Quote:
Originally Posted by jocampo
A little bit off topic, and amateur photographer here, with a Canon t2i.
The reasons why some devices use something different than AA batteries is also because power consumption. You'll need a bunch of AA batteries so you can provide the same amount of "juice" the camera needs.
You're also assuming people can get rechargeable batteries anywhere, but that's not the case. If I travel to Colombia and I'm in a remote city or beach, chances are I won't find a place that sell AA rechargeable batteries, only regular ones. And the main difference between proprietary batteries and rechargeable AA (besides the power they can or cannot deliver) is basically the form factor, because still you need to recharge those no matter what. Proprietary batteries are usually smaller and lighter which gives more comfort when holding a device.
I still have my Canon S2 with me, which uses AA, but that does not alter the fact that I need to recharge them no matter what. At some point I was carrying 8 batteries with me all the time (4 on camera, 4 inside my pocket) which was very annoying, not to mention it takes longer to replace when they are dead, making you more likely to miss a good shoot during that replacement process.
And more a personal preference than anything else, but I prefer Canon or Nikon over Pentax, always  |
I have shot canikons and some i have liked some (the very high end ones) but most the time i feel if buying canikon you have to spend 2 or 3 times the cash to get the same quality as a pentax. the canikon features seem to be heavily studio oriented and rarely for adventurers (weather proofing, metal frames, AA, etc). I do like the micro-prisms more on the higher end nikons but that is normaly customized when one buys a camera. But this is for a different forum and camera people always have brand loyalty that clouds judgment, likely because of the mounts on their glass.
I am NOT referring to rechargeable batteries only.
I can get 250-500 shots out of 4
alkaline non-rechargeable low end AA batteries available at any gas station in central or south America. That is with a 6 year old Pentax getting about 11 megpixls as fast as ~ 4 shots per second. I get well more than that if using energizer ultimate 800-1200 or rechargeable 600-800. It can be the old cheapo alkaline AA. The volts are the same, the amp hours are less. Again, power consumption should be part of the design and it isn't in newer models of tablets or cameras. Not only conserving power but using a powersource that is common. Yeah some of the pentax slrs need more "juice" so they use 6AAs. And more and more they are going to proprietary, sniffle sniffle. The volts on all canons nikons olympuses and pentax are comparable, some draw more amps per phtos but nothing AAs can not handle. I don't believe proprietary shapes are more space efficient. Often proprietorial have that same dead space between cells. The high end rechargable AAs use the exact same redox reactions and may even use the exact same cells made by the same children in sweatshops. I believe it is another way to control planned obsolescence and retain sales within the company. I also hate having a pile of used disposable AAs when i am done with a trip (for environmental reasons) but I would rather have to pack that out of a wilderness area knowing i never ran out of juice then be limited in my photo taking because i only have a couple proprietary $80 batteries. There is less environmental guilt when i use rechargeables. But there would be no more or less mass with proprietary verse AA rechargeables. When my research requires photos to test results I can not stop to recharge proprietary batteries or hold back on shots. I will admit ereaders are too thin to fit a AA but rarely does a large product NEED proprietary batteries.
But it was not totally off topic. The tech industry assumes we are all living a domestic life, that we will always sleep next to a USB plug, we will always have a wifi connection and that electricity is everywhere. The new features are rarely battery life. but this is what I need more than color or videos.
Heck. my new sony t1 will not even give you access to replace the battery. the old ones did. I think the same is true with the kindle. wearout schedule.