SD300 battery life

[indigox3]

Hi,

For those of you that have a SD300, on average how many pictures can you take on one battery charge? I get about 100-130 4MP shots, with the lcd on, mostly without the flash. I thought that was about normal for this camera till I stumbled on this review:
http://www.anandtech.com/digitalcameras/showdoc.aspx?i=2355&p=6
Which claims about 1000 shots/charge..which is HUGE compared to what I'm getting....

Is my camera/battery defective or something????

[David Metsky]

I took 400+ shots this weekend with my SD300, skiing in the backcountry. I shoot with the video screen off, but had to preview and delete 100+ to give me room to take more shots on Sunday. Probably never used the flash the entire time.

Total number of shots was around 450, plus some video. Temps were fairly warm, in the mid-40's, in bright sunshine. All on a single battery charge.

-dave-

[juliezim]

You mentioned taking the SD300 skiing. Have you used it in very cold conditions? I keep reading about the LCD cracking, purple blobs, a fatal E-18 error - and yet I'd really like the SD300 for size and price. :confused:

[David Metsky]

Yup, it's been down to -10 on winter hikes and backcountry skiing. It's worked like a charm all winter, I'd have no hesitation taking it out in cold weather.

-dave-

[indigox3]

I took 400+ shots this weekend with my SD300, skiing in the backcountry. I shoot with the video screen off, but had to preview and delete 100+ to give me room to take more shots on Sunday. Probably never used the flash the entire time.

Total number of shots was around 450, plus some video. Temps were fairly warm, in the mid-40's, in bright sunshine. All on a single battery charge.

-dave-

That sounds about right, from the SD300 specs listed on Canon's website. Were you frequently turning the camera on, taking just one or two pictures, and turing it back off?

[David Metsky]

It varied, but I keep my camera on my sternum strap at all times so I take shots frequently. When someone was doing a good run I'd switch to burst mode and take 20-30 shots at one time. At the base of Tuckerman I sat with the camera on for several minutes at a time, taking a variety of shots.

We previewed all the shots on Saturday night, selecting a bunch to delete, then shot another full day on Sunday and the camera showed no real signs of losing power. Meanwhile, my C-720 with 4 freshly charged AA NiMH batteries died after about an hour of on and off use. I had backups for it.

I'm pretty impressed with the SD300 battery life. But I think it really helps to not use the LCD while shooting, and since I'm outdoors I rarely use the flash.

-dave-

[indigox3]

I'm pretty impressed with the SD300 battery life. But I think it really helps to not use the LCD while shooting, and since I'm outdoors I rarely use the flash.


Agreed, I was thinking other factors that could explain such a large difference in the review's battery life test vs. "real world" conditions are turning the camera on/off often, reviewing shots, how long ago the battery was charged, and the focusing time to focus in on the subject. All of these factors are pretty constant in their test methodology (which was basically drain battery, charge, take shots of same subject until camera dies) but vary alot more with actual use.