On Sat, 12 Jun 2004, Etienne Garbaux wrote:
> ... I use a G3 (nearly identical to the
> G5, except 4 Mp) as a second to my 10-D DSLR, and my results are very
> different from yours. The batteries I have (three, all Canon brand -- one
> came with each camera, and I bought a spare when I first got the 10-D) seem
> to last forever in either camera, though not as long in the DSLR as the G3.
Etienne, It starts to look somewhat mysterioso -- I KNOW I charged the
battery to the max the first two times, but the 3rd time seems to be
lasting much longer (not to tempt fate by saying that), tho one difference
is I realized you could turn the flash off... The default position was on
& I was too flustered by everything else to think about it. Then a week or
so ago I turned it off, which could be making a big difference...
> I can fill several 256 Mb cards on a charge, and I delete over half of the
> shots I take. When I recharge, I usually find (based on recharge time)
> that the battery still had 1/4 to 1/2 charge remaining. I shoot
> exclusively RAW format,
Well here's a thought, and please excuse if it's off the wall -- I have
not yet been shooting RAW (tho I plan to). It just didn't seem necessary
for this project & I felt I needed to learn to manage the other variables
first. But since RAW takes more memory, you are probably putting fewer
images on a 256 MB card than I am. And if the RAW file takes the same
battery power (maybe less, since the camera isn't processing the image?)
that could account for SOME of the discrepancy in numbers of shots.
> So -- what draws battery power? Predominantly, the LCD and the flash.
> Writing to the card takes some, too, but this shouldn't be a significant
> drain if you're using solid state memory (that is, unless you're using the
> little IBM disk drive cards -- what do they call them -- MicroDrives?).
I don't know what they are... don't think I have any.
> The auto-focus and zoom motors.
Oh yes, I do autofocus. The thought of trying to focus this machine
manually makes me feel faint -- tho I figure I'll have to do that one day
to be able to photograph a moving image. (Excuse me, I just had to go lie
down for a minute at the thought.) And I do zoom... which annoys the hell
out of me by the way -- There's a nice big zoom, but it doesn't tell you
what distance you're at, no number in a window anywhere. I can forget
where I left it, and shooting quickly in a new position can't tell... so
I flip it each way until I figure it out... But surely zoom doesn't take
that much battery... does it?
> You mentioned that the flash was going off sometimes -- is it possible it's
> going off way more than you are aware? (In some operating modes, the
> camera likes to use fill flash on almost every shot.)
Yes, it flashed even in full sun. But now I've turned it off, except where
really needed. (And that on/off toggle is mercifully easy.) (One time it
got turned back on somehow, probably hit by a finger, but that was
shortlived.)
> ... Do you take a long
> time to compose shots with the monitor?
I hardly take any time at all -- I want to get the shot as close to
instantly as possible, before subject can assume an expression -- and also
before they have a chance to change their mind or get bored.
> ... Are you in continuous-focus mode,
What's that? The term isn't familiar.
> so the motor is running a lot? How about reviewing shots? I think the
> factory default post-shot monitor time is 2 seconds -- have you reset this
> to a longer time?
I admit, I put it at 6 seconds. That longer view can be very helpful at
this stage...
>... Or maybe you just have bum batteries. There have been
> some reports of very low capacity from some Chinese batteries, but your
> Canon battery should be OK.
Maybe it just needed "breaking in"? (I'm on my 3rd charge of the Canon,
haven't used the "spare" yet.)
> Possibly, the G5 is, for some reason, much
> more of a current hog than the G3,
That figures... wouldn't the extra megapixels need extra calories?
> ...but I've not heard this from other G5
> users.
They may have begun with G5, so have no basis for comparison-- although
they've all got to have done better than mine did at first...
Meanwhile, thank you: The info is again extremely helpful. (How did
people ever learn this camera without a "list"?)
Judy
Received on Sun Jun 13 23:50:36 2004
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