the effect of IS on battery life?

turbotoes

turbotoes

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Tara
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Well. I think it all in the title, I'm seriously considering getting a 70-200 F4 IS, and wondered what that's going to do to the battery life on my 400d, I do have a spare battery, but won't have the wonga for a grip for a while (probably will buy in future though) after the outlay for the lens. I can't seem to find any info on it all, though there must be some impact. no?

thanks

Tara
 
Definitely IS affects battery life, but having said that, I've never found a full days shooting, even with the 500mm f4 has run the battery flat and that lens has an enormous 'hunting' travel if you lose focus.

There's actually a good argument in favour of only putting one battery in the grip anyway and keeping the spare in your pocket rather than having all your eggs in one basket -not that I practise what I'm preaching.

Get the IS - it's invaluable. (y) I reckon IS has a lot less impact on battery life than AF anyway.
 
Yes IS will increase the drain on the battery. I don't know the exact figure but I wouldn't worry to much about it. I use the 24-105 IS on my 5D and reckon I get about 450+ shots from one charge on my camera battery. I know the battery is smaller on your 400d, but as you have a spare battery I wouldn't worry.

You can get third party batteries now fairly cheaply and they seem to work well. Unless you really want a grip I wouldn't bother, buy a 3rd battery. I change the battery on my 5D after 2 cards. Doesn't take long, quicker than changing a roll of film.

Plus if you know something important is coming up you'd change to a fresh card and battery anyway.
 
I noticed the 100-400 on the 20D at an air show considerably reduced the battery life but the 24-105 on the 5D (same battery) does not seem to make a noticeable difference. So short answer is I don't really know :)
Maybe it depends how much you wave the camera about!
 
I have shot all day with a D50 and D2X with a 70-300 VR and had no issues with battery's at all
 
Can't say I've ever noticed the difference to be honest... there has to be one, but its not noticable to me.

Two batteries in my 30D's battery grip lasted 2200+ shots over a whole day on friday and I was using IS for quite a bit of it. Still had plenty of juice left too!
 
That's good news, it was never a deal breaker but I did wonder, thanks for the info all.

Tara
 
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