Forgot Password
Pentax Camera Forums Home
 

Reply
Show Printable Version Search this Thread
07-14-2014, 09:02 AM   #1
Pentaxian
ChatMechant's Avatar

Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Matsuyama
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 1,284
Q7- maximizing battery life

So, I just acquired a Q7, with one oem battery and two wasabi's. Going to be traveling light in Hawaii, lots of camping, hiking, etc. Coming from the k5 and never having to worry about depleted batteries, I'm wondering if three batteries will be enough, say, if we're away form a power source for a few days and also what strategies there are to maximize battery life.

07-14-2014, 09:13 AM   #2
Site Supporter
Site Supporter
crewl1's Avatar

Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 9,807
One of the things you can do is to get a viewfinder such as Yashica Tele-Wide Finder
They are available used on eBay.
This will allow you to turn off the rear LCD display for framing, and may be useful if you dont need it to be exact edge to edge coverage as it mainly works with the 01 and long end of 02 lenses.
I took my Q7 on vacation last week and was able to go through three batteries in a day as I did not turn off the rear lcd and did also take some videos.
I could charge each night at the hotel so it was not a problem for me. Otherwise I would have used my telewide.

If you think it will work for you and you can't find one let me know if you need to borrow mine.
07-14-2014, 11:55 AM   #3
Site Supporter
Site Supporter
mike.hiran's Avatar

Join Date: May 2007
Location: portland
Photos: Albums
Posts: 1,491
QuoteOriginally posted by ChatMechant Quote
So, I just acquired a Q7, with one oem battery and two wasabi's. Going to be traveling light in Hawaii, lots of camping, hiking, etc. Coming from the k5 and never having to worry about depleted batteries, I'm wondering if three batteries will be enough, say, if we're away form a power source for a few days and also what strategies there are to maximize battery life.
I just read about another Q user who went on a 3 day trip thinking 3 batteries would be enough - it wasn't. Personally, I would want at least 6 batteries and probably more for a full 3 days. But I'm a prepare for almost the worst kind of traveler....
07-14-2014, 12:18 PM   #4
Veteran Member
AndrewG NY's Avatar

Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Chappaqua, NY
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 688
Videos are especially draining. There's also a custom setting for SR mode where it will stabilize the live view full time...I suspect this might also use more juice than stabilizing only at the moment of image capture.

How quickly you'll go through batteries depends on your own habits, use of auto-power-off, etc. I think three is enough if you're going to miss one night of recharging but for multiple days you might want more. I also believe that not all batteries are created equal, I've found the OEM Pentax batteries tend to be longer-lived...this is only my impression, not science-based. I also had a a DOA Wasabi charger (the batteries were fine, the broken charger was pitched in the trash).

07-15-2014, 06:55 AM   #5
Pentaxian
ChatMechant's Avatar

Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Matsuyama
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 1,284
Original Poster
Thanks for the suggestions, and thanks for the offer of letting me borrow your finder, crewl1! super nice. I think to be on the safe side, I better grab another battery or two. my only concern with that was having to bring another charger, or dealing with the logistics of charging 4-5 batteries. How fast do they charge?
07-15-2014, 07:36 AM   #6
Site Supporter
Site Supporter
crewl1's Avatar

Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 9,807
I have not timed it but I know I can get at least two charged in one evening using the third party charger that I travel with.
Next battery I will time the recharge process for you.
07-15-2014, 01:46 PM   #7
Veteran Member
hnikesch's Avatar

Join Date: May 2009
Location: Michigan, USA
Photos: Albums
Posts: 1,316
QuoteOriginally posted by ChatMechant Quote
Thanks for the suggestions, and thanks for the offer of letting me borrow your finder, crewl1! super nice. I think to be on the safe side, I better grab another battery or two. my only concern with that was having to bring another charger, or dealing with the logistics of charging 4-5 batteries. How fast do they charge?
If you are going to get additional batteries Amazon has a 2 battery with charger and a car cord kit for $17, bring several chargers

Amazon.com : Two Halcyon 1400 mAH Lithium Ion Replacement Battery and Charger Kit for Pentax Q, Q10, Optio A36, Optio S10, Optio S12 Digital Cameras : Digital Camera Accessory Kits : Camera & Photo

07-15-2014, 04:34 PM   #8
Site Supporter
Site Supporter
crewl1's Avatar

Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 9,807
Just timed a couple of depleted third party batteries on the Wasabi charger and the Pentax charger.
Both completed the charging job in about 2.5 hours.

FYI to empty these batteries I ran the Q7 in video mode and was surprised at how quickly it ate up the juice, it probably took only about a 1/2 hour or so.
They last much longer in photo situation.

