Originally posted by and as for the battery talk: I was sceptical about moving away from the AA in the DS but now I just love the new battery solution.
Rechargeable Li-Ion is 10x less fussy than rechargeable NiMH.
You get a charge that lasts a crapload longer, and an output that is solid until the circuits cut in (to prevent additional voltage drop, which can kill Li-Ion circuits).
As I said, most 1500mAh Li-Ions will last longer at higher current than 2500mAh NiMHs -- they just deliver a more consistent current, especially for high draws (like the K100D).
Originally posted by and and I believe from what i read that faster af is a bi product of that as well.
Yep! Because the current stays consistent, voltage doesn't drop.
Li-Ions cut off well before they are depleted (which is deadly for the cells if they do not).
With NiMH, current will drop over time, as you deplete them, or even when they just sit around.
And they just aren't as good as supplying consistent current, let alone are quirky when you recharge them.
NiMH's like to be fully cycled, and will have memory effects and other issues if you don't (not as bad as NiCD prior, but still not ideal).
Li-Ions don't need to be cycled (and you never want to deep cycle them), and take a current and just keep it.
They are more volatile, and the voltage can vary wildly -- plus they aren't available under 3.6V (charge at 4.2V), despite marketing to the contrary.
That's why you should
never use Li-Ion cells as a replacement for 2x AA (2.4-3.0V) cells.
People who are putting 2x RCR-V3s (2x 3.6-4.2V) instead of 4x AA (4x 1.2-1.5V) in their K100Ds are essentially doing the same thing as taking a CPU rated for 1.5V and putting 1.8-2.1V through it.
Sure, it may work, but you'll have transconductance and utterly destroy the circuit (let alone the regulators) in no time.
People talk about how good it drives the AF motors and how they should be able to take up to 9V (from a 6V nominal) -- of course!
But motors are not the "most sensitive" portion of the K100D -- the sensor and microcontroller are.
Originally posted by and one of the reason why i got convinced is that the damn things last so long! I use the battery grip with an extra battery in it though, mind you, but still, its great, I love it.
Even if you didn't, you could carry just a spare battery and get possibly 1,500 shots -- good AF throughout.
With NiMH, I'm finding I'm changing the NiMH batteries before they are even half depleted (although I did get 500 shots with 2 sets on Saturday).
Originally posted by and if i would wish for one thing then it would be a bit more accurate battery indicator, well accurate is not the right word perhaps, it might be accurate but the scale is just full, half full, almost gone, empty. they need to have a larger scale so you can know when to charge.
Unfortunately, it's really impossible to gage "charge" which is "current-time" in "[milli]amp-hours" ([m]Ah).
They can only try to "guess" the charge left based on voltage and current being delivered.
Originally posted by and anyway congrats with the new camera and welcome to SR heaven.
Oh, definitely.