Canon PowerShot users...I need your help!

[IrishAngel7982]

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday! For Christmas, I received a digital camera which I was THRILLED about since I haven''t had one for 2 years (my other one died and I never replaced it.) It''s a Canon PowerShot SD30...not top of the line but there''s absolutely nothing wrong with it. As long as it works, I''m happy. The only problem is that there is no type of battery life indicator. That''s the only thing I''m not happy with. I did some research and read the threads about digital cameras and it sounds like Canon makes a great camera...so I was thinking about exchanging this one for the SD630 or paying the difference for the SD700. But, the SD630 doesn''t have a battery life indicator either (according to cnet). I''m not sure how I''m going to know when I need to charge my camera...I don''t want to have to always guess or have it die when I really need to use it. Does anyone have this camera (the SD30 or SD630) or any other camera with no battery life indicator? If so, how do you know when to charge it up? Does the SD600 or SD700 have one? Thank you!

 

[ammayernyc]

I have an SD400 and it doesn''t have one either. There''s really no way to tell so I just carry around an extra, fully-charged battery with me. Aside from that one thing, I love the camera!

 

[jcrow]

i have the 630 and i''m pretty sure it does have a warning when the battery is low. i have 2 batteries and i always make sure the backup is charged so that i can switch them out without losing a shot.

 

[IrishAngel7982]

Thanks ladies...I''ll probably go with the 630 and track down an extra battery. Thanks for your help!

 

[aljdewey]

Irish: I own the SD700, and it doesn''t have a battery *life* indicator. Instead, it has a "low-battery" signal that comes on very shortly before the battery is due to expire.

I solved the problem by getting a second battery - it was only about $40 on amazon, and I can have one ready and one on the charger.

I would HIGHLY recommend upgrading to the SD700 because of the image stabilization feature. The SD700 is the first Canon with this feature, and it''s dropped in price a bit since the SD800 and SD900 came out.

Makes an ENORMOUS difference in the picture sharpness quality.

 

[IrishAngel7982]

Thanks Al! Originally, I had my eye on the SD700. Unfortunately, this camera came from Staples.com and neither the store nor the website have the 700.

I looked at the 800 but I''m not sure I want to put an extra 80 dollars right now...it would probably be worth it but I just need a camera for every day pictures. Thank you for your input!

 

[Mara]

I dont know if mine has a life indicator but it does tell me when the battery is getting low. And at that point I have a good 30 minutes of use left in the camera...or it can span over a few days if I am just using it for a few minutes here and there. It''s been a rare occasion when I have no clue it''s dying then it just dies.

I have the SD550 and I love it but I think if I had known the 700 was that much better I would have gotten that one instead.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I have the SD600 and love it, although I need some diamond shooting lessons! Mine also has an indicator when the battery is low. I also bought a non-Canon extra battery for under $20 on Amazon. It was this one:

Lenmar Canon NB-4L Equivalent Camcorder/Digital Camera Battery

But you can get the correct Lenmar battery to go with other Canon models as well. I have misplaced mine, somehow, though! They are small!

 

[AndyRosse]

I have the 630 and the battery low indicator supposedly comes on shortly before the battery dies. I have never had this happen, even on my honeymoon, taking hundreds of pictures a day. I would just charge the battery every night if I knew I took a lot of pictures one day or was planning to take a lot the next. I''ve never had a problem

Of course, buying a second battery is a great option too!

Also, I should note that when I turn my camera off for an extended period of time (even just a day), I take the battery out.

 

[starryeyed]

Hi IrishAngel. Congrats on the new camera! I have an older SD500 - it has a low battery indicator, NOT battery life unfortunately. My tendency is to always charge the battery for a few hours or overnight after I''ve used it, at all. It also helps to charge it after periods of inactivity also.

My only complaint about the camera is the "shutter speed". Sometimes I can''t keep my hand steady long enough while it takes a picture. Other times, I''ve missed the action shot because the shutter is so slow. I''m a novice with the camera, and the speed still bothers me. I bought a Sony for my tech-challenged dad and the shutter is MUCH faster. I did a search on CNET for fast shutter speeds and there are a few recommended ones.

 

[IrishAngel7982]

Thanks for your comments Mara, ds, rascal, and starryeyed! I picked up the 630 yesterday...I had one on hold since they were sold out everywhere..but I looked at a lot of stores and a lot of websites and couldn''t find the 700 anywhere. I was a bit bummed, but I''m just happy I have a camera that works! So, it''s all charged up and ready to go for tomorrow (friend''s wedding) in it''s new little case...I''ll invest in a spare battery shortly. Thanks for all of the quick advice ladies!