[Cerebum]

I was doing a test on the battery life of the various batteries I have for my KP then I blew it with LV and composite mode. It turned yellow at 150 shots which isn't great even with a little live view. Is there an average number of shots on a KP with original battery? And does anyone have a magic formula for squeezing more shots from the battery?

[automorphism]

Says 390 on dpreview. I found the best way to preserve battery life is to turn off the rear LCD except for the 2-second review and use the information in the viewfinder to do adjustments. And of course, don't use Live view.

[photoptimist]

LV is the worst -- the sensor, CPU, and screen are running full blast.

Turn the camera on for the minimum of time and then turn it off the instant after you take the shot.

Don't use the rear screen for anything.

Don't use SR.

Don't use AF.

Don't use the built-in flash.

Don't use WiFi.

Don't use digital filters, lens corrections, or other fancy imaging processing settings.

Don't save RAW+ or RAW -- JPGs-only reduces total time & energy spent writing data.


The magic formula for maximizing battery life is to not use the camera!


P.S. There are ways to charge a LiIon battery to higher capacity but they increase the risk of fire and reduce the total longevity of the battery. Also, getting the most out of a single charge means running the battery down into the red which is hard on the battery and means the battery will have less shot-life in the future.

[kypfer]

LV is the worst -- the sensor, CPU, and screen are running full blast.
Turn the camera on for the minimum of time and then turn it off the instant after you take the shot.
Don't use the rear screen for anything.
Don't use SR.
Don't use AF.
Don't use the built-in flash.
Don't use WiFi.
Don't use digital filters, lens corrections, or other fancy imaging processing settings.
Don't save RAW+ or RAW -- JPGs-only reduces total time & energy spent writing data.
The magic formula for maximizing battery life is to not use the camera!

photoptimist has it just about covered here ^^^


The rear screen "eats" batteries, keep it off except for changing settings that can't be seen in the viewfinder and the odd "chimping".
Shake Reduction is only really "needed" when shutter speeds drop below "1/focal length" or thereabouts, use it as a welcome option, not as a default necessity.
Don't rely on the camera to focus your lens all the time, pre-focus manually if at all possible then the camera just needs to fine-tune the setting.


In a pre-set (manual) focus situation, taking very many pictures in a short space of time, up to 600 "normal" exposures might be expected from a fully and freshly-charged Pentax original battery. Sitting around in a bird hide or similar, with the camera permanently active, just in case something turns up unexpectedly, 2-400 is more realistic. I mention "permanently active" because, in my experience, the KP has a definite (and annoyingly slow) "wake up" time from a power-save state, definitely less responsive in this circumstance than my K-70. I've learnt to carry a spare battery and expect to use it and then remember to recharge everything when I get home ... the results are worth the hassle


The digital filters etc. can give some impressive results, but they're nothing that can't be achieved at home, once the original picture has been taken, where power is less of an issue, even if you don't have a mains adaptor. If the digital filters do appeal, I'd recommend acquiring the appropriate HDMI adaptor/connector device and working on a full-size screen/monitor. The 3" panel on the back of the camera simply doesn't do the results justice. Only some of the digital filters are "in-camera specific", 'Watercolor', 'Pastel' and a few others. The other effects can be replicated using the Digital Camera Utility software supplied with the camera, so no need to use the camera at all for these

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Last edited by kypfer; 06-19-2020 at 09:54 AM. Reason: Afterthought

[Cerebum]

Hahahahaha, yeah, battery life is pants :0) however, I just popped onto eBay, typed in "KP Battery grip" and there was a brand new one with 18mins left for £110 .......... I got it for £123 including postage. Problem solved ) the crappy battery life I'd OK for general use, but now I have the grip, I can use the KP for serious stuff too result

[disasterfilm]

My KP is my timelapse workhorse. I routinely get 1,200 shot sequences (usually 1 to 1.5 hours for sunrise/sunset) on a single battery (no grip), without the first notch of power loss showing up.

This includes setup and compose in Live View, then switching to OVF for the shooting sequence. I leave the back LCD on the default/settings screen to monitor when I need to adjust exposure settings. No worries on the battery.

