I'd contact Canon and ask for help- they might be able to offer a solution, (firmware?) or replace the camera. It could also be the memory card itself; try replacing it and see if that helps.

Worst case you say no thanks and use that money to get another camera, which is probably the better option anyway. Check out the Panasonic FH20. 8x optical zoom, shoots hd video. Under $180, iirc.

Yes. Every camera has a time out feature which turns off the LCD and puts it to sleep in order to save battery power. You may be able to change the time out in your menu settings.

Probably the memory card write protect tab has been enabled. Take the card out and flip the tiny white switch to the unlocked position. While the card is out, turn the camera on and reset it. You should be back in business. If not, your friend owes you a camera repair.

Could be batteries, dirty battery contacts, this is most likely it. Clean your battery contacts, and replace the batteries with stronger batteries.

This is a fairly easy procedure which involves either going into your setup menu and choosing "reset" (or intialize), holding down the menu key for 5 seconds, or, removing the batteries for a few minutes.

Well it's not going to be cheap. In fact, it'll probably cost more to repair than the camera is worth. The average cost of a camera repair is around $180. The rule of thumb is that if the estimate for repair is north of 50% what you paid for it, you're better off taking that money and buying a newer and upgraded model.

First off, don't hit the camera. That won't help. Check the battery contacts to see if they're smudged or dirty. Clean them with a pencil eraser. Use a USB card reader and transfer the pictures onto your PC with it. Much easier than dealing with connection issues. Lastly, change the batteries. Even though you changed the batteries, they may not be powerful enough. Today's cameras require much more power. Regular daily batteries don't cut it. Alkalines won't even make it unless they have an "mAh" rating of at least 2500. Lastly, you may have condensation inside the camera which is causing power up issues. YOu can always place the camera in a zip lock with a cup of uncooked rice. The rice will act as a desiccant to draw out the moisture in the camera. Lastly, try taking the card out and power it up empty. If it turns on, then I'd say there's a short somewhere.



Outside of these things, and if you can't reset the camera, you may need to send it in for repair.

Snarky responses are no way to be part of a community, George. And it only reflects poorly on you.

It means that the camera is having trouble reading that sector of the memory card. It's not uncommon. One minute you can read it and the next, it has trouble. Remove the card and then reseat it. If it still has trouble, I would plug the card into a USB card reader and then get all the pictures off that card. Then format the card over. But if you can't read the card with a reader, then I'd suggest using a card recovery utility like F-Recovery to get back your pictures and recover the card. they do get corrupted sometimes. One of the reasons why it's a good idea to have a few backups.

That can happen. If you alter a picture and then save it, its strips away the meta data and replaces it which could cause problems when the camera goes to read it. It may read it once or every so often intermittently.

First thing I would do is reset your camera. This can be easily done by choosing "reset" in the menu settings. Next, I would go to Canon's website and see if there's a firmware update. It may be that the firmware is corrupted and doing these two things will help it to run smoother. Next, I would use batteries with an mAh over 2500 and make sure the battery contacts are clean (use a pencil eraser for this).



If these things don't work, it may be that you've taking this camera to the point where the hard life has taken it's toll. It would probably cost more to fix than it's really worth (rule of thumb is that if it costs over 50% to repair, you're better off buying a new one).

Then I think your only other option is to send it in for a repair estimate. It may be a simple fix.

But understand that without warranty coverage the average cost of a camera repair is around $180. As such, it may cost more to repair than it is really worth. The rule of thumb is that if the estimate for repair is north of 50% what you paid for it, you're better off taking that money and buying a newer and upgraded model.



But you won't know until Canon has a look at it and determines the cause and the cost.

Happy to help. Good luck.

Could you please clarify your question, I'm not sure what you're asking? There isn't a separate file for LCD images and normal images, the LCD just takes the saved images on the memory card and displays them, if that's what you're asking.

Some cameras have a built-in memory as well as a memory card slot. This allows the user to store images even when there is no separate memory card installed.



The Canon A570is doesn't have any built-in memory, so all images are stored in your installed memory card (MMC, SD or SDHC) as stated above. You can also easily transfer the images to a Windows pc if your pc has a card reader.

Probably the easier way is to buy a card reader rather than looking for " free downloads" to transfer the pictures to the computer.



Computer can recognize a card readers easily and can read the photo files in the memory card.

What follows is just a drag and paste to put the pictures into a folder in the computer.

Ok, thanks guys... Actually all I did was hook the camera up to the computer and apparently it recognized it without adding ne thing or any drivers and all my pictures are downloaded onto my computer...computers are a strange being LOL But thanks.

Here is out set of Q/A that deal with the problem:

digitalcamera-hq.com/digita...  this helps.

That doesn't sound right. Have you tried resetting the camera? You need an Mah over 2000 for cameras these days and rechargeables are a great idea. You may want to try duracells. I get a LOT of time out of them.

I think you're onto something there, Jinmo. I've heard of this from time to time and I believe that it may be a batch of cameras which for whatever reason, eat up batteries. Have you checked for a firmware update that addresses the issue? I'd also contact Canon about an RMA return. Because clearly this is a faulty camera that needs to be replaced.

Have you tried doing a reset? Go into the camera's Setup menu and reset it to factory/ default settings. If something is messed up in the settings this will fix it.

When you say the audio is not in sync, do you mean that when you play it back on the camera it is not in sync, or when you play it back on the computer it is not in sync? Sometimes the review option on the camera is not all that great, so it won't be in sync. And if you're doing it on the computer, are you using Canon software to extract the video? It could be a problem with the program you're using to take the video off of the camera. Try giving us a little more detail about what exactly you're doing.

It sounds like a software or firmware issue, I would return it and get another, and if you can't talk to a Canon rep about replacing it, or updating the software and firmware.

First thing I would do is reset the camera. This is a fairly easy procedure which involves either going into your setup menu and choosing "reset" (or intialize), holding down the menu key for 5 seconds, or, removing the batteries for a few minutes. It may be that the firmware loading got corrupted and the camera just needs to be "rebooted," which is something that turning it on/off won't accomplish. But after which, you should have the camera reset to factory default settings.



Another tip is to go to Canon's website ( usa.canon.com/consumer/cont...  ) and look for firmware updates. Download and install them.



Also, make sure you have fresh high capacity (mAh) batteries in it. Often undercharged or depleted batteries can easily affect camera performance.





As for where to take it for repair, here's the contact info for Canon Kuwait. ( canon.co.uk/Contact_Us/Cano...  )

That's probably because you're not using high energy batteries required by today's cameras. batteries with a higher mAh - like around 2500mAh would satisfy the higher power requirements of your camera. Additionally, for the best results, Canon recommend using rechargeable (NiMH) batteries. Alkalines will do in a pinch, but the capacity of Alkalines will differ from manufacturer.



Additionally, often, when you purchase batteries in bulk, it isn't uncommon that some or many of them are near dead or worse. Batteries bought in bulk tend to have a long turnover and such, can lose much of their battery power before they are used. And many batteries such as AAs are general purpose batteries and are not designed for the high energy use of digital cameras and the flashes they trigger. As such, I recommend using high energy batteries designed for digital photography. Varta is a good brand. They are usually sold in camera shops, are long lasting (because they are sold in small quantities) put out alot of energy.

Video in point and shoot cameras isn't really all that great. It's a marketing feature designed to give the user the impression they are getting more bang for their buck. But in reality, the audio is abysmal, you can't really zoom while shooting the video, and quality is about youtube at best. For a little more, I'd take a look at the Kodak Z1085IS ( digitalcamera-hq.com/digita...  ). It has the added benefit of being able to zoom while shooting, can shoot in widescreen, and even in 720p HD. Not too shabby. My only beef in testing it is no viewfinder. But the batteries seem to hold up pretty good in spite of having to power the LCD full time.

You mean because it shoots in MPEG-4 H.264 Video? That isn't that bad. It's compressed, sure. But it can be re-encoded and edited in the right software. Some edit it directly in Quicktime ( apple.com/quicktime/tutoria...  ). But that isn't as easy as a regular editor. I've heard of a software called womble mpeg video wizard, which supposedly works well with H.264.



But I think your instincts to return the Casio is a good idea as I've read many complaints about Casio's quality.

I understand how you feel. Shot to shot time on this is nearly 2 seconds. That's an eternity. And Shutter lag on this camera is about 0.540 (W) - 0.680 (T) seconds. It's the delay which happens between triggering the shutter and when the photograph is actually recorded. It's a common problem with point and shoot cameras. But there are ways to combat it.



1. Prefocus. Hold down the shutter half way to get a prefocus of the image you're shooting. When it changes, prefocus again. This will speed up your camera's performance during picture taking since it won't have to autofocus before it shoots the shot.



2. Use faster SD cards. Yes, there are faster cards and it does make a difference in writing the image file to the card. This is especially key if you're taking multiple or burst images.



3. Fresher batteries. Use alkalines at least. But I recommend using high energy batteries designed for digital photography. Varta is a good brand. They are usually sold in camera shops, are long lasting (because they are sold in small quantities) put out alot of energy.



4. Pan with the action. You can create some pretty cool shots by panning with your shot, focusing on your subject. This will create the effect of your subject in sharp contrast to the blurry background.



6. Stick with 100-400 ISO. Going higher will cause more noise/grain in your shots, particularly in darker settings.



Doing these, particularly pre-focusing and panning with the action will cut your shutter lag by as much as 80%.

More megapixels isn't necessarily better, Rosanne. Especially if most of what you're taking are snapshots. Let me explain. I came across an interesting article today about how more mega pixels is not necessarily a good thing. According to Image Engineering ( 6mpixel.org/en/?  ) – a company that does testing of digital cameras for photo magazines in Germany – the quality of digital pictures has steadily decreased since the state of the art was six megapixels back in 2004. And because they don’t have a “dog in this hunt,” they put forth a compelling argument for buying new digital cameras with less mega pixels and not more.



The argument is essentially this: CCD chips on point and shoot cameras a smaller and as such, fitting in more pixels causes them to lose light sensivity. Sure, there’s more data on the chip, but the chip can’t absorb the light data and what it ends up with is a picture that has more noise than image quality. In addition, the more megapixels a camera has, the larger the lens it needs to provide the clarity it deserves and prevent diffraction due to a loss of detail with smaller apertures. But since we’re talking portable point and shoots here, those large lenses simply aren’t being made.



Finally, with larger mega pixels comes longer saving time due to their requires huge storage capacity, or more compression if not storing images in RAW format. The result is a noisier image and a dissatisfied camera user who thirsts for high quality and speed but fell into the trap of "more must mean better."



In the end, relying on a smaller MP that can balance all these needs may indeed be a better answer.

Don't get me wrong, megapixels are important. But there's a sweet spot in picture taking where beyond can be too much of a good thing. If you take mostly 99% snapshots (3x5s, 4x6s) then going over 6 mp is really overkill. Kinda like driving a Ferrari on city streets. Sure, you can brag you have a powerful engine under the hood, but can you really experience the benefit? And often, the converse is true, you have all that horsepower but it costs you more gas because it burns more!



If, however, you take a lot of 8x10s and above, that extra boost of MP will begin to show up and be noticeable. So, going with snapshots, I'm not really too thrilled with the 6mp cameras out there. So let's go up a little larger to 7.1 mp ( digitalcamera-hq.com/digita...  ). Still very good for the job and you have lots of options, including:



The top ranked Fuji Finepix S700 ( digitalcamera-hq.com/digita...  ). It has a 10x optical zoom which is pretty darn good. Then, there's the Panasonic TZ3 ( digitalcamera-hq.com/digita...  ) which has a 10x zoom and optical image stabilization. Both are under $200. And although it has a slighly smaller zoom at 4x, there's the Canon A570 ( digitalcamera-hq.com/digita...  ) which makes up for it's lack of zoom with image stabilization. And at under $75.00, you can't beat the price.



Lastly there's my personal favorite in this class, but it's a tad bulky ... the Olympus SP550UZ ( digitalcamera-hq.com/digita...  ) which has a whopping 18x optical zoom, image stabilization and still weighs in at around $160!



Lots of options and all WELL below $299.

Well, neither have an optical (or even digital, for that matter) viewfinder. If I was buying a new camera, that would be the dealbreaker for me. Having to use your LCD to frame and shoot gobbles up that battery power that can better be used taking the pictures themselves. So for me, I wouldn't consider them. But quality wise, they are comparable. And with Olympus, you won't be paying a premium for the SONY name and getting proprietary obsessions to boot.

Don't get me wrong. SONY makes great stuff. But certainly no better, IMHO, than Canon or Olympus. And neither of those charges what seems to be a premium for their nameplates nor paints their customers into a technological corner with proprietary nonsense. Which is why I suggest those who have already bought into SONY stay in the family, as it were.

P.S you must buy the camera at the Sony online store or a sony style store within 45 days of card activation.

