Anyone noticing a significant battery drain when not using the camera?

Simon Frances · January 14th, 2008, 05:42 PM

Has anyone heard anything new about the battery drain issue? Mine drains down in about 72 hours.

I was wondering if this is only an issue with the first batch of cameras, like the unbalanced light falloff, "Vignette" problem if you like. If so are any of you new adopters experiencing the battery drain issue?

Thanks

Simon

Paul Cronin · January 14th, 2008, 05:49 PM

Simon I have the stock 30 and two extra 60 batteries and all three drain if I leave them in the camera. Now I keep them in the pack and only put them on the camera when I am shooting.

I have not timed how long it takes to drain.

Jon Carlson · January 14th, 2008, 06:07 PM

I've only noticed the drain when leaving the camera in the battery. One weekend with the camera off but the battery left in took the charge from 70-80% down to 0.

Now I just keep the battery out unless I'm shooting.

Matthew Roddy · January 14th, 2008, 07:32 PM

I'm very seriously considering purchasing the EX1, so I'm asking a few questions here and there. I hope everyone forgives some very basic questions.
My SOP is to remove batteries after every shoot and leave them on the charger. I got into this habit with my Anton Bauer batteries, which, according to the manual, are happiest when living on their charger. They (Anton Bauer) suggest to not "drain the battery" and rather just let it sit on the charger when not in use.

Is SOP different for these little "DV" batteries?

Craig Hollenback · January 14th, 2008, 07:35 PM

So is some portion of the camera still actually on? Could there then be heat build-up in a non vented case?

Jon Carlson · January 14th, 2008, 07:58 PM

The camera is ultra-low heat to begin with... I kept it in a shut bag overnight with the battery and didn't notice anything warm about it.

Alex Dolgin · January 14th, 2008, 08:12 PM

It is my understanding that the EX style batteries has new "fuel gauging" circuitry in them, similar to AB batteries. Is it possible that when you guys are talking of self discharging while on the camera, the actual mechanism is not that of loosing charge, but a glitch in the state of charge reporting? In other words, the battery is still full, but the display reports low state of charge? Did you try to actually run the camera?

Brent Ethington · January 14th, 2008, 09:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alex Dolgin

It is my understanding that the EX style batteries has new "fuel gauging" circuitry in them, similar to AB batteries. Is it possible that when you guys are talking of self discharging while on the camera, the actual mechanism is not that of loosing charge, but a glitch in the state of charge reporting? In other words, the battery is still full, but the display reports low state of charge? Did you try to actually run the camera?

Batteries will completely discharge (after a period of time) if left on the camera - if you try to turn the camera on, it won't power up and batteries read empty.

Bob Grant · January 14th, 2008, 10:28 PM

The batteries do come with a detailed set of instructions. Reading them, especially the section on storage, might answer many questions and save you some money.
I'll admit I was a bit taken aback when I first read them and raised the issue with our business owner as we have a LOT of Li-Ion batteries. It seems these instructions are nothing new, Sony has always advised following these procedures for all of their Li-Ion batteries. It's only thanks to something Serena mentioned here that caused me to read the instructions. Lesson learned, no matter how trivial an item might seem if comes with detailed instructions, read them.
That said having to keep batteries in a less than fully charged state is a bit of a PIA if you want to be ready to rock and roll 24/7.

There's another very good reason for taking the battery off the camera BEFORE putting it in a case. It's very easy to not switch the camera off or switch it to Media by mistake. Putting the camera into a foam cocoon while it's On soon heats it up quite a lot. I've done this twice. I don't now how tolerant the EX1 is of getting overheated or what thermal protection it has but we've had a Z1 blow a fuse or two when this was done. I don't want this happening to my EX1, so now I remove the battery before I put it back in the case.

Craig Waddell · January 14th, 2008, 11:31 PM

I have also noticed that the battery gets drained when left on the EX1. I've never had this problem with any of the 4 previous Sony cameras I've owned. I will add that I have not noticed this drain problem with the extra battery (BP-U60) that I ordered.... only the BP-U30 that shipped with the camera.

Tuomas Sebastien · January 15th, 2008, 08:38 AM

I haven't tested it out but i remove the battery when camera is not in use. I've noticed this same phenomenon with DP-170 earlier. Fully loaded high capacity battery which had been attached to camera for one day had only under one hour left when camera was turned on next time.

Piotr Wozniacki · January 15th, 2008, 08:50 AM

Really strange to me, as I can leave my V1E with half-empty 970 battery on for a couple of weeks, and it still read over 300 mins!

Scott Keyworth · January 15th, 2008, 11:01 AM

Many cameras now a days are drawing on the battery even when the camera is off. Panasonics P2 cameras keep the time code running.

Anton/Bauer has always recommended that batteries not be left on the camera overnight, but are returned to the charger to be topped off with a charge.

Scott Keyworth
Anton/Bauer

Paul Cronin · January 15th, 2008, 11:32 AM

Bob Grant has made a great point. "Read the Instructions" they will answer a lot of the questions.

Vince Gaffney · January 15th, 2008, 11:54 AM

Scott,

Are we going to see an EX1 adapter for A/B batteries similar to what I have on my Canon XL H1. One Dionic powers that camera for 8-10 hours. It's awesome.

Vince

January 14th, 2008, 05:49 PM	#17
Paul Cronin Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Rhode Island Posts: 4,048	Simon I have the stock 30 and two extra 60 batteries and all three drain if I leave them in the camera. Now I keep them in the pack and only put them on the camera when I am shooting. I have not timed how long it takes to drain. __________________ Paul Cronin www.paulcroninstudios.com

January 14th, 2008, 07:35 PM	#20
Craig Hollenback Major Player Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Key West Posts: 247	heat build up? So is some portion of the camera still actually on? Could there then be heat build-up in a non vented case?

