K200D how good is the battery life in reality?

I am looking at the K200D for my fist DSLR mainly because from my youth and O level photography, I still have a few K mounts in storage. With my way of thinking this will initially save me from spending silly money on a range of new lenses.
I currently have an Optio which is ok but shutter lag is a real nightmare, but I am bored with point and click and want to get back to my roots in SLR.

Anyway the real question, I am a bit concerned to say the least about the use of 4xAA batteries on the 200D and having previous poor experiences with Fuji and Olympus using AA I am a bit reluctant to dive in and spend my money.

So how good is battery life from the real user's point of view? or is there a Li-ion battery pack or similer that can be used instead?

Cheers for any replies and I hope to upload a few pics later on.

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Life's too fast can I get off and walk for a bit?

MoDaCo.com Windows Powered Smartphone community

I don't have a K200D but I use a K100D with 2700 rechargeable batteries and they last fine - well over 100 shots. I took 3 sets to Japan and took 300+ shots and didn't need the last set.

Mike

First off - never use Alkaline batteries!
You have two choices with the K200D:
1) Use NiMH batteries
2) Use Lithium CR-V3 batteries.

Option 1 is great for the usual day-to-day stuff. Personally I use the "Hybrio" (or Eneloop) rechargeable batteries. They have an extremely low self-discharge rate (they'll stay charged for 6 to 12 months). Normal rechargeable cells will discharge on their own - so you can find that you pick up the camera after a couple of weeks and find the batteries are low. Hybrios are not like that. There are plenty of places on the 'net to get these - e.g. www.picstop.co.uk - and they're not that expensive. (Don't be tricked into getting higher capacity normal NiMH cells over the Hybrio-style )

Option 2 is useful as a backup. Lithium cells are non rechargeable, but they do have about a 10 year shelf life. Very useful as a backup - and can work in colder environments compared to NiMH cells.

In reality, with Hybrio cells, the battery life is superb!
(I have the older *ist-D and *ist-DS DSLRs and have used all kinds of cells with them).

Hope that helps!
Matt

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http://www.mattmatic.co.uk
(For gallery, tips and links)

I have the K100d Super, it also uses AA batteries. I have found the best batteries to use are the Energizer 2500 rechargeable. I get at least 400 shots from a set. These are available from Tesco etc with the Energizer charger, which gives them a nice long charge. If I charge them with my fast charger they don't last as long! I tried some GP 2700 and E-force 2600 batteries that didn't cut the mustard
As a example, I was in Ambleside over the weekend with our extended family, and took over 400 shots with a combination of flash use and JPEG/RAW pictures, all on the same set of batteries


Mick

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K10D,K100D Super.

Thanks for the replies.
Is it me or does there not appear to be a lot of K200D owners here?
Or is it just because the camera is still a newer device as such?

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Life's too fast can I get off and walk for a bit?

MoDaCo.com Windows Powered Smartphone community

Most people here are K10 owners and in reality there is not much difference between the K10 and K200 so those that did upgrade went for the K20

I have to agree with Mick, When i had my K100 i used the energier 2500
and i thought they were great, they used to last me ages and i tried other brands as well but none compared to the energisers.
I still use them now in my flashes.

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Camera:|K-7|
Pentax Lenses:|DA12-24/f4 ED AL|DA35Ltd Macro|FA31Ltd|FA77Ltd|FA50/1.4|F70-210|FA20-35 f4/AL|A*200/f4 Macro ED|A50/1.7|A50 Macro f2.8|1.7xAF adapter|
Voigtlander|125/f2.5SL Macro APO Lanthar|
Sigma Lenses:|EX DG 100-300 f4|2X & 1.4X TC|
Flashes:|AF540FGZx2|RingFlash AF160FC|

I suspect it's both of these reasons.

A lot of folk here have the K10D, so the natural upgrade path is the K20D which is still quite expensive.

And until recently the K10D (now discontinued) was available at very low prices, so it would have tempted a lot of people into choosing it as an upgrade, rather than to the K200D.

New Pentax DSLR users who choose not to stretch to the K20D will probably go for the K200D now that the K10D is unavailable (or very nearly so) new, so I expect you'll see more of them about in due course.

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Pentax K-3, DA18-135, DA35 F2.4, DA17-70, DA55-300, FA28-200, A50 F1.7, A100 F4 Macro, A400 F5.6, Sigma 10-20 EXDC, 50-500 F4.5-6.3 APO DG OS Samsung flash SEF-54PZF(x2)
.

Eneloops are supposed to be the best cells to use. Even if they are 'only' 2000mAh. The reason is they have a much better constant voltage and die close to bottom charge. Conventional cells have a steep discharge/voltage curve and only operate well neat higher charge and some can stop working in voltage sensitive devices as high as 50% charge!

I've only charged my Eneloops a few times to use in my flash and easily gotten more than double the flashes compared to some 2400mAh cells I have.

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Regards,
Dan

https://www.flickr.com/photos/honourabletyr/

have been on to picstop and asked about eleloops and they did not understand what I was refering to. Can you give me further details or guide me what to order, please

Try: here and here+charger.

Hope that helps!
Matt

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http://www.mattmatic.co.uk
(For gallery, tips and links)

the Pentax guy at Chris' open day said the K200D wasn't compatible with CR-V3s because of the weather sealing. Something about lithium cells needing to vent gas.

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you don't have to be mad to post here



but it does help

My info on CR-V3's was that the non-rechargeable ones were compatible, but the rechargeable are not.

Also, I thought that the 2 other choices are AA re-chargeable NiMH's and non-rechargeable AA lithium?

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Photography is putting one’s head, one’s eye, and one’s heart on the same axis. HCB
K20D and various stuff.

You can NOT use the CR-V3 with the K200D. The store (USA) tried to insert them in the camera to show me how the camera worked and they simply will not fit (unlike apparently the K100 super D which I am also looking at (on clearance).

BTW, Is the K200D a big improvement over the K100 super D? Thanks. Costs almost 50% more here.

From what I can see the *main* differences between the K100D Super and the K200D are the sensor and weather sealing (200 has it, 100 doesn't).

The K100D Super has the 6MP sensor that was used in the previous generations of Pentax DSLRs (*istD/DS/DL) - it has a base ISO of 200 and a maximum of 3200. It's a very well regarded sensor capable of stunning shots.

The K200D has the 10MP sensor used in the K10D before it - it has a base ISO of 100 and a maximum of 1600. It's also held in high regard and capable of stunning shots.

If you want to work in mainly low-light conditions then the K100D would be worth a look, if you need the extra pixels and/or weather sealing then the K200D is the camera for you. Neither would be a bad purchase!

Other differences between them mainly relate to software issues (ability to process RAW files in-camera on the K200D for example), these are unlikely to have any real-world effect on your photography as you'll just end up learning to use whatever you end up with.

So is the K200D a big improvement over the K100D Super? Only you know what it is you want from it, and if the larger sensor and sealing are important to you then yes; if they're not then no - buy the K100D and spend the difference on a nice lens instead.

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Joining the Q

Hello!
The CR-V3's not compatibility......