Help! My Camera Battery Dies Really Fast

Good quality, long-lasting batteries are critical to the operation of the digital camera. Without them the camera is useless. It's extremely frustrating to be off photographing for the day and have the camera's batteries die. Especially if you didn't think to put extras in your camera bag. Even though our batteries are a higher quality than they used to be, there's still only so much they are able to handle.

If you have a thorough understanding of the energy eaters on your camera, you'll be better able to operate it while conserving the life of your batteries. Digital cameras have both mechanical and electronic elements. For the most part, the mechanical elements of the camera are the major energy consumers. But, as we all know, there is always an exception to every rule. This exception is the LCD screen, which is an electronic element that draws an incredible amount of energy from the batteries.

It is possible to conserve a lot of battery energy by using your LCD screen conservatively and wisely. We tend to use the LCD screen more than we really need to, simply because it gives us a large view of the subject we're photographing. But, doing so is a terrific drain on your batteries. Your camera will eventually turn off the LCD screen after a certain amount of time that it's not in use. Don't wait for that, turn it off manually and use the viewfinder, as often as you can. Saving the LCD screen to check for the lighting and composition, or when you're taking a shot that just requires the full screen of the LCD. Also, view stored photos only when absolutely necessary, not just because it's a fun thing to do.

There are so many automatics on cameras these days, that many things operate when they really aren't needed. One of these things is the camera flash. This is another high level energy consumer. When you need the flash, you need it. But, there are a lot of times that the flash will fire when it's not necessary for the quality of the image. Much battery life can be saved by setting the flash mode to manual rather than always leaving it in an automatic mode. While you're packing your camera bag for a photo shoot, determine if it would be appropriate to use the manual flash mode, based on the plans for your shoot, and set your camera accordingly.

The selection of the batteries themselves is very important. You can opt for disposable batteries or rechargeable. Whichever type you choose, you want to purchase quality batteries. Ones with a high mAh rating, at least 2200mAh NiMH rechargeables. Spend the extra money and invest in name brand batteries rather than the cheaper, generics that won't give you nearly the number of pictures before needing to be replaced or recharged. Whichever you decide on, make sure you pack extras in your camera bag, at all times. Don't get caught out there with camera case in hand, missing that one special photo because your battery died.

By: Suzanne VanDeGrift

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Suzanne VanDeGrift has developed this article for M-ROCK.com, manufacturer of high quality camera bags.