tragicyclist Posted January 2, 2015 Share #1 Posted January 2, 2015 Advertisement (gone after registration) Anyone have any issues with battery life? I was walking this morning on the beautiful Wiltshire Downs near Warminster, UK. I was shooting with both my X Vario and my old Canon 400D. I charged the battery up on the Leica before I left. After no more than an hour of use (shooting and reviewing shots) it had completely discharged. I used the Canon for a similar amount of time and the battery still shows full charge. The ambient temperature was around 5 degrees Celsius. Wind chill brought it down to minus something I guess. But this is the UK, not the North Pole. Do I just have a defective battery (camera was new in early 2014) or is this normal? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted January 2, 2015 Posted January 2, 2015 Hi tragicyclist, Take a look here Leica X Vario Battery Life. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
tragicyclist Posted January 2, 2015 Author Share #2 Posted January 2, 2015 And if you're curious as to what the Wiltshire Downs look like here's the last photo I took before the battery died! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gbealnz Posted January 2, 2015 Share #3 Posted January 2, 2015 While each situation is obviously different, I'd say that it is not the norm. I've used my X Vario for longer than the hour you suggest with no real change to the battery status, certainly not flat. My X1 (OK, different camera etc, but same battery) lasted all day usually while in Europe 18 months ago. The beauty of the X1 and X Vario pair is that the batteries are interchangeable. I have a spare, which can see use in both/either camera. How would you check the "quality" of the battery though? Maybe charge it up again, and see. Maybe a spare is in order, it would be a handy addition after all. Gary Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wda Posted January 2, 2015 Share #4 Posted January 2, 2015 Welcome to the forum! (You have such a sad avatar. Can it be true?) The battery cannot be all that old and I presume it has been charged and discharged many times? If not, a new battery needs a few cycles of recharging to achieve its design potential. Cold weather can reduce power. How did it look when warmed up at home? Leica batteries usually enjoy long lives. I have just reported elsewhere in these forums the fact that I have just replaced a Digilux 2 battery which I bought new well over ten years ago. That is not uncommon, I believe. So carry out more checks. If it is clearly failing, check its age (when you bought it) and confirm that it is a Leica branded battery. Non-Leica substitutes can fail sooner. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tragicyclist Posted January 2, 2015 Author Share #5 Posted January 2, 2015 I bought camera 2nd hand but not sure the previous owner ever used it. He certainly didn't register the camera or the copy of Lightroom and most of the packaging was unopened. So to all intents and purposes the battery is new, and Leica branded. I expect battery performance to deteriorate in cold weather but not as much as it seemed today. The Canon battery was fine. Yep it's had plenty of charges and discharges. I'll keep an eye on it and maybe get a spare - will need to start saving! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
asiafish Posted January 3, 2015 Share #6 Posted January 3, 2015 An hour means nothing, what matters is how many exposures during that hour. I get about 300-400 on my X Vario using the EVF, moderate chimping, no flash. Ymmv. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tragicyclist Posted January 10, 2015 Author Share #7 Posted January 10, 2015 Advertisement (gone after registration) An hour means nothing, what matters is how many exposures during that hour. I get about 300-400 on my X Vario using the EVF, moderate chimping, no flash. Ymmv. Maybe 20 shots, using EVF. No flash. Think it was just an aberration Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
2wk Posted January 10, 2015 Share #8 Posted January 10, 2015 I get hundreds of shots even in cold weather. I have some wasabi branded batteries that work almost as good as the Leica ones. 2 for $20. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blatman Posted January 11, 2015 Share #9 Posted January 11, 2015 Yup I agree that the battery life of the XV doesn't inspire confidence. When I first got the XV the battery showed full and I got c. 15 snaps over c. 2 hours. I gave the battery a good charge overnight and it seemed better but I now carry 3 batteries. My benchmark is my old Canon 5D (original 2005 vintage) which would take hundreds of snaps over a two week period on one battery charge. I find with the XV over two weeks that I use at least two battery charges and also in the cold the charge status drops dramatically. Part of this is probably due to the fact that I am a very average snapper and tend to use the shutter button to focus and recompose quite a bit however I did the same with the 5D and that was OK. I use the EVF rather than the LCD and have all the auto reviews off as far as is possible. Still not sure whether it is better to leave the EVF on and let it time out or to switch it off between snaps. I should also note that the XV had to go back to the factory to get the time/date backup fixed (a change of battery would require resetting the date on startup) so not sure whether battery performance will improve since the repair. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
michmo57 Posted January 11, 2015 Share #10 Posted January 11, 2015 Look up "battery memory effect" this could be it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith (M) Posted January 11, 2015 Share #11 Posted January 11, 2015 Look up "battery memory effect" this could be it. I think you will find this applies to ni-cad, not lithium batteries. Have to say that I have not noticed any shortcomings re battery life, number of shots etc in my X-Vario and I always use the EVF. Off-hand I would say it does not last as long as my M240 but on the other hand, whilst not counting shots between charges, I do not find myself thinking "what, need to change battery already..." Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dkCambridgeshire Posted January 25, 2015 Share #12 Posted January 25, 2015 Anyone have any issues with battery life? I was walking this morning on the beautiful Wiltshire Downs near Warminster, UK. I was shooting with both my X Vario and my old Canon 400D. I charged the battery up on the Leica before I left. After no more than an hour of use (shooting and reviewing shots) it had completely discharged. I used the Canon for a similar amount of time and the battery still shows full charge. The ambient temperature was around 5 degrees Celsius. Wind chill brought it down to minus something I guess. But this is the UK, not the North Pole. Do I just have a defective battery (camera was new in early 2014) or is this normal? For how long was the battery on charge? Was it fully charged before camera was used? If the battery has been stored for long periods in either a totally discharged state (previous owner), or a fully charged state, it could have deteriorated. The instruction manual suggests charging a battery not in use for 15 minutes twice a year … thus avoiding storage in fully discharged or fully charged state. And if not in use for extended periods, the battery should be removed from the camera for storage. How many charge / discharge cycles has your battery been through whilst in your possession? The battery's charge capacity might have been compromised if previously stored inside camera in a discharged state. Refer to instruction manual for storage and charging procedure recommendations. Try charging overnight …even if the charger indicates 'charged' the battery might not be fully charged. Did the previous owner have an e.g. an X1 or X2 which uses the same battery? If so, could he have swapped a well used battery for the XV's little used battery? I have an unused XV charger because I use the X1's charger … and often swap the batteries over. If I sold the XV with its apparently unused accessories, a buyer might think it's an unused camera .. even though it's used regularly. dunk Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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