SX280 - battery life shooting video

[factoryguy]

UPDATED May 5:

I apologize to the forum for mixing two different problems.  They are unrelated.

Problem #1:  User error.  I thought I was using a class 6 SD card but I was wrong. The yellow "!" indicates a pathologically slow card.  Upgrading to a class 10 resolved this problem.

Problem #2: UNRESOLVED.  Red battery indicator comes on prematurely.  On a fresh charge, it'll turn red after recording for a couple of minutes.  On a partially drained battery, it turns red immediately upon entering movie mode or pressing the record button.  Turn the camera off and then right back on in "still" mode and it shows full charge and works fine ... until trying to shoot video.  I have not precisely measured recording times but it'll record for at least 20 (maybe 30?) minutes while flashing red.

[dswansonil]

What 3rd party batteries are you using?  I saw the ones at Best Buy were Digipower and only rated as 650maH rather than the 1000maH of the Canon batteries.

[myasg]

canon finally admitted tonight that there will be a firmware upgrade soon but no commitments as to when.

[mikearm]

If I keep the camera, I will buy wasabi batteries from Amazon. They are made in Japan and have a 3 year warrenty.

• Rechargeable lithium-ion battery for Canon NB-6L
• Can be charged with the original Canon charger
• Premium Japanese cells for longer battery life
• Rated at 3.7V and ultra high 1300mAh for extended use between charges
• Includes battery and 3-year manufacturer warranty.

[mcasale16]

Thanks for the info!

[UnionStation]

Whether the issue is hardware, firmware or whatever, the main problem for me is that Canon treated us all like chumps. They got their money, and stubbornly refused to even concede the possibility there might be a problem. I'll be honest that I, despite many years of good experiences with good Canon cameras, was not about to wait around for this giant company to figure out what its loyal customers were desperately trying to tell them. I returned my camera and got a Nikon that turned out to be a demonstrably superior product. I've guzzled plenty of Canon KoolAid in my days, but this crappy experience (I had numerous contacts all the way up to the supervisor level) convinced me that Canon was not worthy of my hard-earned cash, just based on the arrogance. But actually having a chance to compare the photo quality turned this experience into a net positive because I ended up with a better camera. And I won't have to wait around for Canon to try to fix a problem the company wouldn't admit - a problem that shouldn't have happened in the first place. All of you people patiently waiting for Canon to make good on a promised firmware fix are exactly the kind of suckers Canon hopes are born every minute.

[josh_a]

myasg--they admitted to this particular issue? did they say the firmware would address this particular issue? was it just a random CS rep on the phone, or someone who seemed to know what's up? any additional info would be much appreciated...

[UberAugie]

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@UnionStation wrote:

I returned my camera and got a Nikon that turned out to be a demonstrably superior product.

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Just curious, what Nikon model did you end up getting?

Thanks.

[videophan]

I see that PCMAG gave the SX280 their Editor's Choice Award: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2418689,00.asp

If their comp for the review was the SX280 camera, that is about what the review and award was worth.

[myasg]

They are addressing the red flashing battery in the firmware upgrade.  Yes it was just a CS guy but he put me on hold to 'supposedly' get the answer.

[mcasale16]

Yes it was a Digipower and only rated as 650maH! I will look into the Wasabi.