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Riv · 11-22-2012, 07:54 AM

Hi,

I've got three batteries for the Q, the Pentax 1000mAh OEM, and two aftermarket 1200mAh. Same issues with all three. We(I) know the battery life is low on the Q, I'm showing image 269, the firmware 1.1 reset it to 0 and if I recall it was around 150. Even if I round up to 450 shots, I must have have changed the battery over 20 times all ready. Before you get excited I know a lot of thing can lower the image count. So, here's an example it happened again this morning. It's 45d(f) out, not freezing cold but cool. Not sure if it matters but I was using the DA*300mm with the Pentax OEM K2Q adapter, SR off, Focus peeking on, fresh fully charged battery. I was trying to get a shot of a squirrel that running around in a large tree. So I was chasing him around, trying to find him again. Not even 10 minutes later I got the Battery Depleted beeps. That was with the OEM battery, so I put in one of 1200mAh batteries. 10-15 minutes later, same battery depleted beeping. I know battery life diminishes in the cold, but these are warm batteries going dead before the outdoor temp should really be effecting them. I get better run time indoors, but even then it's only around 10% of the rated.

I'm not sure what to suspect at this point, an issue with the charger, the Q, or along shot of being the adapter. I have another charger coming, an aftermarket that plugs directly into the wall. But that won't be here for a few weeks.

Is this in line with your experiences?

**jpzk** · 11-22-2012, 08:02 AM

Same here: low battery very quickly.

Example: just playing with the camera settings for about 10 minutes and not taking any pics: battery level shows it has reached about 75% charge .... down by 25% just "playing" with settings.

Scary!

JP

hnikesch · 11-22-2012, 08:15 AM

I also have 3 batteries and have found the battery meter will start showing usage very quickly but if I turn it off it will return to full. I believe I play more with the Q than with any of my other cameras and that makes it seem to kill batteries faster. Ok the Q does kill batteries faster than my Canon S100 and it is known as a battery killer. I have changed to SR during shot only rather than always and that has helped. It seems when ever I pick up my Q and use it the battery will need charging when I put it down, but I seem to leave the Q on when using the adapter so I don't have to reset lens focal length allowing for a quicker response. At those times I would have turned my other cameras off.

Hans

Riv · 11-22-2012, 08:40 AM

I've seen that happen after a spike in system load, meter showed green around 75% then a drop to yellow and back to green. Every time I get the depleted message I try turning off and then back on, but it never comes back up anything more than the red battery outline. My DS had that issue, battery monitor would lose track and a power off/on would fix it. The Q does seem to know the battery level better than the DS did. I know my battery use goes up with the adapter, especially with 300mm mounted, it just takes longer to find, frame and focus at that equiv focal length. But 10-15 minutes just seems to suggest that something is wrong with one of my component's.

mamethot · 11-22-2012, 08:42 AM

Same here, I had to buy a few extra batteries and none of them last as long as the original one btw.

They say 1100 mah and the pentax shows 900 I think, but it's a scam, the replacements are probably not even 900 mah.

panoguy · 11-22-2012, 08:51 AM

Weird. I've put only about 1,000 shots on my Q so far, but frequently 80-100 in a day and it seems to go about 3 days before the OEM battery needs a recharge (and I shoot until it says "battery depleted"). That includes shooting short (~1 min) videos and playing them back on the camera for my kids to watch (expectations for instant gratification are rampant!), both indoors and out. To me, that's about on par with the W90 I also own... not spectacular like my old Panasonic LX, or anywhere near the K-5, but not horrible like your experience.

mikemock · 11-22-2012, 09:38 AM

I have shot about 500 frames through my Q and I have charged the battery twice. I have the Q with the standard lens. The first time the battery went low I was very surprised. I am used to the K-5 which seems to go forever on one charge.

**LaurenOE** · 11-22-2012, 10:08 AM

I agree. My Q is a "two-battery-per-outing" camera.
My K5s with the battery grip last for days and days of shooting.

snostorm · 11-22-2012, 10:09 AM

I don't count any more. I just have made it a habit to glance at the battery indicator every shot, and when it gets to 1 bar down change the battery so it doesn't get critical. I always leave the house with a freshly charged battery in the camera and carry 2-3 spares in a little pouch that also carries a spare 1 GB memory card ( I use a 4 GB as the main) I don't shoot as many shots per day as I do with my K-5, so this has worked out fine so far. . .