OK, James, you lost me. First, the camera is $300 plus tax of $24.75 for a total of $324.75. Subtract $130 you come out with a net of $194.75. As far as I can tell nobody on the net is selling that camera for anywhere near that price and, if they were, I wouldn't want to buy from them because they are probably low balling the price. In addition, WHAT APR? As I said to start there is NO INTEREST if the camera is paid for in 12 months. That means you have to pay only about $16.23 a month to meet the terms of that deal. In addition you don't have the camera on your other credit card charging about 12% a year or 1% a month.That save you about another $12 in interest. There may be something wrong with that particular camera (I can't say) but what is wrong with that deal?



As an aside, I have seen and tried the Olympus 1010 in a local store For about $269 (Sam's Club), and I will PROBABLY be buying that camera for my wife and not one like the W170 or the original camera, the T300, I was thinking of getting for her before I confirmed that its pictures were basically crap.

Not the point. The actual interest rate is about 14.24% per year on the Sony card but it doesn't matter if you only get the card to buy the camera @ the 0% rate for 12 months.. Heck, you can then shred the card. I gave the 1% a month for easy calculation purposes and to be conservative about the savings IF YOU HAD PAID FOR THE CAMERA WITH ANOTHER CREDIT CARD. The 1% a month has nothing to do with the Sony card for purposes of an illustration of the savings. Of course, if you paid for the camera in cash from your savings than the additional savings would have been much smaller than 1% a month since the savings rate in the US is about a pitiful 2/10% a month or a total savings lost of about $2.40 a year. You do have to be careful about some of these deals if you tend to be snared by the easy credit available from one more card on top of the ones you already have. The Sony card is currently in a lock box but it is unlikely that it will ever be used now.



I did buy the Olympus camera (because of all its other great features and apparent quality-I hope) DESPITE being a Canon/Fuji person and the one big thing I hated about it and that was its proprietary XD memory card. Olympus looks like it might be ready to give up on it because it included a Micro SD to XD card adaptor. Now, all I have to find out is if, in addition to the lower price and higher GIGs available for Micro SDs, does the adaptor allow the faster SD card processing or is the internal camera electronics going to forestall that? Any ideas on that one? Haven't bought an XD card yet but, if I do, it will be the somewhat faster "H" series.

Thanks for all the info- and still deciding on the best camera. I think I am going to go with the Olympus 1010- If Fredbillie wife uses the camera soon can you write back what you thought about the quality of the pictures? and how was the zoom one of the big reasons I like the camera- for school plays and such for the kids-

Thank you-

Well that movie this is a little disappointing I do sometimes use it (my other camera had one) and if the kids were doing a small play not worth pulling out the camcorder I would use it- but like you said not sure if it would be a deal breaker if the pictures were GREAT!

Once again that you for all your help- Don't want to invest in another camera that I regret buying-

hello- just a gentle thought on CAMCORDERS and DIGICAMS and CELL PHONE CAMERA's-- Each of these three instruments are finely honed to perform it's major task- Camcorders- MOVIES ---- Digicams- PHOTOGRAPHS and Cell phones-oral comunication -- Why is is it we want such diversification in our electronic devices?? Certainly, a digicam is NO match for cam corder in MOVIE taking and most certainly a cell phone camera is NO match for a digicam in taking photographs .. This NOW generation seems to want it ALL and ALL in one package, and the smaller the better package--It is a head long plunge into absurdity sometimes. We as consumers are at the mercy of the producers of these SMALLER MEANS BETTER pocketable electronics...Where will it all stop, and comman sense take hold??.. Well, as long as there is MONEY to be made off the innocent consumer , then it will continue unabated, this continuous inventive way to make us part w/ our money will be with us.. For the most part, A camcorder does a better job at taking movies, than any digicam can--And a digicam takes better photos then a cell phone can--Think PRIMARY purpose , and you may just outsmart the purveyors of NEW electronics, which in the long run are NOT universal panaceas for us FUN loving ,easily taken advantage of , Americans..... hal5141

James- the summery you make has the current flaw "WHY NOT HAVE ONE THAT DOES IT ALL AND DOES IT WELL"---ADAQUECY DOES NOT ADD UP TO EXCELLENCE. and AVAILABILITY does not add up to ABILITY -- IF YOU WELECOME THE DAY YOU CAN DO ALL three of the functions in one unit and have that uiit perform as well as if they were separate entities dedicated to doing a PRIMARY and SINGULAR task nominally assigned to it ,like movie making , photographing,and voice communication, then I wish you a most long and healthy life while you wait, and may your dream come true.. hal5141

thank you for all the response-

I agree- if I want to not bring a camcorder and a camera to a school play where my child will only be on for about 2 minutes why can't I just bring a camera take pictures and get a quick video of the play? I don't think that is asking to much in this day and age of technology- And I would love to see the picture however maybe you could do a picture on flickr and a link-

That could also hold true for cameras above 6 megapixels ( 6mpixel.org/en/  ). But we've debated that to death, haven't we? :)

hi luigi- my read out is under the Panasonic DMZ TZ -3 as the Main header . Obviously the first question ,was about the TZ-3 , the disscusion becomes expansive as it goes along... I t varies as to which blog you started in, then the threads usually fit that bill , but there is always wondering going on - interseting wondering lots of times..---- Cape esh??? hal5141

thank you for the picture it is a nice close up -

thanks for all the input-

Just a note. That's bird is called a mourning not morning dove. The name comes from the sound it makes. I get dozens a day at my feeder

James, thanks for the pointer on the Olympus Playback only mode (no lens extended). I found it on the dial (the usual triangle). I had just missed it.

Just FYI

The Olympus cameras 840, 1010, etc have a firmware upgrade. If you use the Olympus brand M+ XD card you can get unlimited video length when combined with the firmware upgrade. Found more info on the olympus site.



Good luck - I'm trying to decide between Sony W170 and Olympus 840 or 1010 too and this discussion was helpful.

carol

I had both olympus u1010 and the sony cybershot.... if u really wanna take quality pics with life in it, better go for olympus... cos sony exaggerates the colour and manipulates them... its kinda fake u know... better go to a shop where they show u live... cos when i bought the olympus u1010 i compared it with the sony rival and saw the results myself....

Well, I doubt you'll find a panoramic setting in a camera for under $100. But that doesn't mean you can't take panoramic pictures. Take several shots of the area you want a pano from, making sure to overlap the sides of each image. Also, use a tripod as relying on your eyeballing will cause a "parallax error ( en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parallax  )," that will prevent the images from lining up. Using a tripod will reduce that significantly. Then you can use a free software utility called "AutoStitch" ( cs.ubc.ca/~mbrown/autostitc...  ) to piece the pictures together. Written by a couple of students at the University of Columbia, this takes all of the heartache out of creating panoramas. All you do is select the size of the final image and tell it what images you want it to stitch. It then goes off and produces your panorama.



Now, to your price point - the Canon A570 ( digitalcamera-hq.com/digita...  ) is an ideal. It's also the highest rated camera under $150. 7.1 megapixels, 4x optical zoom & Optical Image Stabilization are just a few examples of the punch this camera packs.

It'll do the job. But the A570 is dead in your ballpark and comes highly ranked.

Slide the battery/memory card cover lock into the closed position as youpress down.

Absolutely. ( usa.canon.com/consumer/cont...  )

Valli,



This camera won't be too bad for what you want to do. You might find its zoom a little lacking though (only 4x optical). I would go for something with at least 10x like the Canon 100sx IS ( digitalcamera-hq.com/digita...  ). The range of shutter speeds and longer zoom will be great for all you want to do. The manual focus option is also nice for extreme closeups, making sure you have just the right focal length. Good luck and happy shooting on your trip.



Andrew

Valli,



I think the Panasonic LZ7 ( digitalcamera-hq.com/digita...  ) is a great option for a beginning photographer. The 7(+) MP resolution will render great prints, and the 6x optical zoom will still get you decent zoom capability on your trip. I hope this helps.



Andrew

My pleasure Valli. Have a good trip, and please come back to the site with any other questions or issues.



Andrew

Have you tried resetting the camera? This is a fairly easy procedure which involves either going into your setup menu and choosing "reset" (or intialize), holding down the menu key for 5 seconds, or, removing the batteries for a few minutes. It may be that the firmware loading got corrupted and the camera just needs to be "rebooted," which is something that turning it on/off won't accomplish. But after which, you should have the camera reset to factory default settings.



Another tip is to go to Canon's website ( usa.canon.com/consumer/cont...  ) and look for firmware updates. Download and install them.



If that doesn't work, then Canon's only other suggestion is to have the camera serviced. Is it still under warranty?

Gregg,



This camera will fare decently in low light when using a flash. If you don't want to use a flash, I would set the camera at 1600 ISO and utilize the image stabilization settings. While the shot may come out a little grainier than usual, it will still show up decently. A good way to get sharper shots in low light is to use a monopod or tripod. It will further reduce camera shake.



Andrew

The self timer can be set for 2 seconds or 10 seconds delay with or without flash.

There is also a "custom" setting which allows for multiple exposures up to 30 seconds apart WITHOUT the flash.

My recommendation is that you invest $10 in a USB memory card reader. Plug your SD card into it and your pc will read it as a drive. Then it's a simple drag and drop onto your PC.

Easy. NERO for the PC, iDVD for the MAC.

Ah. That may be your issue. Zoom Browser may be encoding the video files with a codec which Nero can't read. Why not just edit and encode using NERO? It has that capability. Zoom Browser isn't that great a software utility.

You could buy a parts camera off eBay, but I'd go with Canon directly. Because hunting around the insides of your camera may void any warranty you have left. If you don't have any left, you may still want to have Canon deal with it.

We get this often. Try this website www.e18error.com. It is pretty helpful. Essentially, it may have gone out of alignment off the rails slightly.



There's an entire website ( e18error.com/  ) devoted to this. In a nutshell, Canon E18 error happens when the lens gets stuck while trying to extend. The camera will beep a few times and the LCD will display a little E18 in the lower-left corner. The lens gets stuck in the extended position, and refuses to move either to focus the lens or to retract when powered off.



It can happen. But it isn't so widespread that it should prevent you from buying Canon. And the A570 is a terrific camera.

Michael, on the battery issue, this thread on DHQ ( digitalcamera-hq.com/digita...  ) may be helpful.



As for the IS feature. It's optical image stabilization, so I think it is. If it were digital IS, where the stabilization is done with software, I'd say look elsewhere.

I can only speak generically since I am not specifically familiar with your camera and you did not mention which software you are using to do the image changes in your computer:

1). Whenever a JPEG image is altered and saved it goes through a recompression step which throws away some of the data. Your computer software that does the red-eye correction could easily be throwing away the data your camera needs to identify the image or otherwise be unable to uncompress it from the data into an actual image.

2). You might try saving the unchanged (original) image from the card to the computer hard drive. Then remove the card before doing any alterations. That way the original image is still in the card, but it is also in the computer where you can alter it as desired.

3). Have you tried Picasa2? It is free software complements of Google. It will keep your photos organized and has red-eye remover and other nice tools to fix your pictures easily. It is not a professional level like PhotoShop, but it works well and is free. You can download it at picasa.google.com/download/...  I've used it a long time and not had trouble as you describe.

Best of luck, Larry

I just had a similar problem when i loaded a memory card from camera to pc, i rotated some pics and now when i try to view them on the camera 'incompatible jpeg?' is displayed.



Hopefully downloading irfanview and reloading the memory card to the pc when this program is open will restore the images....or my fiance' will punish me severely!!

I would suggest clicking on the "Resources" button located near the bottom right hand corner of this page to check out these three cameras:

Canon A570is

Canon A720is

Fuji Finepix S700



Once you have had a look at their specs and read the reviews, feel free to come back here and ask more questions as they develop.

Good hunting, Larry

Tenesa,



I would first turn the camera off and take the batteries out for about 1-2 whole minutes. Then put them back in and power back on. If the issue is still occuring, you might have an internal issue with the camera. If that is the case, I would contact Canon customer support ( usa.canon.com/consumer/cont...  ) for resolution. Good luck.



Andrew

Tenesa, you should read the previous post on the battery issue!



The guys on that thread are coming to a conclusion that it may be a contact point issue and they are going towards using a "toothpick" support method to solve the problem. Also, they are pointing to using Sanyo's Eneloop rechargeables as the best solution thus far. Check out there posts.



Plus, people on that thread has been sending in the A570 to Canon service centers with no definite improvements on their problem, but still, you should complain to Canon about this issue, as I can see, it's a camera issue that many owners are experiencing!



I checked up on this issue as my mother's 570 is experiencing the same problem. and wow, I had thought it was an isolated issue. Will try the toothpick method? Maybe the supplied AA panasonic batteries had a higher contact surface, hmmm...

