[EarlVonTapia]

Those batteries look totally different to my definitely genuine Energizer lithiums but mine are 5yrs old so I looked on the Energizer site and the batteries and packaging look the same, but there's quite a few complaints about batteries being dead as bought, strange as they used to have an excellent reputation. If you have a voltmeter, good new ones measure about 1.80v from memory. My ones read 1.75v.

My adapter is a super cheapy from the far east, forget where exactly but it's fine. As long as the terminals have a decent tension there's not much to go wrong if the AAs fit OK.

As for firmware, it could make a difference. Do you remember the K-x fiasco? AAs weren't lasting 50 shots on a lot of cameras so they brought out a firmware update to fix it.

I just tried out a set of 4 Duracell alkaline batteries with an adapter. I took the memory card out, and proceeded to take pictures using live view. I took about 10 pictures, and the bar stayed at full green. I then pressed the shutter down and let the camera rapid-fire for about 20 or so shots. After that, the battery bar still stayed at full green.

I then put in a set of the lithiums. I took about 10 shots in live view before the bar went yellow, and a few shots after that, the "battery depleted" according to the K30.

So I think there is just something wrong with the lithiums. Perhaps something happened to them in shipping or storage. At least I've regained confidence in the AA function of the K30.

Tomorrow, I am heading on an overnight snowshoe hike for new years eve. I will be starting out with an adapter with 4 Duracell alkaline batteries to see how long it lasts, and keeping a charged stock battery as my backup.

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Last edited by EarlVonTapia; 12-31-2012 at 12:59 AM.

[SteveB]

I doubt the alkalines will last long, they never used to on other cameras, perhaps 100 shots if you're lucky.

[theoicarry]

I am still only getting about 300 shots per charge. I have one Pentax battery that came with the camera and another battery of a different make and have the same results. I will be getting the AA adapter very soon. I am still trying the Pentax Reps suggestion about several discharges and re-charges to fix this issue.

Theo

[EarlVonTapia]

I doubt the alkalines will last long, they never used to on other cameras, perhaps 100 shots if you're lucky.

189 shots with the Duracells!

- The Duracells were purchased this year, but I can't remember when. It was certainly a few months ago at least. They were just sitting on my shelf this whole time.
- The shot total is after I had done the initial testing with the AA battery holder the night before (so add 20-25 shots to that total)
- The external conditions when I was using the Duracells were AWFUL: they were used outside in the snow, and the ambient temperature was always 0 degrees Celsius or below. There were times when I literally stuffed my K30 into the soft snow while I was adjusting my gear or taking something out of my pack or swapping lenses.
- Lenses used were Sigma 30 1.4, DA 18-55 WR, and DA 55-300. All screwdrive.
- Not too much chimping, as I had resolved to do all of that after I had come back from the cold. I did do a lot of viewing of photos though because I was always having to adjust my settings for the rapidly changing light conditions in the snow (sun, shade, failing light, indoors, etc.).
- Still on the original firmware.

I am absolutely pleased as punch with the AA battery ability of the K30. In fact, the K30 as a whole was a solid performer for my entire trip. It did what I was expecting it to do when I bought it - accompany and keep up with me on my outdoor adventures. I am approaching the magical 10,000 photo mark with it (currently at 7500+), at which point I will write a thorough review of the K30. All indications are that it will be a dazzling review.

Back to the batteries. I'm sorry for the people having battery issues with the K30. Like many other complicated pieces of technology, sometimes things just go wrong for mysterious reasons. The IT guy at one of my old jobs summed it up as this: "Computers are weird". I believe that applies to cameras too.

Lastly, I don't think I will be upgrading to the latest firmware. I have yet to see anyone state any vast observable improvements it will provide to the performance of the K30.

[EarlVonTapia]

Here are some settings I have been using with my K30 for the past 5000 or so shots:

- Display is ALWAYS OFF unless I turn it on to view a photo or go to a menu.
- The dust shaker cleaner used to activate when I turned the camera on AND off. Lately (last 1000 or so shots) I switched this to activate only when I turn the camera off.
- I do a small amount of live view shots. I estimate that between 10% and 20% of the pictures I take are with live view. I only use live view for manual focusing (I don't like the AF in live view, and Focus Peaking is always on because it ROCKS!).
- I've been shooting RAW+JPG for the past 4000 or so pictures (I briefly shot in just RAW for a while). Maybe more, I can't really remember. It's been a while since I made the switch.
- AFS for almost all shots, unless I'm doing the 10 or 20% manual focus shots. Electronic level on. Shake reduction on.
- AF assist light was turned off almost at the beginning, because it's obnoxious.
- My LCD brightness has been set to 4 units left of the center mark almost since the beginning of time. I set it this way because I felt it more accurately displayed the brightness of the pictures I took on the camera LCD compared to when I viewed them on my computer.
- Auto power off after 1 minute, although I almost always turn my camera off if I know a picture isn't coming up for a while (such as when we resume hiking, for instance).
- I don't shoot movies, HDR pictures, or any of the other fancy picture options, as I'm trying to really learn the basic shooting controls first. I have played with them a couple of times each though, mostly just to make sure that stuff was working. I do long exposure shots every now and then.