Scott

hnikesch · 11-22-2012, 10:22 AM

I think my battery life problems are directly related to my usage with long lenses and the adapter. Taking a single image with a K mount lens my Q is on about 10X as long as when I shoot with the Q Prime lens so for me 1/10 the battery life.

Hans

JHD · 11-22-2012, 11:16 AM

I don't shoot more than 30 shots on an outing so I don't even think about it.

JHD · 11-22-2012, 11:20 AM

Small camera = small battery = small power source.

You want more? Buy a bigger camera with a bigger battery.

panoguy · 11-22-2012, 04:41 PM

Originally posted by JHD

Small camera w/ big camera processor and functions = small battery = small power source.

I think you forgot something in there...

My old Panasonic has a battery that is both physically smaller and less mAh (as well as being old), but still outlasts the Q. Reason is most likely that the Q is using a lot more power per shot (bigger LCD, active SR, bigger lens to focus, distortion correction and filters, etc.).

BTW, I also think Riv got a bum battery.

Docrwm · 11-22-2012, 05:06 PM

Originally posted by panoguy

I think you forgot something in there...

My old Panasonic has a battery that is both physically smaller and less mAh (as well as being old), but still outlasts the Q. Reason is most likely that the Q is using a lot more power per shot (bigger LCD, active SR, bigger lens to focus, distortion correction and filters, etc.).

BTW, I also think Riv got a bum battery.

Yes, plus SR takes a lot of power, as do the processing features like the various correction modes. If you turn off the distortion correction and others, put SR on the brief setting, and use fresh batteries each outing it should last noticeably longer. That's part of why I have a Yashica Tele-Wide viewfinder on the way too.

Riv · 11-22-2012, 05:59 PM

Originally posted by JHD

Small camera = small battery = small power source.

You want more? Buy a bigger camera with a bigger battery.

I have a K5, Thanks. My goal here is simply trying see if my camera has issues or not based on others peoples usage results.

11-22-2012, 07:54 AM	#1
Riv Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Michigan Photos: Albums Posts: 142	Your Q's battery life experiances Hi, I've got three batteries for the Q, the Pentax 1000mAh OEM, and two aftermarket 1200mAh. Same issues with all three. We(I) know the battery life is low on the Q, I'm showing image 269, the firmware 1.1 reset it to 0 and if I recall it was around 150. Even if I round up to 450 shots, I must have have changed the battery over 20 times all ready. Before you get excited I know a lot of thing can lower the image count. So, here's an example it happened again this morning. It's 45d(f) out, not freezing cold but cool. Not sure if it matters but I was using the DA*300mm with the Pentax OEM K2Q adapter, SR off, Focus peeking on, fresh fully charged battery. I was trying to get a shot of a squirrel that running around in a large tree. So I was chasing him around, trying to find him again. Not even 10 minutes later I got the Battery Depleted beeps. That was with the OEM battery, so I put in one of 1200mAh batteries. 10-15 minutes later, same battery depleted beeping. I know battery life diminishes in the cold, but these are warm batteries going dead before the outdoor temp should really be effecting them. I get better run time indoors, but even then it's only around 10% of the rated. I'm not sure what to suspect at this point, an issue with the charger, the Q, or along shot of being the adapter. I have another charger coming, an aftermarket that plugs directly into the wall. But that won't be here for a few weeks. Is this in line with your experiences?

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11-22-2012, 08:02 AM	#2
jpzk Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Québec Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 8,251	Same here: low battery very quickly. Example: just playing with the camera settings for about 10 minutes and not taking any pics: battery level shows it has reached about 75% charge .... down by 25% just "playing" with settings. Scary! JP

11-22-2012, 08:15 AM	#3
hnikesch Veteran Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: Michigan, USA Photos: Albums Posts: 1,316	I also have 3 batteries and have found the battery meter will start showing usage very quickly but if I turn it off it will return to full. I believe I play more with the Q than with any of my other cameras and that makes it seem to kill batteries faster. Ok the Q does kill batteries faster than my Canon S100 and it is known as a battery killer. I have changed to SR during shot only rather than always and that has helped. It seems when ever I pick up my Q and use it the battery will need charging when I put it down, but I seem to leave the Q on when using the adapter so I don't have to reset lens focal length allowing for a quicker response. At those times I would have turned my other cameras off. Hans

11-22-2012, 08:40 AM	#4
Riv Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Michigan Photos: Albums Posts: 142 Original Poster	I've seen that happen after a spike in system load, meter showed green around 75% then a drop to yellow and back to green. Every time I get the depleted message I try turning off and then back on, but it never comes back up anything more than the red battery outline. My DS had that issue, battery monitor would lose track and a power off/on would fix it. The Q does seem to know the battery level better than the DS did. I know my battery use goes up with the adapter, especially with 300mm mounted, it just takes longer to find, frame and focus at that equiv focal length. But 10-15 minutes just seems to suggest that something is wrong with one of my component's.

