Q Battery comments

[marchyman]

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I really like my Q.  That said, nothing is perfect and one of the weaknesses of the Q is that it is power hungry.  Even though I have automatic review turned off and EVG-LCD set to EVF Extended so the LCD is rarely powered I  only get about 100 shots/battery charge.  That is a guestimate -- I've not actually bothered to note the exact number of images.

 

In addition to the stock battery, I bought two Wasabi work-alikes.   They were cheap and reportedly made in Japan using good Japanese cells.  Also, where the stock battery is rated at 1200 mAh the Wasabi batteries are rated at 1400 maH. 16% more.  Win.  Except... the Leica battery seemed to last longer.  Hmmm.

 

I use the Nitecore charger for both Leica and Wasabi batteries.   One of the pieces of information the charger gives me is "how many mAh" were added to the battery during charging.  I used the batteries until the camera  automatically turned off due to low power and then paid attention to how much of a charge they took.

 

The 1200 mAh stock battery took about 1000 mAh when being recharged.

The 1400 mAh Wasabi battery took about 860 mAh when being recharged.

 

The "bigger" Wasabi battery actually gives me 14% less power.  Neither battery gives me its rated value.  That does not surprise me.

 

I'm glad I have three batteries.

[Leica Guy]

That’s puzzling. I get around 250. Not even exactly sure because its a non-issue with my camera. Is OIS on? The Wasabi only meaduring 860 mAh is also disappointing. I might consider buying a Leica battery. I also have a Panasonic battery and it works well. If your camera is in warranty, you might send it to Leica to be checked. I’d try a new Leica battery first. I read very good things about the Nitecore charger. I expect that’s not your problem. Good luck. Let us know how this unfolds.

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[Chris O]

I literally go days on my battery. I usually leave ois off and don’t shoot video at all.

[marchyman]

I don't think I've ever turned OIS on.  I know I've never shot video.   I do have the auto power off set to two minutes.   I also have a bad habit of putting the camera in the bag without turning the camera off... perhaps the button is being half pushed once in a while as the bag is jostled.

 

Next couple of battery changes I'm going to note the image number and keep track of exactly how many images I've taken on each battery.

Edited April 29, 2018 by marchyman

[falcon468]

I have four Leica Q batteries and get somewhere just over 200 pictures, all JPEG, per charge.  I admit that I do a little chimping along the way. I do not shoot video or engage OIS.  My big disappointment is that my other two cameras, a Nikon D7000 and a Panasonic GX1, both come with plastic battery guards that I find to be very effective. My Leica batteries all came with small sandwich bag type enclosures. You would think that a proper battery guard would have been included. 

[Tailwagger]

This Saturday I shot 149 in the morning, two bars remaining. Went home recharged to full, shot a further 246 in the afternoon. Probably could have gone another 100. No OIS, EVF only, SPAF and manual use. RAW only, no JPG.  Leica battery. 

[SonomaBear]

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I feel fortunate in that all four of my batteries (2 Leica, 2 Wasabi) behave marvelously.

OIS always on.  No much use for reviewing so I am almost exclusively using the EVF.

 

50% of shots are manually focused -- perhaps the lens motors are consuming power excessively for some users.

I'm also mostly Av with preset aperture (usually 1.7! for shallow DoF) so perhaps the lens does not use aperture motor (?)

 

I leave home with four fully charged batteries (1 in camera, 2 in field case with plastic protectors, 1 in larger case) and I shoot most of the day, if not all, with just one battery.

To be honest, I shoot nature and landscapes with much deliberation between shots.  However I often bracket landscapes so it will fire 3 images very rapidly.

 

Walking around, the camera is never turned off and it goes asleep in 2 minutes.

[marchyman]

I use manual focus 85-90% of the time.

 

I noticed that I do something that may be unusual.  I take a shot and turn the camera off and put it down.   Then I realize I'm going to be taking more shots and turn the camera back on.   Of course the next shot doesn't come until after the camera has gone to sleep.   The result is that I'm waking the camera twice as often as necessary.

 

And yet I forget to turn the camera off before putting it in its bag, sometimes.

 

I think my battery life issues, such that they exist, are self inflicted

[prk60091]

I literally go days on my battery. I usually leave ois off and don’t shoot video at all.

 

i don't but i could go for days on either by leica or panasonic battery

[bags27]

I see that over on the CL group, they're having the same battery angst, and, since the CL and Q take the same batteries, I thought I'd alert those who still wonder about batteries to that thread, where they actually identify some new equipment:

 

https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/279246-third-party-battery-for-cl/

[marchyman]

Resurrecting this old battery thread I started with some actual figures...

 

One of the two Wasabi batteries I ordered way back when doesn't play well with my camera.   The supposedly 1400 mAh battery lasts just under 50 exposures before the camera turns itself off.  At that point the charger can only give it about 775 mAh.  Those are somewhat repeatable numbers.   I'll not be buying any more of these batteries.

[Sandbites]

I have had my Q for a little over  a year and aside from my iPhone its my only walkabout camera when i travel. When i travel the Q is around my neck all day and i shoot random pics all the time. I find that one battery is not enough to last from dusk till dawn. I dont even turn off the camera until its time to charge the batteries. Two batteries is more than adequate though for one whole day. At night i just fully charge the two batteries one after the other and i'm ready to go again the next day.

 

My spare battery is also a Leica which i got from the Leica boutique. The Q is too expensive and i did not want to risk getting an aftermarket spare batter\y which might leak or bulge and damage the Q. 

[stuny]

Why do you keep your camera turned on all the time when traveling?  I find response time from off to shoot to be quite good.

[Sandbites]

Why do you keep your camera turned on all the time when traveling?  I find response time from off to shoot to be quite good.

 

i just want to be ready to take a shot anytime, anyway the sleep timer kicks in right away so its practically asleep when not being used. 

[prk60091]

I went on holiday to paris last month (3 ½ days) I used 1 battery shot 200 images and had 1 bar left over. (I had my spare battery and charger) but did not see the need to change batteries at all. (I have the OEM Leica battery and a Panasonic version (not sure which one was in the camera at the time).

[stuny]

I have three Leica batteries, (shared with my V-Lux 114) and rotate them so they all get used/charged the same amount, and don't charge until sometime in the last bar.

[Skorpio]

I also have three batteries for my Q - the original Leica plus two by Hähnel (HL-PLC12) for Panasonic 1000mAh. I don't notice any significant difference in performance between them. Generally, I only charge them when they are completely 'dead'.

[Sandbites]

I have three Leica batteries, (shared with my V-Lux 114) and rotate them so they all get used/charged the same amount, and don't charge until sometime in the last bar.

 

I agree with this method. I strictly rotate my two batteries where I use the batteries one after the other. 

[marchyman]

Resurrecting an old thread.  I was not looking for batteries, but Amazon brought this to my attention, anyway.

https://www.amazon.com/Kastar-Panasonic-DMW-BLC12-DMC-FZ200-DMC-FZ1000/dp/B078T6DJGY

Less than $10.  

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica Q

[LexS]

A very cheap battery is no good always! I have a lot of experience with computer and camera batteries and the only non original batteries I trust are Anker.

For the Leica Q there is an elegant solution:

Panasonic and Leica are doing lots together: battery size and spec of the Panasonic and Q are the same:

Panasonic DMW-BLC12E, price about half the Leica price (that is the cost of the five letters), I compared both for three months now and see difference.