I add this so that people can compare with how their K30's are setup.

[theoicarry]

All makes sense. I have most settings set to conserve power.
I wil try other settings.
Thanks
Theo

[Finn]

250 shots on the first cycle. No flash, no instant review, a little LV. I think I'll try switching off the rear LCD completely.

[Zafar Iqbal]

I'm once again getting really annoyed.

Perhaps I didn't grasp the severity of some of the replies earlier or perhaps this rechargeable battery business is super lame - or something is simply wrong.

I previously mentioned I attended an engagement party - all batteries were recharged the evening prior to it and the following set (after the party) gave me 350 exposures. I figured I remembered wrong and properly didn't recharge that particular set, although I'm 99% sure I did. I then changed to a different set - also recharged just prior to the engagement party, now about 2 weeks ago, and camera wont turn on after 200 exposures. My battery indicator tells me I have about 50% juice left. Yes, then there's this voltage thing, but seriously - is it supposed to be this bad?

I had my K-x for a tad longer than 1½ year before getting the K-30's. I always used Energizer Lithium batteries with it since I didn't want to think about recharging. But since I then got me multiple cameras and flashes I figured it would be most practical and cheapest to start using rechargeable - I still haven't reached the 1200-1300 exposures as I once did and the whole deal with rechargeable batteries seems to be random. My shooting style doesn't differ *that* much and if I want to use the cameras as I've been using the K-x - carrying with me all the time - it means I should always bring at least 2-3 extra sets of batteries - just to be sure? Maybe it's me and maybe it's the temper talking, but it just seems way off and ridiculous.

Oh, btw - those last 200 exposures. All manually focused and I rarely use the display to focus with.

Could it be some setting? I have every single image related setting that can be disabled, disabled. I do have focus peaking enabled but as mentioned, I rarely use Live View. The only difference in my shooting style now since my K-x days is that I rely much more on focus points.

Perhaps I just can't accept the fact that I have to recharge *frequently*. I'm none the less still annoyed by the lack of battery performance.

Edit: When I first got the first K-30, it didn't take long before I reached 700 eposures. Pretty much consistently. but now I'm way lower than that - maybe it's a physocological thing, me paying more attention to battery performance - I don't know.

[SteveB]

I'm once again getting really annoyed.

Perhaps I didn't grasp the severity of some of the replies earlier or perhaps this rechargeable battery business is super lame - or something is simply wrong.

I previously mentioned I attended an engagement party - all batteries were recharged the evening prior to it and the following set (after the party) gave me 350 exposures. I figured I remembered wrong and properly didn't recharge that particular set, although I'm 99% sure I did. I then changed to a different set - also recharged just prior to the engagement party, now about 2 weeks ago, and camera wont turn on after 200 exposures. My battery indicator tells me I have about 50% juice left. Yes, then there's this voltage thing, but seriously - is it supposed to be this bad?

I had my K-x for a tad longer than 1½ year before getting the K-30's. I always used Energizer Lithium batteries with it since I didn't want to think about recharging. But since I then got me multiple cameras and flashes I figured it would be most practical and cheapest to start using rechargeable - I still haven't reached the 1200-1300 exposures as I once did and the whole deal with rechargeable batteries seems to be random. My shooting style doesn't differ *that* much and if I want to use the cameras as I've been using the K-x - carrying with me all the time - it means I should always bring at least 2-3 extra sets of batteries - just to be sure? Maybe it's me and maybe it's the temper talking, but it just seems way off and ridiculous.

Oh, btw - those last 200 exposures. All manually focused and I rarely use the display to focus with.

Could it be some setting? I have every single image related setting that can be disabled, disabled. I do have focus peaking enabled but as mentioned, I rarely use Live View. The only difference in my shooting style now since my K-x days is that I rely much more on focus points.

Perhaps I just can't accept the fact that I have to recharge *frequently*. I'm none the less still annoyed by the lack of battery performance.

