Anyone know why my sony camera has a short battery life?

Question

I have a digital sony point and shoot camera, and the battery life is incredibly short. i take about 40 pictures and they're gone. I do use flash, but that still seems way too short a battery life! any ideas what it could be? maybe there's a setting that i need to change? i already went to smaller image files. thanks!

Answer 1

Is the battery old? If it's a rechargeable battery and you have had it for a while the battery is starting to loose it's power. Call Sony and ask for tips.

Answer 2

What is the model number and what type of batteries does it use?

If it uses AA batteries and you are using alkalike, thats the problem. You need to use NiMh (Nickel Metal Hydride) rechargeable batteries or Lithum which will last as long but are disposible. The rechargeable batteries end up being more cost efficient in the long run.

If your camera uses a flat lithium ion (sony uses info lithium), then depending on how old the camera is, the battery may not be holding a full charge. Then you need to replace the battery.

Another suggestion is that if it is rechargeable batteries already, 40 shots isnt bad if you are using the LCD screen and flash for every picture. Many times the batteries that come with the camera (if they are rechargeable) will be good for about 40-60 shots. When you buy a battery aftermarket, they are usually longer lasting. Many times people will by an extra battery and use that as their main one since its longer lasting and the one that it comes with as back up.

If it is none of these, then perhaps your camera has a large LCD screen, which will drain the battery quickly. The longer its on the faster the battery will drain. The flash can also make a difference. If your camera has a viewfinder, try using that sometimes. Also, don't use your camera to review all of your pictures, do it on your computer at a later time!

Answer 3

Do you have an optical viewfinder? Turn off the monitor and use it if you do. LCD monitors are battery hungry devices. The longer you leave it on, the quicker the batteries will drain. If you MUST use it, set it to turn off after the minimum time offered, such as 5 or 10 seconds. Don't spend too much time reviewing your pictures on your camera. Save that for the computer when you can use a card reader and not drain your camera batteries.

If you do not use rechargeable batteries, get Energizer e2 LITHIUM batteries (or the Duracell equivalent) and you will get much better battery performance.

Answer 4

Try a new set of rechargeable batteries. The old ones gradually lose their ability to hold a charge. I got four Kodak Ni-MH AA cells in an 'economy' charger at Wal-mart for about ten bucks, and they've been great. I suspect that the camera is unchanged, but our expectations of it grow larger as we use it. When my digital camera was new, it was a big deal to take five pictures with it. Now I take ten to twenty in a session, and that sort of activity will really use up power. Keep a set of cells on charge all the time and stick a new set in the camera whenever you go out with it.

Answer 5

lithium. The camera of today uses lots of juice especially when we gotta look at every image we take and the flash is a given. Lithium batteries can last up to 10 times as long as alkaline. a nother suggestion is using rechargable batteries. they can last about 100 times longer than akaline batteries. for the average user that can be about a year maybe longer of good battery life.

anyway, I am assuming you are using akaline to begin with. If you are using rechargables they probably need to be replaced.

Whatever you do please don't forget to dispose of your old batteries responsibly. Most radio shack stores will take your old batteries and can point you to new replacement alternatives.

Good luck!!

Answer 6

I use rechargable batteries. I shot 170 pictures in Hawaii all on the same set of fully chged> Nimh.batteries.