> It was me who has an issue with the battery life, and it wasn't the
> swapping during the day but when on the road charging more than two
> batteries a day is a pain, although I suppose its possible to carry two
> charges. For most users I am sure it is a non issue
I would agree with you that for most users in most circumstances, it
really is a non-issue. But I think in terms of me and my
circumstances. Usually, it would be business as usual. But when on the
go, camping, road-tripping, backpacking, etc., I have to change my
operating methodology in consideration that batteries are a
consumable.
So, let me illustrate with one of my situations:
Three night stay at a campground in the Colorado Rockies. No
electricity at the campsite. All battery charging must be done through
the vehicle power system. Depending on which vehicle is used, the
12VDC lighter socket may require the ignition to be on (or in the ACC
position) to work. Extra drain and other issues. Total camera run-time
(in-hand, actively shooting, framing or using live-view in some form
or another) five hours per day. Available time for charging camera
batteries? One hour.
What happens is that battery charging becomes a major consideration.
How many batteries need charging and for how long? How often do I need
to run the engine to cover the drain? Don't forget that I also need to
recharge batteries for the GPS, phones, iThingies, flashlights and a
myriad of other battery-powered devices.Even laptop computers. Just
how many chargers for the camera do I need to bring along? Heaven
forbid that you have a system that needs to use the camera itself for
charging the batteries!
Joel will attest to the fact that I don't travel anywhere in my
vehicle without a DC-AC inverter and powerstrip. My Jeep's interior is
a tangled web of incompatible chargers and cords. And that was on my
last trip where I didn't even take a digital camera! Fortunately, I
really only had to worry about AA batteries, my cell-phone and iPad.
On our last Isle Royale trip, battery charging was a serious issue. It
encouraged us to stay in the area of the lone power outlet
available--and that required the disconnection of a clothes washer. I
worked as the battery herder and spend half a night shuttling back and
forth between our shelter and the two-ply palace getting everybody's
E-1 batteries charged. Fortunately, the original E-1 battery charger
was fast. But between the four of us, we had no less than 10 batteries
to juice up. (Bill had the battery grip with the one monster battery
that probably never needed a recharge).
So, circling back around...
Five hours of camera run-time per day. One hour of available charge
time per day. Just how many batteries will I need if I'm out for five
days?
--
Ken Norton
ken@xxxxxxxxxxx
http://www.zone-10.com
--
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