automate a DSLR to shoot every 24 hours without having to pick it up, charge/replace its battery, and put in back on the same spot ?
Canon and Nikon cameras can be connected to AC power by means of an adapter that fits in the battery slot. For example, Canon DSLRs that take an LB-E6 battery (like the 5D II, 6D, and 7D) can use an ACK-...
21
NimH battery care and feeding has occupied too much of my life in recent years. :-)
It is significantly better for NimH batteries NOT to discharge them fully before recharging them.
NimH life can be enhanced substantially by never discharging them fully on any occasion. Even when using multiple sets during a day's shooting, if you can manage to leave the ...
21
The main reason is because the batteries for MILCs are almost universally smaller than DSLR batteries.
Some mirrorless batteries:
The LP-E17 battery for the Canon EOS M5 has a 1050 mAh (milliamp-hour) charge storage.
The NP-FW50 for the Sony a7R II has 1020 mAh.
DSLR batteries:
Nikon's EN-EL15 battery (for D500, D600, D610, D7000, D7100, D750, D800, ...
17
Although only the manufacturers themselves know for sure and there could be different reasons from one manufacturer to the next there are two obvious possibilities that receive most of the attention from the users of cameras and their proprietary batteries.
Profit. Limiting the amount of competition in the marketplace by not using standard, off the shelf ...
16
CIPA ratings between two cameras from the same generation and from the same manufacturer can sometimes be useful. Comparing CIPA ratings across different brands is pretty much meaningless.
Here's why.
CIPA rating - A measurement of the number of images a digital still camera can take on a single battery charge. The procedure for determining this rating ...
15
LCD screen and any wireless features like Bluetooth, WiFi or GPS would be the heaviest drain. This would be followed by flash/focus-assist then auto-focus, image stabilization would probably be next. Just being on (or even off and providing enough power for the display counts) would be a minor drain. Keeping the camera on between shots won't do too much. ...
15
The Nikon FG-20 has an electronic shutter, which will not work properly if no battery is inserted.
You can, with limited capabilities, still use the camera without a battery. Light metereing will of course not work, but the shutter speeds are also restricted to B and a mechanically controlled 1/90s indicated as 'M90' on the speed dial. Unfortunately, the ...
14
This will not be a problem. Milliamp-hours are a rating of the capacity of the battery (metaphorically, the size of the gas tank), and having extra won't cause any harm. (Basically, it's how long the power will last, not how strong it is.) It's possible but unlikely that cost-cutting in the battery may have other, more problematic issues, but many people use ...
14
A mirrorless camera consumes more power mostly because the circuitry is constantly running. Both the sensor and EVF or LCD have to be powered continuously in order to maintain the Live-View which is necessary for framing.
In contrast, a DSLR can even be used to frame while powered off. The viewfinder requires no power at all and the status line below the ...
13
Usually, we buy more batteries. For pros, a few extra batteries is a very marginal business expense, and for serious enthusiasts, it's usually just worth it. I always want a spare battery for my DSLR, even though it has excellent battery life. If you're in the studio, an AC adapter may be an option — although even then, keeping the camera free of an extra ...
12
As noted by others, if you want a battery that is a straight replacement for rechargeable AA cells then LSD (low self discharge) NimH will meet your need.
LSD cells have more, not less, lifetime cycles than standard cells. A first generation Sanyo Eneloop cell offers about 1000 cycles (compared to less than 500 for a standard NimH cell) and their new 2nd ...
12
It really depends on the model but modern cameras are very good at saving power during sleep mode.
Sleep mode however on most cameras consumes some non-negligible amount of power, so if you wanted the more battery-life then turning it off is better.
Even better than off is to remove the battery as some cameras, particularly Nikon DSLRs, use power even when ...
12
Partially functionality and partially profit. With my Canon 5D Mark iii, I use a battery grip. The battery grip provides two power options. One, I can use 2 of the typical Canon proprietary battery packs in parallel or I can use 6 AA batteries that take up roughly the same amount of space.
When I use the AA batteries, the camera performance suffers ...
12
Do NOT do this.
Please read this post from Electrical Engineering SE regarding Li-Ion battery.
Li-Ion have one failure mode. Fire. And it's not a normal, lighter fire, or even a stove fire. It is a fire-that-burns-in-a-vacuum fire. It's a fire-that-reacts-with-water-and-air fire.
