[phoreal]

Hi. I got my K100D several days ago. The batteries it was provided with are not of any good anymore.
The problem: My girlfriend has P&S Canon. She uses recheargeable Hahnel batteries - 2335 MAh. I charged them until the charger "said" that they are charged and tried them with my K100D and I saw the battery sign blinking, not even turning on. Then, I put back the batteries the camera had from factory and it worked for about a minute. And they work 1 minute if 30 min. they "relax".
Is the problem in the camera or I'm not using the batteries I have to.

thanks.

[oxford_artist]

The K100D is a bit choosy about batteries. If you search this site on batteries, you will find lots of explanations and advice. Personally, I use rechargeable Uniross Hybrios and Sanyo Eneloops, both work very well. I bought the Eneloops at a camera shop because I'd forgotten to take a back up set for the Hybrios when on a shoot. The assistant recommended another set of rechargeables with a higher rating that he used in his Pentax (I wish I could remember what they were called) but I took the Eneloops because, like the Hybrios, they come ready charged. The big advantage with both is that they keep their charge longer when not in use, ordinary NiMH batteries have a serious fall off of charge over time even when not used.

[Cloudy Wizzard]

The K100D is a bit choosy about batteries. If you search this site on batteries, you will find lots of explanations and advice. Personally, I use rechargeable Uniross Hybrios and Sanyo Eneloops, both work very well. I bought the Eneloops at a camera shop because I'd forgotten to take a back up set for the Hybrios when on a shoot. The assistant recommended another set of rechargeables with a higher rating that he used in his Pentax (I wish I could remember what they were called) but I took the Eneloops because, like the Hybrios, they come ready charged. The big advantage with both is that they keep their charge longer when not in use, ordinary NiMH batteries have a serious fall off of charge over time even when not used.

Well in that case I hope that my GP 2500 are good enough then, I did see that my local shop sells the Uniross ones (never heard of them before I saw them on the website of the store) but not the Hybrid ones just the plain HiMh batteries that come "empty".

[Myltlpny]

I have two sets of Kodak rechargeable batteries that work very well. They hold their charge a long time, and were only like $7.00/ set. No issues whatsoever.

[GatorPentax]

i use duracell NIMH rechargables and i've never had a problem. I didnt even know a problem existed.

[JCSullivan]

Well, I'll tell you one thing - I've used all kinds on the istD without problems but on the 100D I was beginning to wonder. The last thing I want is a camera with a problem - I didn't know a problem existed either - I thought it was just me.

[oxford_artist]

I've made a quick search on batteries to try to find the post I read on the K100D and sensitivity to voltage levels (NiMHs of different makes have slightly different voltages), but I haven't found it. I have found these, however:

https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-dslr-discussion/11806-battery-life.html
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-dslr-discussion/10961-k100d-batter...mendation.html
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-dslr-discussion/6585-k100-has-prem...shut-down.html
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-dslr-discussion/9017-rechargable-batteries-k100d.html

I do know that the camera was designed to work best with lithium batteries, which is the reason some, by no means all, NiMHs under-perform.

[wwwmorrell]

The standard batterys that came with the camera package [which were provided]are not rechargables.
You have to buy them as an extra.

[RiceHigh]

Hi. I got my K100D several days ago. The batteries it was provided with are not of any good anymore.
The problem: My girlfriend has P&S Canon. She uses recheargeable Hahnel batteries - 2335 MAh. I charged them until the charger "said" that they are charged and tried them with my K100D and I saw the battery sign blinking, not even turning on. Then, I put back the batteries the camera had from factory and it worked for about a minute. And they work 1 minute if 30 min. they "relax".
Is the problem in the camera or I'm not using the batteries I have to.

thanks.

It's normal. What you need to get is either *Regulated* Rechargeable CR-V3 or Sanyo Eneloop.

For more read, see:- RiceHigh's Pentax Blog: When 1100mAh Li-ion RCR-V3s Outperform 2500mAh+ NiMH AAs ..

[UnknownVT]

Is the problem in the camera or I'm not using the batteries I have to.

As you've probably surmised by now the Pentax K100D is pretty fussy with batteries -
I had similar experience to you.

Alkalines simply do not last in the K100D - please look on page 27 of your K100D manual and see how long the alkalines are spec'd to last - a paltry 40-80shots.

The rechargeable NiMH from your girlfriend's camera are probably fairly well used and probably no longer able to attain their rated capacity or not capable of delivering the higher currents needed by the K100D - hence the low battery signal even when apparently "fully charged" - and Canon p&s digicams are pretty frugal and can cope with much lower capacity, so unfortunately that is not a reliable indication of the battery's capacity/capability.

