M9 Battery

[Guest RAC23]

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I've bought several after-market batteries for the M9 and all have failed with in a very short time of their initial use. Now I read that even the Leica brand batteries are failing. Are we going to end up with cameras sitting on our shelves? Does anyone know what the problem(s) with the batteries are, and what if anything is being done to correct the situation?

[AlanJW]

Where have you read that Leica batteries are failing and why would you automatically believe that and leap to the conclusion that we will all have useless cameras "sitting on a shelf"? What was the source of your concern?

 

Yes, there have been reports of 3d party batteries failing (though some people think they are fine), and yes Leica brand have been hard to get sometimes, but a general or widespread failure? Not that I have seen.

 

You don't say how your own Leica brand battery has fared and I assume that since you have not said it failed, that it hasn't. For what it is worth, I have three Leica batteries, two of which date back to my M8 days early 2007, and one of which came with my M9 (Nov 2009) and all of which work fine. So we now have a sample of four. We can no more extrapolate from that that Leica batteries never fail than we can say that there is widespread failure.

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[jaapv]

The original M8/9 batteries are fine. I have half a dozen of them and they will drive the camera for about 400 shots each. I found the aftermarket batteries to be a waste of money. It is news to me that the Leica batteries are failing. That runs counter to my experience.

[tdtaylor]

The two I have are running strong. Be careful, the sky may be falling .

[Alnitak]

No problem here with my Leica batteries, some of which date back to early 2009. I have four in total.

[Alnitak]

The two I have are running strong. Be careful, the sky may be falling .

 

Haven't you heard? Here in Europe it has been falling since last week! I've been stranded here as a result.

 

Hopefully I will get out tomorrow and be reunited with my M9 in LA.

 

Jeff

[erl]

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ALL batteries are just like women. If you don't treat them properly, they will let you down.

[jonoslack]

I have 5 or 6 batteries some of which have been going since November 2007 - not had a dead one yet (I have lost some though).

[Ario Arioldi]

Two out of four original M8/M9 batteries I have, are in use since December 2006 with no appreciable sign of deterioration.

I do not expect they will last for ever but so far they are ok.

Cheers,

Ario

[scott kirkpatrick]

I've got 6 batteries in rotating use. The oldest of them were purchased in Dec 2006. No fails, and I can't tell any difference in capacity among them. They are marked, so if I had nothing else to do I could probably spend a day doing rundown measurements. Li-Ion batteries are supposed to have a useful life of three years, whether they are used or not, but that must be conservative. I normally recharge after 100 shots or so.

 

scott

[vertekijker]

I have 5 or 6 batteries some of which have been going since November 2007 - not had a dead one yet (I have lost some though).

 

Same here, but didn't loose any.

[SJP]

I have 3 Leica original batteries in circulation (I numbered them) for 2½ years or so. One of them failed last year & I replaced it. It wasn't clear if it was the charging electronics inside the battery or the Li-ion cell itself that failed. No guarantee apparently on batteries.

[jaapv]

I am a member of both forums, and whilst I concur with your assesment of GetDPI, Roger, I cannot see much wrong in saying that LUF is more authorative in matters Leica than GetDPI. Guy and Jack will be the first to admit that their forum is more generally oriented than a single-brand forum.

[andalus]

No probs with my 2 Leica batteries in my M9.

[glenerrolrd]

This thread could have provided some useful information to both the original poster and others that are new to the digital Ms and are concerned about battery issues. Its possible that my experience might be relevant(yours maybe different).

 

1. There have been wide spread complaints about 3rd party batteries failing . Some don t hold a charge ,some don t last very long and others cause problems with the M bodies readouts on battery readiness.

 

2. There have been few complaints about OEM batteries failing and many reports of original OEM batteries lasting since the M8 was introduced. That has been my experience.

 

3. The availability of new OEM batteries has been a problem at times. Some have guessed that Leica orders from a 3rd party in large batches and when they run out you might have to search the dealer network to find spare batteries. Leica batteries are not readily available in most places and even the larger Leica dealers may not have them in stock.

 

4. Having a fully charged battery seems important to trouble free operation of a digital M. Problems with SD cards and other infrequent camera lock ups can often be cleared by putting in a fresh battery.

 

5. Battery life by DSLR standards is very weak. My experience is that getting 400 shots off a fresh battery ..never happens. I get 200-250 using a camera over a period of 2-3 hours.

 

6. Having extra batteries. Keeping them charged and available is important to keeping your digital M ready for use.

 

My own standard operating practice is to travel with 8 batteries . I use two bodies and carry two spares with me always . This is good for 8-1000 captures before I need to charge. I have extras because its possible t lose some ,wash them with your shirt or be away from an opportunity to charge them. All 8 batteries are charged and ready each morning and I start with fresh batteries and cards always. I change the batteries out for fresh and the cards when I take a rest . I always have a spare charger with me in my room. I average 25K captures per year with two bodies and most of it is on the street where being ready is generally important to me.

 

This isn t the standard you might expect if you are coming from a DSLR and you would be better to prepare for it by having extra batteries and a spare charger. Yes it frustrating to get a new M8/M9 and then not be able to get a single extra battery from your dealer.

[The_hog]

Love your pictures from the Vatican, Roger - they catch the atmosphere of this powerful place.

[tdtaylor]

I agree with glenerrolrd. I would like to ask is there are any recommendations for 3rd party batteries. It would seem to date that blanket statements that they all are poor and inferior is common. And I for one would most welcome a longer lasting battery.

 

Ironically, I had 2 Nikon batteries die sudden deaths in the last two weeks. Never had the problem before, but I will assume my others will continue functioning fine.

 

As to the immediate defense of Leica, you may find it in several places, but I think you will find a large percentage of us also extensively utilized other manufacturer's system. I for one have far more Nikon equipment, comprising dozens of lenses, flashes and accessories, and use it more extensively than my Leica equipment. Try bringing up Leica equipment or attributes in other forums oriented towards Nikon and Canon- the response from the faithful is quite similar to what we are seeing in this thread.

[wparsonsgisnet]

For the record -- since this is the authoritative source for Leica battery info

 

I have several Leica Batteries:

 

1. one for the D2 -- still going strong for 5 or so years -- as well as 2 Panasonic-branded ones (they were cheaper and probably the same battery)

2. 8 for the M8 and M9 (I bot 2 more when the shortage scared me). ALL 8 of these batteries, which I use in rotation, are working *Perfectly*.

 

There -- there was nothing defensive about that, was there?

 

I am not interested in buying off-brand batteries. It's bad enuf to have to depend on batteries (not to be confused with State of the Art devices) without cheaping out.

[jaapv]

If we are going into a list -

 

6 DMR batteries (2 stored in the fridge)

3 Digilux 2/3 batteries

6 M8/9 batteries

2 DLux 4 batteries

 

All working as specified.

 

- and four other brand M8 batteries - all broken within half a year..

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[glenerrolrd]

For the record -- since this is the authoritative source for Leica battery info

 

I have several Leica Batteries:

 

1. one for the D2 -- still going strong for 5 or so years -- as well as 2 Panasonic-branded ones (they were cheaper and probably the same battery)

2. 8 for the M8 and M9 (I bot 2 more when the shortage scared me). ALL 8 of these batteries, which I use in rotation, are working *Perfectly*.

 

There -- there was nothing defensive about that, was there?

 

I am not interested in buying off-brand batteries. It's bad enuf to have to depend on batteries (not to be confused with State of the Art devices) without cheaping out.

 

Bill

 

I know you have a lot experience with the digital Leicas and I respect your POV. Is there anything my post #32 that you might disagree with?

 

Roger