M9 Battery

[RayD28]

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There have been several posts regarding M9 batteries and here is my story and my current problem:

 

1.Bought used M9 from KEH Camera in December 2015 and it came with an after-market battery.

2. Camera would lock up occasionally and I'd remove battery, give it a slight charge, reinsert, and good to go until the next episode.

3. Downloaded current updated firmware.

3. Read forum posts and bought two new Leica batteries from BH.  Also called KEH and they sent for free another after-market battery.

4. All three batteries worked fine.

5. I've not been picky about when to recharge (0%, 40%, 60%, etc).  If I planned to shoot for a day I just put in a fully charged battery.  

6. Yesterday I had 50% in the battery that was in the camera.  I put one of the other batteries in and it had 50% so I put that one in the charger.  Green charging light blinking.

7. I checked the third battery and it had 50% so I set it by the charger to remind myself it need charged.

8. Went out for a casual shoot for about 2 hours.  Returned and the green charger light and the yellow light flashing.

9. Did some chores for about an hour and both green and yellow lights lit and not flashing.

10. Checked the freshly charged battery and it had 50%.  Left that battery in the camera, turned it on, and set and turned off the Auto Sleep Mode.  Checked the camera in three hours and had Low Battery Message.  Took that battery out and let it charge over night.

11.Put other low battery into camera and turned off Auto Sleep Mode this morning.   

12. Got up this morning and green and yellow lights on but not blinking.  Put in my camera and it said low battery.

13. Checked plug ins and I'm charging the second battery (the one I left in-camera overnight).

14. Put the other battery into charger.  Right now green light blinking and I'm off to work.

15.  Will post update this evening.  

16.  By the way, I went four months with having zero problems with the three batteries in rotation until yesterday.

17.  All aggravating.  

18. Advice appreciated. 

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[Rus]

There have been several posts regarding M9 batteries and here is my story and my current problem:

 

1.Bought used M9 from KEH Camera in December 2015 and it came with an after-market battery.

2. Camera would lock up occasionally and I'd remove battery, give it a slight charge, reinsert, and good to go until the next episode.

3. Downloaded current updated firmware.

3. Read forum posts and bought two new Leica batteries from BH.  Also called KEH and they sent for free another after-market battery.

4. All three batteries worked fine.

5. I've not been picky about when to recharge (0%, 40%, 60%, etc).  If I planned to shoot for a day I just put in a fully charged battery.  

6. Yesterday I had 50% in the battery that was in the camera.  I put one of the other batteries in and it had 50% so I put that one in the charger.  Green charging light blinking.

7. I checked the third battery and it had 50% so I set it by the charger to remind myself it need charged.

8. Went out for a casual shoot for about 2 hours.  Returned and the green charger light and the yellow light flashing.

9. Did some chores for about an hour and both green and yellow lights lit and not flashing.

10. Checked the freshly charged battery and it had 50%.  Left that battery in the camera, turned it on, and set and turned off the Auto Sleep Mode.  Checked the camera in three hours and had Low Battery Message.  Took that battery out and let it charge over night.

11.Put other low battery into camera and turned off Auto Sleep Mode this morning.   

12. Got up this morning and green and yellow lights on but not blinking.  Put in my camera and it said low battery.

13. Checked plug ins and I'm charging the second battery (the one I left in-camera overnight).

14. Put the other battery into charger.  Right now green light blinking and I'm off to work.

15.  Will post update this evening.  

16.  By the way, I went four months with having zero problems with the three batteries in rotation until yesterday.

17.  All aggravating.  

18. Advice appreciated. 

 

When you put the newly charged battery in the camera and saw the "low battery" message, did you try and see if the camera was still able to take photos? 

I use 3 Leica batteries for my M9, and quite often if I do not completely drain the battery before a recharge, the newly charged battery will show somewhat less than a full bar in the camera's info screen. The battery will be able to allow shooting for about the same amount of shots though. It is just that the "low battery" messages will appear quite a bit earlier. (By completely draining I mean I continue shooting despite the low battery messages until the camera won't take any more photos or simply won't turn on).

 

Maybe try completely draining your battery before charging it up again, and see if there's any improvement? 

[IWC Doppel]

I have always run mine down before changing and only use Leica, my camera's are a 3,000 actuation  MM and 25,000 actaution M9-P

 

The older batteries now hit about 90-95% charge when put in the camera, the new/newer still 100% I have in the past completely drained and recharged and hey improved, seems this isnt recommended but did work for me

[RayD28]

When you put the newly charged battery in the camera and saw the "low battery" message, did you try and see if the camera was still able to take photos? 

I use 3 Leica batteries for my M9, and quite often if I do not completely drain the battery before a recharge, the newly charged battery will show somewhat less than a full bar in the camera's info screen. The battery will be able to allow shooting for about the same amount of shots though. It is just that the "low battery" messages will appear quite a bit earlier. (By completely draining I mean I continue shooting despite the low battery messages until the camera won't take any more photos or simply won't turn on).

 

Maybe try completely draining your battery before charging it up again, and see if there's any improvement?

Thanks, Rus.  I put the battery in and I got the low battery message.  I snapped one photo and checked the battery indicator and it was 98%.  I checked the other battery and had the same thing happen.  So, bottom line is if you have put in a fully charged battery and still get the low battery message, snap a few pictures and then check the Info screen to see how much charge you have.  

[tobey bilek]

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

 

 

Same here.  recharge ofter and rotate.

[Robert M Poole]

If third party batteries fail often, is there anywhere to get Leica batteries cheaper than £90 a pop? I only have one and have been left without a battery at critical moments at times. The full price is a bit steep (I have a new baby and just moved house!)