Last edited by crewl1; 07-15-2014 at 04:39 PM.
07-16-2014, 03:03 AM   #9
Site Supporter
Site Supporter




Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: midwest, United States
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 5,711
Three is not enough for me. I leave the Q on SR all the time and lcd screen at brightest setting. Think it woud even drain a K-5 battery Quickly on these settings. Q batteies are small- take plenty. My Sigma DP1 Merrill is as bad, if not worse.
thanks
barondla
07-16-2014, 07:28 AM   #10
Pentaxian
ChatMechant's Avatar

Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Matsuyama
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 1,284
Original Poster
Thanks for running that test, seems it would be nice to have a couple chargers, and four batteries at least. I hardly ever remember that there's a video option available, but good to know it will eat up the juice.
07-16-2014, 09:08 AM   #11
Loyal Site Supporter
Loyal Site Supporter
monochrome's Avatar

Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Working From Home
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 26,276
Over the 4 July holiday spent on Lake St. Clair and environs in Michigan I used 2 OEM and 2 Wasabi batteries in my Q7 each day (didn't always fully deplete the fourth battery). My wife used 2 OEM batteries in her Q each day. We took three chargers (the two OEM and the Wasabi from the Amazon kit) and recharged as we ran out, and every night, but we knew from experience what to expect. We were in a vacation home in a nature preserve, but always out seeing and doing things so while access to juice was never an issue - we just slapped a battery in the charger on the dresser whenever we were in our bedroom - our cameras were basically always out. We sort of had a 'No-Phone on Vacation' policy. The biggest problem was keeping the charged batteries and depleted batteries straight (Left Pocket = Loser).

We never shoot video but we use bright LCD and a long auto-off (5 minutes?) and shoot a lot of stills. She shoots jpeg and I shoot RAW+. We leave all the lens and highlight corrections on. She uses Bright default, I use natural.

In our use a battery lasted 3 - 5 hours.
07-17-2014, 10:02 AM   #12
Senior Member




Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Oregon
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 121
QuoteOriginally posted by monochrome Quote
Over the 4 July holiday spent on Lake St. Clair and environs in Michigan I used 2 OEM and 2 Wasabi batteries in my Q7 each day (didn't always fully deplete the fourth battery). My wife used 2 OEM batteries in her Q each day. We took three chargers (the two OEM and the Wasabi from the Amazon kit) and recharged as we ran out, and every night, but we knew from experience what to expect. We were in a vacation home in a nature preserve, but always out seeing and doing things so while access to juice was never an issue - we just slapped a battery in the charger on the dresser whenever we were in our bedroom - our cameras were basically always out. We sort of had a 'No-Phone on Vacation' policy. The biggest problem was keeping the charged batteries and depleted batteries straight (Left Pocket = Loser).

We never shoot video but we use bright LCD and a long auto-off (5 minutes?) and shoot a lot of stills. She shoots jpeg and I shoot RAW+. We leave all the lens and highlight corrections on. She uses Bright default, I use natural.

In our use a battery lasted 3 - 5 hours.
This is great info, thanks for sharing. I'll know more what to expect from battery life on a vacation.
10-08-2014, 05:14 AM   #13
Senior Member




Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Exeter, Devon
Posts: 137
This is quite shocking; I've only ever had one extra battery with my Q, and found that plenty for a week away. How many shots are you taking? I probably averaged about 30 or so a day at most; only occasional, short videos.
10-08-2014, 01:04 PM   #14
Veteran Member




Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Greater Montreal Area
Posts: 736
What bothers me is buying 4-5 batteries for a trip, and when the trip is over... then... then what?

You're stuck with 4-5 extra batteries that will not hold their charge in a few months because you're not using them anymore.

These batteries have to be charged at a precise voltage for storage or they won't be able to keep charge.

Too bad there aren't other alternative (i.e. bigger/external battery packs).
10-08-2014, 01:53 PM   #15
Veteran Member




Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 417
I've got 10 or 12 batteries, some Pentax, one Fuji and some from eBay. They are in use randomly and even though the oldest ones are from the early days of the original Q, I have no issues with any of them.
Reply

Bookmarks
  • Submit Thread to Facebook Facebook
  • Submit Thread to Twitter Twitter
  • Submit Thread to Digg Digg
Tags - Make this thread easier to find by adding keywords to it!
batteries, battery, camera, charger, life, mirrorless, pentax q, pentax q10, pentax q7, q-s1, q10, q7, quality, time
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
K-5 battery life chromo Pentax K-5 & K-5 II 11 04-29-2013 04:13 PM
K-30 Battery Life theoicarry Troubleshooting and Beginner Help 6 12-24-2012 02:44 PM
Flash battery life issue CWyatt Troubleshooting and Beginner Help 2 10-19-2012 04:18 AM
K-X battery life Boker Troubleshooting and Beginner Help 5 08-14-2012 11:59 AM
K2000 Battery Life ADR Pentax DSLR Discussion 3 08-12-2012 07:09 PM



All times are GMT -7. The time now is 03:40 AM. | See also: NikonForums.com, CanonForums.com part of our network of photo forums!
  • Red (Default)
  • Green
  • Gray
  • Dark
  • Dark Yellow
  • Dark Blue
  • Old Red
  • Old Green
  • Old Gray
  • Dial-Up Style
Hello! It's great to see you back on the forum! Have you considered joining the community?
register
Creating a FREE ACCOUNT takes under a minute, removes ads, and lets you post! [Dismiss]
Top