Re: memory card question

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From: Greg Hanson (Greegor_at_hotmail.com)
Date: 07/20/04 

Date: 20 Jul 2004 16:20:31 -0700

"Gary R." <roberthouse@geocities.com> wrote in message news:<#ZtTe4gbEHA.2408@tk2msftngp13.phx.gbl>...
> Sounds like you should study up a bit on digital cameras.

I'm trying!

> NIMH batteries are a basic necessity, alkalines and
> such are and always have been a joke and waste of
> money. NIMH batteries are $10-15 for a set of 4,
> you can buy them at drugstores, walmarts, or
> online...if they're AA, look for 2000 mah
> or above. For $15-30, you can get a charger with
> a set of 4 included. They will outlast alkalines
> many times over, and can be recharged. Fast
> chargers are better, especially if you limit
> yourself to one or two sets of batteries.

I believe you, but please forgive my naivity
given 1) Vivitar included a set of alkaline
batteries 2) $30 is big money for batteries
for a $50 camera and 3) The market for this is
apparently not for advanced users.

>
> All digitals produce heat if left on; it won't be a problem if you use
> decent batteries that will have the capacity to run the camera for a while.
> Your description of a "day" of use for a set of batteries is not realistic;
> I shoot full days of activities where the camera is on most of the time, and
> would easily expect to go through 3-4 sets of good NIMH; if you're using
> alkalines and got most of a day, that's practically a miracle, you should be
> thanking Vivitar. $10 isn't much for a set of batteries that can be charged
> thousands of times and lasts for years.
>
> As far as powering down shutting off your interpolation mode, it's doing you
> a favor. Having the camera interpolate your image larger doesn't add a
> speck of detail, and fills up your storage quicker. You should be able to
> get a decent 5x7 from that camera without any upsizing or interpolation; if
> you need to go beyond that, interpolate from software later, the camera
> doesn't do it any better.

I understand.
>
> Most digitals that go to 'sleep' will let you wake up the camera by pressing
> a button; I don't know if yours does or not, but you just have to think
> ahead and adjust to powering up the camera when a photo situation is
> approaching or likely to. If needed, keep it awake by
> focusing/half-pressing the button at intervals. Check your camera's setup
> mode to see if you can vary the time before it goes to 'sleep', many allow
> that, but in general an auto power down is a good thing.
>
> As far as memory, you can buy a SD card that will hold hundreds of photos
> for probably $25-40, and it doesn't get used up like film. Many cameras
> take SD cards so if you buy another there's a good chance it will be usable
> ; if not, sell it with the camera.
>
> I think you're causing most of your own worries by being so reluctant to buy
> the right batteries and storage media. It's not a fancy camera, but it's
> not a disposable either, if you want it to work right, you've got to give it
> the chance.

Question: Do SD memory modules clear/go blank when the batteries
are removed? If I am in the field, will changing batteries
cause me to lose pictures on the SD memory?
>
> --
> Gary
> Photo Albums: www.pbase.com/roberthouse
>
> "Greg Hanson" <Greegor@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:35120b16.0407171028.707262f6@posting.google.com...
> > Don, Rusty et alia:
> > I also bought a 3345 and am on the second unit
> > after noticing less than one day battery life.
> > The second unit does the same thing of course.
> > The Vivitar web site recommends using
> > Metal Hydride batteries.
> > Whew! How much are those?
> >
> > I delayed buying the memory expansion and
> > so far still believe that was a wise move.
> >
> > One thing I noticed that I thought very
> > important to mention is that I noticed
> > that the camera was actually generating HEAT!
> > If you put a fresh set of batteries in,
> > and hold the bottom left corner of the side
> > normally toward operator up against your
> > cheek, you can feel HEAT!
> >
> > Can anybody decipher from their web site
> > an e-mail address for an authoritative
> > contact at Vivitar to ask about this?
> >
> > Such heat generation implies to me that
> > these units might have some sort of
> > serious engineering defect.
> > Harsh conclusion?
> >
> > Even more interesting, if a person did
> > as advised and installed Metal Hydride
> > batteries, wouldn't that just increase
> > the potential for the HEAT problem
> > to become worse, possibly a fire hazard?
> >
> > I really LIKE the unit!
> >
> > Aside from this battery/HEAT problem,
> > I wish there was a way to change the
> > timeout power conservation feature.
> > A way to disable timeout or lengthen
> > would be a great help.
> >
> > There seems to be no connector for
> > an external power supply, but if
> > somebody resorts to an external
> > power supply or battery pack, they'd
> > probably want to disable the timeout.
> > I lost chances at shots I knew were
> > upcoming because of the timeout.
> > (And it turns off the interpolation
> > resolution!)
> >
> > Do they make another model number (yet)
> > that has the same great optics/CCD,
> > but fixes the deadly battery life/HEAT problem?
> >
> > A revised version of this camera could
> > cause a bit of a revolution in consumer
> > cameras. I hope Vivitar fixes it!

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