In more extreme cases, I've left the KP mounted as a remote camera. Left it on for 5 hours, not in sleep mode, then had an intervalometer trigger 45 minutes of 2-second exposures (1,350 frames) in continuous burst. I did turn the screen off for that one though. Then the camera stayed on, not in sleep mode, for another 1-2 hours before I collected it. I think it was in the yellow at that point.

I think turning them off and on a bunch, using lens AF, chimping on the playback, and the human element of keeping the camera on between photos is what zaps a battery more than just the mechanical process of the camera operating by itself.

Either way, even the wimpy DLi-109 battery has some oomph to it. The battery grip would be good peace-of-mind though!

[ramseybuckeye]

There is no magic formula for number of exposures unless you shoot the same thing and same way every time. Yep, live view will consume battery faster, if I’m using a tripod I’m going to compose in live view. Batteries are small and can fit in your pocket, you’ll hardly notice them.

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Last edited by ramseybuckeye; 06-19-2020 at 05:53 PM.

[Cerebum]

There is no magic formula for numbWe of exposures unless you shoot the same thing and same way every time. Yep, live view will consume battery faster, if I’m using a tripod I’m going to compose in live view. Batteries are small and can fit in your pocket, you’ll hardly notice them.

I was doing a test where I shot ordinary, a bit of live view, a bit of long zoom with its screw drive, you know, general photography. I think I was on course for about 280 but then I got all creative with live view, composite modes and other such nonsense, at which point it ceased to be a "normal use" test. I have live view and peaking and really want to use it because it is excellent, its a shame they didn't squeeze a bigger battery in so as to accommodate it. When I went on holiday I had 4 batteries, a Pentax, a hahnel and 2 cheap Chinese and I managed fine. The battery grip will come in if I am shooting an event of some kind. Either way, the KP is still a wonderful piece of kit

[C_Jones]

Just avoiding LV and saving one file type once to the sd card may help.

It just depends what is needed when shooting a certain way. If needed and feasible, just getting another Pentax brand battery may be an answer to power needs.

[rogerstg]

From a practical standpoint, I see no problem with battery life. When on vacation, I start the day with a fully charged battery and carry a spare. I can't remember the last time a battery didn't last the day. I don't turn anything off or go through any special gyrations to save battery power. Are you guys really taking hundreds of shots per day on a regular basis?

[kypfer]

... Are you guys really taking hundreds of shots per day on a regular basis?

Oh yes ... three or four hours in a bird hide and the surrounding countryside can easily result in several hundred exposures for me, and I rarely use the "drive" modes for "spray and pray", trying to frame and focus every shot. There's always the search for the "better angle" or the "better light", so the nett result will admittedly be relatively few "perfect" shots and an awful lot of "record" shots, but I never know if I'm going to get a better shot, so I take a lot of record shots

In "action scenarios" like this, with a long lens and a moving subject, the autofocus and Shake Reduction are working most of the time, so power consumption is high!

Friends who share the local birding facilities usually make several exposures for every press of the button ... they probably spend more time choosing the best shots in the evening than they did making the exposures in the first place!

[timb64]

I know of someone (reluctant to call him a friend) who regularly returns from birding trips with 10,000+ shots, good luck with culling that amount!

[steamloco76]

End this issue-buy the battery grip and use the bigger, better DL-i90 batteries. I have to have the grip because of my large hands, however the increased battery life and vertical shutter release are lifesavers.

[Cerebum]

End this issue-buy the battery grip and use the bigger, better DL-i90 batteries. I have to have the grip because of my large hands, however the increased battery life and vertical shutter release are lifesavers.

Bought it, got it today and it is the business. Its strange, despite being a similar size to the K3, it still feels smaller I now have to get my muscle memory sorted. The grip has slightly changed the way I hold the KP and I keep trying to focus with the green button lol. At least my images are nicely exposed lolol

[mikesbike]

Yep, I got the battery grip also. I don't use it as often as you apparently will, but when needed it's great. And at a similar combined weight as the K-3 II, you will now actually have more battery life available than the K-3 or K-3 II without a battery grip, in a more compact package.