Anyone noticing a significant battery drain when not using the camera? at DVinfo.net
DV Info Net

Go Back   DV Info Net > Sony XAVC / XDCAM / NXCAM / AVCHD / HDV / DV Camera Systems > Sony XDCAM EX Pro Handhelds

Sony XDCAM EX Pro Handhelds
Sony PXW-Z280, Z190, X180 etc. (going back to EX3 & EX1) recording to SxS flash memory.

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old December 18th, 2007, 09:11 PM   #1
Regular Crew
 
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: WA
Posts: 180
Anyone noticing a significant battery drain when not using the camera?

I've noticed that with the stock battery, the battery loses 20-30 minutes of charge overnight when the camera is in the OFF position. I had over an hour left of battery on Friday and went to pick up the camera tonight and found the battery completely dead. I haven't noticed this kind of drain on any of my other cameras.

Anyone else noticed this with the PMW-EX1? I'm wondering if it's an issue with the camera, the battery, or just the nature of the PMW-EX1...
Brent Ethington is offline   Reply With Quote
Old December 18th, 2007, 09:21 PM   #2
Regular Crew
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Southeast USA
Posts: 129
Same here. My new SOP is to remove the battery when not in use (not an easy habit to start after all these years). Never an issue with any camera I've ever owned, but not a big deal.
Bill Heslip is offline   Reply With Quote
Old December 18th, 2007, 09:24 PM   #3
Regular Crew
 
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: WA
Posts: 180
Thanks Bill. Yeah, I was thinking about doing that as well. Only concern was how long the backup battery would last (the manual doesn't say) as I'd hate to lose the camera settings.
Brent Ethington is offline   Reply With Quote
Old December 18th, 2007, 09:39 PM   #4
Major Player
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Studio Alnitak, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Posts: 640
Images: 3
Bob reported the same experience. Possibly I have just now, but hadn't adequately noted how much charge was remaining last night (battery now on charge). Somewhere in the manual (but now I can't find where) it tells not to leave a battery charged more than x% if to be stored for more than 24 hours. Maybe this is a means of ensuring that!
Serena Steuart is offline   Reply With Quote
Old December 18th, 2007, 09:43 PM   #5
Trustee
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Gilbert, AZ
Posts: 1,896
Yes, I have noticed.
Steven Thomas is offline   Reply With Quote
Old December 19th, 2007, 12:07 AM   #6
Regular Crew
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Phoenix, Arizona
Posts: 81
I'm in! Left he battery in last night and it started up 30% less.
Winston Ashley is offline   Reply With Quote
Old December 19th, 2007, 04:33 AM   #7
Major Player
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Malta
Posts: 306
Same here! I've noticed this strange occurrance. This means that even in a shoot, some battery usage is happening even whilst the camera is off. Or else these new batteries are not capable of storing power for a long period of time.
Brian Cassar is offline   Reply With Quote
Old December 19th, 2007, 05:26 AM   #8
Trustee
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Malvern UK
Posts: 1,931
Yes, I've noticed this, and it is really getting on my nerves!

I'm not sure if it is the camera or the battery that has the issue. I've noticed this sort of draining going on when I've charged a battery and taken it off the charger and left it for a couple of days. Perhaps someone else can try this and let me know what happens to theirs.
Simon Wyndham is offline   Reply With Quote
Old December 19th, 2007, 06:14 AM   #9
Trustee
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Gilbert, AZ
Posts: 1,896
I'm not sure if i've seen this with the battery removed from the camera. For sure with it in.
Steven Thomas is offline   Reply With Quote
Old December 19th, 2007, 08:04 AM   #10
Inner Circle
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Poland
Posts: 4,086
Quote:
Originally Posted by Steven Thomas View Post
I'm not sure if i've seen this with the battery removed from the camera. For sure with it in.
And this is very important to resolve, as we'd like to know whether its the camera draining current, or the battery not holding its charge...
__________________
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
Piotr Wozniacki is offline   Reply With Quote
Old December 19th, 2007, 08:06 AM   #11
Trustee
 
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Sydney Australia
Posts: 1,570
Left on the camera I've flattened a battery in a few days. Off the camera they seem to be holding charge just fine, that's going by the indicator in the battery. Keep in mind it may take a few cycles of the battery for it to reach full capacity so don't panic too soon about battery life. It also seems that glorious LCD screen uses a lot of power.

But still, the discharging on the camera is interesting. There maybe a good explaination for it. The camera seems to do some housekeeping after you turn it off. All Sony cameras do drain the battery to some extent if you leave the battery on. The internal clock battery is recharged by the battery but there is some leakage even when the clock battery is fully charged. Certainly nowhere near as dramatic as what's happening with the EX1 though.
Bob Grant is offline   Reply With Quote
Old December 19th, 2007, 08:12 AM   #12
Regular Crew
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Pittsburgh
Posts: 111
Same problem here, battery holds charge when not mounted on camera.

Chuck
Chuck Wall is offline   Reply With Quote
Old December 19th, 2007, 08:19 AM   #13
Trustee
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Malvern UK
Posts: 1,931
I'm going to try mine again. Reason I mentioned it was because I once charged it up and took it off the charger, but didn't have a chance to use it for a few days. When I put it on the camera it was dead. I'll try again though.
Simon Wyndham is offline   Reply With Quote
Old December 19th, 2007, 08:43 AM   #14
Trustee
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Gilbert, AZ
Posts: 1,896
I noticed the JVC HD100 does the same thing, just not quite as bad.
I'd say leaving the IDX battery in this camera for over a week it will almost exhaust the battery.
The EX1 one will completely exhaust the battery from full to nothing in 3 days.
Steven Thomas is offline   Reply With Quote
Old December 19th, 2007, 08:48 AM   #15
Wrangler
 
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: DFW area, TX
Posts: 6,117
Images: 1
My F350 will do it to any battery I leave attached for a few days. It's not the battery chemistry either, because I have NiCad, NMH, and LiIon batteries, all Anton Bauers.

-gb-
Greg Boston is offline   Reply
Reply

DV Info Net refers all where-to-buy and where-to-rent questions exclusively to these trusted full line dealers and rental houses...

B&H Photo Video
(866) 521-7381
New York, NY USA

Scan Computers Int. Ltd.
+44 0871-472-4747
Bolton, Lancashire UK


DV Info Net also encourages you to support local businesses and buy from an authorized dealer in your neighborhood.
  You are here: DV Info Net > Sony XAVC / XDCAM / NXCAM / AVCHD / HDV / DV Camera Systems > Sony XDCAM EX Pro Handhelds

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

 



All times are GMT -6. The time now is 08:04 AM.


DV Info Net -- Real Names, Real People, Real Info!
1998-2024 The Digital Video Information Network