Canon Powershot S5IS Battery Life?

Question

Hello, I JUST bought a Canon Powershot S5IS. I am using it mainly for taking pictures of jewelry and what fine pictures I've gotten so far. HOWEVER, the batteries get drained really, REALLY fast. To always be up and running I bought a Duracell Charger and extra batteries. I have 2650 mah, 2500 mah and some in the 1800s. Last night I charged the 2650 mah batteries and I was ready to go this morning to take pics. After only 10 minutes, if not less the batteries were dead. All this after hours and hours of charging. I must say though, that the charge takes 6 hours and because I was really tired I went to bed leaving the batteries in the charger. I overcharged and got a reverse reaction ? Should I buy different types of batteries all togethers (those babies are expensive). Also at times we take the pictures through the LCD screen, does this have anything to do with it ? I am just frustrated and would like some tips and tricks on getting the most out of my 12 batteries that I have already.

Answer 1

Your camera (actually all digital cameras) are designed to use intermittent power and can take from 200 image and up, depending upon your energy management skills and the design of the camera.

If you intend to have you camera on a tripod, shooting production runs of products, this is the time to buy a AC adapter and that will solve your problem.

Answer 2

I have the same camera and use Energizer 2500 mAh rechargeables.  Those are often considered to be the best brand.  I also went with a slower charger instead of the 30-minute charger I had been using previously, which caused my batteries to quit taking a charge after a while.  The fast charging generates a lot of heat, which adversely affects the longevity of the battery (not how long it gives you power, but the overall useful life of the battery).  With these batteries, I can probably shoot around 450 photos without flash.  I almost always use the viewfinder instead of the LCD too, which saves on power.  I've shot 380 photos over the course of a day and went on to use the camera several more times after that.

It's possible that you got some duds among those batteries you bought.  You also want to make sure you aren't mixing battery capacities, like the 1800s with the 2500s.  I unknowingly mixed up my batteries after buying my 2500s and was using different capacities at the same time in the camera for a couple of months.

Answer 3

For longer battery life, I suggest you try 7.2v battery instead of 3.6v, even though the battery has low current.

for instance:

3.6v 2500ma battery and 7.2v 2000ma battery, choose the 7.2v battery,

http://www.digital-camera-batteries.us