I have a Pentax istD that I have used for about a year. The batteries that came with it lasted for about 10 months, but since then the camera has being eating batteries like candy. I have used AA NiMH rechargeables and lithium batteries. The AAs last a few days and the most recent lithium batteries lasted about a week and 60+/- exposures. Do I have a battery problem, or camera problem? If I have a camera problem, I need to act quickly to get any repairs done on warranty.

I know from many of the photos posted on this site that there are many digital camera buffs on this Board, and I hope to gain from your experience. If this discussion has taken place before, could you please direct me to the right archive?

Thanks,
Wooly

The batteries have a certain self discharge rate , that is they will discharge just sitting there.For NiMH If I haven't used them in a month or more I recharge them.I'm not familiar with your camera .For mine I have LCD screen, zoom lens,stabilizer .All of these eat up power !!I rarely use the LCD screen on my Sony H-1 but do often use the zoom and stabilizer. I always start out with a freshly charged pair of batteries but carry at least one extra set with me. NiMH AA size batteries started out as 900mAh but battery developments have raised that to as high as 2700 mAh !! Get good ones!They can be recharged many times so will last ,just carry extras.

If you preview all your photos on the LCD screen that will eat battery life like mad. Thats why I don't do it.

quote:

Originally posted by D Humbarger:
If you preview all your photos on the LCD screen that will eat battery life like mad. Thats why I don't do it.

Well, that's good to know. I do that a lot. I won't in the future.

Higher resolution photos burn more battery too. Basically, the down-side of digital photog. is that the cameras use up batteries pretty fast.

But they're working on it.

I have a Sony, 3.3 megapixal, probbly 8 yrs old. Rechargable battery and it runs fine. I use it a lot.

quote:

Originally posted by Wooly ESS:
Do I have a battery problem, or camera problem?

Wooly-

The Pentax cameras have a reputation as using batteries quicker than "average".

So, it's not really a camera or battery "problem", just something to know and be prepared for.

On a side note, I was just reading the new Popular Photography yesterday where they reviewed the new Pentax K1000D. They kept referring back to the *ist for comparison. They seemed quite impressed with the *ist from the sounds of it.