Rebel XT battery grip and AA battery life

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G.T. - 17 Aug 2006 21:57 GMT

I'm heading to China for a 2 1/2 week trip and recntly bought a battery grip
for my Rebel XT. It's the only electronic item I'll be bringing so in order
to leave my adapters and charger home I was thinking about using AA
batteries in the grip.

Does anyone have any practical experince on how long regular AAs will last
in the Rebel XT? Based on recent vacations I'll shoot 40-50 photos a day.
If I shoot more I'll be using the display a lot to delete throwaways. We're
just backpacking it so we're keeping it as minimal as possible.

If AAs in the grip don't last long I'll probably leave the grip home and
bring adapters, charger, and an extra battery.

Thanks,
Greg

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default - 18 Aug 2006 04:35 GMT

> Does anyone have any practical experince on how long regular AAs will last
> in the Rebel XT? Based on recent vacations I'll shoot 40-50 photos a day.
> If I shoot more I'll be using the display a lot to delete throwaways.
> We're
> just backpacking it so we're keeping it as minimal as possible.

Regular AA batteries (as opposed to alkaline cells) do terrible. If you
don't want rechargables, then use alkalines. I tried loading six super
heavy duty AA carbon batteries into the grip and managed one shot before
they appeared dead to the camera. After that You could turn the camera on
and even view the display a bit, but as soon as the shutter release was
pressed, the camera would die.

According to the Canon manual for the grip, 6 AA alkaline cells can take up
to 300 pictures without flash and 220 with 50% flash at 20C but none at 0C.
Apparently when it is that cold, AA cells cannot manage a single shot. On
the other hand, two full NB-2LH batteries installed in the other battery
magazine in the grip will give 1200 without flash and 800 with 50% flash at
20C. (900 and 700 at 0C respectively) according to CIPA testing critera from
the camera manual.

2.5 weeks is about 17-18 days. 18 days x 50 shots per day = 900. It looks
like you can just fit that in one charge on a pair of lithiums if you don't
spend too much time with the LCD, holding the shutter halfway, too much
flash, letting the IS on the lens run for long periods, endless
autofocussing and all the other power hungry activities.

Maybe bring both battery inserts for the BG-E3 and the two NB-2LH batteries
installed in one of them. Then bring a pack of a dozen alkalines just in
case you need them since you may end up taking more pictures than intended.

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G.T. - 18 Aug 2006 06:55 GMT

>>Does anyone have any practical experince on how long regular AAs will last
>>in the Rebel XT? Based on recent vacations I'll shoot 40-50 photos a day.
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
> and even view the display a bit, but as soon as the shutter release was
> pressed, the camera would die.

That's not a very good testimonial.

> According to the Canon manual for the grip, 6 AA alkaline cells can take up
> to 300 pictures without flash and 220 with 50% flash at 20C but none at 0C.

I hadn't had a chance to look at the manual yet but that's pretty poor.

> Apparently when it is that cold, AA cells cannot manage a single shot. On
> the other hand, two full NB-2LH batteries installed in the other battery
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
> flash, letting the IS on the lens run for long periods, endless
> autofocussing and all the other power hungry activities.

I think I'll leave the grip home, bring the charger and adapters.
Charge the batteries when I have the opportunity. I don't have any IS
lenses but do spend too much chimping.

> Maybe bring both battery inserts for the BG-E3 and the two NB-2LH batteries
> installed in one of them. Then bring a pack of a dozen alkalines just in
> case you need them since you may end up taking more pictures than intended.

Yeah, that was the other option. But I think the battery inserts are a
little fragile so in order to protect the one that's not being used I'd
probably overpack it.

Thanks,
Greg

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default - 18 Aug 2006 08:31 GMT

>> Regular AA batteries (as opposed to alkaline cells) do terrible. If you
>> don't want rechargables, then use alkalines. I tried loading six super
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
>
> That's not a very good testimonial.

Don't use non-alkaline regular AA cells. You risk leakage from them too.
Alkalines are so cheap now too, it is silly to use carbon batteries no
matter how "heavy duty" they say they are. I tried it since I had some
fresh carbon batteries around. Clearly they do not work. I have read
reports that some people have used NiMH AA batteries in the grip
successfully. You would need to recharge them pretty often though since the
self discharge rates tend to be pretty high. I remember reading a review
somewhere where the reviewer didn't have good luck with NiCad though since
the output impedance of a NiCad is a bit high and with six in series it is
too much. You could try it for yourself. Canon's manual only talks about
alkaline cells for AA's.

>> According to the Canon manual for the grip, 6 AA alkaline cells can take
>> up to 300 pictures without flash and 220 with 50% flash at 20C but none
>> at 0C.
>
> I hadn't had a chance to look at the manual yet but that's pretty poor.

