How to Save Digital Camera Battery Life

If you’ve been using a digital camera for a while, you know how fast they can go through batteries. Stopping to change batteries can ruin some good shots and good digital camera batteries can be expensive! Here are some tips to make those batteries last longer, giving you more shots per set.

LCD

Your digital camera’s LCD screen can be one of the biggest drainers of battery life.  Whenever possible, press the LCD button and switch to using the view finder. Most cameras will still let you preview photos and change settings through the view finder, but it uses much less energy than the LCD screen.

Flash

Flash is another huge drain on the life of your digital camera’s batteries. Only use the flash when it is really needed. The flash can be turned off by pressing the button with the lightning icon.

Try to use low light settings and modes to make up for lower light conditions, or move to a spot that is brighter.  Even natural light through windows can be enough to make up for not using a flash.

Another option is to use a separate flash that runs on its own batteries. At least you will use up the batteries on the flash and not the camera, which may save you a missed shot down the road.

Video

Rounding out the top three battery zappers is video mode. Video mode takes a large amount of energy. Try to only take videos when they are really going to be something you treasure. Silly videos may be fun, but videos that you are going to delete right away should be avoided as much as possible.

Standby

How long your camera stays on standby is another thing to consider to save battery life. You can easily shorten this amount of time by going to your menu and selecting Auto Power Off. On the other hand, if you know you are going to be taking a lot of pictures, leaving your camera on will actually save more energy than turning it off and on.

Using all of these tips will extend your digital camera’s battery life by at least an hour. Who couldn’t use at least another hour?