What is the REAL Battery life on 350d / Rebel XT

[puttick]

I was a little surprised to see a smaller capacity battery in the 350d / Rebel XT, compared to the 300d / Rebel, 10d and 20d. The NB-2LH is rated at 720mAh compared to the BP-511 at 1100mAh, or about 2/3 the capacity. It is annoying as I already have 2 extra BP-511s, but the real question is - what is the battery life like under REAL conditions?

Can anyone who has a 350d, as well as a 300d or a 20d, give a comparison of the battery life? None of the reviews give a real-world view on this.

Using my 300d, using auto power-off, with 17-40 L & 70 -200 L lenses, LCD on for 5secs, average exposures, very few with flash:

- If I am shooting sporadically, one BP-511 can last for weeks!

- If I am on a trip and shooting all day I might get 200 shots on one fully charged battery, less if I review on the LCD frequently

I have 2 Canon BP-511s (one is 4 years old!) and 1 Uniross copy, and find them indistinguishable in use.

The 350d looks very good and is great value, so I am considering trading - but I would be unhappy if the battery life is a limiting factor. I don't want the 2-battery grip, as for me the smaller size is a good feature.

[patrickpkt]

I've shot about 2000 photos on my XT on just 3 charges (and still have room to go on there). This is with the standard 2 second review, probably about 20% of the shots with flash, and maybe 15% shot with RAW+JPG (the rest just fine large JPG). So, to be specific, I'm seeing about 700-800 shots per charge, shot over a period of 3-5 days.

[puttick]

I've shot about 2000 photos on my XT on just 3 charges (and still have room to go on there). This is with the standard 2 second review, probably about 20% of the shots with flash, and maybe 15% shot with RAW+JPG (the rest just fine large JPG). So, to be specific, I'm seeing about 700-800 shots per charge, shot over a period of 3-5 days.

Well, I'm suitably impressed. That is better than I have experienced with the 300d.

[jobber73]

Yeah, I'd say my experience is comparable.

Around 600 shots with 2 sec. review per battery charge.

[cactusclay]

Hummm

[robertwgross]

The 350d looks very good and is great value, so I am considering trading - but I would be unhappy if the battery life is a limiting factor. I don't want the 2-battery grip, as for me the smaller size is a good feature.

One of the ways that Canon got the 350D to be so small is by using a smaller battery.

---Bob Gross---

[Anteros]

I think I'm averaging somewhere around 300 photos per charge with an 8 second review time.

I'm very impressed with the low power consumption of the 350d.

[pradeep1]

I am averaging around 600 shots on a full charge.

[roanjohn]

Battery life is not an issue with the XT.......it'll keep on ticking.......

Ro1

[mr.photoguy]

Wouldn't the life of the battery also depend on the frequency of use of the camera.
Do all of you shoot EVERYDAY, or do you shoot EVERY OTHER DAY.

I recently got 2 full 1 GIG CF cards worth of shots, out of my 20D with the 511A battery, plus about an extra 10 shots. Each gig with Raw shots, about 220 shots all together + mybe 20 jpgs. I would say all together about 250 images on one charge. I try to run the battery down till the camera shuts off.

How often does everyone shoot, and approx. how many shots do you take per day.

[pradeep1]

Wouldn't the life of the battery also depend on the frequency of use of the camera.
Do all of you shoot EVERYDAY, or do you shoot EVERY OTHER DAY.

I recently got 2 full 1 GIG CF cards worth of shots, out of my 20D with the 511A battery, plus about an extra 10 shots. Each gig with Raw shots, about 220 shots all together + mybe 20 jpgs. I would say all together about 250 images on one charge. I try to run the battery down till the camera shuts off.

How often does everyone shoot, and approx. how many shots do you take per day.


I've got family visiting these past few days. They have little cute kids, so I am shooting about 250+ photos a day. So far since last Friday, I've shot 1200 photos. I've charged my XT's battery three times, the last time for today's shooting.

[jobber73]

How often does everyone shoot, and approx. how many shots do you take per day.

I put a fully charged battery in on April 13 when my replacement XT was delivered.

Since then I've taken at least 20 photos every day, some with flash, most without. I spent an evening in the backyard doing long night exposures and messing with the bulb exposure setting. I spent one of those days at the zoo taking over 200 pictures that afternoon alone. I spent a day shooting my kids - another 90 or 100 photos there.

Just a few minutes ago I snapped a dozen or so shots of birds and a rabbit outside the house.

I also transfer directly from my camera to my PC.

The last picture I transferred was #563 and the bettery is still going.

[napolar]

Impresive, I thought the battery in my 300d lasted long, but what you are stating is incredible.

[Toogy]

I took exactly 1178 pictures on my last charge on my 20D!! I was impressed to say the least :)

[mr.photoguy]

I took exactly 1178 pictures on my last charge on my 20D!! I was impressed to say the least :)
I need to charge my battery, and see how many I get. I am not 100% sure, but my battery may be getting weak..

[learjet035]

just got home from 1 week in Ireland, the XT needed no recharge the entire trip and I shot 500 shots. Mostly landscape stuff so not much flash. I am very impressed with it.