Taking Care of Camera Batteries

Betty Muscott | 0 Comments

In case you weren’t aware of it, all digital cameras are battery hogs, so it is important to learn the best way of taking care of camera batteries. You shouldn’t expect the batteries in your digital camera to last too long because they are used for running a number of key camera functions.

Some of these functions are:

The imaging system;
The liquid crystal display (LCD);
The flash unit;
The image storage system.

That’s a whole lot to expect from a couple of AA batteries, and in fact they really don’t last long at all, especially if you follow my advice and take a lot of pictures. Just to be clear, when I say take a lot of pictures I am talking about hundreds, not just a dozen or so!

We tried out a few different cameras to see how many photos of our kids we could take with the following results:

Canon 1200 IS- 260 shots with the LCD on, 700 shots with the LCD off;
Olympus D-340R – 140 shots;
Epson PhotoPC 700 – 157 shots;
Kodak DC210 Plus – 89 shots/.

While 260 shots may seem impressive, realize too that this was a best case scenario. In real life you may not get that many shots of your kids!

Rechargeable-aa

Rechargeable Batteries vs Alkaline Batteries

If you are going to use your digital camera a lot, I highly recommend that you get rechargeable batteries instead of alkaline batteries. While 1-2 sets of NiMH rechargeable batteries may be more expensive to start with, along with the charger, in the long run you will be better off.

The more you use your camera the more obvious the cost savings will be. Once you purchase the first set of rechargeable batteries and charger, the next set will be less expensive.

Get The Most Out Of Your Batteries

Here are several things you can do to get the most out of your batteries:

Use the optical viewfinder and turn of the LCD;
Don’t review your pictures;
Disable or turn off your flash when you don’t need it;
Leave the camera on when you are taking a lot of photos in a short time – turning it on and off uses a lot of battery power;
If you have an ac power cord use it whenever possible.
When replacing your camera batteries use only all the same kind and all the same age.
Take your camera batteries out of your camera when you are not using it for a few days. The camera still draws some power even when it is turned off.

If your batteries die in the middle of a shoot and you don’t have any spares, you can turn the camera off and then back on and may be able to get a few more shots in.

Using Batteries In The Cold

You can prevent most problems by just keeping your batteries warm. If the batteries get too cold the chemical reactions that generate power are inhibited and will simply stop working. Carry a spare set of batteries in your pocket which will stay warm from your body heat. Exchange for the cold ones, put them in your pocket, and then change again once the original batteries have warmed up.

About Betty Muscott

Betty A. Muscott is an experienced child photographer and online entrepreneur for tools to capture great photographs of children by parents and grandparents. Connect with Betty on Google+

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