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.

[UnionStation]

A lot of people here have disagreed with me, Peterdev, but I did not find the stills taken by the SX280 to be all that great. I found them to be grainy, too contrasty, and a little bit soft – even in perfect lighting situations. The shooting menus are not all that well laid out, and the software is all but useless. Then there's the GPS – a total battery drainer. You can do a lot better than this camera for the same price – and even get something to shoot video.

[glisten]

@Peterdev,

The pictures that I could take with my SX280 were nearly identical to my Canon 60D. Not sure if that means my 60D was overpriced or the SX280 punches above its weight. When the SX280 worked, I liked it. A lot. Loads of features. GPS, good zoom, big screen, easy to use.

Unfortunately, even in still mode, my camera would petulantly shut down after 2 seconds to 2 minutes on any given day. That was with a freshly charged Canon battery and a spare Canon battery as well. The problem was intermittent. About 2 of 3 days it would work perfectly. But about 1/3 of the time it had this problem. It was maddening as most intermittent problems are. Worse, the camera completely bricked about two weeks ago.

Bottom line, it was unreliable. It was like a beautiful car with loads of features that you could not rely on. If you turned the key you might go where you wanted to in great style or you might be stuck in your driveway.

I sent mine back without any real hope that Canon will be able to fix it. My anticipation is that it will be sent back with some non-diagnosis like, "Could not replicate the user's experience." At least I tried.

My recommendation is to avoid this particular camera. Other Canon cameras and other manufacturers are out there. I have no doubt you will find a camera that will serve you, just not the SX280.

[Davy]

I wonder how  the new SX700 will compare,  they've upgraded the battery folks by 60mA - big deal, a midgets whisker carries a bigger punch.

What I am definately against is being sent a refurbished unit when you send one in under warranty - 'I' want a NEW camera not one that belonged to someone else that has been 'doctered'.

Fairly and squarely Canon has lost the plot.... they didn't put the SX270/280 through their paces did they? Their QC, testers call them what you will, must have been asleep on the job.

Canon USA, Canon UK or Canon anywhere else is not to blame these folks are only doing as they are told to keep their jobs, it's the Canon HQ heirachy for allowing this to happen - what would you do if you  had worked for Canon? These folks start speaking out there will be no one at Canon.... they are a team and the whole team has been let down by their managers.

I can only think the reason being for such an astrocity is the SX270/280 being a rush job, to keep up with their competitors, because no company would knowingly realse a 'dodgy product' it's a gamble that failed, a gamble that will affect future sales.

Sorry I won't be rushing out to buy the SX700, I doubt many other folks would hang fire too, standby for 'dodgy reviews'.

Dave

[bradmoss]

What I can't definetly understand is this thread located at Canon's website??

Canon allows us to share our bad feelings about their product, we ask them for a solution, we conclude they have not one but they still have this thread as he more visited and posted into in all their website.

Can anybody understand why is this thread here??

[glisten]

Bradmoss,

Agree. It is interesting that they let this thread continue. I have no explanation for that.

[peterdev]

I appreciate the replies and interesting perspectives on this well worn and frustrating subject. I am going to go out this afternoon to take photos at a bird sanctuary along with a Canon SLR and some L lenses. I have just been sitting here thinking about all the Canon cameras I have bought for myself and my family - and the experiences I have had. I still have 4 Powershots for underwater photography, and 2 slrs - and at this stage I am not sure I can learn a new menu and camera operating system. I have seriously thought about buying one of the minimalist cameras that you operate with knobs and buttons, but so far have stuck with Canon because I know every detail of how to operate it.

I am also baffled as to why Canon has approached this problem in this way, and in my view you definitely cannot attribute it to the Japanese business culture. We did however see Toyota not address problems on a global scale that eventually they were forced to recall and resolve.

Big Brand companies going quiet when they have big problems is not unprecedented - google IMS Engine failure, or MR2 precat problem - and see how Porsche and Toyota denied/ignored design defects that cause catastrophic engine failures.....

I will get back on what my sx280 still pics look like later in the week. 

[peterdev]

Went out yesterday with the SX280 and took 140 pictures. Camera shut down on me twice - first time when zooming a few times to find my subject in bright light after 40 pictures, and again at 130 pictures - again from zooming. Most of the pics were at full zoom of birds and had some difficulty finding the subject on the screen because of the bright sunlight. (This makes me think that the sx700 with its higher zoom power will be even more difficult to zoom onto subjects, and maybe cameras with greater than 20X should have a viewfinder to avoid this problem.

