New AA Alkaline batteries - camera says they are dead and shuts down

[davester]

That's a lovely chart, but it is comparing the batteries using a low constant current drain. Cameras are high current drain devices so the chart would look very different if a high constant drain was used. The different batteries behave very differently under different current drain rates.

[freeradical]

Half an amp is low current drain?

:facepalm:

[olnacl]

The reason I buy Canon and other cameras that use AA batteries is because the batteries are always available and generally don't self discharge. I have sever cameras with rechargeable Lion batteries and as I use my camera somewhat infrequently and on the spur of the moment, those cameras usually have dead or low batteries. I've used various Canon camera for the past 10 years without issues, generally using eneloops when I anticipate using the camera but carrying a set or two of Alkalines as backup.

I do believe it is a battery problem - the Ray-0-vacs in particular because of the history. In the case of the A570is, there is considerable reporting of the particular issue I had, but, as I mentioned, I've taken several pictures with the camera using the fresh Duracells and it's still clicking and flashing away, so maybe it was the batteries and not the camera. Only more time will tell the tale.

Anyway, this was supposed to be a battery thread and not necessarily a camera thread although they are intertwined.

Thanks to all for the information. I believe I will buy one of those battery testers I read about thanks to the post responses..

[davester]

freeradical wrote:
Half an amp is low current drain?

:facepalm:

It's not that high. Anything with under about 600 mA drain (toys, standard flashlights, radios, etc) is considered a low to moderate current drain device http://support.radioshack.com/support_tu.../67363.htm . High drain devices often run at 1,000 mA or more, which alkaline batteries cannot sustain. http://www.batteryshowdown.com/results-hi.html . Alkaline battery capacity is much more dependent on current drain rate than most other battery types.

[SDGuy]

just get some Eneloops and be done with it...save the alkalines for something else (external flash, flashlight, remotes, etc.)

[Grateful11]

I prefer my NiZn AA's but when we need reg. AA's we've found that Sam's Club
AA's perform as good or better than most and they're made in USA.

[Racer X]

olnacl wrote:
To respond to a couple questions: the new Ray-o-vacs measure 1.60 v while the new Duracell measure 1.62 on a multimeter. Question would be, what do they measure under load? I suppose there is a battery tester that applies a load, but I don't have one. Maybe when I have more time, I'll rig something up so I can check the voltage under a load - just add a resistor, light bulb or the like I suppose. Maybe a trip to the rat Shack is in order.

BTW, it IS a Canon A570is, but I got the same experience from a new (to me) reconditioned Samsung

My A 570is does this too. Newer cameras, Nikon L series for example, have a setting to tell it you are using alkaline vs NiMH batteries, so it compensates when it checks battery charge state.

That A570 is getting pretty old for a digital P/S.

[Jack D.]

Batteries draining quickly are also a symptom of a bad or soon to be bad flash capacitor. I had two Canon S1 IS cameras and they both had the bad cap problem.

[MrNoBody]

cbelt3 wrote:
olnacl-

Sadly the Ray-O-Vac batteries ARE "Cheap Batteries" these days. I would not be surprised if they were low quality. I avoid them.

:agree:
My personal experience, Rayovac are the worst alkalines I've ever tried.

[Michael]

As my Eneloops started to get weak, I put some Rayovac alkalines in my Canon and had exactly the same thing happen. My old and decrepit Eneloops are much better.