Francis,



If you have rechargeable AA batteries, you can use them on the Canon A570 IS ( digitalcamera-hq.com/digita...  ). As for the AC adapter, if this plugged directly in your old camera, I wouldn't count on it working in the new one. I hope this helps.



Andrew

NiMh batteries are ideal for this camera and using the charger you were using for them will be fine.

The SD memory you were using in the CanonA570is will NOT fit or work in the Fuji E500.

The risk isn't worth it for trying the AC adapter.

Larry (logcabiny), Thank you very much for your answer and the follow-up clarification. I just started using this Digital Camera-hq web site and I'm trying to catch on to how it works. It's good to be able to ask a question and have people willing to provide a helpful answer.

Thank you,

Francis

Since your question is associated with the Canon A570is, I'm going to assume that you as referring to NiMh batteries in comparison to Lithium-ion. Each battery type has its pros and cons. The Lithium will hold charge better while waiting on the shelf, but it loses total capacity over time no matter what you do. Lithium does NOT need to be run down completely before charging but actually performs best if you top it up frequently. Both types have lots of capacity and will sustain 300-500 recharge cycles before needing replacing. You will want to rotate all your cells through the camera and charger. NiMh ideally should be kept in sets and not scrambled. Get a top quality charger that charges the batteries individually and that will help too. NiMh run down just sitting on the shelf (Lithium does too but much slower. All batteries self discharge its just a matter of how fast). That means, if you are going on a big shoot (vacation) you'll need to top those NiMh up just before leaving on safari because they lose 30% of their charge every month they just sit (Lithium loses 10% per month). If you really want to get all the information about batteries go here:



batteryuniversity.com/
...  the Canon A570is the real advantage is that you can carry along (or buy worldwide) a few AA alkaline as final backups to get your pictures when the NiMh runs out unexpectedly. As you will see if you go to the batteryuniversity site, it is always a compromise of one factor or another. Great shelf life is needed for emergency backup, but higher energy density for your everyday use. NiCd will recharge up to 1500 times but has the dreaded "memory" problem to deal with.

Best Wishes

Larry

Canon. Hands down. I've shot Kodak, and it's okay, but the drivers and software are crappy and their cameras tend to be very finicky when it comes to the battery power you use.



And compared to Canon's optics ... well, you can't.



As for shutter delay, it is a way of life in digital cameras. But the good news is that the delay is lessening as the technology matures. And what's interesting is, that DSLRs dont' have a lag issue at all. Or, it's nearly non existent.



The good news is that according to recent news articles, many camera companies will be incorporating the CCD chips they use in their SLR lines (which give no shutter lag) into their point and shoot cameras. So look for it within the next few years.



Meanwhile, the NYT has an interesting article ( nytimes.com/2007/05/10/tech...  ) on shutter lag and how to combat it.

Well, not just a longer focal length. You get another .9 MP which will really pay off in enlargements 8x10 and above. However, the downside is that in continuous shooting, the A720IS is a tad slower. But worth it for a longer focal length. Life has its trade offs.

I know. It's easy to suffer from "information overload." What usually sells me one way or the other is going down to a local camera store and checking both out side by side, holding them, feeling their center of gravity, the balance. All features aside, it often can come down to what camera feels better in your hand.

You don't, really. IN fact, you don't need any of the software that usually comes with a camera (most of it is junkware anyway). All you'd really need is a USB memory card reader. You can invest in one for about $10. Then you take out the sd card that you use in the camera and put it in there. Then you can connect it to your computer and drag them over to the desktop. And for accessing the images and managing them I'd recommend Picasa 2 by Google ( picasa.com  ). It's free.



Or, you can simply take the SD card to your local photo printer to print. But only about 20% of digital photographers actually print their pictures anymore!

Bill,



You might try the Fuji S700 ( digitalcamera-hq.com/digita...  ). It has image stabilization, 7.1 megapixels, and a digital viewfinder (works like an optical, but through the lens digitally). It also boasts 10x optical zoom. It also runs for only $180. Good luck and happy shooting.



Andrew

Martina,



Both of these cameras are very versatile. The Sony H9 ( digitalcamera-hq.com/digita...  ) will probably work better in low light situations, but the Fuji A800 ( digitalcamera-hq.com/digita...  ) is more compact and will travel better. There are a lot of cameras available under $400, so you might want to go through DCHQ's Gift Guide ( digitalcamera-hq.com/digita...  ) to find just the right camera for you. Good luck and happy shooting.



Andrew

You're welcome. Come back with any other questions.



Andrew

Scott,



You might try the Canon A570 IS ( digitalcamera-hq.com/digita...  ). I have had great luck with Canon's, and think they are very user friendly. If you don't want to move to a dSLR, this might be the way to go.



Andrew

Good luck to you, and happy shooting!



Andrew

Well you will definitely get a shorter battery life from the AAs than a Lithium Battery, but don't forget the advantages. The AA batteries can be bought anywhere, so if you're in a foreign country and run out of battery, you can go and get another pair if anything. Also, there are new batteries called Energizer Lithium batteries, that have significantly longer battery life, and can be recharged. So, don't let the fact that the camera has AAs sway you from buying it, in my opinion. If you have any other questions feel free to ask.

Better really depends on what you want to do with the camera. I've outlined the major differences below (listing the Canon A570 ( digitalcamera-hq.com/digita...  ) first).



- Resolution: Both have 7.1MP



- Optical zoom: 4x vs 3x

More optical zoom gets you closer to your subject in the photo.



- Image stabilization?: Yes vs No

IS functionality helps with low light situations and camera shake.



- Battery type: AA vs. Lithium rechargeable

You can purchase NiMH AA rechargeable batteries pretty cheap, so this isn't that big of a difference.



- Dimensions (WxDxH): 3.52"x1.69"x2.53" & 0.39lbs VS 3.38"x0.76"x2.11" & 0.28lbs

The Canon SD1000 ( digitalcamera-hq.com/digita...  ) is smaller and easily portable, but the Canon A570 ( digitalcamera-hq.com/digita...  ) isn't that much larger and offers a little more functionality. I would choose the A570 ( digitalcamera-hq.com/digita...  ) because of the longer zoom range and the image stabilization. Good luck and happy shooting.



Andrew

I WANTED TO FIND OUT IF ANYONE HAS ANY INFORMATION ON CANON'S NEW A580. ANY GOOD FEEDBACK PROBLEMS? I AM TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHETHER TO BUY THE CANON A 580 OR THE A 570IS

Akira, another option you could do is get A590IS which has the IS and overall more shooting options as compared to A570IS! slightly pricier now, but it's actually cheaper to the price of A570IS when it came out.

I have an older Powershot that has a metal tripod connector. I have seen a couple others with metal ones as well, so that shouldn't be a problem. I do know that they are usually off-center from the bottom of the camera (to the side). The smaller size of these cameras makes that easy though. They don't need to be as balanced as a larger dSLR or extended zoom camera. To get a full preview, I would recommend going in to a retailer to examine the camera. I hope this helps.



Andrew

Div is right, there is a plastic tripod connector which works fine,my previous A70 also use a plastic connector and it didn't give me any problems. A minor point though, as div mentioned, the connector is position at the left end of the camera! Although it's not a killer position, it's not that ideal! It's not in line with the lens, so if you are one of those people who like to take panaromic shots with the help of the tripod, this might be a problem! An another thing, although I think those small tiny tripods are utterly useless, I find some people still uses them! If you do use these tiny tripod for this camera, be careful! If the legs are not in the optimum position, your tripod won't support the camera! haha! just a note!

TIPS TO FASTER CAMERA PERFORMANCE:



1. Prefocus. Hold down the shutter half way to get a prefocus of the image you're shooting. When it changes, prefocus again. This will speed up your camera's performance during picture taking since it won't have to autofocus before it shoots the shot.



2. Use faster SD cards. Yes, there are faster cards and it does make a difference in writing the image file to the card. This is especially key if you're taking multiple or burst images.



3. Fresher batteries. Use alkalines at least. But I recommend using high energy batteries designed for digital photography. Varta is a good brand. They are usually sold in camera shops, are long lasting (because they are sold in small quantities) put out alot of energy.



4. Shoot in "sports" preset modes when you're in situations that require action. Night or available light modes when in night time settings. These presets can help in speeding up your shots, rather than the camera taking a split second to evaluate the conditions of the lighting.



5. Go manual. If you are manually focusing, particularly in darker settings, you can constantly refocus the image as things happen. Also, the infrared does have a range and if your image is out of that range you can end up with the camera's "best guess" or infinity setting which may not help. You can also go manual on fstops and shutter speeds as well, getting more light faster when you choose.



6. Go with a shallow depth of field.



7. Pan with the action. You can create some pretty cool shots by panning with your shot, focusing on your subject. This will create the effect of your subject in sharp contrast to the blurry background.



8. Use a flash - even in day time. This will "freeze" the image and cause your subject to "pop" in the shot. However, flash is only designed for limited range and can dissipate outside of about 20-25 feet unless you're using a zoomable flash.



9. Stick with 100-400 ISO. Going higher will cause more noise/grain in your shots, particularly in darker settings.



Making these tips habit, particularly #s 1 & 7 will reduce your shutter delay by as much as 80%.

Canon G9 is the best but its expensive.I paid $800(singapore dollars)

It is 12,1meg pix/6x optical zoom,& the clarity is excellent.

$514.979 canadian dollars.u/ll get the information if u go thr'u the currency exchange website in the internet.Bye!

I think the majority of us have opted to disregard the camera software and just use a memory card reader. A lot of computers already have this feature (just take the memory card out of your camera and put it in the card reader). If your computer doesn't have one, you can buy a USB attachable one for $10-$20. I think it's worth the price, simply because you can upload pictures from your camera on any computer you want and can avoid installation issues with the software. You can also just leave the USB memory card reader in the camera, if you're worried your parents would have problems putting it in correctly.



Once you put the card into the reader, it should open up a small options box where you can upload pictures to a specific folder, or just a default one, etc... and also a check-box where it will prompt you to delete all the pictures after uploading.

Hi Neil.



Yes . I agree that the best option is to attach a memory card reader to the Comp. ( i.e. If the comp. doesnt have a built-in one ).



And the best option for auto delete when using the card reader is to use the option of " cut and paste " while transferring the photos from the the card to a designated folder on the Comp. In this way the photos are also transferred and will be automatically deleted from the memory card at the same time.



Its a breeze.



Try it.

Best solution I have found to this problem is Picasa2. It is a free download from Google. It has an option to erase all images on card after downloading which should fit your needs just right. Just Google picasa2 or go to this URL



picasa.google.com/download/...  is free, easy to learn and use and has lots of tools to "adjust" your pics and keep them organized. And did I mention its free?

This camera uses basic "AA" batteries. You can use whichever type you want. I will suggest Energizer or Sony 2,500 mAh rechargable batteries. Like these: amazon.com/Sony-2500-Rechar...  far as memory cards, this camera supports both SD and SDHC. Since you want a 1 or 2GB card, SDHC's are out of the question (I believe they start at 4GB). Fortunately, there are a ton of good 1-2GB cards out there. Here are a few I would suggest:

amazon.com/SanDisk-SDSDH-20...  really don't need anything faster, especially for this type of camera. These cards are cheap ($10/GB, about), and even normal speed is fine. By the time you upgrade your camera, you'll end up buying 8-16GB extreme speed cards for dirt cheap!



I wouldn't suggest buying at the site I included the links for (shipping kills the deals). But those are simple memory cards you can find at any store. Don't pay more than $30 for a 2GB memory card, it's a rip-off. Even the second link 2GB card is $22 with arm-and-a-leg shipping rates.

Is standard format considered 640x480@30fps for you? You can figure about 1.5MB/sec for video (some are a little more or less, depending on their compression). So 4GB = 4000MB/1.5MB/sec / 60sec/min ~ 44 minutes of video. If you want a half-hour, you better go for the SDHC cards. 4GB cards can be had for ~$50, so the price is good. Something like this: amazon.com/Sandisk-Ultra-Me...  (Don't mind the 2 bad reviews... they were idiots and bought the wrong card :))

is canon a570 IS support 4gb sd card?

I would suggest Energizer, Sony or Rayovac (I use Sony 2500 mAh and haven't had any problems).



Something like these amazon.com/Sony-2500-Rechar...  with a battery charger like this amazon.com/Sony-BCG-34HE4-S...  will cost about $28 (no tax or shipping) for 8 AA batteries and the charger. (Or just get the charger, which includes 4 batteries, and you'll have a set in the camera and a fresh set for when you need to swap.



Don't go below 2,500 mAh or else the amount of pictures you can take will suffer (as well as flash recharge, most likely).

ya, get high capacity NiMH AAs if you don't go for SANYO's ENELOOP.

Well you're going to want a camera with a great macro setting. The G7 has a great up close macro.

Well, just because you're experience is limited to SONY, doesn't mean that's the best. Up front, I'll tell you that I'm not a SONY fan. In my opinion, they tend to force their customers into proprietary technologies such as the memory stick, their own spin on formatting, and even color standards.



