40D and # shots from single battery load?

Hi All,

I was wondering how many shots any of you 40D owners get out of a single battery load, a fully charged BP-511 of 1390 mA, that is.

I find I get about 250-300 only, no LiveView, no flash, while Canon claims 600-700 including 50% flash.

Anybody care to comment?

Thanks in advance!

Kind regards, Wim

I never tested to test, but did get 485 at a Busch race and had plenty of battery left over. Same conditions as you list.

Wim, I've read several places that these Li-ion batteries won't accept a full charge when they're new, that it takes several charging cycles to build up to full capacity. Is yours new?

-js

I get at least 600 shots with Sterling batteries. Their claimed rating is 2000 mAh.

I'm around 400 with a first-time battery, with power still to go. I'll probably take another 150-200 shots tomorrow and I'll see how it holds up.


.

Wow, maybe I'm lucky! I shot 2500 shots last weekendin 2 1250 shot sessions on each day on a new battery in my new 40D. These were all flashless RAW files. The battery still is strong.

number six wrote in post #4028017
Wim, I've read several places that these Li-ion batteries won't accept a full charge when they're new, that it takes several charging cycles to build up to full capacity. Is yours new?

-js

Yes, they are. 2 cycles each so far, each. I guess I'll have to be a little patient then . I didn't have this with the 400D/350D batteries, though.

Thanks for the info!

Kind regards, Wim

Thank you all!

I'll give it a little more time; I have two batteries currently, which I recycle in turn. Just hope that they get better with a few more recharging sessions.

Kind regards, Wim

Consistently over 500 w/ maybe 5% flash...

I'm not terribly impressed with mine either. I'm getting about the same number of shots as you, Wim... But about 1/3 of them with Live View (no flash though). I rotate two batteries (the original 40D one, and a third-party I got from the store). I really hope my battery performance improves as I "break in" the batteries too!

With no liveview, but lots of LCD use and constant IS use, I'd say I've got 600+ RAW shots so far on the first fully charged battery and it's still reading full.

I'm sure this is common knowledge, but you do need to let these batteries sit in the charger after they're "done" charging for a good while since these chargers don't have anything that actually indicates when they're really done charging. If this is news to anyone, check your manual (p24).. it's one of those things I wouldn't have noticed (probably because it makes no sense) unless I'd read it here on POTN. A minor difference from the way the 400D/Xti battery and charger work.

I have two Sterling Teck 2000mah batteries and have got about 1500 pics without a charge yet. These were the batteries from my 30D though, so they have been conditioned already.
Just make sure you cycle the battery and you will get more life from it as time goes on.

fz_za wrote in post #4030705
I'm not terribly impressed with mine either. I'm getting about the same number of shots as you, Wim... But about 1/3 of them with Live View (no flash though). I rotate two batteries (the original 40D one, and a third-party I got from the store). I really hope my battery performance improves as I "break in" the batteries too!

With LiveView I got 90 shots from the first battery, and 160 from the second...
That's why I shot without using LiveView for the second charge with the first battery - about 250-300 shots, and this is why I was getting worried.

I just got a 3rd battery today, and I will leave it to charge all night . See if that'll do the trick.

Kind regards, Wim

Menocu wrote in post #4030860
With no liveview, but lots of LCD use and constant IS use, I'd say I've got 600+ RAW shots so far on the first fully charged battery and it's still reading full.

I'm sure this is common knowledge, but you do need to let these batteries sit in the charger after they're "done" charging for a good while since these chargers don't have anything that actually indicates when they're really done charging. If this is news to anyone, check your manual (p24).. it's one of those things I wouldn't have noticed (probably because it makes no sense) unless I'd read it here on POTN. A minor difference from the way the 400D/Xti battery and charger work.

Thank you. I expected it to work like the 400D's batteries...

Kind regards, Wim

Thank you all again for your comments and encouraging remarks!

I'll try to be a bit more patient with the charging process, and leave the battery in the charger well beyond the time it takes to light up the charged indicator.

Kind regards, Wim