2 Dives with a G9 on one battery?

[jeraldjcook]

I'm trying to decide between the A650 and G9 to replace my A620 with serious dust problems. I'm a little concerned with the battery size on the G9 and it's ability to last through 2 dives since I hate opening the housing while on the boat. The A650 with 2700mah nimh batteries has 2.5 times the capacity of the G9s lithium ion (4.8v x 2.7a = 13 vs. 7.4v x .720a = 5.3) and from my experience with my A620 I have no doubt about the A650's ability to last 2 dives.

If I go with the A650, I'm planning on using CHDK so I'll have raw either way. But with CHDK I'm limited to only 2gb cards so I'll seriously need to cut back on the amount of videos I usually take. No such limitation with the G9.

 

[paradicio]

My G9 can last more than 2 dives and have plenty of juice to spare. I actually find myself trying to kill the battery a few days before diving so I can charge it.

 

[jeraldjcook]

Thanks for the good news. On average (guess if you need to) how many shots do you take on those two dives and how much is the lcd left on in between shots?

Keep in mind with newer technology batteries like nimh and li-ion batteries, they do not need to be fully discharged before being recharged like the older nicd batteries. In fact doing so will shorten their life.

 

[paradicio]

Geez, I shoot a lot. My whole philosophy is shoot shoot shoot and let Lightroom sort out the dead.

The first time I took it out I got about 140 shots, the second time was much less (shorter dives) so I only got around 80. Using a 4 gig memory card, shooting RAW, and continuous focus.

 

[marcienko]

I still have A640 and I just purchase G9.Go with G9 much better camera.You cannot go wrong with G9

 

[jeraldjcook]

I still have A640 and I just purchase G9.Go with G9 much better camera.You cannot go wrong with G9

I do have some reservations about the A650, but it and the housing can be had for the same cost of the G9. I've blown over $4000 on my new 40D, lenses, flash, etc, so all I really need is a p&s for underwater and the very few occasions where I don't want to lug the 40D around.