Adam asked:
Firstly, what are the best batteries to use? I'm thinking 1800/2000 mah
Ni-mh, but any experiences would be useful.
Second, when shooting in RAW mode I can't review the image in camera. I
just get a small thumbnail in the middle of the monitor. Is this normal?
Seems a major limitation for shooting in RAW.
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re: BATTERIES. JH commented on using even higher rated NiMH. NiMH are
an excellent choice since these digital wonders chew up lots of power.
However, NiMH have the nasty habit of self-discharging about 1-2% per
day. If you use the camera sporadically you still need to be aware of
the charge level before running out the door camera in hand.
NiCad's hold their power level much better than NiMH's but aren't
available in the higher amp hour ratings (at least that I'm aware of)
and also exhibit a memory effect. However, modern chargers, such as
those available from Maha and others:
<http://www.thomas-distributing.com/index.htm>
are able to charge both NiMH and NiCads and handle the memory effect by
going through a full discharge cycle prior to the recharge.
You might want to buy a single charger and both types of battery to see
which you prefer. It may be that a set of NiCads left in the camera
will provide for the ocassional grab shot without too much worry about
the current charge level. Then supplement that with a set of NiMH's to
be fully charged up just before setting out on a deliberate photo shoot
where extensive usage is likely.
re: RAW MODE. A comment from the E-10 manual which has apparently been
dropped from the E-20 manual since I can't find it there:
"When taking pictures in the RAW data mode, a compressed image is
displayed as a thumbnail in the monitor. If you have no special reason
for using the RAW data mode, then switch it off."
By definition, the raw file has not had any processing that would form a
displayable image. What is shown on the monitor is a tiny JPEG
thumbnail image that has been processed and that is stored along with
the raw file. Depending on the camera these may be separate files
(usually with a .thm extension) or actually embedded in the raw image data.
When working with raw files these thumbnails are used to preview the
images without having to process all the data in the raw file.
Some higher end DSLR's have the ability to store a raw file as well as a
full resolution, high quality JPEG. The idea is that you may be able to
use the JPEG most of the time and only resort to the raw file in the
event there are problems with the JPEG. This saves a lot of time at the
expense of needing lots of in camera storage. Shooting in raw mode is
best from the standpoint of being able to extract the ultimate in image
quality but can be a real hassle time wise.
Chuck Norcutt
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