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.

[videophan]

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@pawl wrote:

Thanks for the objective post, smith.

All the emotion/frustration and the "I bet Canon will make you pay for shipping," or "I_told_you_so, it's_a_lemon," provides little help in making a smart decision.

I'm going to follow in your footsteps.

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I just talked to Canon Technical Support and received a somewhat different report. Yes, they will send me a prepaid shipping label. Will there be a firmware update issued that can be done remotely? The answer: it may or may not happen but no confirmation of that has filtered down to the Canon Technical Support level. His advice was to send it in for repair.

Also, "I wouldn't doubt" and "I bet" have two completely different meanings to most people, the latter being a much stronger statement.

What would help in making a smart decision is an official statement from Canon regarding the issues in writing, not merely repeating what one tech support person relays to one consumer.

[mcasale16]

I too just spoke with Canon Technical  2nd level support. He was trying to be extremely helpful. The camera is not on RECALL- but is "ON NOTICE"  which means if you call and complain - they will provide you with a prepaid return label and you will be asked  to return it to Irvine CA for their prepared repair. 

 Basically if I send the camera back to them with the prepaid label- the camera will be returned to Irvine California. Their policy is that the camera will be repaired or replaced within 5-7 days. He called and spoke to Irvine for me. The response was that "chances are" I will receive the repaired camera back before the 7 days are up. However, it it is determined that the camera needs to be replaced- the new camera return  to me MAY be delayed (most probably in my opinion) as they DO NOT STOCK replacement cameras- one needs to be ordered. The length of time for a replacement could not be determined at this time. 

The Support Rep indicated that the majority of cameras out there DO NOT HAVE this issue.... not sure where to go from here.

[RCJ]

Interestingly, I just heard back from Canon myself this morning via email, and all they said was (emphasis mine):

Thank you for contacting Canon product support.  I am sorry for the difficulty experienced with the "low battery" indicator in your PowerShot SX280 HS.

We are aware of this issue and currently do not have a solution.  We ask that you register your camera so that when a resolution is found you will be notified.  In the meantime, you can continue to use your camera as normal and ignore the low battery indicator.

[dswansonil]

Has anyone made a comparison of any of the 3rd party NB-6L batteries (Wasabi, STK, Maximal) that have higher maH ratings (1300-1600) to the standard Canon battery rated at 1000?  I'd be interested to know if they give proportionally longer video time. 

I ran a test last night and got about an hour of video at the default settings.  I didn't do any zooming after an initial setup but stopped and started the video every 10 to 15 minutes to simulate timeouts in a sporting event which is what I video.  (Battery and camera were noticeably warm to the touch afterwards so I know it pulls significant power.)

[pawl]

Wow, that's good news (assuming the test you ran last night was, in fact, with the 3rd party battery you mentioned in first paragraph).

[dswansonil]

Sorry for the confusion but my test was the Canon battery.  Since I didn't turn the camera on and off (only stopped and started video) or do any zooming during the video, I think my results of about 1 hour are in line with the previously posted specs for what I recall was described as Video 2.  That's why I asked the question. 

If the 1600 maH 3rd party battery would increase that to 1.5 hours, then I might reconsider keeping the SX280.

[scupking]

I don't see how you are getting 1 hour of battery life when Canon says 25 minutes. I can't even get 25 minutes. I get 20 minutes with zooming in and out about 6 times. I also have one of those 3rd party batteries and it acts the same as the stock one... I would love an hour or hour and a half battery life..

[videophan]

For what it's worth, SX280 owners already have a utility and instructions for updating firmware  (see screenshot below). It is within CameraWindow, part of the software that came with the camera. If the "documented successful repairs" are merely  firmware updates as was related to a fairly prominent camera reviewer, why would anyone have to send their camera in to be repaired?

[RCJ]

Videophan: Yes, I noted the same thing. If it's a firmware fix, this would be the obvious way to install. I also show v. 1.0.0.

[pawl]

I would guess that Canon is [rightfully] willing to repair/update a camera before a firmware update is available for download. I don't know anything about the process of firmware updates, but there may be a more challenging step between having an update and configuring it for public, remote access(?)