Full frame DSLR battery champ?

[lowep]

For long trips with no access to electricity supply for recharging what is the best current or older model full frame DSLR in terms of least power use and/or powerful efficient battery regardless of other considerations such as MPs etc?

I would also like to ask if a MFDB with a mechanical body such as an Alpa would end up lasting longer than a DSLR if the DSLR was used without any zoom and manual focus rather than auto.

Of course so many variables are involved there can be no one correct answer but any advice based on field experiences with either DSLR, MFDB or both would be appreciated.

[PeterAit]

Given the ease of carrying along a few extra charged batteries, I would certainly not use battery life as a criterion for selecting a camera.

[lowep]

thanks peter, i would prefer to juggle fewer batteries though understand this may not be an issue for you on your longer trips.

the reason I am asking is that I am looking at scans of negatives from a 2-months long trek and trying to figure out if it would be possible to do it again with a digital camera system.

of course no digital camera battery will last for that long but if there is say a 50% difference in power consumption or battery power from one model to another that makes quite a difference in how many extra batteries would be needed.

[DavidP]

My 5D MKII really seems to go for a very long time on the small sized battery that it uses. Almost a full day of shooting, when shooting a lot of portraits or lifestyle. I have a couple of extra Calumet ones that seem at least as good or better then the OEM ones. It does run it down much more quickly if using live view or video, but for basic stills goes for a long time. The medium format cameras are much more power hungry, at least my Phase One is. The batteries are twice the size and run down pretty quickly. I think the CCD sensors use "way" more power then the CMOS in DSLR's.

[OldRoy]

At an air show yesterday I shot > 2000 RAWs (actually about 40+ Gb) with my D700 on a single new third party battery. The majority of this was shot using the rather battery-hungry Sigma 150-500 OS lens (about which the less said, the better.) So much for "why buy third-party batteries..."
Much deletion in prospect.
Roy

[Rhossydd]

My EOS1Ds ii has very impressive battery life and I think the mkiii is even better. It would go for a week shooting 2000 RAWs without needing a recharge when the battery was new.
The downside is it's a big heavy camera, spare batteries are also large and the charger is quite bulky too.
Where as my 5Dii's batteries don't last as long, they're a third of the size and the charger is a quarter of the size too, so carrying equivalent shooting capacity could be lighter and smaller to carry.

Most Lithium-Ion batteries hold their charge well in storage, so it might be worth doing the sums on how much spare batteries cost and how many you think you'd need available between access to recharging facilities.

As others have said, careful use (no live view, setting short shut down times and being frugal with image reviewing) can really help battery life too.

[lowep]

2000 raws is a lot.  

thanks for this useful feedback and also the good point about difference between MFDB batteries and DSLR batteries and weight considerations - looks like this is worth further investigation that is just what I hoped to find out instead of investing time and money on reinventing the wheel.

[OldRoy]

I just checked this. The total number of files under my "airshow 2011" directory is actually 3406! Of which about 300 were shot on another battery the previous day. I find this quite hard to believe myself - I took 5 charged batteries to the show in the firm belief that the seldom used Sigma lump would devour them. The EN EL3e battery was one of a pair that came bundled with a (cheap) third party grip for my D200. I have never had a problem with these no-name batteries although one failed recently after nearly 4 years' intermittent use.
Roy

[Ken Bennett]

I regularly get ~2000 raw frames from my 1D Mark IV on a single charge. (I know, it's not full frame.)

[lowep]

3000. That's amazing! I wonder if any Canon or other brand DSLR can match that and how this compares with newer Nikons.

[JeffKohn]

For the most shots from a single battery charge, The D3/s or D3x with its larger battery is probably champ, or possibly a D700 with the addon grip using an EL4 battery. I can't remember if Canon moved to lithiuim batteries before or after the 1Ds3, so I'm not sure how it would compare.

I don't usually shoot 3000 raws a day; but I do make heavy use of live-view for focusing and composing, and I can usually go about 3 days of shooting on a full battery, despite the fact that my batteries are a couple years old (they're in the middle of the range on the battery lifetime scale in the camera).

