Originally posted by rojaba Went out with my istd2 to take some pics (it was cold, but not freezing) and soon the battery indicator started flashing. Switching it on and off again helped me to take a few more shots but soon it was "rien ne vas plus" and I had to call it a day. At home I found out that the batteries (they have this little indicator strip) were still something like 60% charged. Now my question: Is my camera playing tricks on me or should I buy different batteries (than the duracell ultra m3 I'm using now?)
It depends which Duracell Ultra M3 -
are you talking about -
the alkaline AA batteries
or
the Lithium CR-V3?
If they were the alkaline batteries then low temperatures do adversely affect them - you can try to take them out and warm them up in your hands and see if they behave any better.
Pentax dSLRs are notorious for being very battery fussy.
In fact the manual for the Pentax K100D (strong inheritance from the *ist D series) say that alkalines are only usable for checking the camera and they do not recommend their usage.
In terms of economics and usability Marc above has already recommened the usage of eneloops - and I really second that recommendation - or any of the confirm re-badges of the eneloop - they have been shown to maintain higher operating voltage under load than any other NiMH rechargeable AA - so are much better suited for use in Pentax dSLRs.
A more easily available re-badge is the Duracell Pre-Charged - but big caveat - they must be the made in Japan with white top surrounding the +ve button versions.
The ultimate solution is to use lithium batteries like the Energizer e2 Lithium AAs, or Lithium CR-V3 - but that can be expensive in the long run.
So if your Duracell Ultra M3 were the
lithium CR-V3 -
then either the batteries were actually really near depletion -
or there might be something wrong with your camera.....