I prefer Canon as they're cameras are competitively comparable and some are even better. They use SD technology and standard color management.



And Canon glass is amoungst the best in the business.

I bought a canon G9 & it's excellent,the zoom around 6x &12.1 meg pix.TQ

For comparison, you may want to check out this resource ( imaging-resource.com/IMCOMP...  ). It takes pictures with each and you can compare them side by side.



And you're right, aside from the IS, there really isn't a dime's worth of difference in picture quality.

Since you have used canons before and are familiar with their performance, stick with them. I have had a Kodak Z710 and it has plenty of capability but it is awkward to use and the viewfinder can be a distraction.

You posted this questions twice, so I copied from your other post:



2700 mAh NiMH batteries will work with your A570IS, and should net you around 300 pictures.



I'm not sure about the "uniross mini charger...for 2100s" you're referring to. But as for battery chargers, I've personally had a good experience with this one ( amazon.com/Rayovac-Universa...  ).



It's bulky, because it's universal and can hold 8 AA batteries at a time. But it's a nice slow recharge, allowing you to recharge batteries seemingly forever. You don't have to worry about taking the batteries on time to avoid them getting hot. And the charger will charge batteries until capacity. I myself bought Sony 2,500 mAh batteries and haven't had a problem with those, either. But Energize, Sony and Rayovac are all good rechargable battery brands.



Some examples: $20 for Canon brand.



I'd get 2 packs of these ( amazon.com/Rechargeable-Bat...  ) (here too ( amazon.com/Energizer-NH15BP...  )) instead, personally. Especially if you end up getting (or have, and it works) a 4-battery charger.

Also, the biggest users of juice on a camera are the flash and the LCD. Set the flash to off; if the light is a little low, hold the camera steady. Besides, the IS circuitry helps a lot if you have the flash off. Also, you can set the LCD to turn off after a minute or so, if the camera is not being used.

Hello Amos,

As at the beginning of the thread I said I have the same problem.I did a lot of research and have come across an interesting article regarding this problem,which the author claims is a regular phenomenon with the powershots.

photography-on-the.net/foru...  think the high battery voltage level cutoff for a570 might be the issue(and our battery is attaining it after a few shots owing to a steep early-life discharge curve),and if such is the case,as the guy claims,using an NimH with has a very good voltage vs usage curve should solve our problem.

After a lot of browsing,I have come to the conclusion that either Uniross 2700mAh or Sanyo 2100mAh or Powerex 2700mAh,in that order,should solve the problem.I would definitely get a set of them next time I go to the nearest city,but meanwhile,I reccomend you to try the same and inform me here if u have success

Wishing you best of Luck

Do Inform me!!

Hi Richio,

U have made a god point,but the thing is that once the battery is loaded and being used in the camera,it is much lower than 1.29 volts.

This is because every bettery has an internal resistance,which even if .1 ohms(every major NimH has infact more than that),and if the current usage by camera is 500mA,again a reasonable assumption with flash,screen and IS on,the battery voltage is effectively 1.23-1.24 volts only).

So to be on the safer side always,a very good brand is required.

I would appreciate if you could suggest one.

Hi Guys,



Thanks for the comments. A couple of points which I would like to add:

1) The NiMH battery that I have is a GP battery with typ voltage of 1.2V. And the battery recommended in the brouchure is I think also 1.2 V typ. If the cutoff point is 1.25V, then we it is really a design problem.

2) I did try without turning on the screen, I can continue to take shots with no issues. But that is an unacceptable solution right?

3) I will be calling the Canon person and try to see if they have similar issues documented to see if they can fix this by software. Seems to be an issue which would have been surfaced during the field trial.



Will update if there is any fixes for this?



Thanks

i have also similar problems with my 570is and new GP batteries 2300 mAh. the camera shows low battery and sometimes shuts down saying change batteries. after repeated switching on and off it may take some shots. once i had even 200 shots with flash with a battery low indicator. but most of the time it shuts down. i tried using panasonic alkaline batteries on which it works well.

@Amos

as i had pointed out earlier that either Uniross 2700mAh or Sanyo 2100mAh or Powerex 2700mAhor even energizer 2500,in that order,should solve the problem.I would reccomend you to try the same and inform me here if u have success

Hi Guys,



Thanks for the advice. I'll just go down to the service centre today to let them take a look. Another person that I talked to at the service centre also mentioned that it could be due to the battery. I would want to feedback to them that then they would need to tell the dealer not to give out the GP2300 battery as a free gift if it is not compatible.



Will update to see what is their feedback.

@Shailendra

That's peculiar,because energizer 2500s are one of the best cells that can be used with 570IS,as their voltage curve remains above 1.2 V for most of the discharge cycle.

data.energizer.com/PDFs/nh1...  your cam worked well with the alkalines,there is no problem with the camera.The problem must have been with the batteries/charger,there is no other way flash would have faltered.

So use another charger and use sanyo eneloops 2000/uniross 2700s this time.Service centre won't help as it is not a tech problem.

@Matt

I purchased 4 sanyo eneloops this sunday.And haven't got the low battery warning after 96 shots.It is too early to say whether it is good,but would certainly tell after a few charges and discharges.

ND, how much do you buy the battery for? Just curious. And please state the currency u are paying for.;) Thanks

I just had my A570is last month and use only the inbox battery till now.



Sep-12, I bought 4 eneloops 2000mAH for going on my small trip last weekend. I can see that the flashing low-battery show on LCD after I took a few shorts. I guess just about 10 - 15 shorts or less!! Yes, some with flash on and some not. I was tried to take photo and keep changing the battery all time, total photos are about 60-70 in my 1gb sd card.



oh, I'm using Uniross small charger, is that a problem? now, I might try some other brands like GP2700 or Energizer. Any advices?

Just to update. Got my camera back and was informed that there was no problem found. Anyway, I doubt if they will admit it even if there is some kind of design problem.



Was told that with full charge, can take about 200 shots. Was also told that battery will drain out by itself if left in the camera for a couple of days. I mean this is really crapy. With my previous IXUS400, I don't remember having to keep charging my battery after leaving there for a long time. If I need to always remember to take out the battery every time after I go out to take some pictures, it's ridiculous.



Anybody out there has any idea what is the

1) Minimum voltage before we see the low battery sign? (Just for a reference as I guess it depends on the battery type, internal resistance etc)

2) How long can a fully charged batetry remains in the camera before it starts to show battery low sign when you power on?

3) If a fully charged batetry is left by itself, how long can it last?



Thanks

Amos

To update,

I looked for Sanyo at high mAh last week many shops in Bangkok but couldn't find it. so I bought a <a href="commy4u.com">Commy&...  Quick Smart Charger with 4 pieces of 2700 mAh batt last Friday and charged them all the whole night. Saturday, I took a day trip around Bangkok.. guess what? This time, I can take photos about 270 shots from only 2 batt from the first charge!! I still have another two batt leave for me to pratice on my camera shooting.



So get the big mAh as much as you can.. Have some spare is good but just a pair of high mAh is enough for a day.



ND, I'll charge my eneloops with Commy charger again, and see if I can use it.



Thanks Matt and all for your advices.

It came with <a href="commy4u.com/product_detail....  Smart Charger</a>.



Hope it's OK to put the whole link.

is it much better to charge batteries on standard slow or fast? I also have canon a570 IS and it really eats up battery power because I used sony 2,100mAh nimh batteries and by about 3 on and off the low bat indicator shows up.

I have the same problem -- low battery indicator comes on after 20-40 pictures with freshly charged 2500mAH batteries (ebay generic). HOWEVER, after the low battery indicator comes on, I am able to continue to take hundreds of pictures before the camera shuts down and says "change batteries." In fact, in a test session at my desk, I was able to take 1950 pictures with the screen on AFTER the low battery indicator came on (no flash). What's the deal?!?!

Got the A570 IS. Got the Enloop 2500's and the low battery indicators is coming on after 15 - 20 shots with flash. This is unbelieveable. Is this common to all A570 IS's or is it sporadic? THanks..Tom

Sure does. I just put a freshly charged set of eneloops in the A 570 IS and shot about 90 quick shots all with flash. I think that is pretty good, especially considering I got 25 shots out of a previous set.



What are others getting with this camera? WHile 90 isn't great. I guess without flash it would be much better but nowhere near the 400 they claim in their spec's.



THanks Tom

Matt: I did use Energizer 2500 & they are not as good as Enloops.



Has anyone sent their A 570 IS in to Canon ? I contacted them and they told me to bring it in. Is this just a proforma move with no solution? Is anyone getting a better battary yield?



Tnx Tom

How did you go from 90 pictures to 2,500 pictures?...

Has anyone here tried 3000 MaH batteries? The eneloops are 2000 - low discharge, I think... More is better...

Mine is under warranty..I may take it in to them after the holidays... They have a service center about 45min from me. I spoke to a tech and said thewre is no record of a battery issue with this camera, right... I will take it in if this persists... tbtb

I suggest you get the highest Mah, I've seen them on this site and bought my Eneloops from them:



www.thomas-distributing.com/index.htm



They have Low-Discharge rechargable batteries which is what you should get that go up to 2,800 Mah and they are not expensive. The Sanyo Eneloops which are 2,000 Mah pack of 4 go for about $9.00 US. I am waiting to see how my Eneloops work out, especially since they seem to be getting better with multiple charges. When you buy the batteries it says they are fully charged, ready to go. I recommend you give them a full charge before using them. It is my understanding that MaH batteries do not have memory like a Nicad so you can charge them even when partially charged without degrading their capacity.

Hi Guys,

I got my camera about 3 months ago and I must say that there is definitely a design issue with the camera. The camera is supposed to cater to a range of battery. There are now so many complaints and even with people who uses very good high power battery. So the conclusion that I have is that the camera has a design issue and whoever that has a problem with this should try to send in their camera to canon and get them to check and repair them. Most important of all, get them to tell you the rootcause so that we can all know the real problem.



When I got my camera, I saw the problem. Thinking that it could be a defective set, I decided to change to a new set and the person was nice enough to change for me. But 2 weeks down the road, I saw the problem happening to my new set. I sent it down to the service centre and I collected 1 week later and they say nothing's wrong. But I still see the problem now. A FEW SHOT and the sign comes out even with newly charged batteries.



Please for the sake of the rest of the 570 user, please get canon to fix your camera. I bet they are telling their techs to not reveal the problem as it could become a global recall issue. But we should continue to pursue and see if we can get something done.

Someone gave a negative review of the 570 on CNET and referenced this forum of fellow sufferrers. Having read the difficulty you all are having I have decided not to buy this camara. I realize this doesn't help those of you who have already purchased this camara, but maybe it will provide some sollace to know you at least helped to spare one poor bastard the same fate. Thanks for the heads-up.

UPdate: Eneloop's finally gave out after 209 Flash Photos and about 4 min of movies. This also included playing the movies a number of times and reviewing all the photos several times. I think this is respectable, all things considered for this camera.



I just put a new set of Eneloop's in the camera and I am going to let it set for a few days and see how this might impact the number of shots I can take.



How are you doing with straight flash photos? ANyone have some numbers to compare? I'm sure I would have gotten more if I hadn't shot the movies but I really wanted to give it a good test.



Tom

I have the same problem with a new 570IS. I got mine on ebay, supposedly new. The low battery indicator started acting up right away, with several different batteries. I took the camera to Canon in Montreal. They first told me that they wouldn't honor the warranty as the camera was bought from an ebay store in the US, not an authorized Canon distributor. I left the camera for repairs anyway. In fact they didn't charge me but sent me the camera saying to change the batteries. They didn't repair it at all.



There is definitely an issue with this camera. My solution for now is to carry an extra set of batteries at all times. I'll see how long I can live with that.

Here's one for you- I just purchased TWO 570IS cameras for gifts and decided to test one of them out. I install the two batteries and immediately get CHANGE BATTERIES after four or five shots and it shuts down, try three other sets (all new Duracell Alkaline) and the same thing. So I open up the other new camera box and all the same batteries are fine and no problem at all , I shot 50 pictures and no problem. So I will return the bad one tomorrow. It looks like maybe they have a manufacturing problem somewhere along the line? or at least a quality control problem.

Dale: Very imnteresting post. Please advise on what Canon says. THanks

Hi Everyone,



I'm having the same problem as well and my camera is 2 weeks old. The battery light keeps coming on. I haven't tried the Sanyo Eneloops yet, but since you guys swear by it, I'll pick some up. Do you guys have a preference on a charger as well (that doesn't break the bank)?



In the mean time, I took a mathematical approach. Since the specs indicated that 120 photos can be taken with the LCD screen on (and I also left everything else on.. like the flash) and 400 with LCD off (and I turned off the sound, the start up screen and such), that indicated to me that the ratio of flash photos to no flash photos was 30%. I performed a mix of taking photos with everything on and everything off and I got the same 30% before the 'replace your batteries' sentence came up. This yielded to about 250 photos taken during this test.



