Do you often find your batteries to be dead at your most crucial photo opportunities? Here’s the lowdown on battery types and efficient usage of your batteries.
Many digital cameras come with standard AA alkaline batteries; convenient to replace but inadequate amount of power for taking photos.
We got a whopping 32 photos with a brand new set of batteries on Christmas Day. Luckily we had more at home. If you run out of batteries, never mix old and new batteries in your camera. It can cause leakage of the battery (dangerous and will completely ruin your camera).
The day after Christmas we ran out and got a set of 4 rechargeable Ni-Mh (Nickel Metal Hydride) AA batteries with charger for $20. To give you an idea of the difference, we can get at least 100 photos or 30 minutes of video on a charge with Ni-Mh batteries.
Here are some tips for efficient battery usage:
- Don’t view your movies on your camera. It’s a great way to kill the batteries.
- Don’t bother deleting bad photos on the camera. I know it seems crazy, but the best plan is to download all your photos to your computer (where you can really see the details of your photo). Then delete the ones you don’t want on the computer. When you put the card back in your camera, you can reformat it to delete all the photos at once.
- Don’t use your camera as a way to show everyone your photos. You will drain the batteries, leaving you without the ability to take more photos. They make all kinds of devices for showing your digital photos (keychains, photo frames, etc).
- Do buy and carry an extra set of batteries. This way, when your batteries die while at that wedding, you can simply pop in a new set.
What do you do with your dead rechargeable batteries? If your local library doesn’t recycle them, click on this site to find a local recycle center.
Ni-Mh batteries offer the advantage of being quickly rechargeable, affordable, and have a long life before needing to be recharged.
Nickel Metal Hydride batteries offer a great value
Lithium-Ion batteries can hold their charge for a longer time (take more photos) and operate better in cold weather than Ni-Mh, however they are quite a bit more expensive.
Proprietary batteries are the ones made by your camera manufacturer specifically for your model. These are generally lighter in weight and hold a better charge than Ni-Mh, but are more expensive and not easily replaced (you must buy from the manufacturer or approved resellers).
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