Why Does My A710 IS Keep Thinking My Batteries Are Low When They're Not ?

[CameraLens]

I've used Powerex 2700 mAH NiMH AA rechargeables for the last 2 years and they've always worked great on this camera. Lately, it seems like no matter what I do, the camera flashes the red battery low after only about 5 minutes of use.

I've recharged the batteries and tried different batteries fresh off the charger and keep having the same problem. I checked the batteries with a volt meter and they all show 1.3+ volts which is good for NiMH rechargeables. I tried removing the batteries and the lithium watch battery for 1 minute, putting 'em back in, and formatting the memory card, and still no luck.

The camera just suddenly started doing this recently. Has anyone had this problem before? Is there a solution?

Thanks.

[cryforashadow]

I have the exact same problem with my A510. It's unusable because the battery dies after two minutes. But with good reason because I dropped it on the ground. And didn't bother getting it fixed because well.. it's A510.

[CameraLens]

Dang man, I'm sorry to hear that. I sure hope there's some way to bring our cameras back cos I really don't wanna spend the $$$ on another point-and-shoot, but if I do, it will NOT be another Canon.

I tried e-mailing Canon and they actually replied just a couple of hours later on a Saturday (!!!) and here is what they said:

The issue may be resolved by cleaning the battery contacts in your camera to create a better connection with the camera. You can use a pencil eraser and clean the battery contacts inside the battery compartment and the battery contact on the battery door. Once complete, re-insert the batteries in the camera and see if the roblem persists. If it does it would need to be sent in for service.Unfortunately the eraser thing didn't work and the camera is out of warranty. Now I gotta make a decision... :rolleyes: :( :cry:

[rabidcow]

how old are the batteries.

[CameraLens]

About 3 years old. Perhaps I might try some completely different batteries altogether, even though they seem to work fine on other devices.

I am using CHDK right now and it also shows a low battery as soon as I turn the camera on.

[n1as]

A year ago we bought an A570 which had the short-battery-life issue. I exchanged it for another A570 which had the same problem. I returned that and got an A720 which did NOT have that problem and produced better images. I'm beginning to thing I am very lucky!

[CameraLens]

Not good. This camera worked fine for about 2 years now and all of a sudden this happens. I guess I've narrowed it down to a couple of options, so what do you all think I should do?

1. Sacrifice/risk the $10 - $12 to ship it to Canon and see how much the repair will cost.

2. Cut my losses and get a new point-and-shoot compact camera.

3. Do nothing cos I already got a 40D.

4. Any other ideas?

Ultimately, I'd want the camera to have:

Full manual mode including white balance & metering mode

A viewfinder

At least a 2.5" screen, preferably with 230K pixels

Image stabilizer

Uses AA batteries

A tripod mount

A wide focal length and f/2.8 at the short end

Movie mode

Uses SDHC memory cards

[rabidcow]

About 3 years old. Perhaps I might try some completely different batteries altogether, even though they seem to work fine on other devices.

I am using CHDK right now and it also shows a low battery as soon as I turn the camera on.


DING DING DING!!! I toss NiMH batteries every 18 months, regardless of use. They do lose the ability to supply current. I recommend trying another set of (new) batteries and see if they do the same thing.

[CameraLens]

Well I have about a dozen or so of the Powerex AA's which I rotate among several devices and they are all showing 1.3 - 1.4 volts on the volt meter fresh off the charger. All of the other devices work fine as usual and the camera still keeps flashing the red battery low no matter which batteries I put in it.

Maybe I'll try some Energizer alkalines and see what happens. The only other thing I can think of is that maybe something went haywire with the Maha charger and it's not charging the batteries right, but that wouldn't explain the good voltage readings I'm getting. In any case, I'm gonna try a AccuPower AccuManager 20 charger that I have and see anything changes.

I wish there was some way to download any old & new Canon firmware versions to see if I can switch 'em around to try and fix it.

[prcrstn8]

Other ideas? Forget alkalines - try Energizer lithium AA's. And do replace those rechargeables.

[ethegolfman]

Have also had issues with rechargeables (camera is an A510) that are a few years old. They work OK but they drain very quickly, sometimes even a day or less if they sit in the back seat and get hot - much faster than they used to drain. However when I use Energizer e2 Lithiums they last forever so it is definitely the NiMH batteries and not the camera.

Another vote for replacing the rechargeables - they can show good charge straight out of the charger and go bad pretty quickly.

[Al Heline]

I am using CHDK right now and it also shows a low battery as soon as I turn the camera on.

Another DING, DING, DING..... You are using CHDK!!!! Check and make sure that your battery max & min are set correctly (
CHDKmanual.pdf - page 6). These are adjustable and there are different settings for different cameras. But that being said, check the actual batteries too. NiMH batteries are good but it is suggested that after 10-12 recharges, they should be drained and recharged from a drained state. They do not have the 'memory' problems that NiCad batteries had, but they are not 5 year batteries either. Personally, I haven't managed to kill any of mine yet, but I have been around batteries for many a year and know that that day will come...quicker than I would like.