Last year I went for a Trek with Canon Rebel XT and I had no extra battery. It was five days trek and there was no option for charging the batteries, so I managed to conserve power for all five days. So I read a lot of links for power conservation before going for trek. Recently I was discussing about new plan for 8 days trekking in Kinnaur and realized that it will be very-2 difficult to use one battery for 7 days. I am still thinking of the options I can opt to manage this.
But here I wanted to share few tips for battery power conservation:
1. Think About Your Shot First:
Think about the shot’s value before getting the camera into action. You may find that a lot of the pretty things you normally would snap four images of without thinking, turn out to be scenes simply enjoyed without need for a picture. This step alone will save a lot of battery use indirectly by reducing the amount of times you want to get your camera out.
2. Turn Off Auto Focus:
This tip only works if you use a DSLR camera. Most point and shoots (P&S)don’t have a focus ring on the lens like DSLR lenses do. If you have a point and shoot, you don’t have much of a choice. But for those with DSLRs, using manual focus can be a huge power savings. Most cameras will start focusing when the shutter release is pressed down half way and will continue to focus until the shot is taken. And the larger the lens, the more power will be sucked from the battery to bring objects into focus.
3. Turn Off The Review Feature:
Both DSLR and P&S cameras have the ability to review a shot after the image is captured. While technology for screens is advancing and battery consumption is a prime concern (as well as clarity in sunshine) it’s still best to simply turn off the review feature.
4. If Your Camera Has A Viewfinder, Use It:
More and more DSLRs are being shipped with “live view”, popular on most all P&S cameras. But this can also be a huge power draw. For the same reason turning off the review feature saves energy, turning off “live view” and using the camera’s viewfinder can possibly save more power. Personally, I purchase P&S cameras that can still be used with just a view finder for this very reason. Constant display of what’s in front of the camera is not a wise use of battery power when running low. If your P&S does not have a viewfinder, allowing you to turn off the “live view” on the LCD during shooting, this tip may be of little help.
5. Image Stabilization:
Just like autofocus, the battery is drained from constantly moving elements around inside the lens to compensate for camera shake. It’s best left off, or only turned on for vital shots.
6. Off Your Camera When Not In Use:
I know this one sounds obvious, but many of us get in the habit of leaving our camera on and letting it power down automatically.
7. Don’t Transfer Pictures:
If you are accustom to using your camera to download photos to your computer, now might be a good time to think about bringing along a USB flash card reader. Downloading from your camera will surely suck down more power as most cameras don’t take advantage of the power capabilities.
8. Increase ISO To Lessen Flash Use:
Your flash can kill your batteries in no time flat. Depending on your camera’s capabilities, it may be a worthwhile option to increase the ISO a bit in marginal lighting situations to lessen the use of the built-in flash. Before your trip, or right now, do a few quick tests in moderate indoor lighting (the most likely scenario for flash use) to see just how far you can push the ISO before it doesn’t look good to you. This setting is purely subjective. If you can stand the grain at ISO400 on your camera, then go with it. Some cameras look horrid above ISO200. Don’t take someone else’s, or some website’s, word for it, try it out yourself and see what looks good to you. Flash use has been shown to reduce battery life by as much as 40%.
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