Squeeze A Few More Shots Out Of A Dying Camera Battery
Despite the best preparation, sometimes you find yourself dangerously low on battery life with a full day’s activities ahead of you. Get those last shots with these battery-conserving tips.
It happens to the best of us. You glance at your camera before heading out and it looks like you’ve still got a decent amount of battery life. A few hours later you’re staring at one bar and wondering how long you’ve got before you’re out of luck. Digital Photography School has put together a guide to milking the last bit of juice out of your camera battery. The tips are all practical and apply to most cameras. One sure fire way to extend battery life, for example, is to crank up the ISO:
Your flash can kill your batteries in no time flat. Depending on your camera’s capabilities, it may be a worthwhile option to increase the ISO a bit in marginal lighting situations to lessen the use of the built-in flash. Before your trip, or right now, do a few quick tests in moderate indoor lighting (the most likely scenario for flash use) to see just how far you can push the ISO before it doesn’t look good to you. This setting is purely subjective. If you can stand the grain at ISO400 on your camera, then go with it. Some cameras look horrid above ISO200. Don’t take someone else’s, or some website’s, word for it, try it out yourself and see what looks good to you. Flash use has been shown to reduce battery life by as much as 40%.
Not sure you want to mess around with the ISO settings? Even little things like turning off the image review will give you longer battery life. For more tips on maximizing your camera’s battery life check out the link below. If you have your own trick, let’s hear it in the comments. How To Conserve Battery Power When It’s Almost Gone [Digital Photography School]
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Comments (AU Comments | US Comments)
@four12: Or in your bra if you're female. *shrug* It works.
Wit is periodically disensouled
The answer: Shoot in film!
I have an Olympus OM10 that i love dearly.
mmsk8erboi
@gamehead200: Or in your hands or what not. This is particularly effective the colder it is out.
I was in Venice last summer with a dying battery at the beginning of the day :(
I ended up turning the camera on, taking a very quick shot, then turning it off immediately.
It lasted basically the whole day.
baest
When I'm out of battery life, I put in the 2nd battery.
One battery charges in 30minutes or so, and lasts an entire day shooting less often, for a whole day continous shooting the battery will just make it, the spare battery has only been used once or twice.
It was also used when we went to America, the power wasn't enough to charge the camera battery, so we had to go out and by a car charger for it (This was actually quite a good buy, works well in our home car). In the scenario of the battery running out too quickly, a back up is always good (The backup ran out during a tour though, which is a shame :()
tylerf
@gamehead200: Yep - or hold it under your armpit for a few minutes too.
four12
my point-n-shoot takes a proprietary battery, and it is the only camera my family owns that does so. The charger for the battery is bigger than the camera is!
My wife's camera takes 2 AA's. We have rechargeables, and can stop in at pretty much any store to buy some spare, single-use AA's. My DSLR takes AA's also, which has saved some great shots more than once.
heltoupee
After the camera tells me to "change the battery pack", i take the dying battery out, stick it back in, turn the camera back on and i can get two or three more shots in burst mode. i repeat this process 2 or 3 more times until it completely runs out of juice.
i'll have to try the armpit trick next time. Thanks.
My current cam is admittedly "last-gen," but it runs on regular AA cells. I use NiMH batteries in it and always take a spare, fully charged, set with me before I head out. If I'm going on vacation I take the charger with me as well. The best part is that if I end up running through the set that is in the camera and the extra set, I can stop in anywhere and pick up a set to get me back up and running.
carlthorpe
I stick the battery under my armpit rather than blowing on the battery with warm air. Works for thinks like iPods too. Nernst equation FTW!
Julolidine
Well, it's always worth a try to find a shop with photo accessories and ask if they could not help you with a charge. I got lucky, the guy in the Fuji shop in Galway, Ireland helped me out and allowed me to charge my camera in the time I had before our bus was leaving, thus saving our last day of the trip in Dublin. (Me forgot to take charger with me.) Thanks!
TheHacker
When my battery dies out on me, I usually take it out of the camera, cover it with both of my hands, and just blow into the opening my hands make to warm up the battery. It gets the electrons moving and usually gives me a few minutes to take a few more pictures. :D
gamehead200
@joandrade: I feel the viewfinder is easier to use when taking a photo. I also like the photo preview in the viewfinder rather than LCD screen. This also saves a few minutes battery for a few extra shots!
Johnny.M
Most of the times, I use the viewfinder of the camera, in lieu of the LCD screen. I only turn on the LCD screen to change settings like shutter speed and those of the like.
joandrade
@carlthorpe: AA's rock! I have three cameras that run on AA's and have a large collection of rechargeables. I also keep a package of high quality alkalines in my camera bag for emergencies (they last for years).
Stay away from Energizer rechargers. I bought a good quality recharger and it brought batteries back to life my energizer chargers said were dead.
bdgbill
@gamehead200: I just run really fast in one direction then stop quickly.
jupiterthunder
My camera takes AA batteries. I only use it occasionally around the house and at family gatherings. I've learned to take them out when not using the camera. They stay in a pouch in my camera bag. My batteries now last forever. Seriously, I recently replaced them after about 3 years...maybe more.
CamilleSnookie
@mmsk8erboi: x2. Nikon FE FTW.
T Axel Jones
@gamehead200: That sounds like a job for Mythbusters!
lconcha
@gamehead200: I've been rocking this trick since my portable CD player in high school. It used to die with no hope of even spinning up enough to start playing a song. I'd breathe on the batteries for a while, get them nice and warm, and could squeeze two more songs out!
sam1am
@jupiterthunder: Haha
ssj4Gogeta
I just take out the battery, and right before I need to take a picture, I put it in, and take the picture really fast, it really works!
alexandrojv
These were options that I had not considered before. Thank you for the informative article.
nka
@bdgbill: What did you buy? I have an Energizer charger and I'm generally happy with it, but if I can wring out more life from my batteries, I would love to.
kc2idf
@Wit is periodically disensouled: uh...... ok...... got it...... Thank you for that. :)
paintbox
Been there done that! Here's a really good tip: I went to Britney Spears concert and had an overnight charged battery, and not even one fourth of the show has passed, my sony cybershot t200 battery was blinking with the low batt signal! I knew I shouldnt have taken pics from the opening act of the pussycat dolls, but anyway, I extended the battery life by turning off the camera and removing the battery when not in use, then when britney comes near, i shove in the battery and take a pic, and then remove it again. its a highly skilled technique (coz i was doing it in the dark) but I miraculously took the final shots upto the end and even when I was exiting the stage!
Vincent Jimenez
@lconcha:
agreed, ive been doing this trick for a while and wonder if it actually works, or if just turning off the camera, taking out the batteries, and letting them rest then putting them back in gives me a couple more seconds to take a picture.
peteyb1313
My solution: Only buy cameras that take AAs, use Eneloop batteries, and carry a spare set. If I forget the spares, only buy cameras that have an optical viewfinder, so I can turn off the LCD when the low battery warning appears (I find this is the single best way to maximize battery life). Digicam flash photos usually look like crap so I almost never use the flash anyway.
corneliuscrab