New to this

Hi Folks.
I'm new to photography, but bought a second hand Pentax ist DL off ebay.
Think I got a bargain, judging by the prices they were going for, ( £137)

I've one question about batteries for it. It says in the manual not to use recharge CR-V3 ( or have I mis-read it ).

Does that advice still stand, or with battery technology moving on, are these ok to use.

I'm currently using Duracell extra , but would like the added power of CR-V3s but without spending out regularly for replacements.

Any advice gratefully accepted.

Hello there Father, would you like some tea? Ah, go on, go on!

Anyway, have a look at this thread, it talks about rechargeable CR-V3s, eneloops, NiMHs etc.

I always just used NiMH in my *istD and never really had any problems with them, but the eneloops and Lithiums seem popular too.

Dan

Cheapest and best solution is to use NiMH rechargeable AA cells. I find the Uniross Hybrio brand are excellent - especially if you don't use the camera for a while (they hold their charge for up to 12 months).
Check out www.picstop.co.uk as a starting place.
Matt

Can I have cake with that too Mrs Doyle

Thanks for the tips guys...I'll have a look.

Interesting what you say about recharge AAs .
How many shots do you get out of a fully charged set?

Oh. Glad I didn't rush out to buy recharge CR V3s
My duracell have plenty of life left ( I think ) and i've got a spare set, so I'll take my time to choose the right battery.

When I first got the camera, I put a set of Lithium AAs in, which I bought online, but the camera wouldn't even power up. COuld this be due to incorrect batteries used in the past causing damage, or just cheap batteries.

Er, can't remember, it's been a while since I've used it now. 250? I would always have a charged spare set, so I was never too concerned about how many I got out of them.

Dan

P.S. It's too late for cake, you won't be able to sleep properly.

I can see I'll fit right in on this forum

I can't speak for your batteries of course Dan, but my 2600mAh 7dayshop branded NiMH batteries give me ~700 shots in my *istDL2

Nearly as good as the one use lithiums, and cheaper in the long run.

This is interesting I was planning on getting a set on rechargable CR-V3's so I know need to think about what replace my non rechargeable CR-V3's with!

David

Those are the ones I used, but it's been so long since I've used the 'D' that I can't remember at all. Don't think it was as much as 700 though - perhaps the DL is more efficient than the D?

By the way, have you moved? Thought you were Cambridgeshire way before.

Dan

Its quite likely they updated the internals between the D and the DL2, after all the former is the first and the latter the last of the *ist series. Perhaps the DL2 is just less power hungry.


Yes I moved, I was studying at Cambridge last year but didn't get on with the course so now I'm at the Defense Academy in Wiltshire playing with X-Ray imaging. Well spotted

It depends on how long you spend on each shot and how much autofocusing and reviewing on the LCD screen you do, etc, etc. I've always thought it a bit odd to talk about shots per charge.

I bet you could fire off a couple of thousand shots from one charge if you hardly messed about. Slower snappers may run their battery out in less than 150 shots - with any camera.

Good point. One of the things I'll be using the camera for is long exposures on my telescope. And by long I mean VERY long.
One of my colleagues in work is in a camera club and he gave me a tip using a long exposure, by which he meant 20 seconds or so.

On my Super ME I was taking exposures of 2 minutes and once took a 35 minute exposure

That would certainly effect battery life.

yes if you use the camera at the telescope then all bets are off regarding shots per charge, not least because battery performance degrades in cold conditions anyway.

shots per charge is fairly valid as long as the most power hungry things you are using are the imager and camera cpu, since these are only activated when you take a shot.

If you are doing a lot of reviewing or flash photography then you will get fewer shots, but for everyday photography I have always found ~700 shots per charge is pretty acurate. The batterys are good for so many shots that the different usage patterns average out.

Still, as with the MPG in your car, your overall style will probably have an impact.

Do these look like suitable batteries? ANyone used this make? If so are they any good?
http://www.batteriesplus.co.uk/acatalog/Camlink_Zeta_intelligent_charger_for_AA__AAA__includes_4_x_2700_AA_batteries__-__19.95.html