joer Loc: Colorado/Illinois

I'm getting way beyond the listed shots per charge on my FW-50 and FZ100 batteries by doing the following. Its so simple it may be overlooked.

1. Turn off the monitor. It is mostly useless outdoors. If you want to chimp it can be done through the viewfinder, although with ML there is no need.

2. When carrying the camera with a strap make sure nothing will trigger the viewfinder sensor. The finder is normally off until the VF sensor is blocked. Neck straps that hold the camera back against the chest are out. Use a sling type strap holding to camera back facing out or just hold the camera with a wrist strap secured.

Some will point out you can always turn the camera off between shots but you will miss opportunities waiting for the camera to initialize and that also robs battery life.

One caveat; check the viewfinder before you determine the battery is dead.

a6k Loc: Detroit & Sanibel

My Sony RX10m4 can assign a custom button to turn the large screen off or on (toggle). I leave it off when cruising around looking for birds so I can shoot quickly but it turns on instantly if I want to use it to review settings or shots.

Maybe others can do this, too?

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

S

I can set my GH4 to sleep after a pre-determined period of activity. It wakes faster than it boots on...

Yes, mirrorless cameras do eat battery life faster than DSLRs. But carrying a spare or two is a small trade-off for all the benefits.

deer2ker Loc: Nashville, TN

You tips are right on joer. I forget sometimes to do this and it does eat up my batteries when my evf is constantly coming on when my camera is hanging around my neck. When I follow your tips, the battery on my Fuji lasts through so many shots more!

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

If your camera has them, you might also try turning off WiFi and GPS. They both can draw power continuously.... especially GPS.

How quick does your camera "wake up" from it's sleep mode? If it's fast enough, set the duration before it goes into sleep mode as short as possible, to save battery power. (Years ago I used a DSLR that was slow to wake up... took several seconds, causing me to miss shots shooting sports... had to keep it powered up all the time and that really ate up the batteries. My current cameras wake up almost instantly and never make me miss a shot, so I'm able to have sleep mode set to take over in the shortest possible time.)

Problem is, not all mirrorless cameras have viewfinders. Many of them rely upon the large screen on the back as the sole means of composing images.

And those MILC that have a viewfinder, most use an electronic one, which is basically just another tiny LCD screen and is another heavy power draw. Can't take shots without it!

Plus, a lot of MILC are designed to be especially compact and use a smaller battery with less capacity than the batteries a lot of DSLRs use.

Finally, also because manufacturers are trying to keep them as small and light as possible, battery grips aren't available for a lot of MILC.

n3eg Loc: West coast USA

My mirrorless cameras have amazing battery life, and I use the LCD all the time. I have a DSLR that gets less than 100 shots on a fully charged (and tested) battery.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

I advise people to NOT buy a mirrorless camera WITHOUT an EVF. Yes, EVF camera’s cost more, but truthfully, that’s where most of the mirrorless advantages stand out.

Battery grips are available for the flagship cameras and some midrange cameras. The Lumix G85 and G95 (and non-USA versions) share the same grip.

When considering a mirrorless system, read reviews and watch review videos on YouTube.

johneccles Loc: Leyland UK

I have two mirrorless cameras, one Olympus and one Panasonic, I find the battery life is very good on both.
I have spare batteries for them but they rarely need to be used, I always keep them fully charged and the only battery saving I use is to shut down the LCD as soon as possible and use the viewfinder.

JDG3

Good ideas. I have the Sony a6000 and another thing I do is to turn off the wi-fi OR just go to Airplane mode. If you are out shooting there is little or no need to have the wi-fi working and searching for networks. Same principle on smart phones. If I have concerns about extending my battery life and they are not needed, the first thing I do is adjust the display and turn off the GPS, wi-fi and bluetooth. All these are power hogs.

khorinek

I have two of the Canon Mirrorless EOS RP's. That camera was rated for 200 shots on a battery charge, however I've been consistently getting 350 shots per battery on a full charge. Even so, when I finish a shoot I always put the battery on the charger so it's ready for my next shoot.

OlinBost Loc: Marietta, Ga.

I found a strap that connects to the bottom of the camera. It is Jungleland Camera Strap. It hangs down with the lens sticking out. I am going to see if I can make a slight modification to get it to hang lens down. But I have to wait until July the 18th for my birthday. Gift from my wife.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Good ideas. I've had my LCDs turned off for years. About the viewfinder/LCD display - it seems that the viewfinder uses more battery power than the LCD. More than one camera manual has listed more shots per battery when using the LCD than when using the viewfinder.

When I'm out shooting, I never turn the camera off. It wakes up quickly with a touch of a button.

Kishka Loc: Grafton, WI

Battery life has been less of a concern when I consider how much space was taken up by rolls of film from the old days and the equivalent number of exposures given by a battery and spares with today's cameras, even the tiny batteries such as the Sony RX100's.

Hamltnblue Loc: Springfield PA

My Z6 has been surprisingly good on batteries.
I’ve come home with 5-600 shots with the battery gauge still showing about half left.
Haven’t had to change it yet while out.

Just keep the back screen off

khorinek

This is what I use on all my cameras. Also, I attach heavy duty key rings (2) to this screw and attach the shoulder strap to the key rings. easy off easy on,I've never had one fail yet. The camera hangs lens down and is always ready when you need it.