My camera keeps turning off!!!

since the K-ms come with the Energizer Lithium batteries, why not use those instead of normal alkalines?

The camera can take Alkalines - as well as Lithium or NiMH but NOT NiMn (Nickel Manganese) so it should be fine.

One question for the OP. Did you set the battery type or have it on Auto detect? If set for Lithium or NiMH you may get problems with Alkalines as the camera tracks cell voltage and uses that to estimate teh battery capacity remaining.

There is a caution in te manual which states: When a type of battery different from that selected in the menu setting is used,
the battery level will not be correctly determined. Please set the correct battery type. Usually, there is no problem using automatic detection. However in low temperatures and when using batteries that were stored for long periods of time, set the appropriate battery type so the camera can correctly determine the remaining battery level.

As the cells were new to you, they may have been in the shop for 12 months or more and that could be the issue.

certainly it CAN take Alkalines, the problem is rather more that it can and will take a lot of them very quickly.

Lithiums are a better choice in all respects, the ability to use Alkalines should only be thought of as a last resort.

My *istD never used to like Alkalines, on the rare occasions that I tried them, it might take a shot or two before saying the battery was depleted. I used NiMHs and it was always fine.

Dan

Yeah NimHs are the way to go, preferably those that come 'pre-charged' e.g. Eneloops or ReCyko. (BTW although they come precharged, mine seem to need topping up first!)

I used to use Alkalines in my DL2 quite a lot, but they didn't last terribly long compared to NinHs and I think the newer cameras are a bit greedier, with shake reduction, dust removal and bigger screens etc.

This certainly seems to be the case with my K200D, which got through a pack of Tesco High-power AA's in about 20 shots.

What people are failing to grasp is that Alkaline cells have a slightly higher energy density than Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) cells and should a similar amount of time.

It is because of storage that the cells fail to initially perform and the degradation in performance as they discharge.

In my *istD I would get around 400 exposures from NiMH and 350-400 from a set of Alkaline.

It is fine people saying get NiMH or Lithium but when you are in the back of beyond and your batteries run out then the only choice is Alkaline.

I have used Alkaline and Lithium batteries, as well as NiMH rechargeables in my K200D, and have not had any problems so far. Of course Lithium has a much better performance, and so it should when comparing prices.

The best solution is NiMH rechargeables, especially when you get the type that retains its charge over time. (At present I use Varta Ready2Use, they are said to keep 80% charge after one year shelf life).

You will run out of power once in a while, with no charging facilities available. Then it's nice to be able to drop in to the nearest shop to buy standard AA cells and continue shooting.

I recommend the Eneloops. they last absolutely ages and for batteries, they look great!