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]

I hope you will detail what the firmware update specifically addresses and what changes in performance or functionality are to be expected.

[canonuser4]

Jessica, can you please tell us what the firmware will be addressing? No more flashing low battery light, I assume. What about battery life?

I have little time left where I can return the camera. If I don't know what will be addressed I will be returning it.

Thanks for your response.

[Davy]

There is one thing to note about batteries that hasn't been mentioned here.

L ion batteries just like NiCads require three or four complete charge and discharge cycles before the full battery capacity can be utilized.

Compare the number of still shots that can be taken on a brand spanking new battery, then compare again after a few normal charge discharge cycles. Only then will one will one be able to draw 700mA for one hour, providing of course it is a 700mA/hr battery.

To simplify this, one would expect more pictures to be taken after the battery has had a few recharges... or  the running time will last longer when using movies.

This NO WAY is the cause of the level meter problem:

As already mentioned using a battery with a higher capacity, ie 1.8A/hr  (same as 1800mA/hr) for example, will obviously last much longer because it has a higher capacity.

Unlike NiCads L-ion don't have the memory problem like Ni-cads when recharging before they need it, L-ion holds the charge far longer than nicads.

Thought I'd just mention the point.

Dave

[denver80237]

I'm just putting in my two cents.  

I don't think this is just a video issue. It seems to me that the camera doesn't actually know how to use the battery properly at all.  For example.  I drained it all the way down by shooting video.  It turned itself off.  I turned it back on and took more than 200 pictures.  Tried to go back to video, died instantly.  Turned it back on again got another 100 pictures.  Died.  Back on again, took another 50 pictures.  died.  back on - 28 pictures.  died. back on - 7 pictures.  so my battery may finally be "dead dead."

There seems like absolutely no way that I should be able to take 400+ pictures after the battery dies from video.  If it has that much battery left, let me keep using it for video. So again, I don't think this is just a video thing.

I think it's a battery thing overall. 

[scupking]

I also agree that this camera does not no how to use battery management at all.

[filipb]

Yes, after using the camera for a while I noticed that in fact the indicator problem also arises when I just use the still modes for a while!  It is just not so dramatic as in video mode ...

And of course the auto turn-off feature is solely based on the indicator, not on a feature where the processor would notice its own malfunctioning.  So "actual" battery life is mixed in with this, not only annoying indicator problem!

Besides all this, it may be true that battery is full enough to do stills, but not for video anymore.  If that is the case, the camera should indicate this in a totally different way, not?

Regards,

Filip.

[filipb]

I.e. graceful degradation is the feature I have in mind - it could also include: no flash anymore, or special effects anymore, etc.

But does it exist in camera's at all?  Am I asking the impossible?  It seems to ask for a totally different software design, not something that can be fixed later on, I guess ...

[filipb]

E.g. my Samsung mobile phone (very simple device on purpose - I don't want a smart phone) does not allow me certain things when the battery is almost empty, like playing games etc.

[videophan]

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@filipb wrote:

Yes, after using the camera for a while I noticed that in fact the indicator problem also arises when I just use the still modes for a while!  It is just not so dramatic as in video mode ...

---

I agree that there is some odd battery level indicator issues in other modes. For example, in P mode, I turn the camera on and the level indicator indicates one bar; zoom into 5x and the battery level starts flashing red; press the shutter button halfway and the camera shuts down with "recharge battery" indicator. I would assume with one bar, I could take at least one picture no matter what operations I do to frame before I shoot. I can almost understand that zooming may take the battery to a critical level assuming the one bar indicator was about to change anyway, but then no power left to auto focus????

I could live with these small quirks and they are somewhat minor in comparison to the larger issue regarding movie mode.

[UnionStation]

I was puzzled because my camera was draining and dying, and others seemed to only be able to turn their cameras off and on and get back in the game. Shooting video, my camera died and when I turned it back on, it would die immediately when I tried to shoot video (as opposed to shooting photos instead). It did seem certain settings and combinations of photo/video drained the battery faster than others.

If you're happy with your Canon and will wait until the bitter end for an update to magically fix all the problems this camera has, please read no more.

For those debating whether you can do better, I suggest you can and should.

Prodded by the steep price drop and other reports about how great the sx280's photo and video quality are, I went ahead and got another one to test head to head with the Nikon point-and-shoot I just bought. I know I'm going to get a lot of flack for this, but the Canon wasn't even close. Taking photos side by side with the same aperture, shutter and ISO settings, the Canon's photo and video were both noticeably washed out, and the detail was noticeably grainy - especially in the shadow detail (on photos taken both inside and outside).

This camera is not worthy of the Canon name - or your money.