Battery life and management

When this camera is turned on, it discharges the battery at a relatively steady rate (the screen being possibly the main offender), whether you take pictures or not. While testing the camera, every few hours I had to recharge the battery. Conversely, after a day out in Florence, taking several hundred pictures (while between groups of pictures the camera automatically “fell asleep”), the battery was fine for yet another such day without recharging.

One way or the other, and in spite of the high cost of a spare battery, it is always advisable to have one, as this will prevent running out of battery in most cases. More importantly, you will not need to recharge every time you go out, because you always have at least one fully-charged battery with you.

The above policy also implies that you will be charging the two batteries alternatively, which is good battery management because:

• Batteries do not like to be left alone for weeks or months in a row.
• The long-term life of a battery, before a significant capacity degradation occurs, is said to be about 1000 recharge cycles. This may not seem a lot for the professional, but is plenty for the amateur. Using the camera a few days every month, your batteries will last for many years (my 7-year old FZ35 still has its original and spare batteries, both in perfect working order).