Edit: When I first got the first K-30, it didn't take long before I reached 700 eposures. Pretty much consistently. but now I'm way lower than that - maybe it's a physocological thing, me paying more attention to battery performance - I don't know.

The only batteries you've mentioned in your posts have been Sanyo XX 2400mAh/2500mAh ones. These are the newer version Eneloops, but most people's experience including mine is with the older 2000mAh ones, in fact with the latest ones they only claim 1900mAh minimum. The capacity difference is more or less irrelevant with the K-30, what really matters is their voltage after they've been charged, sat idle for a couple of weeks, and used for a bit until the voltage settles at its plateau voltage; i.e. the voltage stays fairly constant through a large part of its discharge. This is where the old Eneloops excel, they just have a higher voltage than 99% of all types of NiMh AAs so the camera doesn't shut down early. I have no idea how well the XX type fare in this respect which is why I bought the old type again last week. Have you tried cleaning every adapter and battery contact? That's 18 in total if you leave the in-camera ones at the bottom of the rather deep battery chamber alone. I think that's the weak point of AAs, too many contacts!

PS I would love to know some voltage readings from your freshly charged batteries, your charged batteries after a week or two of non-use, and your end of useful life batteries.

[Zafar Iqbal]

I have the the 2500mHa batteries. I did some further reading when this thread was peaking the last time and read a number of places, that batteries up to 2500mHa such as the Sanyo XX should be fine, but the performance drops quiet a lot on batteries with even more mHa.

I'd be surprised if the contact areas should be the cause of the problem, but it's worth trying cleaning them up.

[SteveB]

I've also been wondering if your XX batteries could be fake. On the white old Eneloops the easiest way to tell was to look for an embossed date of manufacture code on the side. It's hard to see so fakes rarely bothered with it evidently. The first 2 digits are the year, 2nd 2 the month, not sure about any more after that. Whether XX batteries have this I haven't been able to find out but I would be surprised if Sanyo changed their QA system just for a different AA battery.

[crossmr]

I grabbed a couple Horusbennu 2000mAh batteries. My first one ran out tonight..hmm. I'd have to guess and say around 500 pictures. I was in the middle of a game and didn't think to check the number, too much of a hurry to change. It was doing really well until I Took like 7 or 8 rapid shots and forgot that I was shooting raw+. That just killed the battery.
That includes some messing around with the new camera testing things out without really saving pictures. Minor amount of flash..no live view..

[Zafar Iqbal]

I've also been wondering if your XX batteries could be fake.

I have a label positioned on same ace on every single XX battery. and because I'm lazy, I tried to do some gooling to see if I could find what should be underneath the label rather than just ripping it off (I tried but it's a bit sticky). Anyways, this is the first result I stumbled upon and he talks a bit about fake batteries:

Quick Look: Eneloop XX - Higher Capacity AA 2500mAh NiMh LSD Batteries - YouTube!

This advice is to look for overall quality. I can see from his video there's no dates on the batteries. The overall build quality seems fine to me but yeah, that's not very conclusive.

[SteveB]

I have a label positioned on same ace on every single XX battery. and because I'm lazy, I tried to do some gooling to see if I could find what should be underneath the label rather than just ripping it off (I tried but it's a bit sticky). Anyways, this is the first result I stumbled upon and he talks a bit about fake batteries:

Quick Look: Eneloop XX - Higher Capacity AA 2500mAh NiMh LSD Batteries - YouTube!

This advice is to look for overall quality. I can see from his video there's no dates on the batteries. The overall build quality seems fine to me but yeah, that's not very conclusive.

You would be lucky to see the date on that video. I have to use a magnifying glass and shine a bright light at the right angle to see it on my white Eneloops.

[Zafar Iqbal]

Indeed. I had a much closer look and the dates are there. Very hard to spot

I have some different stuff going on:

Set 01: 01 18 (very hard to make out. 18 looks like 15 and 13 on some)
Set 02: 01 15 (set 01 might be 01 15 as well)
Set 03: 11 - 08E X
Set 04: - 08E X (label is covering whats before 08)
Set 05: - 08E X
Set 06: - 08E X
Set 07: 06 1 K (1 might be an I - can't see anything in front of 06 because of my labels)
Set 08: 04 OG (O could be a 0)
Set 09: - 08E X

Set 07 gave me 1200-1300 exposure. I remember that very clearly. I have used it since and not reach nearly same amount of exposures. I do not remember how many I did get afterwards.

All batteries have been purchased over 3 rounds and from the same (online)shop here in Denmark.