With lots of megapixels and powerful zoom lenses now a given in the digital camera market, it's a good time for camera makers to start paying attention to the little things. So kudos to Nikon for tackling one of the persistent aggravations in using a digicam -- those notoriously inaccurate battery meters.
A recently submitted patent application from the camera giant notes that traditional battery meters count the number of shots taken between charges, an inaccurate measure given that the amount of power needed to take each shot can vary greatly. Spend a lot of time zooming, refocusing and whatever, and you're eating up a lot more juice than a shot where you just point and press.
Nikon's proposed system actually tracks the amount of work the camera is performing and calculates remaining battery time on that basis. So, theoretically, no more going from half-power to zip in two frames.
For more info: Power system having a battery unit that calculates cumulative work volume value
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