January 14th, 2008, 08:12 PM	#22
Alex Dolgin Contributor Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Lexington, Ma Posts: 286	It is my understanding that the EX style batteries has new "fuel gauging" circuitry in them, similar to AB batteries. Is it possible that when you guys are talking of self discharging while on the camera, the actual mechanism is not that of loosing charge, but a glitch in the state of charge reporting? In other words, the battery is still full, but the display reports low state of charge? Did you try to actually run the camera? __________________ Alex Dolgin Dolgin Engineering Camera DC Power accessories, Fast 4 position Battery Charger http://www.dolgin.net

January 15th, 2008, 08:50 AM	#27
Piotr Wozniacki Inner Circle Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Poland Posts: 4,086	Really strange to me, as I can leave my V1E with half-empty 970 battery on for a couple of weeks, and it still read over 300 mins! __________________ Sony PXW-FS7 \| DaVinci Resolve Studio; Magix Vegas Pro; i7-5960X CPU; 64 GB RAM; 2x GTX 1080 8GB GPU; Decklink 4K Extreme 12G; 4x 3TB WD Black in RAID 0; 1TB M.2 NVMe cache drive

January 15th, 2008, 11:32 AM	#29
Paul Cronin Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Rhode Island Posts: 4,048	Bob Grant has made a great point. "Read the Instructions" they will answer a lot of the questions. __________________ Paul Cronin www.paulcroninstudios.com

January 14th, 2008, 05:42 PM	#16
Simon Frances Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: London, UK Posts: 58	Has anyone heard anything new about the battery drain issue? Mine drains down in about 72 hours. I was wondering if this is only an issue with the first batch of cameras, like the unbalanced light falloff, "Vignette" problem if you like. If so are any of you new adopters experiencing the battery drain issue? Thanks Simon

January 14th, 2008, 06:07 PM	#18
Jon Carlson Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Reading, PA USA Posts: 61	I've only noticed the drain when leaving the camera in the battery. One weekend with the camera off but the battery left in took the charge from 70-80% down to 0. Now I just keep the battery out unless I'm shooting.

January 14th, 2008, 07:32 PM	#19
Matthew Roddy Major Player Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Riverside, Ca Posts: 307	I'm very seriously considering purchasing the EX1, so I'm asking a few questions here and there. I hope everyone forgives some very basic questions. My SOP is to remove batteries after every shoot and leave them on the charger. I got into this habit with my Anton Bauer batteries, which, according to the manual, are happiest when living on their charger. They (Anton Bauer) suggest to not "drain the battery" and rather just let it sit on the charger when not in use. Is SOP different for these little "DV" batteries?

January 14th, 2008, 07:58 PM	#21
Jon Carlson Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Reading, PA USA Posts: 61	The camera is ultra-low heat to begin with... I kept it in a shut bag overnight with the battery and didn't notice anything warm about it.

January 14th, 2008, 10:28 PM	#24
Bob Grant Trustee Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Sydney Australia Posts: 1,570	The batteries do come with a detailed set of instructions. Reading them, especially the section on storage, might answer many questions and save you some money. I'll admit I was a bit taken aback when I first read them and raised the issue with our business owner as we have a LOT of Li-Ion batteries. It seems these instructions are nothing new, Sony has always advised following these procedures for all of their Li-Ion batteries. It's only thanks to something Serena mentioned here that caused me to read the instructions. Lesson learned, no matter how trivial an item might seem if comes with detailed instructions, read them. That said having to keep batteries in a less than fully charged state is a bit of a PIA if you want to be ready to rock and roll 24/7. There's another very good reason for taking the battery off the camera BEFORE putting it in a case. It's very easy to not switch the camera off or switch it to Media by mistake. Putting the camera into a foam cocoon while it's On soon heats it up quite a lot. I've done this twice. I don't now how tolerant the EX1 is of getting overheated or what thermal protection it has but we've had a Z1 blow a fuse or two when this was done. I don't want this happening to my EX1, so now I remove the battery before I put it back in the case.

January 14th, 2008, 11:31 PM	#25
Craig Waddell New Boot Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Vancouver, B.C. Canada Posts: 6	I have also noticed that the battery gets drained when left on the EX1. I've never had this problem with any of the 4 previous Sony cameras I've owned. I will add that I have not noticed this drain problem with the extra battery (BP-U60) that I ordered.... only the BP-U30 that shipped with the camera.

January 15th, 2008, 08:38 AM	#26
Tuomas Sebastien Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Finland Posts: 107	I haven't tested it out but i remove the battery when camera is not in use. I've noticed this same phenomenon with DP-170 earlier. Fully loaded high capacity battery which had been attached to camera for one day had only under one hour left when camera was turned on next time.

January 15th, 2008, 11:01 AM	#28
Scott Keyworth Anton/Bauer Join Date: May 2006 Location: Shelton, CT Posts: 35	Many cameras now a days are drawing on the battery even when the camera is off. Panasonics P2 cameras keep the time code running. Anton/Bauer has always recommended that batteries not be left on the camera overnight, but are returned to the charger to be topped off with a charge. Scott Keyworth Anton/Bauer

January 15th, 2008, 11:54 AM	#30
Vince Gaffney Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 146	Scott, Are we going to see an EX1 adapter for A/B batteries similar to what I have on my Canon XL H1. One Dionic powers that camera for 8-10 hours. It's awesome. Vince