Battery usage with A570 IS

[slobjones]

I picked up an A570 IS (lightly used, customer return item) on eBay, and while I'm very impressed with the camera, I'm very concerned with its battery usage.

I first tried a set of Duracell alkalines, and the camera displayed its "change the batteries" message after just 50 photos. When I checked the batteries with a reliable tester, though, they were still well within the green, or "good," range.

Next, I installed a set of pre-charged Rayovac LD715 hybrid NiMH batteries. After all of three photos, the camera is already displaying the "low battery" icon. Again, the batteries test in the green, or "good," zone, although slightly below that of the alkalines.

According to the manual, the camera is good for at least 120 shots per set of alkalines and 400 for NiMHs.

Should I be concerned? Shouldn't batteries that test as "good" still power the camera?

[Jon]

Well, alkalines and digital cameras are a bad pair; the power curve of an alkaline battery is no match for the demands of digital cameras. Alkallines are intended for steady loads, like flashlights, radios, or tape players. Digital cameras tend to place "burst" demands on the batteries and the battery will not be able to maintain the level of output needed for very long. If left to recover, they'll again be able to take a few more shots, but you'll only see 120 shots if you don't take more than 1-2 per hour and don't use the LCD or flash very much.

As for the "pre-charged" RayOvacs, I'm not sure how well they compare with Eneloops for retaining a charge, and there's no way of telling how long they'd been sitting on the shellf when you got them. I'd strongly suggest fully recharging them again. And I wouldn't use the tester's ""Green" reading as an indicator of the battery's state unless you tested the batteries immediately after you got the low battery warning in the camera.

That said, there have been others who've raised questions about the battery life in the A570.

[Raivyn]

I gave my sister this same camera for Christmas, and she uses alkaline batteries and leaves the flash on, and it goes through the batteries very quickly.

We also have this camera. We only use Eneloop batteries (you can get a good deal on them from Costco), and we nearly always have the flash off. With this set up, we can go a full day out and about without having to change the batteries. It was our primary camera for a week long Disney World trip (including a cruise), and we only had to change the batteries once, and we took alot of photos.

[slobjones]

My La Crosse BC-700 arrived and I charged my Rayovac LD715 Hybrids to full capacity.

Results: I took 15 photos before getting the low battery warning.

In case you're interested, the Rayovacs receive very high ratings in user reviews on Amazon.

What now? Try the Sanyo Eneloops as a last resort? At this point, the camera is essentially a useless item.

[Raivyn]

Costco currently has a good deal on the eneloops. Have you tried keeping the flash off?