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.

[pawl]

Dumb question, but can we use higher power batteries in the 280?

[bkoldys]

Thats a good question. I have ordered some 1600 MA NB-6L replacement batteries from Amazon. Should have

them in a day or so. That was my line of thinking. So at least I will have a handful of batteries. I will see if they make

any difference

[filipb]

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@bkoldys wrote:

Thats a good question. I have ordered some 1600 MA NB-6L replacement batteries from Amazon. Should have

them in a day or so. That was my line of thinking. So at least I will have a handful of batteries. I will see if they make

any difference

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Very interesting experiment!  Keep us posted ...

[dswansonil]

Yes, I agree.  There are a similar replacement batteries for the HX50V and the ZS30 at 1600 and 1700 Mah respectively.  They all ought to provide proportional increases over the standard batteries and it would be nice to see some real world data.

[bkoldys]

Coming today, will charge one up and post tonight.

[RCJ]

People have been using higher-rated replacement batteries throughout this process. I'm using a Wasabi 1300 ma battery that works fine. Not sure if it lasts longer than the OEM, but both are basically getting me through a day of shooting after the firmware upgrade. 

[dswansonil]

My focus has been on video so what I'd really like would be an a vs b comparision of the 1080p video shooting time with maybe a couple of zooms and a couple of full camera shut downs. Any comparison would be good though.

[ThomasDavies]

Should i buy this camera? Is it worth the money??

[bkoldys]

Only my opinion. I love the camera pictures, zoom and takes gorgeous video. That being said, with

the battery problems unresolved I would hold off, pick another brand or go for the SX260HS, which was the predecessor. Since I am past the return date I am wedded to this camera. The current battery instability (no pun intended) is past unacceptable.

[UnionStation]

thomasdavies, lots of us have returned this camera because it failed to live up to expectations. A lot of the good people in this group are hanging on either because they're past the return window, or are earnestly hoping Canon will make good on what its advertising promises. My advice is that the sx280 is not worth the hassle.