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.

[peterdev]

@loveAZ -

I have just taken some pics with the 5Dmk3, T3i and the challenged sx280.

The 5d3 is in a class of its own but comparing the T3i @ 18 Mp and the sx280 @ 12 Mp, adjusting for the 18 to 12 Mp resolution - the sx280 results are - not sure how to express this in critical photography terms - quite amazing.

So - for the record - I have decided to get 2 more batteries and keepo the sx280 for its excellent still photo results.

I bought this  sx280 through Amazon - and they are the company that defines the present and future of consumer commerce.

Good luck with your sx280s, sx50s, and the future sx700.......

[peterdev]

@loveAZ

I understand all your frustration with the sx280 - but - I think you need to consider more than battery life in the evaluation of a camera. I know nothing about the Sony camera you quote - but I have to say that the still pics from the sx280 that I have are comparable to my T3i, and in some situations come close to pictures from a 5D3.

I fully understand the frustration/anger from the purchaser from Germany - but just ask him what his country's icon brand did with the Porsche IMS failure. Please google this - it cost me $25500. His Japanese camera problem cost him $220.

I will never buy another German car again - and he should probably never buy another Japanese camera again - maybe he should buy his daughter a Leica...................

[MarioV]

Thanks for this bkoldys.

Annoying, but at least you can take a decent amount of video.  My 280 could only take about 6 mins of video before shutting itself down.

I can put up with the blinking if I know I can get at least 20+ minutes of 1080p60 video initially..  assuming the video quality and photo quality is very good.  The only sample I've seen which shows good image quality is the one from Canon's site:

http://www.usa.canon.com/cusa/consumer/products/cameras/digital_cameras/powershot_sx700_hs#SampleIma...

For those who are wondering about the Sonys: Great battery life and very good video quality.  But image quality is a bit hit and miss with its noisy sensor and overcrowding of pixels.

The other camera up for consideration is the Panasonic TZ60/ZS40.

bkoldys, if you are able to upload photos and videos somewhere, that would be very much appreciated.

Thanks,

Mario

[JKS3]

Here is an update to my SX280.

I just bought two compatible batteries for the camera, they are branded "Octopus Platinum", 950mah. I put one in and here's what I could do with it.

Record two clips about 6 minutes each. No flashing light. Record one more 6 minute clip, no light. Record another, flashing came on after about 2.5 minutes of recording.

So about the same performance as the NB-6L if used in the camera fresh off the charger.

I was then able to record another 2.5 minute clip but the camera auto shut off when I used zoom at that point.
Turning it on again, I was able to record for another 5 minutes with the icon flashing, no zoom. Using the zoom shuts it off. Thankfully, video is saved before it switches off.

Now that I have come to be more familiar with the camera, I must say I like the quality of the videos it can produce. The pictures are nice too, especially when I use it with i-contrast on.

So, with 3 batteries (the two compatibles were on sale so were quite cheap), I should be good for at least an hour of video and hundreds of photos.

I do not know if it makes a difference but mine is made in Japan.

[bradmoss]

There is one thing the people posting how much the SX280 with fresh batteries can record are forgetting.

When you are actually using the camera, your batteries seldom will have the full charge, your will have just the battery light indicator. So you will check the indicator and even as it will mark a full charge, the battery won't be fully charged. That will be an actual situation, when you probably will only get 1 minute recording before it shuts down.

[JKS3]

@bradmoss, I can't speak for the others but I am well aware of this fact. So I have to keep track of just how many minutes I've recorded. So far, I think the camera meets what's stated in the manual, about 25 minutes of video under normal operations (zooming, on/off and other operations). I have not and do not wish to test the straight recording (no zooming) claims of up to an hour. In no way am I defending this or Canon, as I said before, I shan't be recommending it to anyone or buy another Canon for that matter. And if it turned off after a few minutes even with fresh batteries like reported by some, I'd have returned it too. Still have a few days to test it in case that problem manifests after a while. Hope not.

BTW I was able to record another 18.5 minutes of video (straight recording, no pauses or on/off) before the camera shut off. Giving a total of about 49-50 minutes of video. The camera can still take stills but no more video (shuts down after a few seconds). At this point, I'd stop doing any recording altogether and switch batteries if I wanted to take anymore video.

[Bluestar48]

I can’t understand why some are trying so hard to blind themselves and to convince themselves at believing that the camera may be ok or they can find a trick to cure it when it is fundamentally flawed and there is no fix and there are so many cameras out there that you can trust. 

[bradmoss]

Mine definetly won't go more that 2-3 minutes, 25 minutes would make it an outstanding camera.

[JKS3]

@brad, That is worse than bad, can understand your frustration. I'd be really mad too. I would have sent it back immediately, assuming you could have. If people are getting such terrible times on theirs, and I am getting 49-50 minutes total on a compatible battery no less, then I think I really shouldn't be complaining at all, blinking icon or not! Maybe I was just lucky to get a good unit? The 6th number in the serial is a 5 and it's made in Japan, not Malaysia. Whatever it is, I wouldn't recommend it to anyone if the percentage of lemons is this high!!

[bradmoss]

you can't complain, be sure of that!