Battery Question

[Steven M. Anthony]

Anyone know how long a fully charged, standard 10D battery will last without setting the auto shut-off to 1 or 2 minutes? I hate the start-up lag and want to either set auto shut-off to 30 min or off. I know it will depend on how much I shoot, but am I looking at 60 minutes of "standby" time? 120min? My old sony 707 gives me about 180 minutes (minus a little for every shot taken).

Thanks!

[Scottes]

I'd rather just buy more batteries that set auto-shutoff too low. It drives me crazy to wait for the 10D to fire up when a bird is sitting *right there*

[Steven M. Anthony]

yeah, I've got 2 batteries, but wanted to know how many I need to cover a full day of raoming around and shooting (just hobby stuff, not pro).

[robertwgross]

The Canon battery specifications show the expected number of frames to be shot. However, they don't cover how much time that is spread over. Further, there are too many variables. IS lenses, for example, reduce the number of frames by 30%. A big heavy lens will use more battery power for autofocus than a small lightweight lens will. RAW images are larger than a small JPEG, so they take longer to write to the CF card, so that means more battery consumption. You might or might not have the LCD panel backlit. My camera has a white autofocus assist lamp on it that might or might not be enabled.

Too many variables.

---Bob Gross---

[Steven M. Anthony]

Yeah--too many for a precise number... but if anyone knows a range, I'd still appreciate it.

[robertwgross]

The manual says that the battery will do 650 shots on one charge, assuming optimal conditions.

If your battery is new and charged smartly, then I would guess you can expect 400-600. Once your battery gets a year or two old, it can get a little funky. Then, if you get 200 shots from it, it is a good day.

I have five BP511 batteries now, all the way from two years old to two weeks old, so I get all sorts of different numbers on one charge.

---Bob Gross---

[JZaun]

On my 10D using the 100-400 IS lens with 2 batteries in the grip I get about 600 pic's on 2 batteries. I try to keep the cam on when using it but it will go to sleep sometimes..IS does use more power. Never used up 2 batteries with regualr lens on the cam.

JZ

[Steven M. Anthony]

Thanks all! Looks like I will just have to do a test at work tomorrow--turn it on in the morning and see how long it lasts... I'll report in for whoever is interested. I have a 10D with a canon 28 - 200 (NOT IS); I've turned the beep off and only show a preview for 1 or 2 seconds (whatever is the shortest).

[Steven M. Anthony]

okay--camera has been sitting for over 3 hours and still shows "full" icon. I know it's not really full, but at least it hasn't gone to "low" yet. Granted, it will run low faster when i shoot, but I figure that with 2 batteries and shutting it off when I know I won't be shooting, I should get a full day of shooting in.