Batteries

[easyrider003]

I just bought the canon a570is camera. Played around with it today and went through about 5 different sets of batteries in about an hour. Not sure if the camera is just eating up batteries or maybe they are just bad batteries. Just wondering if anyone has had this problem with their camera of the same brand and model

 

[DivingPrincessE]

I have the same camera and the same problem. I talked to a guy at my LDS who has a cannon and he recomended the rechargable NiMH. They are supposed to last for a two-tank dive if you are taking LOTS of pictures. I got a charger and 8 AA batteries from Sams Club for around $25 (about an hour ago), not bad. I have also heard about rechargeable Lithium Ion batteries...but they are not available in AA.

 

[D_B]

A note, In general, It's best to get the highest capacity that you can (high number mAh rating - I saw some NiMH AA's with 2700mAh) because rechargeable don't have as much storage capacity/wont last as long, as a non-rechargeable battery

Overnight charger/batteries .. Sanyo NIMH Overnight Charger Kit with 4-AA 2700mah Batteries GES-MQN04U-27
30 minute charger/batteries .. T-8000 30-Minute Fast Charger with 4 AA 2300 Fast Charging Batteries

 

[scubasmac]

a good battery charger is the key IMHO. i have the same camera and housing. a set of kodak batteries barely lasted 1 dive with the kodak 1 hour charger that came as a set. i just recently picked up a Lacrosse BC900 charger. now the exact same batteries just lasted for 2 48 min dives taking lots of pics.

 

[diver 85]

I just bought the canon a570is camera. Played around with it today and went through about 5 different sets of batteries in about an hour. Not sure if the camera is just eating up batteries or maybe they are just bad batteries. Just wondering if anyone has had this problem with their camera of the same brand and model

Rechargeable is the way to go...This past summer on Little Cayman & on the Fling(Flower Gardens overnite), I brought 4 rechargeable's & had no problem, would keep a pair recharged & changed out after every 2 dives--worked perfectly)...Now saying this, for land usage, I have been using regular non-recharg. batteries(have a 18 pack that are several years old or so that need to be used)& they seem to not last as long as I wanted, but, it's either use them up now or throw them away in a year or 2 due to them being 'too old'....

 

[diver 85]

a good battery charger is the key IMHO. i have the same camera and housing. a set of kodak batteries barely lasted 1 dive with the kodak 1 hour charger that came as a set. i just recently picked up a Lacrosse BC900 charger. now the exact same batteries just lasted for 2 48 min dives taking lots of pics.

Agree & great little camera for the price.....the OP will do fine with it.....

 

[D_B]

a good battery charger is the key IMHO. i have the same camera and housing. a set of kodak batteries barely lasted 1 dive with the kodak 1 hour charger that came as a set. i just recently picked up a Lacrosse BC900 charger. now the exact same batteries just lasted for 2 48 min dives taking lots of pics.

I agree also, the chargers I listed are "smart chargers" that monitor voltage and current of batteries to charge them properly

 

[PriusDrIVER]

I use rechargeable batteries for everything that I can, as divers we should be more concerned about the environmental impact of disposable batteries (mercury, etc). I have 2700mah NiMH AA batteries from Powerex, I also use 5000mah C cells from Powerex as well as some 4500mah C cells from Accupower.

As others stated, don't buy a cheap charger. Get one that is capable of conditioning the cells, I use a MAHA MH-C808M which has a LCD display showing the status of each cell. It can charge 8 AAA, AA, C, and D cells at a time. It has cell conditioning and soft-charge options. The nice thing about the LCD display is you can see when one cell has a problem, if its more "dead" than the others or takes significantly longer to charge. If you are trying to use a bad cell the device is going to lose power more quickly and suffer from possible under voltage problems on high draw (strobe recharge).

I order mine all from Thomas Distributing, I've had great luck with them and they give you cases for the AA/AAA cells. I have purchased some brands that totally suck though. Stay away from iPowerUS or Lenmar "NoMEM", I've had less than stellar performance from both.

My 5000mah Powerex C cells will power my UK C8 eLED+ for 5+ continuous hours submerged when I gave up on the test. They seem to tolerate the cold water well too, haven't had them go dead after multiple days of "night" diving (2-3 dark dives/day to to water conditions).