IS USM lens suck the life out of BP-11 in 135 shots on 10D

[rudrasen]

Hi,
Has anyone experienced this? BTW I just got my 10D :D
(BuygDig.com.) bought these two lenses from B&H photo:
28-135 IS USM & 50mm F/1.8
Also the cool Adorama Slinger bag (from Adorama of course)
So I pack my camera bag & head out to down town San Jose today (Saturday June 12th).

I am enjoying the whole experience as I click away at all the prominent buildings in the downtown area. About 2 hours & 135 shots later I am crouching before a Formula Car in the Tech Museum. I realize nothing is happening after my 2nd shot.

The Battery is dead!!! :shock: What!! (My G3 was better then this with the flash firing.)

Are all the IS or the USM infamous for this? Are all of you carrying couple of extra batteries around?
Nope, I know what you are thinking. I had the charged that BP-511 fully the previous night.


BTW I love my 10D, makes look like a pro. :lol: I had several people pose for coz they thought I belonged to some local newspaper or tabloid. Thanks 10D

[Canuck]

Interesting...
I took somewhere in the order of 850 pics in 10 hrs w/ plenty of juice to go and a fair bit of chimping with the 24-70mm F2.8L last weekend. I didn't use AF, and there isn't IS on the aforementioned lens. I have a Canon 1100mah battery and a Hahnel 1300mah battery that I used in Big Ed. That is all that was used. I'm befuddled. I'd thought you'd get more out of it than 135 pics. Although, I have never used an IS lens.

Did you take them out and swap left to right, or just reseat them? That sometimes works. Are u using a CF or MD? MDs are much more power consuming than the CF counterpart.

[defordphoto]

Be sure when you charge your batteries that you leave them in the charger for the extra 2 hours after light indicates "charged" for the maximum charge.

[mjordan]

If you just bought the camera did you condition the battery? It might not be taking a full charge. I usually get a lot of shots out of my batteries too. But I also carry 5 or 6 spares in my bag because they are so cheap ($9 to $11 depending if you want the regular or higher amh hour batteries at a number of online stores). I've never had a problem with any of them.

Mike

[drisley]

You may have a dud battery.
However, IS does suck a fair bit 'o juice.
USM doesnt (I THINK it's actually more energy efficient than non-USM motors.)


BTW I love my 10D, makes look like a pro. :lol: I had several people pose for coz they thought I belonged to some local newspaper or tabloid. Thanks 10D

I've read about many experiences where a pro looking camera or lens is almost as good as press credentials for access.
In fact, I was told that with my 300D+battery grip and 70-200L lens I could easily have entered the "media" side of a recent pre-olympic diving event. The battery grip does give the 300D a little more respect, as does a big white lens.

[Guillermo Freige]

Batteries don´t last very much in the first charges. After 3-4 cycles it'll last more shots. My Drebel takes 300+ pictures using the 28-135IS AND a 1GB microdrive (I've never run out of juice in a full day shot, so I actually don´t know how many pictures can take)

[thomascanty]

I've read about many experiences where a pro looking camera or lens is almost as good as press credentials for access.

I was actually mistaken as a pro at the Reagan Presidential Library a couple years ago while carrying my Olympus C-4040Z with FL-20 flash attached on a bracket. They let me take all the pictures I wanted, even though photography is normally not allowed in there... :)

[Ross]

Although I've got the 28-135 IS USM lens, I haven't used it much yet, so can't really comment; but with the 75-300 IS USM I've been taking about 500 images on one battery easily, and that's included looking at loads of histograms. I haven't actually had a battery run out yet - I've just chosen convenient break points to change them anyway, just in case I get caught out!

Ross

[MarkH]

I've had my 10D for about a year now. I started with the 50 f1.8 and the 28-135 IS. Most of the time I have the 28-135 IS on the camera. I always get over 400 shots on a battery. Typically if I shoot around 400 - 600 shots over a 4 - 5 hour period, the battery level is reading low and I have to think about swapping batteries. I have a couple of Canon batteries and a couple of Power 2000 batteries from B&H Photo.

