Battery Life Estimates, Aptus 65

[Drew Harty]

Hello,

I am going to be buying additional batteries for my Aptus 65 and am hoping someone can give me some rough estimates on the number of shots per battery size.  I was going to purchase Lenmar batteries from Thomas Distributing that have a 3 year warranty and a charger from Dolgin Engineering which makes excellent high quality chargers, which should give a maximum, consistent charge from the batteries.  The Lenmar batteries are available as either as the L-480, 6000mAh or L-320, 4000mAh.  

If I take 50-75 shots a day using full preview and occassionally reviewing shots and turning off the back between shots, would the 4000mAh battery last a day or would I need the 6000mAh battery?  My preference is for the smaller  4000mAh battery but only if it will allow me to shoot for the day.  If I don't turn off the back between shots, will that effect battery life greatly?

Thanks,

Drew Harty

[Dustbak]

I use a A17 which is a different back but I think the battery drain is not that different.

I have some 320's. These last at least a whole day and normally even more. I have a similar style of working. I sometimes make about 250 to 400 photos a day and switch the back on and off. No problem.

Sometimes I leave the back on for a longer period, also no problem.

Lets put it this way. Since I have the 320's I no longer work while thinking (read worrying) about battery life. A full charge will get me through the day.

The 160 (supplied battery 2350) will only last me a morning. I cannot use that for a whole day.

The bigger block of the battery is doable but I would not have wanted it bigger.

[nicolaasdb]

between 150-250 shots...depending on the time between shots.

DON'T buy the cheap batteries (ask me how I know!!) because they will last for about 25 shots!

[Drew Harty]

between 150-250 shots...depending on the time between shots.

DON'T buy the cheap batteries (ask me how I know!!) because they will last for about 25 shots!
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What mAh capacity batteries are you getting 150 to 250 shots from?  Do you have any recommendations for quality replacement batteries for the original Samsungs?

Thanks,

Drew

[MarkKay]

With my  back, I got the two samsung batteries.  One hardly holds a charge anymore while the other one gives me about 70-100 shots with the back on image preview as I usually review each shot. I will also say the one lost its ability to hold a decent  charge without much usage.   I had purchased the larger Samsung battery and I can get at least 200  shots with the back on preview.

I could not find the Samsung batteries and purchased the Lenmar equivalent and find it works as well as my large Samsung.  I am sorry off the top of my head I do not remember the mAH.  

THe only problem with the larger batteries is that they sometimes interfere with some of the movements on my arca cube.  

What mAh capacity batteries are you getting 150 to 250 shots from?  Do you have any recommendations for quality replacement batteries for the original Samsungs?

Thanks,

Drew
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[MarkKay]

When i got back home I looked up my batteries.  They are 1600 and 3200mAH. I went and ordered two 1600mAH OEM equivalents since Samsung batteries are no longer made. I am not sure how much difference having an OEM equivalent makes or not.  I am not even sure how to be certain they are OEM since many state OEM compatible when you read the fine print.

With my  back, I got the two samsung batteries.  One hardly holds a charge anymore while the other one gives me about 70-100 shots with the back on image preview as I usually review each shot. I will also say the one lost its ability to hold a decent  charge without much usage.   I had purchased the larger Samsung battery and I can get at least 200  shots with the back on preview.

I could not find the Samsung batteries and purchased the Lenmar equivalent and find it works as well as my large Samsung.  I am sorry off the top of my head I do not remember the mAH. 

THe only problem with the larger batteries is that they sometimes interfere with some of the movements on my arca cube.
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[Dustbak]

When i got back home I looked up my batteries.  They are 1600 and 3200mAH. I went and ordered two 1600mAH OEM equivalents since Samsung batteries are no longer made. I am not sure how much difference having an OEM equivalent makes or not.  I am not even sure how to be certain they are OEM since many state OEM compatible when you read the fine print.
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I could not find Samsungs either, I guess you have no alternative than to buy OEM's

Mine are 3950Mah (the 320's). I bought OEM from an online store I had good experiences with before. I was not let down but than again the batteries aren't that expensive so I didn't really care to do extensive research. I guess I just got the right ones right away.

[nicolaasdb]

sorry for the late reply...I bought the lenmar 1600Mah...and they SUCK...seriously 8-15 shots..maybe 20

So I bit the bullit and ordered the original Leaf batteries (they are made by Samsung and Sammy's camera still sells them...it says like the original "battery pack" on the top) BUT they are $69 each!!!

I recently shot on location and shot about 1000 images and didn't use more than 3 batteries....which makes my day a LOT easier...because having 3 batteries charging and working on your last one!! Is pretty freaky!! imagine running out of batteries for your camera on a shoot!!!

[NBP]

A liitle bump for this thread as I'm increasingly frustrated by the life of my 4 Leaf 2350mAh batteries.
They are exactly 1 year old and have not been excessively used.

This morning I got through three fully charged batteries stupidly fast. Yes it was a cold morning and yes, I was doing 4 - 8 sec exp's, but even taking these factors into consideration they were going fast. I timed the 3rd one: 11mins from full to empty.

I think I'm just suprised that they don't seem to be holding a full charge anymore - 1 year of medium use @ $70 a pop stings a bit tbh.

Anyway. Do we have any good alternatives yet? Particuarly some better performance in low temps etc.

[yaya]

A liitle bump for this thread as I'm increasingly frustrated by the life of my 4 Leaf 2350mAh batteries.
They are exactly 1 year old and have not been excessively used.

This morning I got through three fully charged batteries stupidly fast. Yes it was a cold morning and yes, I was doing 4 - 8 sec exp's, but even taking these factors into consideration they were going fast. I timed the 3rd one: 11mins from full to empty.

I think I'm just suprised that they don't seem to be holding a full charge anymore - 1 year of medium use @ $70 a pop stings a bit tbh.

Anyway. Do we have any good alternatives yet? Particuarly some better performance in low temps etc.
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I suggest that you look at the warranty expire date on the sticker that is at the bottom of the batteries. If they are still under warranty then you should contact your dealer and ask them to check the batteries.

There are some reasonably priced OEMs of 2000, 4000 and 6000mAh on the web that a simple search will bring up. Look for Samsung SBL-160, 320, 480...

Yair

[NBP]

Thanks Yair,
I'll take a look at your recomendations.
the warranty stickers on them are all ticked '07.

Would it be fair critisism to suggest that @ 2350mAh, they weren't a suitable power for the unit in the first place?
I've never been that impressed with them frankly - esspecially in lower temps - they just seem to be noticably worse these past weeks.
Also, I don't know if my recent upgrade to the 65s has additional drain on the power - is this a factor?

[yaya]

Thanks Yair,
I'll take a look at your recomendations.
the warranty stickers on them are all ticked '07.

Would it be fair critisism to suggest that @ 2350mAh, they weren't a suitable power for the unit in the first place?
I've never been that impressed with them frankly - esspecially in lower temps - they just seem to be noticably worse these past weeks.
Also, I don't know if my recent upgrade to the 65s has additional drain on the power - is this a factor?
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On an H1/H2/AFD/Contax the supplied battery should last 2-3 hours on average. Of course in low temperatures these times can significantly drop and with consecutive long exposure it is going to drop as well.
This I believe is true with any Li-ion and Ni-Mh battery.
Again there are OEMs with larger capacity but they are also larger in size so my not suit your work style.
Another option is to use the supplied DC-FW adapter and to run the back off an external battery, such as Quantum. This of course is not suitable for everybody...

Yair