[peggers]

Hi all
In taking out my 100D Super the other day, I was reminded why I bought a newer Pentax.
The battery life on my model is terrible.
Was this a common complaint, or is this just my camera?

[calsan]

Pentax K100D Super Review - DigitalCameraReview
This review said battery life was very good.
What type of AAs are you using? Eneloop rechargeables would be a safe bet for good battery life.

[gwboes]

What kind of batteries are you using?
My old *ist DL indicated fully charged, brand new, batteries as low after a couple of shots.
I then switched to Sanyo Eneloop (xx) and made it trough a 2.5 week vacation with +300 shots and lots of reviewing and playing around.

[tim60]

I have one of those and found that all my non-eneloop batteries have become useless with it. I suspect that at sometime it draws a high pulse and batteries are unable to supply when they age a bit with the result that it stops. I found this frustrating. I got some eneloops late in the time when I used it and then did not use them often enough to see if the same thing happened. Got a K3.

[peggers]

Thanks for the replies
I was using rechargeable batteries originally, but then discovered the Sanyo eneloops. They were good for a while but just recently when I was using the camera again with the same eneloop batteries, they were lasting a lot shorter time than they used to. I suspect that tim60 is correct and the eneloops tend to lose their effectiveness after a time.
What I did find used to work was the duracell lithiums. They could last for up to 1000 shots, but were a bit on the expensive side to keep replacing.
Right now I have a K5, and I am spoilt by it, as it seems to never run out of batteries

Here is another question. Is it possible that with shake reduction engaged, the shots are actually not quite as sharp as when shake reduction is not turned on? Seems counter intuitive, but I have noticed it from time to time. Could just be coincidence of course.

[VisualDarkness]

1. Old batteries
2. Old worn electronics
3. It had great battery time back then but probably not compared to the newer cameras

[BrianR]

Eneloops do age. A quality 'smart' battery charger that charges cells individually can help prolong their life and even refresh tired ones. Once their performance sagged below my frustration limit in my k100d, that set of eneloops was relegated to flash duty (where 8 year old sets continue to shine). I found the high capacity XX eneloops a step up from the usual white ones for k100d use, but moved to a k5iis shortly after my first XX set and the battery life with it's lithium pack is just so much better..

Here is another question. Is it possible that with shake reduction engaged, the shots are actually not quite as sharp as when shake reduction is not turned on? Seems counter intuitive, but I have noticed it from time to time. Could just be coincidence of course.

Make sure the SR has spooled up properly (green hand has lit up before you fire). It is recorded in the exif. In any case, SR is never a guarantee of a sharp shot but if it's troubling, you might want to try testing it under more controlled conditions.

[UncleVanya]

I still have mine and use it on Energizer rechargeable AA's without problems when I elect to do so. I don't need it to last a long time so I haven't really looked closely at the number of shots. It hasn't struck me as really short however.

[elektrolitr]

My K100D Super has done 800 exposures on one set of Eneloops in two week voyage and batteries were not fully exausted (camera showed half battery and sometimes empty, but not blinking empty).

Now it's my always-carry-with-me-just-in-case camera (with 40xs), so I shoot maybe 10-20-30 images per month and recharge batteries about once per year

My *istD is able to get at least 500 exposures on one set of Eneloops, maybe even more

[peggers]

Yes, that was the type of numbers of exposures I was getting when I first used the Eneloops, so I am thinking maybe an investment in a new set, perhaps those XX ones will be best.
By the way, it takes a month of Sundays to charge up a set of Eneloops, maybe 10 -12 hours. Is this normal?
I am thinking yes, as one of the reasons they last longer is because the current just trickles into them

[elektrolitr]

Charge time depends solely on your battery charger. 10-12 h charge is a good idea (it's good for batteries), but not so good for user (which has to wait a bit, not a problem if can leave overnight).

I use Lacrosse BC700 and usually charge with 500mA current, it takes about 6h to complete.

[tim60]

Charge time depends solely on your battery charger. 10-12 h charge is a good idea (it's good for batteries), but not so good for user (which has to wait a bit, not a problem if can leave overnight).

I use Lacrosse BC700 and usually charge with 500mA current, it takes about 6h to complete.

When travelling with multiple battery sets I have a habit of going out of the hotel and leaving one on charge. But there is a problem in eco-friendly hotels - when you take the key card out of the power master switch the power points are all off - so no charging happens. In the tropics (Malaysia, Singapore, etc) where this design is common it also switches off the airconditioning so you return to a warm and very humid room. An issue for fungus.

[elektrolitr]

From that I've seen you can leave any card (and even cardboard sheet of proper size) in place of key and everything will work.

[tim60]

I'll try that the next time I am there.

[peggers]

Great tip, might try that myself