Hi, i own a rebel x and im thinking of getting the battery pack bp-8 for it, cause the camera feels very small and also cr123a batteries arent that popular here in Costa Rica where i live. My question is about battery consumption cause i read in the B&H site that the battery pack will give about 100 rolls with AA alkaline batteries, is this true, does plain AA duracell alkaline batteries will last long than the lithium ones under the same use? Cause it thats tue its just great. Thanks in advance and forgive my english.

-- beltran lara lopez (beltranlara@hotmail.com), November 03, 1999

Answers

My experience with the BP-8 on my wife's Rebel XS is that 10-15 rolls per battery set was the norm (about 50% flash usage). But a set of 4 AA alkalines costs about 10% of a pair of CR123's (here in the USA), so its a very economical option.

• Note that my wife insists that I change the batteries when the indicator reads "empty", not when the batteries actually run out.

-- Dave Herzstein (dherzstein@juno.com), November 03, 1999.

Hi. Just like you I live outside the US and the batteries for the Rebel X (EOS 500 here) are difficult to get when out of the city. I own a Rebel XS (same model as the X but with a built in flash). I bought it used and the owner told me he was selling it cheap since it drains batteries very fast. I purchased a Battery Pack BP-8 for it and have been using rechargable ni-cads for it. I do not worry about how many rolls the batteries will last since I always carry a spare set and simply re-charge the ni-cad batteries when they drain. Anyway, AA bateries are cheap and easy to find anywhere so the number of rolls per battery is not important to me (just carry a spare set).In my experience any AA battery will do for the BP-8. One thing is to remove batteries when not in use since in my experience these could leak. The BP-8 can be used with othe Canon models as well like the Rebel G (500N), 3000 (88), 5000 (888). I too have big hands and the additional grip provided by the BP-8 is very much welcome. I intend to buy two more BP-8s for my other Canons (3000 and 888). Hope this helps.

-- Ramon Jalandoni (jrj@pacific.net.ph), January 02, 2001.