K-x battery life with alkalines.

[joe_jackson4]

<p>Just before I updated the firmware a couple of days ago I installed a fresh set of Duracell Ultras. These are commonly-available alkalines around these parts, found in pretty much every supermarket, petrol station, newsagent and little grocery store. You know the score.</p>

<p>Anyway, I was curious to see how many shots I could get out of 'em... Answer...? Well, so far I've taken 320 shots with these batts and they're still going... The meter has been firmly on red for the last twenty or thirty shots, so I guess they're almost done, but there's been no "Battery Depleted" message to confirm their demise just yet...</p>

<p>Since I'm partly still in "test the new toy" mode here, the batts saw a handful of flash shots, some live view action, a burst or two of continuous clacking, a quick movie and plenty of fiddling around in the menu. And some "normal" shooting/reviewing, of course... The LCD info screen was doing its handy informative thing, so there was no effort on my part to conserve battery power.</p>

<p>So, over 300 shots on a pack of Duracells... Not bad at all, IMHO. In fact, I'd say that's pretty impressive, and it's certainly a very handy option to be able to get a decent amount of shots from alkalines. BTW, the manual claims 210 "normal" shots with alkalines (at room temp) so I think they've been rather conservative there.</p>

<p>Thought I'd share the info/experience, in case someone finds it helpful...</p>

<p> </p>

[michael_kuhne]

<p>That's great, Paul! This means a truly viable alternative in a tight situation where the rechargeables are drained and no store is handy that carries lithiums. Also good for those using the K-x as a compact alternative, and backup for say a K-20D which has run out of juice.</p>

<p>Once I had neglected to freshly charge my K-20D batteries and was using my SDM lenses, which take a lot of power. Especially the DA* 200mm, which failed to function even before the battery ran out- the other lenses still functioned. Luckily, I had my K100DS along with a set of lithiums installed. </p>

[jpo3136b]

<p>This is good news for future Pentax purchasers. I was distressed when I saw the rate at which my K200D ate alkaline batteries. After I switched to rechargables, I was satisfied with the camera's performance.</p>

[john_smith237]

<p>

<p>That is very useful information Paul. I know people gripe a lot about the fact that some of the Pentax models use AA batteries but in an emergency they are readily available. I wonder if you have any experience of Eneloops or equivalent LSD NiMHs with your K-x.</p>

</p>

[joe_jackson4]

<p>Current tally with these alkalines: 442 shots and they're still going... I've still been able to take a few flash shots without any problems, well past the 400 mark... AF still seems nippy with the kit lens, and there's been no erratic behaviour at start-up or during normal use.</p>

<p>John, I haven't used any other other batts for shooting since updating the firmware. I just checked that the camera was able to power up and recognise various sets without issue (which it was...). Then I put the alkalines back in to see how long they would last.</p>

<p>I have some new <a href="http://www.panasonic-batteries.be/site/Europe/English/products/products_batteries_range.asp?iid=27">Panasonic Infiniums</a> (LSD NiMHs) which I'll try out at some point. I guess they should last longer than the alkalines, but we'll see...</p>

[michael_kuhne]

<p>What kind of battery is LSD?? Are resulting photos enhanced with psychedelic effects? Is it rechargeable? You do have to be careful to use only battery types recommended. I'd go with rechargeable NiMH or lithium AA's which are very stable and last a loooong time.</p>

[joe_jackson4]

<p>Michael:</p>

<p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low_self-discharge_NiMH_battery">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low_self-discharge_NiMH_battery</a></p>

<p>BTW, the "Battery depleted" message first came up at 484 shots... By turning the cam on and off again I managed to squeeze another 10 shots out of it, after the message first appeared. I deliberately used flash for those 10 shots, just to kill 'em off once and for all... But even that wasn't quite enough... After I'd turned the camera off and let it rest for a minute or so the damn things were still going, and yep, they cracked the 500 barrier.</p>

<p>TBH, I was expecting to get around 150-200 shots or so with these alkalines, so this result is quite a pleasant surprise to me... Good stuff.</p>

<p> </p>

[rick_gerbehy1]

<p><a href="http://www.pentax.jp/english/support/digital/k-x_s.html">http://www.pentax.jp/english/support/digital/k-x_s.html</a><br>

This firmware update may help with the battery indicator problem in the Kx</p>

[dexter_demafeliz]

<p>Hi! I am new to photography and I find all your comments very useful and informative. I would like to share my experience. I have recently purchased my first dslr camera this month.. the k-x. I am very pleased with its performance with the AA lithium batteries that came with it and I managed to shoot more than a thousand pictures already, with flash on about 5% of the pics. I have also used the live view occasionally and short 10-15 second videos. When the batteries finally gave up, I had around 1,127 pictures and fourteen short video clips. Since this is my first dslr cam, I had to get familiarized with its menu and do a lot of adjustments on the settings, most of the time using up more power by viewing longer on the lcd.<br>

After reading your post, I am eager to try alkaline batteries with the k-x just to test how far will it go, considering the cost of alkaline compared to lithium. Thank you for your very informative post!</p><div></div>