Although I hate seeing that flashing red battery telling me that my battery life is low (when I just put some new ones in, and not to mention that this situation is an utter annoyance), I was still able to continue taking photos. I'm guessing that even though the charge in the batteries are still good, I agree with the idea that the threshold on the camera to indicate that the batteries are low might be set too high.



Any thoughts?



Thanks.

Does anyone know if Canon has made available a firmware fix for the A570? That could resolve the issue.



This is ridiculous, my camera is a month old, I paid 200$ and eats batteries like theres no tomorrow.



I should have gone with the Sony. The lithium batteries for the Sony are available everywhere.

Amourek is right - this problem is connected with poor battery contact, I had the same, just opened the battery door took one battery in my hand, forced to the contact and started to "drill" till the contact became smooth, repeated this procedure with rest of contacts and problem gone away.

Beside this small issue, taking its size, features and quality to price ratio, I think that a570is is a awesome camera.

Didn't exactly count, but I had 2500NiMH FOREVER cells and after several photos low barttery indicator started to blinking, after doing above procedure, the same batteries took about 50 or more pictures with flash and no blinks at all. I have also 2800 NiMH and with fully chrged can't took more than 10 pics. without blinking, and now there is no such kind problem, but I don't exactly know in what condition these cells really are, because it have over 2 years - didn't try experiments with new one.

Maybe thyere is not only alone contact issue, but poor contact does matter here - I'm sure.

Thanks everyone for the continuing updates. I put the toothpicks under my contacts on the top and I had a hard time getting the battery door to close. I removed one of the toothpicks and only put it on the side where it contacts the positive side of the battery. If you look closely that is where there is less surface for the contact to touch the battery and also where if it is slightly out of alignment, a contact issue could arise.



I have not taken many shots recently but have taken 60 so far on this set of eneloops with flash since 12/2 so that is 22 days with these batteries sitting in the camera. I just put the toothpick fix in so I will see how that works.



Jim: Please let us know how many shots you get with the toothpick fix before the low-batt light comes on again.



Thanks everyone. tb

I bought two A570is cameras for presents this year with two sets of Energizer nickel nimh. Both cameras have the same intermitent issue of the battery low indicator coming on with freshly charged batteries after only a couple shots. Hate having to tell the people I gave these to that they'll just have to get used to seeing the flashing warning. Thanks all for the reports on your investigations.

Here's some information fo those who like I, did not know the variables in chargers and batteries. I earlier expected 1.2 volt batteries to function with my new a570. Had new batteries with fresh charge reading 1.35 to1.370 volts. They would shortly show low battery and change batteries alert. I am now using an Energizer charger which is producing fresh charged batteries reading 1.45 and up. This the third charger I've triein three weeks and by fr the strongest. I haven't had a chance to use the camera since I just changed card and batteries a minute ago. Will run it all the way down tomrrow and report back. I expect better performance with these much higher voltages. In short... get your voltmeters out and and use toothpicks for your teeth.

FYI: I just took some voltage measurements: On a Eneloop 2000 nimh sitting for 30 days I got 1.30v. On the set currently in my camera with 237 flash shots and still going I got 1.25 volts.



I am going to fresh charge a set and see what kind of voltage I get right out of the charger. The Eneloop is a low discharge battery so it is supposed to hold it's voltage discharge curve without too much drop off. Looking at the above referenced numbers it certainly appears it is working that way.

I agree TB. Noticed slight drop in a couple days. One point I may not have made clear earlier is there was a difference in chargers max voltage. Still seems like MY camera should operate at 1.3 v without warnings. Hmmm.

Tom, my electronics knowledge is quite limited actually. Did some testing today.... no name 2000 starting voltage1.445 ran almost 40 minutes of video record and playback. 1.314 volts took about 30 flash shots and low battery alert. 1.296v and proceded to shoot 200 non flash shots 1.292v and tried some flash shots an the recovered slowly between shots. My initial thinking is charge from new 15 minute quick charger is only difference between poor and acceptable performance. The contacts are clean and line up fine. In the next few days I will try the higher capacity (2650) Duracells. I am anticipating better results. Seems the flash draws most and taking rapid flash shots slows recovery time but, after sitting, resting, and cooling the battries a minute or two will improve recovery time. I think the charger makes the difference with my camera. John

TEST UPDATE: 489 FLASH shots until first time low battery indicator flashed. I tested the voltage on the battery and it was around 1.21 v. when this happened. This seems to be the threshold for this.



With High Performance Energizer 2850 NIMh rehargables I also got the 25-50 shot threshold low battery so I changed to the Eneloops.



THis is the latest update on my Flash Test with the following parameters:

1. Flash on ALL shots: ALL bells & whistles turned on: AUTO MODE.

2. Toothpick Fix on Positive Side only on battery door to assure best contact. (Not sure this is necessary but I am keeping it that way, can't hurt. See #3)

3. Filing both contacts on battery door to assure minimum resistance with battery contact. (Just touched them up so they were shiney).

4. 2000 Nimh Eneloop low-discharge batteries.



I started test with fresh batteries on 12/2 and wanted to see if time sitting contributed to battery drawdown. Today's date 12/29. My conclusion, this is NOT a factor.



I will now continue shooting until the camera will not fire anymore flash photos so I can get a total count.



I hope this information is helpful to all of us with A 570 IS challanges. Please continue to share your metrics so we all can get to the best solution.



Thanks to all of you for your contributions.



tb

Tom B,

These marvelous results you got... are they



-with OR without toothpicks?



-with the Sanyo rechargeables?



-Also, what is the NiMH on the batteries you are using.



I have a friend very discouraged with the camera she purchased on my recommendation, because the batteries go sooo fast. I'd raher help her with this cam than recommend another battery hog!



Thank you,

DB

Thank you, Tom, I'm passing on this info to my friend!



God bless you! Happy New year!

-db

I've found with both the A570IS' that I bought if I open and close the battery compartment lid and restart the camera, more often than not the "low battery" warning will disapear...indicative of some kind of problem with the lid/battery connection--not enough to cause the camera to not work but enough to cause this warning. Wonder when Canon is going to aknowledge the problem.

Here's a new scenario!!!



BOUGHT THIS CAMERA "NEW" TODAY along with a slow charging Duracell 2500mAh Charger and batteries. 10 minutes into taking general photos around the house, the batteries that came with the camera either died or were victim to the dreaded "low battery" warning or shutdown. I have come to realize after visiting this forum that it's the camera and not the batteries. It's not old batteries, dirty contacts, batteries left in the camera, mAh variances or any of the other scenario that has been thrown around this thread.



I fully charged the Duracell set and just 18 shots in, I either get the low battery warning or camera shut off. I played with the contacts but to no avail. I can clearly see the battery makes full contact with the contacts on the door so there is no connection issue there. The low battery warning is intermittent from turning the camera on and off and I was able to take dozens of pictures with the blinking red warning icon showing. At other times though, I'd get the "change batteries" text and the camera would shut off. Again, all with the same set of batteries.



Against my wife's wishes not to buy another PowerShot camera, (our A75 had similar full battery/no power issues a couple years into the purchase) the A570 IS was just taking fantastic pictures for the money ($179 US at BestBuy) and figured the power issue was taken care of.



The writing is on the wall here folks. This camera has some serious and annoying power issues and nobody should have to go on wild goose chases looking for batteries that "might" just keep this camera working. Mine is going back! Good luck and thanks for the thread.

You can dismiss my posts about the level charge and effect of which charger is used but... its the only apparent change I initiated and am now enjoying all the options this camera delivers with 4 different brands and mAh's.



Or... and I say this because I believe its possible... after a short "break in period" it works. Could a contact need cleaning? I didn't and no toothpicks either.

At any rate I personally am very content.



It would be nice if it recovered quicker after a flash but I'm really enjoying short 30-45 sec videos. I load everything in the laptop and everyone coos over the new grandbaby. Much of which in low holiday lighting.



Glad I kept mine, good luck, John

I certianly understand the point -return it why should anyone want to deal with this. As consumers this is not what we should experience. However, after the minor adjustrments here..I love my camera.. The answers are here if anyone seeks them..Good luck. tb

I've just read all of the user comments about this camera and I believe

"Dale" on Jan 1/07 got it correct (and those people with the toothpick solution)! If you check out both reviews of this camera on the links below, both reviewers noted a problem with the battery compartment door and battery usage. These are the guys who tested for Canon! They thought it was just their "test" camera. One solution was to just open and shut the battery compartment door. It does appear to be a connection/contact problem rather than a battery problem. I suggested a friend buy the 570IS two days ago and we've been having the same problem with flashing battery warning after only a few shots. VERY annoying! Opening and closing the battery door did get rid of the flashing battery warning every time. I'm going to suggest cleaning the contacts better AND the "toothpick solution" immediately!

imaging-resource.com/PRODS/... 

Update: Tried the toothpick and tried cleaning the contacts better. The problem of the flashing battery warning light did not improve. As a last resort, took the camera back and exchanged it for another one. Exact same type and make. Canon A570IS. Works perfectly without problems with the battery contacts. Have been shooting with flash all afternoon and some video - no warning light yet. This may be an intermittent manufacturing glich. So I suggest this return and exchange resolution if at all possible as it may work for others too. Otherwise love the camera.

The battery compartment's door was the issue for my camera's low-battery problem as well; I don't know whether this post addresses all the issues mentioned above, but for me the door led to the following scenario:



(1) camera shows dead battery with flashing red icon; additionally, optional (and free) software shows the battery at 2.1V.



(2) I open the door, and reclose it. Immediately after powerup, the voltage is back near 2.3V, and remains at that voltage steadily.



Note that pressing the closed battery door at various locations causes wild fluctuations in the displayed battery voltage; thus clearly some contact somewhere is to blame for apparent loss of power...



Try cleaning both the battery terminals and camera terminals by gently rubbing with a pencil erasor; this removes any blocking residue or oxidization. Or anything gentle action you could think of that causes better contact.



[I'm using brand new energizer 2500mAh NiMH batteries.]



So for me in any case, battery contact is the issue.

Sure: check out chdk.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Pa...  After cleaning the battery contacts, and the camera contacts--including the ones deep inside the battery compartment--the voltage is now relatively constant at 2.4V, despite taking pictures for an hour or so. So, thus far the issue seems resolved (for me in any case).

I had that problem also - you need to slide the door to the side while you push the lock button down. It doesn't tell you that in the instructions.

I got my camera yesterday, hoping I would not get one with the low battery problem, but after taking about a dozen pictures, I am already getting it. I proably should just return it, but it is a nice little camera and just what I was looking for. But I don't want to go fooling around with adding toothpicks. I find the battery compartment door hard to close as it is and it feels rather fragile. If I break it, I won't be able to return it.

Does anyone know if Cannon makes a more reliable point and shoot in the same price range?

If you review my 12/29/07 and 1/1/08 posts you should have all the info you need

This problem won't go away - I have the same experience as everyone above. Post details of what's happening on every review and discussion site you can find and maybe Canon will do something

Tom - well, if Canon are selling a camera which requires you to insert toothpicks, file down contacts and buy specialist batteries maybe they should say so on the tin....

Good points about the distance on the positive contacts... Also I'[d be interested in learning more about the firmware..I'm a bit shy about going that route unless there is a way to put it back to orig spec if I mess it up..



Tnx,



Tom

www.thomasdistributing.com



Try this site..they sell them for apx $9. US for 4.

Ramus: There re really only 2 choices at this time: Return it or invest a little time to resolve the issue based on what others have found. You are correct about what Canon "should" do. However, since this problem seems to not be across the full production line of this camera, this is probably your best alternative. After fooling with these solutions I am very happy with the camera and the quality of photos/movies it takes.

Like you I wish this wasn't a problem and shame on them for not addressing it but with the low cost of this camera I think the horse is out of the barn.

Great Sean..Logically the Eneloops are only 2000Nimh as compared to other higher strength batteries..I have no idea why they work better but they do...

dallas, did you also try the Eneloops and compare against the MaHa 2700's ? If so do you have any metrics on shot comparisons? TNx



tb

Got tired of wifey telling that I bought piece of crap camera because of battery problems. Finally decided to return it to walmart but can't do since return policy is 1 months on cameras. Researched more on internet and finally came to this forum . PROBLEM SOLVED.

Tooth pick solution was brillent. Instead, I looked around and saw coke's packing (cardboard), cut it is small tiny piece with scissors and places underneath the positive terminal tab. Worked like a charm. TOOK 150 PICTURES WITH FLASH , battery used is 2000 mhz Digital battery , (from walmart too). Still can take the pictures but I don't want to push my luck. Darn thing hasn't taken more than 10 pictures at a time and now it can take more than 150 pictures. Can't wait until I tell my wife that I opened it and saw there was a problem and used my soldering thing to fix it. She will think that I am genious...LOL.