Having said that, I certainly wouldn't recommend choosing a camera based solely on this criteria. For instance a D3 plus a few extra batteries could easily weigh more than a smaller D700 with several more extra batteries.

[lowep]

"I certainly wouldn't recommend choosing a camera based solely on this criteria..."

neither would I   but sharing field experiences and knowledge about specific features of different cameras makes it easier to sort out which one best suits a project than hiring gear or reading brochures.

[francois]

3000. That's amazing! I wonder if any Canon or other brand DSLR can match that and how this compares with newer Nikons.

You  must also understand, but I'm sure you do, that cold temperatures, long exposures, use of live view and other factors can give you dramatically lower performance.

[Steve Weldon]

None of the figures provided mean much unless you know several more variables.

a.  Do they review each picture?  Or is it turned off.  Do they chimp to review and for how long?

b.  Do they use the menus much?

c.  Do they use IS/VR lenses and how long does the person stay "on target" with the IS/VR activated before taking the exposure?

d.  Length of exposure.

e.  Are they using onboard flash?

f.  How new are the batteries and have they been exercised properly and regularly?

g.  What temperature are these people operating in?

There's more, but until you know at least the above information (and half of it would be hard to provide accurate figures) you can't compare one against the other.  I regularly got 2500-3000 images from my Canon 1ds2.  6 years later the same batteries provide 800-900 frames.  At what points during that 6 year time frame did I get certain numbers?  And how did my shooting style, seasons of shooting, choices of lenses, etc, affect those numbers?  My Canon 5d2 gets 1800-2200.  And so on..

If the information isn't accurate enough to be transferred and compared directly to your style you're guessing.

It might be better to study the spec sheets.   See how much a camera draws, how big the batteries are, and investigate each cameras "potential" for all shooting scenarios.

But if you're really worried about running out of battery after a long extended off the grid excursion.. then don't think about carrying a ton of batteries, or a certain camera, etc.. really, most modern cameras draw the same and the batteries for DSLR's are all very close in capacity.  Instead, carry one battery, a space because batteries do suddenly fail completely, and  lightweight foldable solar charger.  You can make a fairly nice system for about $100.  Depending on how you travel (treking, you'll want to sew a place for it on top of your pack), campsites (a method for propping it at the best inclination/direction, and so forth.. A solar charger will charge your phone, Ipod, and whatever else you deem necessary..

If you're just interested in 'an' average number of shots per camera.. go to DPR and they tell you in each review.  If you want more data, read more reviews.  But getting the information off the forum with little to zero consistency in user habits.. it's not worth much.

[lowep]

"it's not worth much..."

thanks for the useful input   here is what I have learned so far:

in optimal conditions it is possible to get 2000 up to about 3000 images from a single DSLR battery

MFDBs use more battery than DSLRs

no huge differences in length of battery life between various full frame DSLRs

DPR provides this information in each review

DSLR Li-ion batteries can hold their charge well over long periods in the field

cold temperature & shooting style makes a big difference in length of battery life

carrying many batteries will be necessary for a long trip

using a solar charger may be an option


  

[Rhossydd]

what I have learned so far from this thread:........

I think you've got as much reliable information as possible here now ;-)

Except:
With respect to cold temperature performance. Cold itself will reduce the battery's overall charge, but also significantly reduces it's ability to release it's charge, but may not fully discharge it. So using a battery in sub zero conditions, it won't last long and give as many exposures as you might expect, but warm it back up again and there may still be some charge available.
This may be significant in some usage patterns, but generally it's good practice to keep batteries away from extreme cold if possible (don't keep them in external pockets of clothing, rucksacks etc).

[BernardLanguillier]

Just shot 1000 frames yesterday with the d3x + 70-200 f2.8. VR was about 50% of the time during a period of 3 hours, continuous focus, screen check every 5 frames. Temp was mild at around 20 C.

The battery was 70% full when I started (it had been charged 2 weeks ago) and is probably 3.5 years old. There was about 10% left at the end.

Cheers,
Bernard