[nakey]

i don't see why it needing CR-V3s and Regulated Rechargable CR-V3s are that important. 1926 shots with AA lithiums, real world use (no scientific or measurabating tests here rice, these are the first 1926 shots, 2 photoshoots included, out of my camera), in a mix of Flash, Wireless Master flash, Wireless control flash (remember, different flash power outputs between Master and Control), and no flash. All for the same price as 1 CR-V3. and 1 CR-V3 isn't going to power a Pentax DSLR. 400+ shots with Either Energiser 2500s, Sanyo 2500s and Powerex 2700s, again, real world use, and it's still showing full charge. for the same price as 1 set of Regulated Rechargable CR-V3 & charger, i'd have a good quality charger, and 2 sets of batteries, for both camera AND flash.

the only reasons i ran out of charge on my *ist DS was either

• i've shot over 1000+ with the Lithiums in there
• i haven't charged my Ni-Mh batteries for over a month (remember, long life Ni-MHs are a new thing. i've had my *ist DS since 05)
• I was shooting alkalines (and i still got 100-150 shots out of that)

I'm yet to get to 2 months of ownership of my K200D, and while i've shot heaps, i still haven't had a day where i've come close to running out of battery life. End of september, i'll have a frantic 3 day shoot (something like 1500-2000 shots over the 3 days), but i still think, at worst, 2 sets of Powerex 2700s in the body would last me.

sure, Regulated Rechargable CR-V3s may have the most performance and more shots yadda yadda. But if i wanted to spend 120 on ONE set of batteries for my camera, i would have bought into canon....

anyway.. Pics

I dont know why my Kodak DC can support AA, CR-V3 or R-CRV3 but K200d just do not support this kindy of CR-V3 batteries. You can state any reasons such as CR-V3 is 2mm longer than AA or whatever etc for them. (But I think the springs can go 2mm)

Apart from serial blocking and resizing, unmolested pic of *ist DS


Resized pic of K200D


ckanthon's picture of the Lithium batteries, with my notes


Notes on the *ist DS picture. match it to the pic of the batteries


notes on the K200D picture. notice something there, that shouldn't be there if it was to accept CR-V3s?

hmmm..... i'm sure someone's brought this up before....

the CR-V3s being 2mm longer don't matter as they won't fit anyway. but just for shits and giggles, i put Some Rare Earth magnets that are used to add nipples to Li-ion batteries onto the back of AA batteries. it wouldn't close on the K200D even with 1 magnet (one magnet = 1mm extra length).

With 2 magnets on the back of AA batteries, inside a *ist DS, it does close, with extra effort

I've never shot more without recharging just because it makes sense to charge the batteries before leaving on a weekend trip (camping without charger).

exactly. If you know you're going to be using and abusing the camera, why wouldn't you charge it?

[Moo]

As it seems to just be the casing joining the two cells that prevents them being inserted, has anyone tried removing that part (or all) of the plastic casing from a battery to get it to fit in? Removing the whole casing should remove any length difference too..

[nakey]

havn't heard anyone doing it, and i'm not really game to do that on my main camera.....

again, how much more photos are you going to get using Rechargable Regulated/Primary CR-V3s instead of AA Lithiums and/or good quality NiMH cells with a decent charger?

Is it "that much" that it's really worth it to hack up your camera?

[NaClH2O]

*snip*

I just wonder why Pentax needed to do this to the K200D. Are they being so afraid of users to use the RCR-V3 that they needed to kill even the ideal CR-V3 which they have being highly recommended for all previous models all together??

*snip*

Rice High if you had read the post by JCpentax you would have realized that the length of the CRV3's precludes using them in the K200D. Since they are 2mm longer, they push against the door of the battery compartment and cause a gap in the seals. I'm sure this is the reason rather than some weird nefarious conspiracy by Pentax to prevent you from using CRV3's.

NaCl(careful reading sometimes gives answers)H2O

[nakey]

salty, i think he's wondering why Pentax would do such a "horrible" thing as to preclude the use of said batteries, rather than why it won't fit (pics above, don't let my hard work go to waste :P)

And my answer to that is simple. with the kind of battery usage you get from cheaper NiMH and AA Lithiums, what's the point of CR-V3s?