I had the same problem as everybody else and fixed it by using a doubled piece of cardboard from a battery box (just for irony). I also filed the contacts just for good measure (my dad taught me that most electrical problems are dirty contacts). You can file the inside contacts by sticking a little piece of emery paper to the positive contact of an AA battery, inserting it positive end first and twisting it gently.



It is shameful that Canon is selling millions of these cameras without acknowledging or trying to fix this problem. Anyone who uses this camera even once will immediately realize that the battery compartment cover is flimsy and prone to breakage. The first time I changed the batteries I thought to myself "Well, this isn't going to last very long."



I now have my Canon 570IS with a piece of cardboard in the battery compartment, and my Panasonic 3CCD video camera with a piece of mounting tape inside the tape compartment (to fix a completely different problem, that Panasonic refused to acknowledge or fix). Welcome to cheap Chinese manufacturing folks. When price becomes the only deciding factor for consumers, this is the junk that we get for our hard earned money.

I don't have a micrometer - they look "normal" to me. tb

Ray: I have a Sanyo NiMh charger but ut you can go to www.thomasdistributing.com , I'd call them and tell them what you need and ASK about the differences in chargers. I really don't know. There are chargers that are rapid charge and also regular. They also have them where after the battery is charged it will give it a trickle charge.



I'd call those guys and see what they recommend. Make sure it is a better one, IMHO..though they are relatively cheap. If you have a charger now and a voltmeter you can check the voltage on your batteries and compare it to some of the readings I and a few others have taken and see if you are ok.



LEt us know.



BEst,



Tom

Well folks, I just read this post becos I was having similar issue with my A570IS purchased in India 2 months back. I use Uniross 2100mah batteries, and it was giving me 40-50 snaps with flash ... All the time there is intermittent low battery indicator.



Today, I put in 2 freshly charged 2100 uniross batteries, and immediately it told me to change batteries! I was shocked.. Then after reading the loose contact suggestions on this post, I tried to fiddle around with the battery shutter door...



I am 100% convinced now that it is a contact issue or whatever - something wrong with the battery door mechanism. Its nothing to do with the batteries we use..



The same battery which gave me "change batteries" error - now i have removed and reinserted, and closed the shutter little more firmly and gently .. now its working fine .. It has already taken some 25 shots with flash ..



Hope this helps ...

When I first got my camera and experienced this problem (reference my earlier posts - Nov '07), I contacted Canon and eventually got to speak to a technician who said they had "NO RECORD" of a problem but suggested that I should "clean the contacts." I told him that the cameera was new and that I had used 2650 NImh Rechargables and that it went bad after 25 shots. He said "clean the contacts." I asked, how can the contacts need cleaning when it is new? What he was saying, IMHO (reading betw the lines) was that there is a contact issue. IT made no sense to me.



If you read further baclk on this forum you will see that several posters sent their cameras forf repair and got them back the same way or exchanged them and had the same issue. Also it seems one did an exchange and the problem was resovled. So it appears to be a faulty manufacturing process.



IF you read the reviews from a testers, they had the same problem with a prerelease sample but thought it was because it was prerelease. They gave it a thumbs up - and now this.



If you can exchange it you should - nobody should have to go through this. I got mine for a gift and it was purchased several months before I rec'd it - so I am stuck, so I had no choice but to seek a solution. This forum is the solution. MY camera works great now and it takes terriffic pictures without any battery issues.



Nobody should end up going through this. Condiering the low cost of the camera, I can't imagine Canon recalling it - shame on them...



tb

Many of s have had luck with the Eneloop's, they are 2000NImh made by Sanyo. They are low discharge, not sure if that is the variable though. MAny of us have tried national brand NImh with HIgher specs but they don't work. So, at least for me the 2,000 Eneloops are the answer. Don't really know why but that seems to do it. Also the positive contact on the door can be an issue.



Eneloops are available at Costco and www.thomasdistributors.com



Good luck.



tb

I'm certianly not going to defend Canon..the purpose of this forum is, as you know, to solve an issue that Canon will not. Nobody here would disagree with you. However, if solving the issue is what you wish to do, the solutions are here.



Best,



Tom

Dallas, NICE JOB..WELL DONE.. (applause) Good explanation...



BTW: Have you run the Powerex against the Eneloop's for a shot comparison? I'd be interested in knowing what the spread is.



Thanks for your contribution,



Tom

I do not see a problem with the battery issue, I am using two AA batteries and they are lasting me about a week or 200 pics. That is more than my rechargeable I Pod last in one day. So, what is the problem? Speaking in Layman's terms flash should kill your batteries faster, otherwise, turn it off the flash when not needed. I recon I dont know much about voltage and Amps but, hey it works for me.

Any other high capacity battery(2700 or more) with large contact diameter,other than Powerex??Powerex is not available in my city :((

Just got my camera back from Canon warranty service (29 days after filing a complaint), service report reads: electric panel changed, product cleaned and tested. Put in my freshly recharged 2100 NIMha Energizers and guess what .... after 15 shots low-battery indicator on again. After switching to picture view no indicator. The next day indicator on all the time, after replacing the batteries no indicator for some ten pics or so. But the problem is definitely NOT fixed. Don't know what to think of Canon testing. What do they use to test? Gonna try the eneloops but I am not happy with the warranty service at all.

Tom B: thank you and you're welcome! I don't have eneloops. Since I'm ok with the Powerex I don't have a need for them unless I'd want to play with the new low self-discharge technology. In any event, if a battery set doesn't give me a low indicator or a "change batteries" message right away or within a few shots, they pass my "test." :-) I really don't want to hammer my camera seeing if this set gets 287 shots and that set gets 166. The best so far... the Powerex got me 90 shots last week along with a 12 minute video and they still registered "good' on my dinky Radio Shack battery tester.



Jesus: what's your point?



Ramus: thanks for your report, tho it's not Good News.

Thanks everyone .I had this same problem and it was driving me crazy!

Tried Amourek's toothpick trick - problem solved.

I'm so happy.:)

Hi everyone.



I've been following this post since last fall when my new camera started showing the battery alerts after a couple dozen photos. (see my post of dec. 5).



I tried the eneloops last month and they have indeed solved the problem. I've taken a couple of hundred pictures with one set of them and still no alert!



So I join the ranks of those whose problems are solved. And it is a great camera!



RS

I have bought this camera two days ago. When I used the Panasonic batteries that came with it, i could only shoot 7 pictures before the low battery indicator popped up. After two images, the change battery alarm came up too and the camera shuts itself down. I replaced only one of the batteries with KodaK alkaline and could shoot another 24 pictures until I stopped an hour ago. The indicator still lights up but the camera does not shut itself (so far)! I tried to place a piece of toothpick to fix it but the problem persists. Could you please post shots of the best way to insert the (plastic, wood ...) pieces to fix the contacts, the their thickness and how the contacts should look like after the fix. Some said the battery + side protrusion should be more than 4 mm wide in order for the camera to work properly, is that the case? Moreover, in my country we don't have eneloops batteries to buy, can't return items we buy and the camera costs 50% of my income that i have been saving for months to own a camera which had one of the best reviews nearly everywhere, i am so disappointed, please help me.

try cleaning all the contacts and battery ends with isopropyl alcohol, and avoid getting oil from your hands on them!

Read about the baateries that "have" worked. Many haven't. tb

Obvious advice is to go to a store and check it out first. I find the LCD more than adequate, even in most bright sunligt conditions. Probably any LCD will not work in very bright direct sunlight though. This camera also has an optical viewfinder which works reasonably well for those times when the LCD is washed out.



With my Eneloop's I found that they seemed to work better with a few charge cycles. They are supposed to be ready to go right out of the package but I found that it didn't hurt to top them off first. I also give them a topping off before taking them on a trip eventhough they are a low discharge battery. I have the Canon camera case for this camera. It has a space for spare batteries and holds 4. More than enough for a an intensive week or 2 of shooting for me.



COnsidering online prices in the $150 range, this camera, problems and all, once addressed, is a good camera, IMHO. You must be willing to deal with the door/contact issue and have the correct batteries. The typical Energizer NIMH, etc batteries and many others that have been tried on this forum just don't work. Apply the info here and you should have a great camera.



Tom

found a post on another forum that mentions that in inquiry to Canon about battery life suggested that one check to see if a battery door spring RECALL that was apparently done in the past might be relevant to owner's A series cameras.



just FYI

Tom B and others, you have been very helpful. I wll try the maha 204 and maybe the more elaborate one suggested above depending on the price. I havent decided to order it with the Maha 2700s or the enveloop 2000s. guess I wil have to try both out.



Why am I considering this Canon A570 IS even though the problems its older technology Its only in the $150 range (for our first digital camera) and although it has its problems obvioiusly what has been discussed here, and although some of the canons have that e18 error which can totally trash your purchase 100% ($150 is better than $225 or even $300 for newer ones) I get total manual control which I think I want plus IS AND I can use CHKD with it. which is a freeware hack program that goes on your memory card and with it you can save your pictures in RAW format. Low light without flash the IS and higher ISO settings plus the ability to save in raw and then process in computer sounds to me like unbeatable for $150 or so!



thanks again for the help with this camera

@ bear45..



Did u use chdk to change shutter speed to 1/20000 ? That's 10 times lower than the max allowed in manual mode with no chdk. Won't it damage the basic shutter functionality of the 570 IS in the long run ?

Samir_ I wasnt sure you were asking me or not, about the CHDK question.

I havent obtained the camera yet, and havent worked with CHKD yet. I want to use it for saving in RAW plus the idea that you get a constant battery charge readout in your camera, how many shots left or percentage of battery. I suggest going to the CHDK page and I think there is a forum. I will be doing the same. you can search for CHDK wiki.



Some of the better chargers like the MAHA and the LaCross have a discharge charge feature which refreshes batteries that have been sitting you may get better results with that.

www.thomasdistributing.com has a good selection of chargers and low-discharge batteries. Mist of us use Sanyo Eneloop's successfully.



tb

I got this camera a month ago (my first digital finally) and after fiddling around with it using the original panasonic batteries, I found the following:



- The Camera has great features. The IS works fine. Even my young daughter can take good shots with it.



- This battery problem is a very odd indeed. Using the original batteries, I took about 80 pictures, and something like 8 minutes movies at low rate. I measure the voltage on the batteries and they seem OK. They can operate my analog Ricoh nicely. Is this OK?? I think it disappointing to me.



The camera can still work in the playback mode though.



After the low battery indicator popped in, I bought some new Eveready, not alkaline, stupid I know but they work fine for my other camera. These never worked, the camera would shot down immeidtaelty or just take one shot even with the toothpick tricks.



In where I am there is no much variety in rechargables. Only Energizer at 2100 or 3000 or Varta at 2400 and so on.



Anyway, I think I will not buy Canon anymore. I previously had a Canon color printer and was a piece of junk.

Dear all,



I applied the toothpick fix to my a570, I used it with a new pair of Kodak Alkaline batteries (manufactered in 2006 !!) and was able to shoot 30 indoor pictures (all with flash) before the low battery indicator came up. (in comparison to 5 shots with the Panasonic batteries that came with the battery).



I want to ask if such number of photos makes it liable to say that the toothpick fix worked? Moreover, I am considering to buy rechargeables but only found that the only rechargeables in my city stores are Energizer 2000mA and 2500mA, will these rechargables give me good number of pictures, which one should i go for the 2000mA or the 2500mA.



Thank you all in advance.

I have not encountered such a problem with my camera, though for the sake of research I decided to conduct an experiment. I installed Reyovac alkaline batteries a month ago, I was able to shoot just under 200 pictures and 5x2 minute movies without a low battery light. After the low battery light came on I was still able to take pictures at lower settings, such as: lower zoom and no flash. I also installed regular heavy duty batteries which were a waste of time. I then installed some rechargeable batteries I have laying around and encountered the problem most people are talking about. My conclusion is, I am not installing rechargeable batteries in my camera. The Reyovacs' are generally inexpensive (18 x $5) and work. I see why people would want rechargeable batteries, you have one set and "reduce cost" but for me I like the independence of not having to lug around another cord and charger when I travel, all I do is install a new set before I leave and put two in my pocket just in case. Which brings me to another part of the experiment I failed to mention, Those batteries I installed for a month were left to sit in the camera for a week, then I used it sparingly around the house, let it sit for another week and then went on a week long trip, where it was used as a tourist. Now, back home the batteries still work but at lower settings.

attention to all here:



caig.com/


  company makes a pro line of contact cleaners and conditioners. I have saved this bookmark for years and first read about them from high end audio and ham radio resources.



I see that Radio Shack and Guitar Center now vend some of their products.



store.caig.com/s.nl/it.I/id...  am on my way over to RS today to see if they have this in stock. see the first product pictured on the page linked just above. From what I have heard of this product in the past, it is definitely worth checking out. For those not in the U.S. check out their distributor page.



