Battery life does not last.

There is a design flaw in the lid for the battery compartment.

I have this camera ...bought it for my wife ...and have experienced the same problem: batteries don't last long ...even the expensive lithium batteries. The low battery warning comes on prematurely.

When you open the lid to the battery compartment you will see two electrical contact "tangs"; one has three nubs or bumps on it, the other has two. These tangs are the contact points for the battery. What happens is the springiness of these tangs is not sufficient to maintain a good contact with the battery.

The "fix" is relatively easy provided you're not afraid of taking something apart or working with small pieces. If you look at the metal plate on the battery compartment lid, you'll see two small phillips head screws. Before you take the plate off, set up a small work space. Get a dish towel or something soft to lay out for you to work on and work in a well-lighted area (kitchen table). Open the lid all the way and set the camera on the end opposite the battery compartment. The idea of all this is to prevent losing the small screws. Also, the two screw hold down the plastic plate underneath the metal plate. The plastic plate retains the battery compartment latch and there is a small spring device associated with the latch. I know this because I ended up losing the small spring. No worries if you lose the spring; the latch will still work (although on occasion it will slip slightly preventing the camera from powering up ...if that happens, just make sure the latch is fully in the "latched" position). Using 20/20 hindsight it would be a good idea to have some tape handy to secure the latch plate while you work the contact plate. Once the contact plate is removed and the latch plate secured with some tape, you can make the modification. I used a rubber band that was as close to the width of the tangs as possible ...I just rummaged around my desk drawer and found one that would work. Also make sure it's not too thick ...no more than about 1/16" or so max. Cut the rubber band long enough to match the length of the tang with three nubs on it ...the one that looks like a hockey stick ...just cut it long enough to fit only under the part with the nubs (~ 1/4 or so). Cut a matching piece for the other tang.

Reassembling the beast. The goal here is to get the "pads" you cut from the rubber band under the part of each tang with the nubs on it. Remove any tape you used to hold the latch plate; hold it so it doesn't come apart. Put the pads on the plastic latch plate such that when you reinstall the contact plate they fall under the tangs. A small straight pin helps in positioning the pads. You may have to try this a few times to get it right. Once the pads are positioned then install the two phillips head screws. If the pads move, you can use the pin to reposition them.

The mod is done. Total cost $0.00. When you load the batteries and close the compartment door you may find it takes a little more push to do it ...not a lot but just a bit more than before. That's because the pads are causing the tangs to make firmer contact with the battery posts. Since I made that modification with my A560, the lithium batteries I have in it have lasted about a year. I don't use the camera too much (it's my backup, toss in the bag when I don't want to bring the DSLR along camera) and your results will vary. But, you *will* get the full battery life out of whatever batteries you use in you A560. Hope this helps.

The rechargeable battery has come to the end of its life. You'll need to replace the battery and let the new battery go through a complete charge cycle before using.