canon a200 suddenly very short battery life

[auroredoor]

I have a canon powershot a200 camera, which I love and have used for years. Unfortunately, it is suddenly giving me very short battery life. With the display screen on, I can take about 10 photos and then it dies, saying the batteries are dead (actually, they still have some juice in them). I have tried different brands of rechargable batteries and have found the same problem.

I wrote to Canon and they said "We apologize for any inconvenience with the PowerShot A200 displaying a low battery life." and quoted me a repair cost of approx $100 - $200 (if the problem is not under warranty -- since the camera is a few years old, I doubt it's considered under warranty)

Has anyone else heard of this problem? I've taken good care of this camera and haven't severely dropped it or exposed it to sand or water or high humidity. I'm really disappointed that this camera may be ready for the dumpster already.

Any ideas on what's going on or how to fix it?

Thanks!!

[agent007]

Try getting a new pair of batteries and charge them with a new charger. Maybe the charger is not charging the batteries correctly or they are unable to hold charge for some reason.

[Ben Nevis]

I have just purchased an IXUS 700 and read in the manual that the battery has a life of 300 charges. As your battery is years old it could mean that it has seen better days.

[lostdoggy]

Over the years of use contacts especially if the camera is subjected to salty air or damp air ccontact corrosion will create resistance. Look inside the battery compartment with a good white flashlight and check for corrosion. if there is corrosion try to find a soft pink pencil erasure (not pen ink type) and erase the corosion the contract will shine a little. with an air blower or modest uese of canned air blow out the erasure remains. Hold the camera so that the dirt will fall down while blowing. Good Luck.

[likophoto]

What kind of batteries are you using? I'd recommend you try some new NiMH Rechargeable 2000 mAH or higher.

[cincophoto]

I had the same problem on my A70 and found out it was the CF card's fault since I would try the batteries on something else and they would work fine. I would be getting a Dead Battery sign or a blank picture and I figured out it was the Compact Flash. After I changed it had no more problems since. Hope this might help!

[auroredoor]

Thanks to everyone for your suggestions. I did a more thorough experiment with my camera and found out that the battery life may just be a problem with the batteries I was using. I tried two sets of fully charged batteries and tested them with a multimeter before and after inserting into the camera.

"Digital" brand (no name) 1.25V 1800mAh rechargable batteries
Before camera: 1.285V & 1.275V
After inserting in the camera, camera immediately showed low battery signal and switched off.
After camera: 1.262V & 1.249V
Notes: I've refreshed these batteries and it didn't seem to make a difference as far as my camera was concerned. Batteries were purchased at the same time as the camera, so they're about 2.5 years old.

Memorex brand 1.2V 1800mAh rechargable batteries
Before camera: 1.454V & 1.436V
Camera seems to be operating normally. I've taken over 200 photos with the display on, of those about 150 with flash, and the batteries are still going.
After camera: 1.303V & 1.309V
Notes: I put the batteries back into the camera and was able to take more photos. No low battery signal. These batteries are about 1.5 years old.

So, I'm a bit embarrassed that the problem was so simple, but I am definitely appreciative of this forum and all the helpful answers I received here. Thanks, again! I will continue to monitor the camera battery usage and hopefully this will be the end of it.

[bmarkmain]

My A200 is also tough on batteries, but I have had success by using RayOVac NiMh rechargeable batteries. Usually I have to recharge after each photo session, but I keep an extra set charged, so the problem has somewhat mitigated by doing this procedure. Great little camera.



I have a canon powershot a200 camera, which I love and have used for years. Unfortunately, it is suddenly giving me very short battery life. With the display screen on, I can take about 10 photos and then it dies, saying the batteries are dead (actually, they still have some juice in them). I have tried different brands of rechargable batteries and have found the same problem.

I wrote to Canon and they said "We apologize for any inconvenience with the PowerShot A200 displaying a low battery life." and quoted me a repair cost of approx $100 - $200 (if the problem is not under warranty -- since the camera is a few years old, I doubt it's considered under warranty)

Has anyone else heard of this problem? I've taken good care of this camera and haven't severely dropped it or exposed it to sand or water or high humidity. I'm really disappointed that this camera may be ready for the dumpster already.

Any ideas on what's going on or how to fix it?

Thanks!!

[jbogusz]

I had very short battery life with my A520 (I believe the same problems affects more Canon cameras) for several years, I was close to getting rid of this camera altogether until I received this solution from Canon support. Since then my camera is fine. I wish I found about it earlier. Also, Canon does not publish this solution on their website... (?).

1. Remove your batteries and close the battery door.

2. Hold down the ON/OFF switch for 1 minute. This drains the camera of
all of its energy, causing the camera to reset itself.

3. Remove you hand and replace the batteries.

Turn your camera ON.