Thank you – excellent suggestion. A lot of what I do is around the house. (I started this thread yesterday after throwing batteries in the camera long enough to take a few shots of a knitting project I wanted to post in the Crafty Dopers thread.)
I have the same problem. The camera (Canon) seems to drain bats even when off. I solve the problem by removing them when not in use and always carrying spares (alkalines, I hate rechargeables). If they are nearly exhausted after a photo shoot, I just remove them and toss. That way, I always start with a fresh set.
I use a ton of AAs for many devices. The camera is the only one that drains them when off, and has a very high current drain when in use. (no GPS)
Hey neighbor, PM sent with some good local camera stores.
aka P Parker
That used to be true because early digital cameras used a lot of power, and rechargeable batteries last longer under high current draw. I’m not sure if that’s true anymore with modern digital cameras.
Although it’s becoming a moot point anyway - almost all digital cameras sold today use proprietary rechargeable batteries.
Thanks, Spidey! (Have we met IRL? If so, I apologize for not remembering that fact.)
I suppose it depends on “modern,” but the cameras I’ve used through about 2010 that allow AAs, the NiMH have been several times (2-4) longer lasting than alkaline.
Have you checked all the settings? Some settings can really affect battery life. For example, most cameras allow you to adjust how long they will stay on between shots before powering down - if this gets set so the camera never powers down you may not get very many shots between charges, especially if you take a long time between shots.
Can you measure current drain when the camera is off, using a multimeter?
I think the easiest solution is to stick a piece of plastic between the battery and contact when not using the camera. You can pull it out to use the camera, like a new clock/electronic device. It’ll reset your camera clock, though.