Hi,my camera uses 3 AAA batteries,but after taking less than 20 photos 'battery low' and its off.
Is there any modification which can be done?

 

I was thinking of using a 9V rechargable battery,but how to reduce it to 4.5V (total of the 3 AAA) i don't know.

 

You could drop it down with a buck converter...

However, a quick google shows 9Vs with around 600 mah. Depending on the AAs, you might be better off with them.

 

Hi,my camera uses 3 AAA batteries,but after taking less than 20 photos 'battery low' and its off.
Is there any modification which can be done?

Forget the 9V thing. I assume you are using new batteries? Can you measure the batteries under load?
It's really disposable batteries, not rechargable, right?

My point is I want to know if the problem is your batteries or your camera. Also, what's the camera model?

 

Forget the 9V thing. I assume you are using new batteries? Can you measure the batteries under load?
It's really disposable batteries, not rechargable, right?

My point is I want to know if the problem is your batteries or your camera. Also, what's the camera model?

Dito on this. If you are using rechargable batteries the running time will be less right off the bat and if even one of the rechargable batteries is "half-in-the-bag" then you might expect to get very poor results. This is what I suspect is happening. A camera issue would be rare, but not unheard of. I'd be inclined to buy 6 new rechargables, a set for use and a set for backup. I might even have a 3 alkalines for the best backup. If you are using rechargables mark the (1, 2, &3), charge the and measure their individual voltages and record the voltages. them take pictures until you get the "low battery" signal and remove the batteries, measure and record their voltages again. Note that one or more be significantly lower than the other. If this is the case I personally would chuck them all unless they are fairly new to begin with.

 

Praondevou,i can't measure under load because its ON when the battery door is closed.
@Ionic,i had used Non-rechargable 2 sets without mixing new and old, but thought it will be costing me alot and thats why i went for the rechargable ones.
@Adams using buck converter,will it be portable?

 

I had a camera that did exactly the same, but with rechargable batteries (they have less voltage). It was a cheap chinese model, and it only worked properly when I used disposable batteries. So the model wasn't designed to work with rechargable batteries.

You could put your new batteries in, shoot fotos until it comes up with the battery low message, take them out, put a resistor on them and measure if they are holding their voltage.

Again: What camera model are u using?

 

@Adams using buck converter,will it be portable?

Yes, you can make a tiny buck converter, but I doubt you could fit it in the battery cavity with a 9V. Also, I agree with the others concerns on the AA batteries.

However, if you're still interested in buck converters, here is an article about the size of them: http://www.maxim-ic.com/app-notes/index.mvp/id/3603

 

I had a camera that did exactly the same, but with rechargable batteries (they have less voltage). It was a cheap chinese model, and it only worked properly when I used disposable batteries. So the model wasn't designed to work with rechargable batteries.

You could put your new batteries in, shoot fotos until it comes up with the battery low message, take them out, put a resistor on them and measure if they are holding their voltage.

Again: What camera model are u using?

Actually its direct from China it has no name, bought out of desperation.
How long did yours last with the disposable batteries?

 

Sorry, can't remember, it was so horrible I gave it away

But I remember that the batteries didn't last very long. But a real problem was it with rechargable ones.

You can always try to somehow put the batteries externally together and connect them to the camera with wires. This way you could measure current... If you're comfortable with this...

 

thanks,may be i'll try with wires. Like the Nokia li-on batteries of 3.8v-4.5v 1000mAh is better than 9v with a converter.

 

Praondevou,i can't measure under load because its ON when the battery door is closed.
@Ionic,i had used Non-rechargeable 2 sets without mixing new and old, but thought it will be costing me alot and thats why i went for the rechargeable ones.
@Adams using buck converter,will it be portable?

Honestly, do not even bother with the 9V battery and buck converter method.
You will not get much mileage out of that at all. The current capability of a 9V battery is tiny compared to that of AA batteries. You may have the voltage you need, but the gas tank will be half empty from the start.

You didn't mention how long(how many pictures you could take with the Alkaline batteries). ??

You didn't mention how new the rechargeable batteries are???

Do you have a multimeter to measure the battery voltages??

You really didn't seem to attempt anything I suggested in my previous post.

1) You need to determine first if it is the camera or the batteries
2) Then we can suggest alternative power sources. Bottom line, however, an alternative power source will probably mean carrying around a battery pack on a wire to the camera. The disposable Alkaline batteries may be your best hope for longer running time and portability.

 

Look for Metal Hydride or NiMh with large AH values. They have been improving steadily over the years, and work quite well.

I have a camera docking bay for my digital camera, combined with the NiMh batteries I can take well over 200 pictures before the battery is drained.

 

I have a little Olympus camera and it eats alkaline batteries like popcorn. About 12 flash photos and it whines about low batteries. So i got it some NiMh batteries and fired 194 photos on the first day and never got a low battery indication. It's the flash recharge that is running into the internal impedance of the alkaline batteries. The NiMh batteries have about .05 ohms internal impedance. That fixed the problem for me.

 

thanks,may be i'll try with wires. Like the Nokia li-on batteries of 3.8v-4.5v 1000mAh is better than 9v with a converter.

mmh, I didn't mean to always carry around an external battery pack. This was only to determine how much current your camera is drawing.