Why is the x100 such a battery hog?

MarkoKovacevic

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I can literally shoot almost a full day of sports photography on one 1500mah battery in my nikon d700.. with focus motors constantly working and shutter and all.. while the x100 lasts around 300-400 pictures on a 1700mah battery?

Found the numbers weird so thought I'd inquire.
 
X100 consumes noticeably more energy due to a few reasons:

First of all, constrast detection autofocus isn't very energy efficient vs phase detection.

Phase detection is basically three-step process:
1. measure differences between left and right phase.
2. look up in the focus table which distance does this measurements correspond to.
3. tell the lens to move to that point.

Contrast detection is completely different:
1. take a snapshot of current sensor state
2. compute contrast at given area (focus square)
3. tell the lens to slightly adjust it's focus distance
4. repeat 1.-3. until contrast is "acceptable" or it's the best over the range of checked values (i.e. focus hunting common to most contrast detection systems)

This usually requires numerous steps to lock up and even one iteration itself is more power hungry than simple steps of phase detection af.

Secondly, you have additional costs like EVF or liveview that is often used on mirrorless cameras. Constantly showing stream of images onto the screen bites at the battery too over the DSLR's OVF which only shows numeric values on plain energy efficient led display.
 
As Joe said the battery is smaller and weighs less than the Nikon batteries (which do last forever). Also I suspect the battery technology is not the best out there. The Fuji batteries are unsophisticated which is why people complain (with good reason) the batter level indicator is non-linear.

I never leave home without three batteries. Usually I remember to charge all of them.
 
Y'all need to try a DPM ... then you'll understand the term battery hog better! :D
 
My D200 went through batteries fast. I had to charge and carry a couple of spares. My D70, D300, and D600 are the opposite. Never ran out of battery; I don't even own a spare for these cameras.

Same manufacturer. Obviously different design choices that greatly affected battery life.
 
Because its a small camera with a complex and advanced optical viewfinder with projected displays AND an electronic viewfinder built in as well. Just buy a 2nd third party battery - they are like 6 dollars and work well.
 
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