The current trend seems to be to use LSD (see 5.1.1 Low Self Discharge Batteries at Wikipedia) batteries in the K100D - such as eneloops, RayOVac Hybrid, Kodak Pre-Charged (all 3 of these are reasonably easily obtainable - eg: WalMart has all 3).

Although higher capacity (>=2500mAh) regular NiMH are eminently usable - Energizer, Duracell, RayOVac and Kodak all have >=2500mAh NiMH - that are also easily available from the same places....

However the main complaint of NiMH is their high self-discharge rate - often people return to thie cameras some months later to find the batteries flat.

The new LSD - Low Self-Discharge batteries appear to be gaining favor - eg: Sanyo eneloop, RayOVac Hybrid, Kodak Pre-Charged, Uniross Hybrio.

Apparently the Sanyo eneloops are different from the others. Eneloops have very slightly lower capacity (although the rating seems very accurate) - but seem to hold their charge longer. Eneloops are the most popular because of name recognition - but reports on others are all favorable - but beware these are all relatively new on the market.

My personal "strategy" is to use high capacity NiMH ~2500mAh when I know I have to shoot a lot over a short period of time and keep a set of LSD batteries (I use the Kodak Pre-Charged mainly because they are cheap) as back-up/spare.

If I am not going to use the camera for a while - I then keep the LSD/Kodak Pre-charged in the K100D. (the cross-over point seems to be about 1 month comparing LSD and >2500mAh NiMH)

Some references on LSD -

Eneloop Self Discharge study - CandlePowerForums

new Kodac "Pre Charged" NiMH batteries?
see posts #13 , #14 for comparison graphs of capacity between the Kodaks and the standard Duracell 2650mAh NiMH, and against the Uniross Hybrio (LSD).

Kodak Pre-Charged at WalMart


The next thing is to get a good charger for the batteries - the cheapo over-night/"value" chargers are too frustrating - but they do work - however be very aware and only do "top-up" charges very sparingly as these chargers are timer based so canNOT detect true end of charge - so are prone to OVERcharging which can kill NiMH early.

A reasonable charger is one that charges batteries in 2 to 1 hours and automatically detects end of charge, and shuts down or goes into lower "trickle mode". (15-30 minute chargers apparently are a bit harsh on batteries).

Of course you can always try some lithium AA's - like the Energizer e2 Lithium AA - but they are expensive (like ~$10 for 4) and not rechargeable, but they will easily power up the K100D and last a loooong time.

Please read the threads given previously -

I've made a quick search on batteries to try to find the post I read on the K100D and sensitivity to voltage levels (NiMHs of different makes have slightly different voltages), but I haven't found it. I have found these, however:
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-dslr-discussion/11806-battery-life.html
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-dslr-discussion/10961-k100d-batter...mendation.html
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-dslr-discussion/6585-k100-has-prem...shut-down.html
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-dslr-discussion/9017-rechargable-batteries-k100d.html

This is a very useful list of references for batteries for the K100D -
the part about K100D's sensitivity to battery voltage levels may have been in RiceHigh's blogs.....

[roscot]

The K100D is a bit choosy about batteries. If you search this site on batteries, you will find lots of explanations and advice. Personally, I use rechargeable Uniross Hybrios and Sanyo Eneloops, both work very well. I bought the Eneloops at a camera shop because I'd forgotten to take a back up set for the Hybrios when on a shoot. The assistant recommended another set of rechargeables with a higher rating that he used in his Pentax (I wish I could remember what they were called) but I took the Eneloops because, like the Hybrios, they come ready charged. The big advantage with both is that they keep their charge longer when not in use, ordinary NiMH batteries have a serious fall off of charge over time even when not used.

Also it pays to have a good charger. People seem to recommend the Maha chargers.
Maha / Powerex Corporate Site : NiMh Batteries and Chargers from Powerex, Digital Cameras from Maha, Powerex 2200 Rechargeable Batteries and Chargers, AA, nimh, lithium ion, 2000 mah, 2200mah, charger, battery

[wlachan]

Just buy yourself a pack of Sanyo Eneloop and all your problem will be history.

[Myltlpny]

As you've probably surmised by now the Pentax K100D is pretty fussy with batteries -
I had similar experience to you.

Alkalines simply do not last in the K100D - please look on page 27 of your K100D manual and see how long the alkalines are spec'd to last - a paltry 40-80shots.