I am certain I will be buying the Canon A720 which has most of the features of the A570 and 590 but is newer vintage, yes, with the same flimsy battery arrangement and the AA battery usage. ( has USB 2.0 but not high speed but I will live with that. takes SD but not SDHD but does take MMC cards which at this point I know NOTHING about) the lens is said to be much better than the other two. CHDK program under development for that model



just FYI and I would think that the two CAIG products are essentials for this and any camera (and bettery ends too)



thanks again to all for the dialog and recommendations I am also checking out the LaCrosse 900 charger and will be perfectly happy I think with the Enveloops



again great info, thanks!

I apologise for this repost but I thought it might help those who are new here. This the results of a test I did with a freshly charged set of Eneloop2000 nimh s and the tooth-pick fix.



TEST RESULTS:: 970 FLASH SHOTS until CHANGE BATTERY INDICATOR ..see below for test and results:



After getting the first low-batt indicator - I was rapid firing the flash, I waited about 5 min before continuing. Then I would shoot 10-15 shots and then let it rest a bit and then pick it up and shoot somemore. As you know in reality almost no one shoots continuous flash shots anyway so ths is probably a severe test.



I went from 489 to 616 flash shots (same batt's) before the low-batt indicator came on the second time. I measured the Eneloop voltage and now it is 1.20v. Down from 1.21v previously. After letting it sit for about six minutes the Low Batt indicator is off again and I am shooting flash again in 10-15 shot bunches and then letting it rest for 5 minutes or so. I will keep doing this until the Low-Batt indicator comes on and stays on and report back with the numbers.



781 shots before low-batt indicator came on for 3rd time.: using flash taking 10-15 shots in a row and then letting it rest for 5 min-6min... I may be hitting it too many times in a row for the batteries to recover.



816 flash shots and low-batt indicator is flashing for 4th time. Measured the voltage about 1.15-1.17v.



What is interesting here is that the batteries recover very quickly and in normal use I think they would actually go much further without the low-batt indicator flashing.



I let it sit for another 3 minutes and now I'm up to 850 flash shots and still going - no low-batt right now, though it's got to be getting low on gas...



866 shots: Low-batt ind came on and is now staying on (was getting worried low-batt ind was broken, LOL)

Continued shooting until 970 shots when camera shut down and change battery indicator came on. Voltage 1.125ish.



I hope this shows at least what I got, previously with other high NIMH batteries and NO toothpick I was getting 25 shots or so.



Tom B

I had referenced all this information on another forum and someone replied

with the information that they use Elite 1700 mah cells in an A710.



The cells drop the flash recycle time by 1-2 seconds over other cells. Elite cells are designed for very high discharge rates (20+ amps) and so have very low internal resistance.



The poster stated he can take over 400 medium powered flash images and the cells will still be reading about 1.3v each and the recycle time is less than 3 seconds. Full-power flash recycle time is 9 seconds. Low powered flash recycle time is less than one second.



Elite 1700 cells are designed for paintball guns and supposedly the lower internal resistance allows faster shooting.



I wonder if anyone notices any difference in flash RECYCLE times with their chosen batteries or just battery life.



Just wonder if these higher amperage batteries pose a problem in with any damage to the ciruit. But I am being overcautious here. If someone is using them then I suppose there isn't that problem I am not really knowledgable of electronics.



Except for one thing. I remember that battery voltage should be tested only UNDER A LOAD. not just sitting there and read with a voltmeter. Thats how they test your battery in your car. Those battery testers that you can buy in Radio Shack etc. for your home battery work that way I am told.



I remember that the way to test a battery is with a resistor of a certain value in series when using the voltmeter. Batteries actual reading will differ under a load which is how the battery is used. Perhaps the poster's information of the Elites having 'less internal resistance' is part of this.



I wonder if those who did some voltage tests could go back and retest under a load. I suppose this might be why different brands of batteries are more succesful than others in these tests. Testing this way could shed better light on different battery's performance here.

I had everything on and was shooting the next step up from the 640X... resolution. MY wife has the camera on a trip so I don't remember. I shot flash on auto, face detect on, IS on, grid on, lcd...everthing on literally.



tb

I'm sure the higher resolution would be as factor but for my hobbyist use the 1600X1200 takes a teriffic, sharp shot. Even if I got hafl the shots at 400 I'd be thrilled. tb

Can anyone suggest a comparable Canon camera that does NOT have this battery/compartment issue?

Dear all,



I currently reside in Jordan - Middle East and here I could not find any decent rechargeable batteries except for the energizer 2000mAH which are also overpriced. There is no way that I could obtain the eneloops batteries even if i bought them from the net because most refuse to send such items to the middle east. So my question goes as follows: If I used the energizer batteries and applied the toothpick fix, will that solve the problem? (I consider the problem solved if i could get approx 150-200 pictures and few minutes video before recharging), moreover, is it true that it is better to use chargers that take hours to do the job rather than the 15-minute chargers?



thanks in advance :)

I bought this camera for $240.00 at Best Buy six months ago and now it’s dropped to $150.00. ARRRG!

The Alkaline battery’s that came in the box didn’t last long before the battery light came on.

I then bought Rayovac 2500 Nickel Metal Hydride batteries at Walmart. They latest longer but still the battery light came on too soon. By then, Best Buys’ 14 day, take back period was over and I was stuck with the camera.



After some researching on the internet I read people had done tests on the camera showing that the cameras low battery light comes on at 1.1 volt per battery, for a total of 2.2 volts for both batteries. The camera shuts off at 1.0 volt per battery or a total 2.0 volts for both batteries in the camera. This is a really bad shut off voltage for a digital camera because most AA batteries can’t hold that high a voltage for the length of their charge.

I then found someone had done voltage drop off tests and charts, which showed various batteries, and how their voltage drops off. Here is the link.



users.on.net/~mhains/Review...  enveloop 2000 seemed to have the highest voltage for the full length of their charge, which makes them perfect for this camera. They also have the new long life technology, which makes them hold 85% of their charge for a whole year. They come precharged. Regular NiMH batteries lose 30 % of their charge per month so they need to be charged every month.



The User Guide manual that came with the camera says to use AA- sized Alkaline batteries or Canon AA- Sized NiMH batteries. So this probably saves Canon from any lawsuits. I have yet to see someone on here use Canon batteries and have a problem. The Canon batteries must just start off with a higher voltage, which then stays high enough for the length of their charge. But they are expensive and I don’t think they have the long life technology, which means they will have to be charged every month or the camera will be dead.

I bought my eneloop batteries and charger at Amazon.com for about $15.00. This solved the problem for me. I also bought extra eneloop batteries at Circuit City.



Ben

Hello all, my little contribution to the matter. I bought the A570IS on February 2nd, 2008 with PANASONIC alkaline batteries enclosed. Shot more than 200 picts and then I got the usual low on batteries message. Shot about other 100 picts then camera did not switch on anymore. Tried to use the camera with rechargeable batteries: ENERGIZER (1,2V/2200mh) and CAMELION (1.2V/2100mh). No way to shot more than 10 picts, even after full recharge of batteries. Used the toothpick trick without succes, so brought camera to service. They told me that no issues are reported for batteries on this camera, no needed to use toothpick trick, just read carefully the manual (suggest use of CANON batteries - Nominal 1.2V/2500mh, minimum 1.2V/2300mh): in any case they fixed the lower contacts of battery box. Now the batteries, when inserted, are out from camera of about 2mm and closing of battery door is slightly more hard: this should ensure good contact at the bottom side, and battery door side too. Bought rechargeable batteries and charger 1.2V/2700mh (UNIROSS batteries and charger and BILORA batteries like backup) and now take more than 200 picts without appearing the damn battery message: I am still waiting for it, but I hope to be able to shot few other hundreds of picts. Summarising, in my case the issue seems to be related to the use of batteries with insufficient power... that is all! Suggest to try with high capacity battery (1.2V/2700mh or more): hope this help and good luck.

Have been using NiMH rechargeables for quite a while. a DXG digital, an electric toothbrush, and a batteryoperated shaver. Have been using Energex AA 2500 mah, and Energex AAA's. I have always had low battery capacity. Then I started using a very useful battery tester which indicates "good, weak, or dead" and discovered that in almost every case of low battery (this is using a battery pair like in the «Canon A570) one battery indicated "weak" or "dead" while the other showed "good"! By throwing out all those which showed up weak or dead I finally ended up at the beginning of this year with one pair of good cells. About this time I bought a Canon A570, and after the free alkaline that came with the camera started giving "low battery" signals I put in the two good NiMh's. Have read all the threads and got all the contact problems, but by pressin the battery door and wiggling it each time I start a session I sometimes get the low battery signal but I ignore it. (got change battery once but wiggled the door and started again) I have not had to recharge yet. Have discovered in documentation that all tese cells have an internal resistance which is not necessarily the same for all cells. I believe that this causes one of the cells (don't know which one)to run down faster than the other. The bigger the difference between cells the more one cell is loaded. The better quality cells would have smaller differences thus using all the capacity of the TWO cells. This would address the discussion on which cell manufacturer has the better operating characteristics. Would someon check this out.

I just happened to be searching the net for something else and came across this thread, looks like yall could use some help:



Don't worry about capacity when buying NIMH cells for use in cameras, worry about internal resistance and voltage maintenance. You'll get more shots without a low battery indicator from low resistance cells than you will from high capacity cells. Unfortunately manufactures don't list internal resistance on the package. Eneloop 2000mAH cells are some of the lowest internal resistance cells on the consumer market. Sure they have a lower number on the package, and will probably deliver less pictures than a 2700mAH cell when compared *straight* off the charger in some cameras, but what about the next day? 2500mAH and higher capacity cells are prone to develop rapid self discharge. They can sit in a device (or on the shelf for that matter) and be completely dead in a few days. This is because the platelets and insulators within the cells are packed in so tight that they start to "leak" stored energy between the layers. The result is a cell that discharges rapidly without any current drawn from it. Those thin, tightly packed internals are the reason the high capacity cells have more internal resistance and poor voltage-under-load characteristics as well. The eneloops, also sold re-badged under different brands (white top duracell 2000mAH LSD cells, for example), have thicker insulating barriers within the cell, and thicker plates, they can pass current more freely, and as a result, often deliver more useful watt-hours than a cell that is rated high mAH. Remember, a camera is a "regulated" device that will pull more current from a set of cells to off-set low input voltage to run a component within the camera, so a cell that suffers from high internal resistance will have the camera try to pull more current from it to offset that low voltage, in doing so, more power will be wasted as heat within the cell (because of resistance).



It's important to note that not ALL high capacity cells develop extremely rapid self discharge, but MANY of them do. They will perform and work as expected usually within the first few dozen charge/discharge cycles, but then they will start to rapidly degrade, their internal resistance will increase, their voltage maintenance will go down the tubes, and their self discharge will become unmanageable. In my experience, most consumer cells will not deliver a useful performance past 100 cycles. Eneloops handle the rigors in the long run much better, even if you don't get as many shots straight off the charger as another cell, the eneloops will pay for themselves in the long run by not needing to be replaced as soon.



Another option would be to look into some hobby grade (super low resistance) cells. Usually found where RC guys can be found. They are usually about 5 mOhm give or take and hold voltages up around 1.35V into most light loads without any problems. They are usually rated around 1500-1700mAH capacity, but remember, capacity ratings aren't everything!

For whatever reason Canon has not addressed or even admitted that there is an issue. If it could be fixed with a firmware update I imagine by now they would have done it... IMHO.



tb

I would like to report my new exerience with the A570IS. after my previous post of March 27, I went shopping for rechargable batteries. In the local market here in Cairo/Egypt, only Energizer, Varta, Sony, and some cheap chinese brands were available. I chose the Varta 2500 mAh because of its higher mAh and the good experience I had before with its regular batteries.



It was a reasonble choice, with the first charge, I was able to take 210 shots and about 20 minutes of video over a period of one month (so there was no internal discharge). I think it is OK now but I have to say the quality is still not what I would compare to my analog Pentax and Ricoh SLR's. Maybe I still have to get used to the adjustments. I found that the Prorgram mode with exposure compensation provides much better results than the fully automatic mode. Also, recently the white balance functions seems to work wonders sometimes.

I have EXACTLY the same problem.... I have had this camera for 9 months and from day one I am lucky to get 10 shots from the camera. I had a set of 8 energizer NiMh 2500 mAh batteries all fully charged and all give the same result -10 pictures. I have tried all sorts of new alkaline batteries, some causing it to simply boot up and immediately shut down. It is sooo frustrating to be ready to take a picture and then have the stupid camera shut down after like 2 pictures. This is not acceptable, why else would you buy a camera that takes AA cells...so that if necessary on a trip you can walk into a store and buy a couple of alkaline cells...but even with re-chargables it does not work well. This MUST be a design issue with this camera. There are waaay too many people having this problem for it not to be a design issue with this camera.