I never worry about leaving the battery on the charger after the light goes steady, because I never use my original Canon charger. I always charge at home on my Lenmar Mach 1 and I keep my Power 2000 charger in my camera bag (with its 12V lead).

I always have fully charged spare batteries because the camera cost too much for it to be unable to take photos. Without battery power the 10D is a rather expensive paper weight.

[ijohnson]

I have the 10D and the 28-135 and can give you two pieces of advice regarding battery drain. I can take a heck of a lot more than 135 pictures with that combo.

#1: Turn the IS off when you aren't using it. If you are outside taking pictures of buildings I have to doubt that you would need it unless you were trying to get some moderate motion blur of someone jumping.

#2: Stop chimping!!! As you get used to the camera you may find that you don't need to look at every picture after you take it. I turn mine off (mainly so that other photographers don't catch me). At least set the review to 2 seconds and that may save some battery.

I hope that helps. Otherwise, buy 2 more batteries, keep the IS on all the time and relentlessly review every picture that you take.

[mjordan]

There's no reason to turn IS off. I've been using my 70-200 2.8L IS for almost a year and I don't think I've ever turned off IS other than as a test. I shoot a lot in low light, which causes the IS to be used and I reguarly check my histogram and when I've got no pictures to take, I will view a few images by zooming in on t hem to check them. At most events I shoot at, I can shoot upwards of 1500 images. I have not seen a reduction in how many pictures I can take between batteries. I'm not saying there isn't a reduction, just that it hasn't been so much that it's obvious that it's been reduced.

I do carry extra batteries and when my battery indicator reads low, I'll usually swap then, even though I know it can take a lot more pictures before it's done. Just like I change a CF card before it's full if I know there is going to be a burst of action real soon. I don't want to run out of either right in the middle of a sequence of shots. I don't know why you would think it's so bad to have extra batteries and to use them ijohnson. Having extra batteries is just part of photography, in film as well as digital. And even though the LCD isn't all that great for checking images, it is a way to check a few things and I'm sure going to use it when I can. And though some might think it's not the photomacho thing to do, I don't follow along with the type of reasoning.

Mike

[ijohnson]

There's no reason to turn IS off. I've been using my 70-200 2.8L IS for almost a year and I don't think I've ever turned off IS other than as a test. I shoot a lot in low light, which causes the IS to be used and I reguarly check my histogram and when I've got no pictures to take, I will view a few images by zooming in on t hem to check them. At most events I shoot at, I can shoot upwards of 1500 images. I have not seen a reduction in how many pictures I can take between batteries. I'm not saying there isn't a reduction, just that it hasn't been so much that it's obvious that it's been reduced.

I do carry extra batteries and when my battery indicator reads low, I'll usually swap then, even though I know it can take a lot more pictures before it's done. Just like I change a CF card before it's full if I know there is going to be a burst of action real soon. I don't want to run out of either right in the middle of a sequence of shots. I don't know why you would think it's so bad to have extra batteries and to use them ijohnson. Having extra batteries is just part of photography, in film as well as digital. And even though the LCD isn't all that great for checking images, it is a way to check a few things and I'm sure going to use it when I can. And though some might think it's not the photomacho thing to do, I don't follow along with the type of reasoning.

Mike

I don't have any problem with extra batteries. I have 4. It solves any battery problem that the poster had that day. I also have not had any problem with battery life even when I do keep the IS on, however I do suspect that it causes a pretty strong battery drain.

My perception is that the LCD set to a long review time will definitely drain the battery. I manually review shots by pushing the play button when I take a shot that I suspect might have some problems. Otherwise I look at all my pictures on it when I am on the Subway or in the Taxi home.

The only other thing I can think of is that Rudrasen might have not fully charged the battery before its first use however I thought this problem was solved with Lithium Ion even though every manual I have seen for batteries makes you charge them fully before using them.

There is also a difference between shooting 1500 shots in 2 hours and 135 shots in 12 hours while spending time admiring your photos on your new camera. I drained my first battery just playing with the IS. It is SO COOL!

Do you follow?