11-22-2012, 08:42 AM	#5
mamethot Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Greater Montreal Area Posts: 736	Same here, I had to buy a few extra batteries and none of them last as long as the original one btw. They say 1100 mah and the pentax shows 900 I think, but it's a scam, the replacements are probably not even 900 mah.

11-22-2012, 08:51 AM	#6
panoguy Pentaxian Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Washington, D.C. Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 3,327	Weird. I've put only about 1,000 shots on my Q so far, but frequently 80-100 in a day and it seems to go about 3 days before the OEM battery needs a recharge (and I shoot until it says "battery depleted"). That includes shooting short (~1 min) videos and playing them back on the camera for my kids to watch (expectations for instant gratification are rampant!), both indoors and out. To me, that's about on par with the W90 I also own... not spectacular like my old Panasonic LX, or anywhere near the K-5, but not horrible like your experience.

11-22-2012, 09:38 AM	#7
mikemock Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Indiana Photos: Gallery Posts: 252	I have shot about 500 frames through my Q and I have charged the battery twice. I have the Q with the standard lens. The first time the battery went low I was very surprised. I am used to the K-5 which seems to go forever on one charge.

11-22-2012, 10:08 AM	#8
LaurenOE Site Supporter Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Back in Florida, but worldwide gigs! Photos: Albums Posts: 3,690	I agree. My Q is a "two-battery-per-outing" camera. My K5s with the battery grip last for days and days of shooting.

11-22-2012, 10:09 AM	#9
snostorm Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Chicago suburb, IL, USA Posts: 1,535	I don't count any more. I just have made it a habit to glance at the battery indicator every shot, and when it gets to 1 bar down change the battery so it doesn't get critical. I always leave the house with a freshly charged battery in the camera and carry 2-3 spares in a little pouch that also carries a spare 1 GB memory card ( I use a 4 GB as the main) I don't shoot as many shots per day as I do with my K-5, so this has worked out fine so far. . . Scott

11-22-2012, 10:22 AM	#10
hnikesch Veteran Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: Michigan, USA Photos: Albums Posts: 1,316	I think my battery life problems are directly related to my usage with long lenses and the adapter. Taking a single image with a K mount lens my Q is on about 10X as long as when I shoot with the Q Prime lens so for me 1/10 the battery life. Hans

11-22-2012, 11:16 AM	#11
JHD Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Photos: Albums Posts: 1,406	I don't shoot more than 30 shots on an outing so I don't even think about it.

11-22-2012, 11:20 AM	#12
JHD Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Photos: Albums Posts: 1,406	Small camera = small battery = small power source. You want more? Buy a bigger camera with a bigger battery.

11-22-2012, 04:41 PM	#13
panoguy Pentaxian Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Washington, D.C. Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 3,327	Originally posted by JHD Small camera w/ big camera processor and functions = small battery = small power source. I think you forgot something in there... My old Panasonic has a battery that is both physically smaller and less mAh (as well as being old), but still outlasts the Q. Reason is most likely that the Q is using a lot more power per shot (bigger LCD, active SR, bigger lens to focus, distortion correction and filters, etc.). BTW, I also think Riv got a bum battery.

11-22-2012, 05:06 PM	#14
Docrwm Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Somewhere in the Southern US Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 12,285	Originally posted by panoguy I think you forgot something in there... My old Panasonic has a battery that is both physically smaller and less mAh (as well as being old), but still outlasts the Q. Reason is most likely that the Q is using a lot more power per shot (bigger LCD, active SR, bigger lens to focus, distortion correction and filters, etc.). BTW, I also think Riv got a bum battery. Yes, plus SR takes a lot of power, as do the processing features like the various correction modes. If you turn off the distortion correction and others, put SR on the brief setting, and use fresh batteries each outing it should last noticeably longer. That's part of why I have a Yashica Tele-Wide viewfinder on the way too.

11-22-2012, 05:59 PM	#15
Riv Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Michigan Photos: Albums Posts: 142 Original Poster	Originally posted by JHD Small camera = small battery = small power source. You want more? Buy a bigger camera with a bigger battery. I have a K5, Thanks. My goal here is simply trying see if my camera has issues or not based on others peoples usage results.

Your Q's battery life experiances

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