NiCds, NiMhs and Canon digicams

[D_Brasted]

Hi,

I'm considering purchasing a Canon A610 in the near future. My experience with Uniross NiMhs and my family's Canon A85 is that the NiMhs have an extremely sharp voltage "dropoff" - i.e. they are able to supply the camera with power right until the very last moment, at which point they die without warning. That is all well and good, except that the camera is unable to detect when the batteries are getting low - this means that the camera does not retract the lens and switch off, putting it at increased risk of an E18 error...

Does anyone have experience using Canons and NiCds? Is the camera able to detect the voltage drop and shut off before the batteries die? I like the high capacity of NiMhs but you can get NiCds at 1100mAh or more nowadays, and that will do if it means the camera won't just stop on me.

Thanks.

Regards, Dominic

[David Metsky]

NiCads won't last very long. You'll have to replace them very frequently during use, it's not worth any percieved risk. While you don't have a huge amount of warning time with NiMH batteries, it's certainly enough to safely shut down the camera with plenty of time to spare.

It's a false savings, you're much better off with the NiMH batteries. The risk of E18 is extremely low, and the camera will turn itself off if the battery gets low, so I'm not sure this is even an issue.

-dave-

[D_Brasted]

My experience with our A85 told me that NiMhs don't give enough warning - the camera simply dies, without the "low battery" coming up or the camera shutting down... I just wondered whether anyone else had this experience with NiMhs and Canons, specifically the A610 (which I want to get)...

[BowerR64]

The camera doesnt work that way. It doesnt error unless there is a problem with the mechanism. You can pull the batteries in the middle of the cameras use wth the lens extended and it will boot right back up and cycle threw fine.

The only time it errors is if it is jammed up and it draws more power then the batteries can give.

IMO the way NiMH batteris works is good. Who wants a slow drop off alkaline? i would prefer the battery keep its voltage till the last second it seems to give the user more use. Alkalines get weak and drop in voltage before they are actualy dead. THey just dont have the power behind the voltage to keep them working long enough in these devices.

I use to love nicad because i know how to keep them working. I use to race R/C cars and thats all they use. I never had much confidence in NiMH till i got a few packs this year. They really are amazing batteris, im so glad i went with them. Some times i kinda freak out how long they actualy last. I wish i had been using them in my old camera i could of saved so much money.