K100D and Batteries

I've searched through various threads, and remain as confused as I did before I started.

I'm having major difficulties finding batteries that work in my new K100D.

AA alkalines work fine, but have a pitifully short life, which is no more or less than I expected.

I bought some Supacell lithium AACR6 - no joy. A few seconds of half power on the battery gauge, before it blinked at me, and the camera wouldn't play any longer.

Re-chargeables? No joy, but then I noticed that the ones I bought are all 1.2v, which I suspect is insufficient. The trouble is that there are so many different re-chargeables out there that I'm really not sure how to find my way amongst them.

Duracell CRV3: these finally worked, and continue to work fine.

My question over these is, given that Duracells are somewhat expensive, can I expect any CRV3 to work? There are some cheaper ones around, and, at £7 a throw, the Duracells risk becoming very expensive indeed.

Does anyone know for certain what is going to work? Please no guesswork; I'm doing enough of that on my account. I'd really like to hear from someone with a K100D who has had the same problem and resolved it.

Thanking you all in advance.


William

1.2V rechargeable AA NiMH batteries can work fine in Pentax dSLRs. You need high capacity ones (2500+ mhA) and a good smart charger that really fully charges each cell.

Another alternative is Energizer Lithium AA. These are top quality, lightweight and have a very long shelf-life. If you are in the UK, you may find them at discounted prices at 7DayShop and some branches of Tescos.

I used these two types of battery in my *ist DS.

Save alkalines for emergencies only. Although they start off at 1.5V, the voltage quickly drops well below that.

When i had my K100 i went through the same as you are going through
I then decided to pay a bit more and brought Rechargable Energisers 2500mAh with a 1 hr quick charger and found these to be excellent. I was consistently getting around 300 shots per charge.
I have the K10 now but i still use them in my P&S and all my flashes.
You pay a bit more for them but you get you monies worth.

BTW i think they are out in 2700mAh now also.

Thank you to both of you; this is really helpful.

Any thoughts on CRV3s? Despite the initial costs, if they really do last as well as the manufacturers claim, then they might well be worth it.

William

If i recall, i don't think it is advised to use CRV3s in the K100 :
Check your manual i could be wrong.
Someone here will confirm that i am sure

If you search the interweb for long enough, you will keep coming across the words 'Sanyo Eneloops', these are (apparently) a new breed of rechargeable batteries. They are claimed to hold their charge longer, and get glowing reports from consumers, these are going to be my next batteries Also I read a report somewhere that the higher ma batteries seem to loose their charge quicker? Quick charging batteries (any type) is not a good thing, a long trickle charge is always more beneficial.


Serendipity (Mick)

Edit to answer Clarky = You can use CRV-3 batteries, but NOT rechargeable ones

I think it's probably the rechargeable CR-V3s that the manual warns against. 7dayshop do a 2 pack of Panasonic CR-V3s for £7.80, which would save you money if you decide to go that route.

I always used 7dayshop NiMHs in my *istD, and they were fine, but that was without the shake reduction which I guess could be using up your power quicker.

Dan

I use CR-V3s in my Ds. They are always expensive but they last and last. I order them online as they are cheaper. Any make will do, but the better known makes do last longer.

I use NIMH rechargeable batteries with no problems, I think you will find most (if not all) AA's are 1.2volt, so this shouldn't be a problem. At the moment I am using Energizer 2500 rechargeable batteries, with a Energizer charger that charges overnight, and I get excellent results. Slow charge is best!
And lot more cost effective than non rechargeable batteries


Serendipity (Mick)

Loads of really helpful advice.

Thank you all of you.

William

I have recently realised that many years ago, when I was at school and the careers master said to me "what do you want to do in life" I should have said " I want to become a manufacturer of AA batteries".

I woud now be a multi millionaire sitting on my own private island somewhere

look at it this way:
for the price of a single pentax battery for the k10-k20 you could but three sets of 2500 energizers (mentioned) plus two chargers (one ac one dc for the car). and and never run out of power.
I have both k10 and ds2 (same battery options as your k100)

I have read that too, but not found it to be a problem in practice with ordinary high-capacity NiMHs that are charged every three weeks or so.

I would be surprised if any reader of this forum uses their camera infrequently and lightly enough to need the Eneloop type of battery for their camera. Light users might as well use non-rechargeable lithiums - as they have other advantages too. However, I can understand using Eneloops for flash equipment when going long periods without doing any flash photography, then suddenly doing a lot.

I don't think it's too bad if the charger is smart and has sensors for each individual cell.

The long shelf life NiMH's are more commonly sold as Uniross Hybrios in the UK. I have had mixed results with mine, overall I prefer the 7DayShop 2500s which I have found to have a suprisingly good shelf life, although it is possible that my charger just doesn't like Hybrios very much.

My Dad tends to carry a set of one use lithiums in his camera pouch as emergency back up batteries. They have a 10 year shelf life so you can just put them in the bag and forget them until you need them.

CRV3s are fine with the K100 and earlier cameras, it's re-chargable CRV3's you have to watch because their voltage can be significantly high (3.7V instead of 3). Chris at SRS supplied me with a pair with a refurbed *istDS and they were still going strong at 1000 frames when someone who will remain nameless but has a reputation for killing snakes left the camera switched on overnight and killed them.

Doesn't the *istDS have auto shut off : : Or don't you use it