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[andthebeatgoeson]

I ordered a Canon A310 on the cheap from Amazon. It was $150 or something. I had heard Canon's are pretty decent and after getting the package today, I started to fall in love...

Up until an hour ago. I popped in the 2 AA batteries that came with it and started to take a few pics. After about 20 shots, the batteries went dead. Hmm...

I thought it was just old batteries and there was no way the batteries would die after 2 hours of dicking around and shooting 20 shots, right? RIGHT?

Pop out those batteries and pop in some brand-new duracells. Manual mentions that the batteries should last for up to 70 shots. Mentions nothing about LCD use or whathave you. Does mention I should buy a AC adapter when I am downloading pictures onto my computer to save batteries. Which sounds theoretically fine, until you realize that plenty of times, you may want to take a few pics, d/l them and check them out or upload them to the computer.

To clearly define what I did over the past 2 hours:
Checked out most of the settings.
Took 25 pictures, tops.
Transferred them 3 times, since I am just figuring out how to use the software.

As I sit hear feeling like a beaten housewife for not putting any steaksauce on the steak and making sure the beer was distinctly chilled to 4.5 degrees Celcius, I wonder where I went wrong? Was it the 3 transfers? Should I buy the AC adapter since I envision myself playing around with the camera, taking a few pics and transferring plenty of times (engineers are overrated...did they not see this coming? Seriously, WTF are they doing?) Or should I kick myself for not buying a camera with a rechargeable internal battery (again, WTF? Is this not a given or am I asking too much? Engineers...again...hello, McFly?)

Ultimate question:
Do I need to send this back and just shell out the bucks for a better camera? I liked everything about it, including the megapixels (I don't need more & I'll never print out anything bigger than 8X11), simplicity and options and price, especially the price. But this will suck if I have to change batteries twice a day on vacations. They talk so much about rechargeable batteries but this fucker will cause me to charge up 14 different sets. If I do enough transferring to my computer. And now, down 2 sets of batteries, I am not so sure it was the transferring, unless they sent me two half dead batteries.

I think I will pop in another set, take a bunch of pictures on the settings I like and see how long it takes me to kill the batteries. I'm worried that it'll die out in 30 shots. That fucking blows. Really fucking blows. Actually, I was all set to blow thru a set after30-40 shots but the fact that 1-3 transfers may kill another set, is a kick to the crotch. I am reasoning that a 1 week vacation with 50-70 camera shots, all the usage with viewing them on the LCD screen and transfering to the comp, will eat thru 4, maybe 5 sets of batteries?

$32 for the AC adaptor and $48 for the rechargeable battery set from Canon. WTF? Fuck you, bastards.

 

[Malakhov]

I have a Canon Powershot a70 and I don't have this problem. Don't let the screen on all the time though, just for when taking pictures, that drains a lot of battery power.

I dunno though, I went to a wedding with the camera once and took about 90 or so pictures and a couple of movies with brand new batteries and they were still running after all that. Never used the a310 camera though.

 

[andthebeatgoeson]

Here's the lil vixen, right now. Plotting to slit my throat. She knows I want her.......

The bitch.

 

[Phoenix]

If you're leaving the LCD on and not just using it for 5-10 second previews after the photos - yes, expect the batteries (especially two regular AAs) to die pretty quickly.

 

[Pimpwerx]

Pfft, duh. Regular alkaline batteries are garbage. Do yourself a favor. Hop on over to Battery Space or any other online store that sells rechargeables, and grab yourself a pack of NiMH batteries and a charger. I got this one. a while back, and it works great. The batteries outlast everything, and they're rechargeable. A 24pack is pretty cheap, and you can be happy knowing you have a large number of AA batts for any purpose, and they'll last longer and stronger than regular store batteries. Without these, I don't think I'd ever really use my camera. Digital cameras eat batteries as a rule. Get used to it. PEACE.

 

[andthebeatgoeson]

Tops, I have the preview on for 4 seconds. Maybe I should turn off the preview but I do like the LCD on. It has the view finder but to me, it's a digital camera. I would feel gipped if I couldn't use the LCD as a viewfinder. I'll hold out on taking it back until after the weekend. I'll be out and about with this thing, seeing how the batteries last. Then, early next week, I'll either buy the AC adapter, since the transfers seem like a battery drain.

I kinda see myself using my computer as a large memory card and will probably want to transfer, a lot.

Now, I wonder if I saved any money now that the AC adaptor and possibly, the rechargeable batteries will suck so more money out of me. I never liked rechargeable batteries. They cost more, end up losing some of their capacity and unless you use them constantly for quite a few appliances, I doubt you save much money. A pack of 10 batteries probably run $8. That'll give me, a few months of use, given that I will be using the camera extensively, once a month. Actually, it may get me 5-6 months of use. If I buy a big pack from Wal Mart, I could easily get six months of batteries out of it. I think it would take me 3-4 years to cover the cost from a $40 recharger and the batteries that come with it. And there is the simple point that if rechargeable batteries were that much of a deal, why do regular batteries still sell.

Fuck it, I'll just buy the ac adaptor or send it back. Fuckin Canon.

 

[maharg]

Use NiMH or Lithium depending on what the manual says is acceptable. NiCad and Alkaline tend to do very poorly in cameras. They don't deal well with rapid discharges, like a flash requires. And NiMH and Lithium last longer.

 

[andthebeatgoeson]

Pfft, duh. Regular alkaline batteries are garbage. Do yourself a favor. Hop on over to Battery Space or any other online store that sells rechargeables, and grab yourself a pack of NiMH batteries and a charger. I got this one. a while back, and it works great. The batteries outlast everything, and they're rechargeable. A 24pack is pretty cheap, and you can be happy knowing you have a large number of AA batts for any purpose, and they'll last longer and stronger than regular store batteries. Without these, I don't think I'd ever really use my camera. Digital cameras eat batteries as a rule. Get used to it. PEACE.

Damn it. But that price isn't bad. How's the store? Safe, dependable?