Canon better come up with a solution or this will be the last Canon product I will buy.

I fixed the battery contacts (both + and -, focusing on the plus) with a small piece of rubber and used Energizer 2500 mAh rechargables and I was able to get 250+ indoor with flash pictures and 20 minutes of video since then. I can only say that I am now relieved and satisfied. :)

Many thanks to this forum for solving the battery problem. It really was just bad contacts.



Not having toothpicks, I solved it by using a small screwdriver to gently bend out the contacts in the lid. Perfect, and a very good battery life, even using the screen and the flash.



This is a brilliant camera, but Canon should have sorted this problem.



Jim (J.Baker @ ex.ac.uk)

Thanks to Tasha for extra information on this. My bending the contacts probably did the same as having slightly longer batteries, it did improve things a lot, but I have since discovered that this is not the entire solution. After a while the low battery icon appeared again, but I ignored it and was able to take many photos with the thing flashing.



I think one day's shooting on one set of alkaline is OK, although other cameras do much better. My theory is that the firmware needs modifying, so that it does not give the warning so early, ie, before it is necessary. The flashing warning is very distracting and is NOT telling us the truth. Don't let it shut down the camera; you can turn this off in the options.



Jim

----------------

To turn off auto shut down:



MENU

Right for settings

Select Power saving

Change Auto Power Down to OFF





This only stops the auto power down. Nothing else is affected.

As far as I can tell, this ONLY prevents the camera shutting down when it thinks the power is low.



You will still get the battery low icon and eventually, it will just stop working and say "Change batteries".



This may not be of any great help, as I think the auto-power down is usually just if the camera has not been used for a while, but I suspect that it might also do the shut down when it thinks the power is low.



In any case, nothing else seems to be affected, so why not try it? I would rather decide when to turn off my camera than let it decide!



There remain two questions.



(1) Why do you get the low battery icon after taking only a small number of photos with a new set of batteries?

(2) Why can you then go on to take a lot more photos with the icon flashing all the time?



It does seem like a bug in the firmware to me.



Jim

-----------------

Life is too short to fight a little camera really, but this problem has really got me. I could just go out and buy something else, but I love Canon and this little camera is a gem in every other way. The performance is quite outstanding and I have used it in preference to my big Canon digital SLR on many occasions, simply because it is so small and convenient (and has IS).



Here is another suggestion from elsewhere. I have just tried it, inserted new batteries, and will report if it helps...



----------------



mikedodd's Full Review: Canon PowerShot A570 IS Digital Camera



I really like the PowerShot A570IS. It's a big step up from the A80 I had before it. However, I've experienced the low-battery warning problem that has been mentioned multiple times on the 'Net.



The problem manifests itself when the camera turns on the low-battery warning indicator even with a fresh set of batteries installed. It happened to me repeatedly after turning on the power only for five times with a fresh set of batteries.



I discovered I could make the warning indicator go away by simply opening and closing the battery compartment cover. After I did this, the camera would operate normally with the same set of batteries. But after 4 or 5 power-cycles, the low-battery indicator would again come on.



I expected the battery compartment cover and I believe the design of the metal electrical contacts is flawed. These contacts are made of springy metal, but there isn't enough force to press the metal securely against the battery. Even worse, the end of each contact has a metal tab that prevents it from being bent further out to increase the tension. I believe these contacts are the cause of the low-battery warning.



I fixed my camera by inserting tiny pieces of plastic foam (i.e., spongy, like from "foam rubber" pillows) under the metal contacts. I used a small screwdriver to gently bend up each metal strip, and stuffed a small piece of foam under it. This provides enough force to keep the contact securely touching the battery. Since I made this fix, I have power-cycled the camera at least two dozen times, and never once did the low-battery warning come on. In other words, I believe the problem is fixed.

DId you put it on the teminals both positive and negative or on the batteries or both?



tnx

I also used a fine file to touch up the contacts and battery ends..worked well also.. tb

New camera, same problem. Eneloops are coming from China, but this problem is still quite nasty.



Has anybody tried CHDK software and decreasing the battery warning? Perhaps that will help.

Charging two batteries depends on the charger, but generally the answer is yes.



I'd strongly recommend picking up a good charger that can recondition/test/restore batteries as well as charge any number at once. The Maha Powerex MH-C9000 is the one I use, and it works great.

I commented earlier about longer batteries possibly allowing better contacts. I picked myself up some Energizer 2450mA batteries that were longer than my old rechargeable Rayovacs. I put some small strips of paper under the contacts since I didn't have toothpicks (this didn't work with the rayovacs) and since switching to these batteries, I have yet to get the low battery indicator. I used to get it with my rayovacs from the get go, but have yet after days of use and many shots, to get this indicator with these new energizer ones. Very annoying to have to try different batteries and stick paper under the contacts just to use the camera, but this is otherwise a good camera and I am willing to do what it takes to work.

There appears to be a switch inside the camera that is operated by a plunger in the corner of the battery compartment, right next to the SD card. This plunger gets pushed down by the end of the slider inside the battery compartment lid that is part of the locking-catch mechanism. If you gently press the locking-catch sideways without actually releasing the compartment lid, the power to the camera is disconnected, and is reconnected when the catch is allowed to return into position. If I do this repeatedly on my A570, It fixes or causes the low-battery problem randomly. It therefore seems that we have an additional source of variable contact resistance in this camera's design.

Might this be fixed with a firmware from them also..



I mean the "low battery warning sign" because it will become useless if so.



CANON! Make firmware to fix this issue!

Mocho Phil: I am sure a lowering of the threshold levels at which the indicator comes on, and at which the camera shuts down, could be made the subject of firmware change. Canon however seems unwilling to do this. The plunger switch is a hardware thing. If there happens to be a poor contact there, the only thing would be to change the camera and cross your fingers that the replacement was going to be ok! Having said all this, Eneloops fixed my problem but I know it hasn't done so for everyone.

I do noth think that CHDK has solved any problems with A570.



Tom

michael,



You are right about Canon, but ...



Since you have had it a year and like it, you might try the toothpick trick - very cheap and simple. Metal contacts should not become too compressed to make good contact, but this is a common problem, not only this model and Canon - even in the film point and shoots.



After trying the toothpick trick, check if you are using the newer NiMH technology rechargables as discussed several times in this thread. They make a world of difference over the older ones.



Happy shooting ..... Johnny.

Hey Folks,



Thanks for the replies. I have tried cleaning my contacts with a clean eraser, but that has not helped at all. I'm going to try the toothpick trick and see if that helps.



So, is there an email address for Canon, it would be great if folks could email them to be sure they are aware of the scope of the problem?



-michael

Well, toothpicks and cleaning contacts did not help many people, so summary is:



Buy Sanyo Eneloop batteries. It is possible to take about 700 photos continuously with the LCD on with them or even more.

Soft,



It is doubtful you will get any response from Canon, and if you do get one, they will do nothing. This problem and solutions have been discussed many times in this forum, including the 2 comments above yours.



Good luck ..... Johnny.

Hi,



I responded in another thread. I've tried the toothpick problem and the camera now works as it did when new. No low battery indicator, and no problems with any type of battery.



As said in previous notes, it's a nice camera but Canon has dropped the ball. My first and last Canon as they know full well about the problem, but choose to ignore when you call them and reference this and all the other threads on various forums of users complaining about this identical issue.



Thanks to the prior users who solved the problem on Canon's behalf,

michael

It is pretty sad to say that a big company like Canon (like others) refuse to help out consumers when their product fails in great numbers. I contacted a Canon repair shop about this exact problem and gave details. The service tech acted like it was a problem that had not been seen or heard of before. It has gotten to the point that I am missing picture moments. I have given my money to Canon in the past but will not make that mistaked again. Customer service is very important in business today. Poor customer service and tech support will force me to buy a differant brand soon. It should not be this hard to keep this camera working.



Jason C

Canon,



i am sure someone there at Canon is reading this, if so, please pass it on to senior management.



Look how many messages on here, and this is just one forum. This is a genuine problem.



Time to own up and correct this fault. OK, it will cost you a bit, but how much will it cost you to lose so many customers that love your cameras? And yes, you will lose us, for life; there are plenty of good alternatives. You have to give good service if you want to compete. You are not doing so.



Please do the right thing on this one.

Came here from battery problems with camera.

Thank everyone for their contributions.

My conclusion; The batteries are the problem.



The cause is the high internal resistance of the batteries!



Many NiMh batteries have a high internal resistance for use in the A720.

The same applies to the alkaline battery, including those of Duracell.

The Electo 2300 mAh NiMh batteries that I had used, have an internal resistance of 500 mOhm!

The NiCad's Sanyo 700 mAh give no problems.

NiCad's have a much lower internal resistance than NiMh batteries.



The internal resistance can be determined by measuring the battery voltage with load and without load.

For the load I used a resistance of 1 ohm.

Discharge current is then about 1 A.



Example.

Without load 1.3 V voltage measured.

With load of 1 Ohm a voltage of 1.2 V measured.

The internal resistance is approximately the voltage difference measured in ohms.

The internal resistance = 1.3 - 1.2 = 0.1 ohms.



As far as I can see Sanyo NiMh batteries and in particular the Eneloop AA 2000 mAh, which were listed here, are a good choice.

33, maybe you could read the suggestions which are plentiful in this forum. There is the toothpick trick, and using the right kind of batteries, and maybe there are other answers in the manual. Those who read what is here are often pleased with what you hate.



Did you read the manual? Did you go back to where you bought the camera and ask for help? did you call Canon?



Johnny.

Been using A590IS with uniross 2100 for sometime now. I take around 200-300 shots , both with flash and without and a dozen videos. Never had any battery related problems so far.

This last suggestion sounds good. Lots of other suggestions here, so best to try them and see if anything works for you. There may be more than one problem involved.



But it is a design fault, isn't it? I have never had this kind of problem with any other battery powered equipment. Canon should fix it.



It is strange that such a brilliant high-tech camera should fail because of a badly designed battery compartment. The processor is rather more complex, and they got that right.



:-)

I have been using the Eneloops now for 16 months, and they are amazing.



There are other forums and internet questions where the problem of batteries in various models of digital cameras comes up. They take only a few pictures and poop out. And as far as I know, the camera instruction manuals don't cover the performance problems with various batteries, and don't promote the types compatible with digital's characteristics. Even another model of Canon point and shoot I recently bought as a gift didn't cover this battery situation.

MY Canon works pretty well with the Eneloops since I posted in Feb last year. Still if it seems to draw down too fast, I will pop the battery compartyment and it seems to reset the battery sensor.. I routinely get over 200 shots with flash + movies out of it. I also carry several sets of Eneloops - just in case.



Otherwise as previously noted here, a great little camera...



Still, it is a shame Canon doesn't address this with a firmware upgrade to address the battery sensor issue. - BUMS... :)



Tom B.

"I might give in and get some Eneloops. They are good, if expensive."



They are surprisingly inexpensive at Costco here, charger and some AA's plus in one package. Another package is only batteries. My kids bought some there and both are really happy with them. You don't get the full selection, however - typical Costco marketing. Wal Mart also carries Eneloop at a excellent price.

Yes, maybe we should remember the good points about the camera.



I don't really understand how, but it often takes pics as good as my expensive SLR. Not so much control of course, or changing lenses, or big flash unit, and does not take a good pic of a black cat in a coal cellar by candlelight, (my SLR does), but it fits in my pocket!



That's why I have given so much time to trying to solve the battery problem.



I think the Eneloops are more expensive here in the UK, but I will look into it.



Thanks to Tom and others for advice on this. Much appreciated.

Good tip Slowpoke, thanks.



I got some Eneloop batteries. Quite expensive. They seem to work. Maybe problem solved?

Good point.



The camera does also have a small battery cell, so not completely dead when main batteries are removed.



But I would guess that a proper reset needs to be done by holding the button down, with the main batteries inserted.



No one should complain if they get 200 shots.



The problem that this big thread is all about is getting less than 20 shots before the low battery warning. For most, the camera contiues to work, but it is a bug, and Canon should fix it!

I found a CNET review of the battery problem, and someone responded that, when changing to a different brand of batteries (with different characteristics, as extensively noted above), one should remove the batteries, and then hold the power button down for about 30 seconds before putting the new batteries in.



I did not try the "toothpick" solution or clean the contacts. But after I did this, a new set of duracell alkaline batteries, which repeatedly before had given the low-battery indication began to work just fine.



This problem appears to be multi-pronged, but the "firmware" problem, as someone called it above, may be addressed by this fix, which the CNET commenter claimed came from CANON.



reviews.cnet.com/digital-ca...  seen if this works in the long term yet, but something definitely happened immediately. My batteries that refused to work a few moments ago (repeatedly) now work.