[Moo]

I was talking about "hacking up" the battery, not the camera..

[nakey]

I was talking about "hacking up" the battery, not the camera..

whoops, need to read better.. probably also need to sleep (when the hell did it become 8AM??)

um, my understanding of the cell is that internally, it's shaped that way. Havn't seen one for ages, and not spending 20 on one either.

if anyone's got a spent one that they wanna mail me, i'm all for it.

[ricardobeat]

Rice High if you had read the post by JCpentax you would have realized that the length of the CRV3's precludes using them in the K200D. Since they are 2mm longer, they push against the door of the battery compartment and cause a gap in the seals. I'm sure this is the reason rather than some weird nefarious conspiracy by Pentax to prevent you from using CRV3's.

NaCl(careful reading sometimes gives answers)H2O

Am I the only one who doesn't think that's reasonable? I bet not all AA's are exactly the same to the mm's. That's why we have springs or curved contacts in most electronics...

[ckanthon]

As it seems to just be the casing joining the two cells that prevents them being inserted, has anyone tried removing that part (or all) of the plastic casing from a battery to get it to fit in? Removing the whole casing should remove any length difference too..

HaHa !!!!!

DO NOT TRY TO REMOVE CRV3 outer casing !!!!!

There was one case reported in China web forum. Trying to do this the battery exploded!!

[ckanthon]

Am I the only one who doesn't think that's reasonable? I bet not all AA's are exactly the same to the mm's. That's why we have springs or curved contacts in most electronics...

Yeah Yeah.
Handle part and sizes of the K200d chassis should be the same as K100DS.
Physically both are the same for the battery compartment.
K100DS can physically do. why not use CRV3 for K200D?

[ckanthon]

Am I the only one who doesn't think that's reasonable? I bet not all AA's are exactly the same to the mm's. That's why we have springs or curved contacts in most electronics...

Agreed!!
Even different brands of AA battery their lenght is a little bit different.
2mm to 2.5 mm is nothing for a spring to travel thro'.
(If they were willing to design this way to accept the CR-V3 electronically)

[ckanthon]

I don't want to involve in any "conspiracy hypothesis" talk.
However, they really stated Energyier AA is good because "you dont even need a charger" in a K200d introduction video. See also differemt 'tax leaflets...

Maybe, Energyier Li- AA was the "only solution" they can think of...

[jeffkrol]

I don't want to involve in any "conspiracy hypothesis" talk.
However, they really stated Energyier AA is good because "you dont even need a charger" in a K200d introduction video. See also differemt 'tax leaflets...

Maybe, Energyier Li- AA was the "only solution" they can think of...

Pretty obvious they have either an engineering constraint or liability contraint (maybe they had a bunch of repairs from people using "unregulated" rechargeables and decided to just be done with the whole mess. You couldn't allow "regular" but exclude rechargeables physically, and few would probably pay attention to a verbal warning)
Personally I'm pretty sure eneloops would work pretty darn good..

[chedoy]

I was talking about "hacking up" the battery, not the camera..

I think the reason neither CRV3's and RCRV3's don't fit is to save money on K200D warranty claims if owners were to stick in 3.8-4.2 volt RCRV3's, fry the camera, and act dumb about it when they send in for repair.

I own some RCRV3's that will put out over 4 volts when charged. Verboten for my K100D. There are regulated RCRV3's that put out 3.2 volts.

[RiceHigh]

HaHa !!!!!

DO NOT TRY TO REMOVE CRV3 outer casing !!!!!

There was one case reported in China web forum. Trying to do this the battery exploded!!

I did it before seven years ago. There are two naked 3V cells inside each CR-V3. The naked cell is covered by metal where most of it is of the negative polarity. So, it is very easy to be short circuited. So, the simple thing to do is to use PVC tapes (those used for electrical connections) to wrap the extracted cells once the outer shell is removed and then everything is done!