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.

[bradmoss]

you can't complain, be sure of that!

[MarioV]

JKS3 is certainly very lucky to get a good SX280 sample (assuming 49-50 mins includes zooming).  Not only did I have the poor battery life (but nice video quality), but the image quality was nothing like all the reviews that I read with the excellent photo samples.  Mine gave noisy photos even in sunlight.

If the battery is improved in the SX700, I would advise people to bring an SD card into the store and take photos and video to check the quality first.

You could bring 2 SD cards and do the same with the Panasonic TZ60/ZS40.

[JKS3]

MarioV,
I can only use zoom in the first 20 or so minutes. I was able to continue recording about 5-8 more minutes with zoom with the icon and a single 18 minute clip without zoom after the flashing battery icon appeared.

I totaled all the video I took with the fully charged compatible battery (Octopus Platinum 950mAh) and came up to about 50.5 minutes (I put the videos all into an editor for the total). After this amount of video, the camera won't go on anymore for videos. I was then able to take around 20 photos, then the icon warns of shut down in stills mode.

I downloaded the pdf manual and read the video specs, this is definitely more or less like what's claimed in the manual so yes, I now realize just how lucky I am after reading more about other people's experiences with this camera.

[Davy]

@ MarioV

I wouldn't say a 60mA/Hr increase is a dramatic improvement, nothing to write home about really.... but Canon must have concerns in using a..... er, slightly bigger battery.  It doesn't impress me, read between the lines.

What you need be concerned about is should it go faulty and you send it back - You don't want to be getting a refurbished one do you? I don't.

Dave

[UnionStation]

I just took an overseas trip with a Nikon and took all kinds of great photos and videos without having to be a human battery meter. When the low battery light on my camera flashed, I knew my battery was low and it was time to pop in a new one. I don't understand how some people have brainwashed themselves into believing they can't live wthout a Canon. If Canon releases a better camera, *maybe* I'll think about going back. But it seems that bkoldys has given us reason to believe that sx700 owners are about to get the same runaround we've been getting since April 2013.

[loveAZ]

As  CANON  is reading your postings everyday but not replying (notice they reply on the other topics),   I  too cannot believe that there are purchasers who although still have a few days to return this piece of junk they have not done so.  I took an amazing picture of the moon's craters last night and even the stars surrounding the moon came out excellent  ( with the tiny SONY HX50V  30X zoom) and I know the CANON SX280  I had would had never been able to take such a quality picture. The pictures I was looking at back then were prety average for the most part  ( even with the low megapixels of Canon)  and some actually had come out blurry. But the video recording definitelly makes the SX280 a lemon even at $150 to $180...

[peterdev]

@loveAZ

Please could you help me understand why you are still taking the trouble to spend time on this Canon board when you have already disposed of your Canon camera and bought a Sony?

You seem to be directing your comments at me and I do not appreciate it.

How can you possibly make a comparison between a picture you took with your Sony and a picture that you imagined you would have taken with your sx280 if you still had it.

You have zero objectivity.

You have zero credibility

[UnionStation]

Actually, I think loveAZ was not directing comments at any particular poster, and has great credibility. Read back over the last few months, and you'll see that loveAZ has been quite constructive in a conversation that is still going strong almost a year after it first started. Those of us who have plunked down money on this camera and wasted time looking for a fix have earned the absolute right to be here and add our two cents - and hopefully save our fellow consumers the time and hassle we've all wasted. As far as objectivity goes, i think loveAZ is no less or more biased than those who are willing to stand by this lemon of a camera just because it bears the Canon name.

[loveAZ]

Thank you 

[Bluestar48]

I will definitely keep an eye on the Canon PowerShot SX700 HS, scrutinize all the feebacks over weeks and weeks before making any decision. One thing for sure, I am not going to jump early on that one, I don't want to repeat the bitter experience of the SX280 and Canon can no more be trusted to serve you well if the camera has some inherent flaw. They will mostly turn their back and ignore.