New Olympus Purchase (1 Viewer)

Just purchased my first camera ever ( Olypmus C-765 UZ) & have a few starter questions.

1. Is it better after the battera is charged for the first time to fully deplete it before recharging again, or can it be recharged at any time to bring it up to full power. Just wondering if either way will extend its life.

2. Is the quick start guide to taking pictures & the small book that comes with it sufficient to start playing around or is it a good idea to read the complete PDF version of the manual on the CD.

3. Once the battery is fully charged, how long can it sit before it has to be recharged again.

4. There is a big meteor shower that is going to be visible early here in SE Ontario Canada around 3 - 5 am EST on Friday. Any ideas to my settings & how to capture any pics of this, tips etc. I will have a tripod by tomorrow.

JTF,
If the battery uses NIMH technology (similar to NIMH AA rechargeables), you should be able to recharge it at any time, or so they say. If it uses older Nicad technology, you should wait till it is depleted. I don't know how you can tell what type of technology it uses, unfortunately. Maybe it says in the manual or on the Olympus website.

NIMH batteries are said to lose about 10% of their power each week, just sitting on a shelf.

The quick start guide should be enough to get going. Assuming that the 765 is like my C-750, the manual is pretty poor, unfortunately, as is the full manual on the CD. But they're adequate.

As far as taking nighttime shots, again assuming that the C-765 is like the 750, you'll need to set it to FULL (not aperture or shutter priority) manual to get the really long exposures (up to 16 seconds on the 750). Also set it to manual focus and set the focus at infinity (you may need to consult the CD for how to do this). As you said, you'll need a tripod.

Now, the final thing you'll need is the remote control, which you probably don't have. You need to be able to trip the shutter without touching the camera. At long exposures, if you even touch the shutter release, even on a tripod, it can cause enough shake to blur the picture. The good news is there is a quick and dirty way around this problem - use the self-timer. This will trip the shutter without you even touching the camera (you have to touch it to start the timer sequence, but the shutter actually trips many seconds later).

Then just take pictures using various long exposures, say maybe 10 seconds, full aperture, etc. It has to be DARK, or else any things like street lights will blow the whole image of course.

You should know that taking this type of picture is VERY difficult, so you are trying something pretty tough with your "first camera ever."

Good luck!

Greetings,


Your 765 uses a li-ion battery pack. Li-ions can be charged at any time .... unlike ni-cads or ni-mh's. I know we were told that ni-mh's were supposed to be memory free..... but this has proven to be not so.

These li-ion's are totally different than any other battery . they prefer to be used to say..... 75-25% of their capacity , then recharged. They do not like to be fully drained constantly .... this will shorten their lifespan . If you find yourself draining a battery in one day, you'll need a spare instead of draining them completely. Alway use an original li-ion replacement..... forget the generics. They are proven to give you less capacity and less life..... you'll get exactly what you pay for. Not only are the cells cheap... but the very important circuit protection is usually very poor..... and these batteries are of a chemical mixture that can explode..... once again .... they are very different from any other battery type.

Good luck , enjoy your camera !

-Garth

Thanks, great tips.