Questions on battery life of K-X

[kengoh]

Today 1st time brought out my K-X to shoot.
On a set of fully charged Sanyo eneloop only last me about 150shots.
The Energizer Alkaline worse, only about 30 shots or might be lower?
Thought I read for Ni-MH is easily >500shots?
Have already upgraded to the 1.01 firmware. Is my camera faulty?

 

[woefulwabbit]

This is very strange indeed. What did you set your Battery Type to?

 

[kengoh]

This is very strange indeed. What did you set your Battery Type to?

I set to Auto.
btw the set of eneloop was brand new bought 1 day ago from AP.

 

[woefulwabbit]

Hmm... try set to NiMH, remove the batteries, wait 1 minute, then insert again?

 

[kengoh]

Hmm... try set to NiMH, remove the batteries, wait 1 minute, then insert again?

ok, will try that.
I already abit dissapointed with today's shots & the battery life issue added to my misery.
Hope this setting solve at least this issue.

 

[sircam]

You didn't charge the Eneloops fully before inserting them into your K-x did you? If you didn't, then I am not surprised at the low number of photographs. Its a normal phenomenon if these batteries had been sitting on a shelf somewhere for many months till you used them.

Brand new Eneloop batteries take upto about 2-3 full recharge/discharge cycles before they can perform at full capacity.

A freshly charged Eneloop set should provide you with at least 400+ shots... many of them with flash and some reviewing on LCD thrown in for good measure.

 

[kengoh]

You didn't charge the Eneloops fully before inserting them into your K-x did you? If you didn't, then I am not surprised at the low number of photographs. Its a normal phenomenon if these batteries had been sitting on a shelf somewhere for many months till you used them.

Brand new Eneloop batteries take upto about 2-3 full recharge/discharge cycles before they can perform at full capacity.

A freshly charged Eneloop set should provide you with at least 400+ shots... many of them with flash and some reviewing on LCD thrown in for good measure.

My 1st post did mention fully charged.
But my charger is the Sanyo 15mins quick charger, could this be the problem? :think:
Or do I need to get normal charger instead of 15 mins charger?

 

[woefulwabbit]

Erm the Quick Charger is supposed to be 2 hour Quick Charger... at least that is what mine says

 

[kengoh]

Erm the Quick Charger is supposed to be 2 hour Quick Charger... at least that is what mine says

Mine is this charger:
http://cgi.ebay.com.sg/SANYO-15-Min...QQptZLH_DefaultDomain_216?hash=item20aecf6fa0

Think for 2500Mah need 15mins to fully charge, so eneloop which is only 2000Mah will be even shorter.

 

[elavan]

cannot trust this sort of thing, what the print on paper is not usually the case in practice, so charge it longer..

 

[kengoh]

cannot trust this sort of thing, what the print on paper is not usually the case in practice, so charge it longer..

But the thing is the charger stop charging after 10+mins.
If I charge again, it will stop within a min.

 

[nameless1]

Mine is this charger:
http://cgi.ebay.com.sg/SANYO-15-Min...QQptZLH_DefaultDomain_216?hash=item20aecf6fa0

Think for 2500Mah need 15mins to fully charge, so eneloop which is only 2000Mah will be even shorter.

From the package of this "15 min charger", it doesn't look like an authentic Sanyo charger but a poor quality imitation to me. The package should better for this price range and the highest rank of its product line.
Maybe you can borrow other charger and try your batteries.

 

[woefulwabbit]

Are you using Sanyo Eneloops or just Sanyo Rechargeable NiMHs? Eneloops are low-self-discharge NiMHs.. the 15 mins quick charger looks like it's meant for the normal rechargeables
I got my Sanyo Eneloops and charger from this guy here: http://cgi.ebay.com.sg/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270505473129

 

[kengoh]

From the package of this "15 min charger", it doesn't look like an authentic Sanyo charger but a poor quality imitation to me. The package should better for this price range and the highest rank of its product line.
Maybe you can borrow other charger and try your batteries.

Not only the NiMH batteries having issue, the energizer batteries also cannot last long. Only abt 30shots, thought can last 120-210 shots as in the manual? :dunno:

 

[kengoh]

Are you using Sanyo Eneloops or just Sanyo Rechargeable NiMHs? Eneloops are low-self-discharge NiMHs.. the 15 mins quick charger looks like it's meant for the normal rechargeables
I got my Sanyo Eneloops and charger from this guy here: http://cgi.ebay.com.sg/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270505473129

I'm using Sanyo Eneloop. The 15min charger I bought from AP 1yr+ ago. Also paid $40++ with 2 or 4 2500Mah Sanyo rechargeable batteries. The AP guy said can use for Eneloop...

 

[shahrulesa]

Your first time out sure the battery won't last that long since you'd be playing a lot with the function and keep viewing on the viewfinder. Also, the eneloops are probably only 90% charged.

I won't worry too much, just turn your display brightness down a bit and buy extra batteries. The nimh are pretty cheap in singapore amyway.

 

[nameless1]

Not only the NiMH batteries having issue, the energizer batteries also cannot last long. Only abt 30shots, thought can last 120-210 shots as in the manual? :dunno:

yeah, 30 shots seem too low.
Maybe try few more batteries or use change charger before you bring to service center.

 

[kengoh]

Your first time out sure the battery won't last that long since you'd be playing a lot with the function and keep viewing on the viewfinder. Also, the eneloops are probably only 90% charged.

I won't worry too much, just turn your display brightness down a bit and buy extra batteries. The nimh are pretty cheap in singapore amyway.

but then 150shots vs 500shots is <30% & I rarely use flash.(<5%)
Manual stated 640shots (normal use) & 420 shots (50% flash) & it's basded on 1900 mAh.

 

[kengoh]

yeah, 30 shots seem too low.
Maybe try few more batteries or use change charger before you bring to service center.

One thing I have to mention is that since I'm very new to this cam, I've been switching quite frequently in between LiveView (LV), wonder if that could be the cause? :think:

 

[woefulwabbit]

Erm yes.. Live View will very quickly drain your batteries.