It's not that bad, a single NB-2LH is expected to get 600 without flash and
400 with 50% flash. Alkalines will get almost half as long as it is warm
enough. I can tell you that the NB-2LH battery works very well at cold
temperatures. The alkalines will definitely not.

> I think I'll leave the grip home, bring the charger and adapters. Charge
> the batteries when I have the opportunity. I don't have any IS lenses but
> do spend too much chimping.

This is probably best. The camera will also be smaller, lighter and less
noticeable on you. Since the lithium ion cells can be part charged safely,
you can top them up when it is convenient but do bring a spare battery or
two. It really sucks when they suddenly go dead and the Rebel XT doesn't
really warn you in advance that it is getting close.

Have a great trip and take lots of pictures. Bring lots of compact flash
too. If you don't use RAW for all of your images, then at lease use it for
any with questionable exposure or odd lighting.

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mark_yh@yahoo.com - 18 Aug 2006 09:11 GMT

> >> Regular AA batteries (as opposed to alkaline cells) do terrible. If you
> >> don't want rechargables, then use alkalines. I tried loading six super
[quoted text clipped - 16 lines]
> too much. You could try it for yourself. Canon's manual only talks about
> alkaline cells for AA's.

The output impedance of NiCds is very low, much lower than alkalines,
and IIRC, lower than NiMh also. The voltage of both NiMh and NiCd are a
bit lower than fresh alkalines, but most electronic kit seems to be
able to operate OK with both. These days though, NiCd doesn't make
sense since it's old technology and their capacity has been bettered so
much by NiMh (4x). I would agree not to put zinc carbon batteries in
any equipment I value, because of low capacity and risk of leakage.

Self discharge of NiMh isn't that bad either, unless you're talking
about leaving kit unused for months.

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Steve Wolfe - 18 Aug 2006 07:03 GMT

> On the other hand, two full NB-2LH batteries installed in the other
> battery magazine in the grip will give 1200 without flash and 800 with 50%
> flash at 20C. (900 and 700 at 0C respectively) according to CIPA testing
> critera from the camera manual.

That's probably pretty conservative. I can easily shoot 1,000 shots
without flash on the Canon battery with my XT, and still not be in trouble
yet. I carry around a spare battery in my bag, but so far, have never had
to use it. I don't spend all day looking at my pictures, but do peruse them
for obvious throw-aways.

Personally, in the OP's situation, I would just carry an extra NB-2LH or
two. That would be far less hastle than a bunch of AAs, and without the
grip, that's even less bulk and weight. Keep in mind that the 1,000 RAW
shots that I can take on a single battery represent 7-8 gigs of storage, so
bring your CF cards. Even if you normally shoot JPG, if you're taking the
time and spending the money to go to China, shoot RAW (or RAW+JPG if you
must), it's not like you can jaunt back there any time you want.

Of course, the OP may want to verify how many shots *he* can get on his
batteries. Blindly trusting somebody on the Internet is a good way to get
into trouble. =)

steve

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default - 18 Aug 2006 08:38 GMT

> Personally, in the OP's situation, I would just carry an extra NB-2LH or
> two. That would be far less hastle than a bunch of AAs, and without the
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
> the time and spending the money to go to China, shoot RAW (or RAW+JPG if
> you must), it's not like you can jaunt back there any time you want.

The grip makes the camera much bigger and a I think it looks a bit
ostentatious. Removing the grip may discourage the avaricious as well which
is important when traveling. The Rebel XT is nice and small enough without
the grip and with a small lens to not really attract attention. Without the
grip, it also fits nicely in a small triangular camera bag for when your
going out and don't want to carry much.

> Of course, the OP may want to verify how many shots *he* can get on his
> batteries. Blindly trusting somebody on the Internet is a good way to get
> into trouble. =)

Absolutely. Don't trust me or anyone else. Get familiar with your camera
and its quirks before you go using your own experience.

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G.T. - 18 Aug 2006 16:24 GMT

>> On the other hand, two full NB-2LH batteries installed in the other
>>battery magazine in the grip will give 1200 without flash and 800 with 50%
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
> to use it. I don't spend all day looking at my pictures, but do peruse them
> for obvious throw-aways.

Hmmm, I generally only get 600 shots without flash.

> Personally, in the OP's situation, I would just carry an extra NB-2LH or
> two. That would be far less hastle than a bunch of AAs, and without the
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
> time and spending the money to go to China, shoot RAW (or RAW+JPG if you
> must), it's not like you can jaunt back there any time you want.

Oh yeah, definitely RAW. I've got 5 GB of storage so I'll probably keep
it to RAW with no JPG. I may pick up another battery before the trip
and just be a little conservative with power.

Thanks,
Greg

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"All my time I spent in heaven
Revelries of dance and wine
Waking to the sound of laughter
Up I'd rise and kiss the sky" - The Mekons

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