The rechargeable NiMH from your girlfriend's camera are probably fairly well used and probably no longer able to attain their rated capacity or not capable of delivering the higher currents needed by the K100D - hence the low battery signal even when apparently "fully charged" - and Canon p&s digicams are pretty frugal and can cope with much lower capacity, so unfortunately that is not a reliable indication of the battery's capacity/capability.

The current trend seems to be to use LSD (see 5.1.1 Low Self Discharge Batteries at Wikipedia) batteries in the K100D - such as eneloops, RayOVac Hybrid, Kodak Pre-Charged (all 3 of these are reasonably easily obtainable - eg: WalMart has all 3).

Although higher capacity (>=2500mAh) regular NiMH are eminently usable - Energizer, Duracell, RayOVac and Kodak all have >=2500mAh NiMH - that are also easily available from the same places....

However the main complaint of NiMH is their high self-discharge rate - often people return to thie cameras some months later to find the batteries flat.

The new LSD - Low Self-Discharge batteries appear to be gaining favor - eg: Sanyo eneloop, RayOVac Hybrid, Kodak Pre-Charged, Uniross Hybrio.

Apparently the Sanyo eneloops are different from the others. Eneloops have very slightly lower capacity (although the rating seems very accurate) - but seem to hold their charge longer. Eneloops are the most popular because of name recognition - but reports on others are all favorable - but beware these are all relatively new on the market.

My personal "strategy" is to use high capacity NiMH ~2500mAh when I know I have to shoot a lot over a short period of time and keep a set of LSD batteries (I use the Kodak Pre-Charged mainly because they are cheap) as back-up/spare.

If I am not going to use the camera for a while - I then keep the LSD/Kodak Pre-charged in the K100D. (the cross-over point seems to be about 1 month comparing LSD and >2500mAh NiMH)

Some references on LSD -

Eneloop Self Discharge study - CandlePowerForums

new Kodac "Pre Charged" NiMH batteries?
see posts #13 , #14 for comparison graphs of capacity between the Kodaks and the standard Duracell 2650mAh NiMH, and against the Uniross Hybrio (LSD).

Kodak Pre-Charged at WalMart


The next thing is to get a good charger for the batteries - the cheapo over-night/"value" chargers are too frustrating - but they do work - however be very aware and only do "top-up" charges very sparingly as these chargers are timer based so canNOT detect true end of charge - so are prone to OVERcharging which can kill NiMH early.

A reasonable charger is one that charges batteries in 2 to 1 hours and automatically detects end of charge, and shuts down or goes into lower "trickle mode". (15-30 minute chargers apparently are a bit harsh on batteries).

Of course you can always try some lithium AA's - like the Energizer e2 Lithium AA - but they are expensive (like ~$10 for 4) and not rechargeable, but they will easily power up the K100D and last a loooong time.

Please read the threads given previously -



This is a very useful list of references for batteries for the K100D -
the part about K100D's sensitivity to battery voltage levels may have been in RiceHigh's blogs.....

Your point on the Pre-charged Kodak batteries lasting longer is very interesting. I thought they were just a gimick when I saw them. I may have to reconsider my position. I think more research is in order.
Thanks.

[Finn]

I use the regular Energizer NiMH rechargables because they're cheap and you can find them anywhere. They don't last forever on a charge and I've gone through a couple of sets over the past year, but so what? I just go out and pick up another 4 when I get tired of charging them too often.

I also keep a set of the Energizer lithium batteries in my camera bag, just in case the NiMH's run out while I'm shooting. It's pointless to keep extra NiMH's in your bag, because they will invariably have drained just when you need them!

[UnknownVT]

I also keep a set of the Energizer lithium batteries in my camera bag, just in case the NiMH's run out while I'm shooting.

This is also a good strategy -
the only problem I see is that if you do use the lithium batteries -
although they do have a long life - it's also not infinity -
so eventually they will be "low" and there isn't an easy way to know that -
since the good thing about primary lithium batteries is that they more or less stay at their initial voltage until depleted -
which unforuntately in this case is actually a BAD thing since you would not know the state of the used battery (ie: how much capacity is left) -
other than actually keeping a count of the number of shots taken......

It's pointless to keep extra NiMH's in your bag, because they will invariably have drained just when you need them!

Agreed. Unless one charges both sets before going out on a session.

Also mentioned previously there are now the LSD (Low Self-Discharge) NiMH batteries which hold their charge (to about 85% for a year - that's about how much charge the regular NiMH drops to in one day to one month). So one can have the LSD NiMH batteries (eg: eneloop, Kodak Pre-Charged, RayOVac Hybrid) as back up.