Originally posted by xy1981ca Namely, battery consumption is better in the long run but has higher power drain when taking pictures, so my hybrid ni-mh are empty after several shots and then suddenly are full again.
That means your batteries are providing inadequate (real-time) current, and voltage drops. This will definitely, and negatively, affect the microelectronics. The battery indicator is a rather simplistic mechanism, only measuring voltage. As such, you're seeing the voltage drop after shots, but then return when the voltage is sampled again later.
I have a K100D myself and found that it draws so much current that only at least 70% charged Energizer NiMH or Sanyo Enelope. E.g., when a 2000mAh current-time battery drops below 1400mAh or the 2500mAh drops below 1700mAh, the real-time current drops below the 1.5A or so the K100D desires. I'm curious if the K200D is better or worse, sounds like worse. In any case, the K100D/K200D draws far more than the 1A typical you get from the majority of NiMH batteries.
I just finally switched to non-rechargeable Energizer LiFe (e2 Lithium) batteries, which -- like most Lithium combinations -- provides a constant real-time current of around 2.6A until near depleted. They can also sit on the shelf. Twelve (12) batteries for $19 at Costo or Sam's Club, worth the great reduction in headaches.
Some people use rechargeable CR-V3 (RCR-V3), which are 3.6-3.7V Li-Ion and not 3.0V LiMg (non-rechargeable CR-V3) or 1.5V LiFe (Energizer e2 Lithium). These are nominally 3.6-3.7V on closed voltage (and a whopping 4.2V+ open). Even the "regulated" versions will output 3.1-3.3V+ closed, and virtually never 3.0V. The K100D/K200D can only tolerate 6.5V safely, before you chance damaging the microelectronics. A lot of believers think the over-voltage is "better" because it drives the AF motors better. Indeed it does, as over-volting is typically safe for motors, let alone the 6.2-6.6V you get out of even the best "regulated" pair of RCR-V3 will seem like a dream in the AF compared to the only 4.8V (or maybe 5.2V if the maximum charged NiMH is outputting 1.3V instead of the nominal 1.2V).
In my view, the inexpensive cost of the Energizer e2 Lithium, which delivers a solid 1.5V, giving you a perfect 6.0V for AF and no over-volting of the microelectronics, and has a long, long shelf-life as well as the fact that a single set of four (4) has delivered for me (without flash) over 1,000 pictures on my K100D. Not bad for just over $6. As someone who has designed microelectronics myself, there is a reason
no electronics manufacturer designs products to use RCR-V3, and only proprietary Li-Ion designs of 3.6-3.7V, 7.2-7.4V, 14.4-14.8V, etc... -- including Pentax for the K10D/K20D.