Li-Ion is not the battery type to play around with. They are dead not ...
11
Yes! This is a normal problem with rechargeables, and there is a type of battery made to solve it — low-self discharge NiMH. These will hold a charge for months sitting idle. The downside is lower capacity, but I find that a small price to pay for actually being useful. The main brand is Sanyo Eneloop, but there are others, too.
11
Yes, they do. "Body only" means as opposed to in a kit with a lens. You should actually get a battery, matching charger (except in the now-rare case of cameras which use AA cells), an instruction manual and probably a CD with software, maybe some random cables, and various other little bits and pieces like a viewfinder cover. In fact, the manual will ...
11
When I am out shooting I always leave my Canon switched on, after 30 seconds or so it goes into sleep mode. I have never noticed any negative effect on battery life. Leaving it switched on means that it is ready to shoot as soon as I need it and I don't risk missing a photo opportunity.
I will usually turn it off when I put the camera into my camera bag ...
11
In general I'd recommend charging the battery fully before 'playing'. However this probably isn't necessary with modern lithium ion batteries, which don't suffer from memory effects.
The idea of battery memory and long first charges is a hangover from the day's of NiCd batteries.
When in doubt though read the manual.
10
All of the camera bodies being produced by major manufacturers (Canon, Nikon, Sony, Pentax, Olympus, etc) ship with a battery and charger. You don't need to purchase an additional battery or charger.
10
No, this is safe as long as the battery is not in the charger. Some chargers may have a small power drain from being plugged in (even when not charging anything), but it shouldn't do any damage to the device to leave it plugged in.
10
All else being equal, yes.
A bigger sensor requires more power. Advancement in power-saving technologies can sometimes improve that but with higher pixel counts being the norm, we do not see much of that. Each pixel requires circuitry so higher megapixels require more power than making the sensor bigger.
Luckily bigger cameras have room for bigger ...
10
I never take my battery grip off my 5D mark iii. The extra battery life that it gives is wonderful. That said, I use it with the official batteries and I have a total of 4 regular batteries for it.
I do still have a loaded and ready to go AA tray in-case of emergency, but AA's don't really work well as a battery option because they still provide less ...
10
There are so many variables regarding power consumption per shot that it is probably a little hard to precisely nail down. In general, shooting raw is understood to require more power than shooting JPEG assuming all other variables are equal. Even when saving image files in a raw format, a preview or thumbnail JPEG is generated by most cameras. So some, if ...
10
It depends on the specific camera. The Pentax K1000, for example, only requires the battery for metering, but everything else is mechanical. On your camera, shutter timing is electronic and requires a battery — but according to the manual there is a special setting M90 which provides a 1/90th of a second shutter speed which is all mechanical and can be used ...
9
(from comments)
Find the exact model here, and look for the specifications: http://www.canon.com/camera-museum/camera/film/series_eos.html
Note that there are many different models that are called "Canon EOS Rebel something", and some of them use different kinds of batteries. For example, EOS Rebel XS seems to use CR123A batteries while EOS Rebel 2000 uses ...
9
I haven't used it, but I know that battery drain with aftermarket grips is a common complaint on photography forums. And people with genuine Canon and Nikon units always reply that they have no such issues.
I would say it's a defect with that particular unit. You could try a 2nd Vello grip and you may find it works well. It shouldn't drain the batteries ...
9
If you're going to use the camera with regularity, you simply need an extra battery, in my opinion. You will, eventually, have a few days where you can't recharge for some reason so having the extra on-hand is important. You may forget to recharge, you may not be near electricity, you may have forgotten your charger, etc., and having an extra battery just ...
9
Buying more batteries is the easiest and simplest solution.
I have 2 original manufacturer and 3 clone batteries for an A77 or A700.
(See below re clone/original capacities etc)
I find that there are very few days that that is not enough. For a wedding or all day event or similar I carry two chargers which can charge from mains or from a car lighter (or ...
9
You can buy dedicated accessories for charging all kinds of stuff, or you can spend a little more and get a car converter 12V -> 110V, or 220V, depending on what your chargers need.
Then you can connect just about any standard device to it, as long as its current (wattage) requirements are not too high.
Here is one similar to one I have and it came in ...
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