Aside from these challenges - the actual picture quality exceeded my expectations. Examining them at 100% - most of them were in perfectly focused with great definition - even the thin contrasty feathers were well defined. Color was warm and accurate on a calibrated NEC screen. So I think the combination of the lens, sensor, and digic 6 processor produce excellent results. I had to throw away 10 pics due to focus issues and an additional 10 due to light/dark dynamic range issues.

My dilemma now is - do I return the camera in the 30 day grace period, or do I buy another battery and always have it in reserve for the first time the camera shuts down due to battery overload.

What advice??

[loveAZ]

You should not  accept a deffective product.   I never had this issue while taking pictures,  only on video.  I returned mine and got the SONY with 30X zoom and 20MP   ( HX50V).  Works great - still have not used the extra batteries and fits in my shorts.  Your pic looks good at 100% because the CANON is only 12MP.  I had to reduce ths size to 10MP in the SONY to achieve similar result (this is the only bad thing I noticed with the SONY).  I must also admit that I was not thrilled with the quality of the pics  with the deffective CANON.  If you want to stay at that price range, try the NIKON S9500  - I was surprised at how good the pics came out and the video was great too - it is only 20X but makes circles around the CANON, however it is fully automatic.If it weren't for the SONY's 30X I would had gone with the NIKON.

[JKS3]

Just wanted to add my two cents. I just bought this camera, without doing a more thorough research into the battery problem.

The serial number on mine has a 5 as the 6th number. I have not updated anything on it but I suppose it already has the latest firmware.

When I first put in the fully charged battery, I was able to shoot a total of about 10 minutes of video with zoom (separate clips, the longest was 5+ minutes) before the dreaded red flashing icon appeared.

It appeared after using zoom. Then, after switching off the camera, I was able to record more clips (about 6 minutes long) without the flashing icon reappearing provided I didn't use zoom. However, soon as I touched the zoom rocker by accident, the flashing icon appeared! Thankfully, it has not died suddenly in the middle of recording like many have reported.

Initially, I wanted to return it but since I got it for a good price (about USD200 with shipping via international courier from HK), I've decided to keep it. I got it mainly to complement my mirrorless ILC camera. I think it takes really nice videos for a compact, so it's a pity the battery issue is there.

The reason why I am keeping it is because, I don't take a lot of videos and if I do, I take only 1-3 minute clips and at most 5 minutes. Not being able to use zoom while recording (the icon would appear and camera's uptime would then become unpredictable) is a real pity but not a deal breaker for me.

It really sucks that Canon put this camera out on the market with this glaring problem. Fortunately, prices have come down significantly and if you are well aware of the problems and can live with them, I think it's a really good value as a stills camera (with the occasional 1 or 2 minute clip) at current bargain prices.

EDIT: Just wanted to add that after a total of about 15 minutes of video,the icon appears a lot sooner, less than a minute of recording and it starts flashing. The icon would appear within 7 or 8 seconds of recording after more clips and when this happens, I feel it was best not to go over 2 minutes per clip. I didn't record long enough for the camera to shut down automatically.

Also, I wanted to add to what I said about keeping the camera. That is just me, I decided to keep it simply because I don't do a lot of videos and I think it was a good deal. I like the 20x zoom and the image quality as a backup camera satisfies me. Also, it's a hassle to return it to HK. Would I recommend it to anyone though? On second thought, NO!

Based on how Canon is treating its customers (SX280 buyers) and has chosen to ignore this problem and continue to market this half baked camera, this will be my only Canon camera and LAST Canon cam too.

[JKS3]

Can you return it for a refund? Honestly, I'd go crazy if the camera took just 150 shots and shut down on me. If I were you, I'd send it back and never look at another Canon cam! Just because of how they've been treating this issue. That is assuming you could get a full refund and it was a no-hassle return.

I was able to take about 23 minutes worth of Full HD video and a further 10 minutes of HD video with mine, all the while with the icon flashing (it appeared within seconds after shooting a total of about 15-20 minutes of video). The battery has two bars now (in stills mode) after shooting about 33 minutes of video clips. The longest single clip is about 10 minutes (HD). I suppose battery life would be much more unpredictable and possibly significantly shorter if I used a compatible battery. Since I've decided to keep mine as videos are not the main reason why I bought this, I will need to load up on batteries.

Does the video quality - HD/Full HD - affect battery life?