Pro90 battery life/shutdown

Howdy folks, (also posted on dpreview)

Has anyone experienced a very brief low battery warning when their Pro90 battery gets low? My indicator showed full charge this morning, then I got a battery warning indicator on the LCD, then the
camera shut down in less than 15 seconds after the warning!

I took about 50 raw pictures, downloaded them all (I know you should plug in to 110V for downloading), experimented a lot with the flash, using menues etc. all on battery power. I did this because I wanted to discharge the battery because you need to do several charge and discharge cycles on new batteries before you can get full capacity from them.

I think that I got normal life out of the first charge considering how I used it. I was surprised at the short time after the warning before camera shutdown though. Glad I wasn't in the middle of a shot

Have any of you had a similar experience with your Pro90 or G1 when the battery got low?

TIA for comments. Take care and happy shooting, Greg

Greg,

I have shot about 2000 images now through the Pro90 and about half of those had flash and 3/4 of them used the IS. I usually get the battery warning around 200 to 300 images with the 1 Gig Microdrive. I have never used the camera with Compact flash even though I have quite a few. Also I use the zoom quite often and also a lot of manual focusing. So far I have two of the Canon batteries and I change them as soon as I get the warning. The camera has never shut off on me though.

I just ordered the Lenmar battery charger and one of the AC delco batteries from Battery barn. I needed the ability to charge in the car and thats what decided me on the Lenmar, also the fact that Canon wants 180.00 for the 12 volt car adapter. They sure are proud of that thing.

Anyway, I hope to get a bit more out of the AC Delco as it is rated at 1500 mAh and the Canon at 1200. Ill let you know how it goes. If your interested in getting any you can get them from this link here

http://www.batterybarn​.com/bp511.htm

Best Regards

Rick

Hi Rick.

I have the AC Delco battery and it is great. I get longer life from it than the Canon battery although I have not done anything to measure the difference in charge lifetime between the 2 yet.

I was going to take a lot of shots this weekend but I had to put my wife in the hospital with possible heart problems So right now, piture taking is on hold. So far, tests indicate she did not have another heart attack She had a mild heart attack last May but recovered from it.

Thanks for the reply and take care, Greg

Greg,

Very sorry to hear about your Wife's illness. I pray she recovers swiftly and without distress. I look forward to lots of chat here on this great board with you and others. Also, Im glad to hear the Delco is doing so much better than the Canons.

Best Regards and our prayers are with you and your wife.

Rick

Both my Canon and my AC Delco batteries are providing excellent service now that they have been charged/discharged a few times The AC battery lasts about 25% longer than the Canon battery. I have not experienced the instant camera shut down event again

My wife did NOT have another heart attack She was only in the hospital a couple of days. They do not have any idea as to what caused the severe chest pain tho. Thanks to everyone who expressed concern for her

For the last 2 weeks, I have been taking pictures of 2 of our 4 grand children while our daughter is here with 2 year old Joshua and 6 week old Melissa What a joy grand children are. It sure would be nice to have their energy.

Take care and happy shooting, Greg

Greg,

Do you recall how many full battery cycles it took to have a gracefull shut down??

My Pro90 has been fully charged/discharged a couple times and it still is quite fast with the low battery warning to complete shut off..

Thanks for your imput

Hi James,

It was about 3 complete cycles. However, I still have to rapidly change to a fresh battery after the low battery indicator comes on. The difference is that I now have the time to do that

The first time I got the low battery warning the camera immediately shut down. I think this is a software issue caused by the Canon software being set up to get us the maximum possible life out of a charge.

I would not be happy if I was still experiencing the instant shutdown, but I can live with the amount of time I now get to switch batteries. I hope this helps, Greg

Thanks for help, I have only a couple full charges on my Battery so I will see how it goes.