I love my SX160IS for a back up camera, but am now needing to buy new batteries again. The Canon branded NB-300 batteries so far have been the only AA batteries that deliver more than a dozen or so shots. They are not cheap, and they are getting more difficult to find. Plus there are so many off brand batteries out there but so far any battery that I buy lasts no longer than regular alkalines. Has anyone found a good substitute? are eneloops good?
Well canon does list that rechargable Nihms have twice the battery life so I can imagine a noticeable drop off on alkaline. I'm surprised that you have had to buy that many CanonNB-3AH/NB-300 rechargeables, you should have been able to get about 300 charges off of them. You Eneloops are good for electronics, and I'm sure a cheap set of rayovac rechargables would also work ok, I use both for a variety of applications. What does not make sense is that you should be able to get over 100 shots off the standard alkaline, are you using the screen a lot between shots? That may be killing the battery as its a power hog. I don't have this camera, but hopefully someone here does.
I had an SX120 before this one, bought both new and have owned this one for some time, and both drained regular Alkalines quickly. Even Canon told me they would be that way when I called and asked. However the $24 NB4-300 batteries do give lots of use. If the camera is on, the screen is on, no viewfinder. But in my thoughts, Canon most surly does not make those batteries, someone else probably makes them and labels them "CANON". This makes me wonder if there might be a less expensive alternative. Age also affects the lifespan of the battery, even if not in regular use, The camera and batteries do sit for months sometimes. I bought this camera in 2012 and I believe that I have gone through 2 sets of the NB4-300 batteries. After a while they lose the long lasting use in the camera and start losing charge quickly. I have purchased a EOS DSLR but this one is a good back up and portable enough for a car camera. It has served me well, several trips overseas and other use. I just wish there was a $15 alternative. Energizer rechargeables act like alkalines
I see that the energizer recharge ones are Nihms just like the canon ones but between 2000-2200 mah since the canon ones Nihms with 2500 mah (according to B&H specs and they are in stock there) they would not last quite as long with a lower milliamp-hour rating. Aside from the rating there isn't really any logical reason why the canon Nihm would perform so much worse than another if they have similar Mah ratings. Nihms should last significantly longer than standard alkaline batteries.
The Canons do last well, I was only hoping to find a less expensive alternative. I have tried the energizers and they last s dozen or so shots and then need recharging, the Canons go at least a hundred. I will try the Eneloop Pros next but not for the moment. Spent all of my expendable cash on a Canon DSLR so the Powershot will have to wait. Aside from that, the Powershot SX160IS is a great bridge camera, you can even go full manual with it. Not the rapid fire like a DSLR but the optics are great and it fits in a small space.
I wish you luck on the Eneloop when you get to where you can buy them, it really doesnt make sense they would perform so different if they are Nihm batteries. I would say if they don't do it grab the cannons then, they seem to be readily available for25 on photo sites like B&H or amazon. I stopped purchasing compact cameras back around 2010 myself but for a different reason, not because of my dSLR, I just felt the mobile cameras had caught up to them in recent years, and I always have my iPhone on me anyway.
Modern phones are great and the reason that so much gear is so reasonably priced however so much more can be done with cameras still. thanks for the replies. Currently when trying to buy the Canon batteries they show up as out of stock when trying to order but will be back in stick soon I bet. I must admit that it is getting to the point that the expense of buying batteries that work is making the camera more obsolete. I think this is why Canon went to Lithium packs instead of AAs for the compacts but it can be convenient whern you need to make a photo and the battery is dead, just pop in a pair of AAs and go.
I was given a recommendation elsewhere from a fellow SX160IS user that I should invest in NiZN batteries as opposed to Nimh, the Nizns are rated at 1.6 volts as opposed to 1.2 which most Alkalines and Nimh rechargeables are. I have noted in the past that when fully charged the NB4-300 batteries read over 1.5 volts so maybe this will be the solution. It will be a few weeks before I can try this out but will report back when I do/
