Leica SL2-S terrible battery life?

[criogenics]

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I just received my SL2-S earlier this week, and have been testing its performance all week. The first thing I noticed was the abysmal battery life -  I put in a freshly charged battery, set up the camera for about 30 min, and then went around on a photowalk for about an hour. The battery actually died before I completed the walk, after only about 150 shots. This can't be normal, right?

I have a Q2 and that lasts me pretty much the entire day, without even turning off the camera.

On the SL2-S, I had a manual third party adapter and lens. Could this be a contributor? I don't see how it should. One thing I noticed is that in the control settings, it seemed to think the lens was an AF lens since the AF control settings for the knobs were applied, not the MF control settings. Not sure what's going on there.

Could any SL2-S owners report on their battery life experiences, with third party, Leica L-mount, and L-alliance lenses on the SL2-s? Thanks!

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[SrMi]

Make sure pre-focusing is turned off.

[LocalHero1953]

I only use Leica L-mount lenses. I have noticed slightly less battery life in the SL2-S compared to the SL, which was good (easily several hundred shots in a continuous session). I attribute the difference mainly to IBIS. I don't use prefocus. 

Was your battery new? It may take a few charging/use cycles to get up to full capacity. 

[alee13]

I have observed the same, the battery life is dismal. This is also in comparison to using AF on my Q2. 
 

I use with M lens and 35 Sigma F2, which the latter drains the most. The AF max sensitive (user control) could be blamed, more testing to be done for me. 
 

running video it does run slightly (just slightly) warm, but no biggie. 

off topic, the 35 Sigma F2 I-series performs while not stellar, but remarkably well. For its size and built, it makes me go to it more than the 35 summilux. 

 

Edited January 3, 2021 by alee13

[paul.bridges.3388]

Yes: disappointed by the SL2-S battery life (with 75/F2 APO in iAF). Way shorter than the Q2. The common battery was a draw, as I already had the Q2. I’ve ordered a fourth battery today, based on its performance in the SL2-S.

Edited January 3, 2021 by paul.bridges.3388

[criogenics]

Hmm, thanks for the observations - glad it wasn't just my copy that was an outlier.

Does anyone with an SL2, who may or not also have an SL2-s, chime in on their battery life experience? I don't understand how the CIPA rating for the SL2-S can be 510 shots given that I can't have the camera on for more than 1.5 hours. Thanks a lot!

[SrMi]

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1 hour ago, criogenics said:

Hmm, thanks for the observations - glad it wasn't just my copy that was an outlier.

Does anyone with an SL2, who may or not also have an SL2-s, chime in on their battery life experience? I don't understand how the CIPA rating for the SL2-S can be 510 shots given that I can't have the camera on for more than 1.5 hours. Thanks a lot!

I have no issues with battery life on SL2. The battery life was much shorter in the beginning as I spent a lot of time on menus and reviews :). 
The battery is typically mostly used by EVF and LCD. I run my Leica-s in "Display Settings->EVF-LCD->EVF Extended" mode and have pre-focusing turned off.

[scott kirkpatrick]

Once the new battery has been recharged a few times and settles in, I find that the determinant is how many minutes of real activity have elapsed, running EVF, LCD, checking menus, IBIS, and -- oh, yes, processing shots taken.  But then I shoot at a rate that reflects the days when I had to put the film in a tank and shake it every minute afterwards.

[LocalHero1953]

I don't recognise these battery problems - with L-mount Leica lenses I emphasise. 

Please tell us more about your setup: prefocus, LCD setup (I'm on EVF Extended), power saving, AF setup.

[RBB]

2 hours ago, SrMi said:

I have no issues with battery life on SL2.

Me neither, except if I use long exposure with long exposure noise reduction on, then the battery runs out vert quickly, but so does a Fuji and a Nikon.

[Tom B]

Hi, 

I'm using a SL2 - and the battery life ist - also - poor. 

In the beginning I've noticed the same effect. Batteries are empty after an one hour shooting (everything new, only Leica equipment). Now I've changed a lot. Battery life is still very poor, but better: 

- camera ist always "on" (this was the most effective change)

- the rear display switches off after 2 min

- no bluetooth, nether wlan (by the way: forget the App... 😞 and than there ist no need for using such "things"...). 

- minimum playing with the menu 

- with temperatures around 0 Grad Celsius i try to "warm" the camera inside the jacket

With these settings I'm able to do a walk of around 2,5 - 3 hours with around 350 Pictures. 

Best whishes

Tom 

 

[MediaFotografie]

I use the following settings on my SL2 - and battery life is ok (around 300 shoots, depending on other settings):

- prefocus off

- WLAN off, but Blutooth on (for GPS data from the App), Wake on Blutooth off

- EVF Extended

Three of my batteries are more than 5 years old, from the first days of SL 601; they are working fine;

(lenses: Leica SLs, Pana 20-60, Sigma Macro 105 DG DN; does not matter for battery life)

Edited January 3, 2021 by MediaFotografie
lenses added

[criogenics]

I've been using a VM 35 1.2 with a third party adapter.

- Prefocus Off (but why does it matter, it's a MF only lens? Can the SL2-s not tell that there's not an AF lens connected?)

- Default power saving settings

- No bluetooth

- EVF auto

- Image stabilization on (but off doesn't seem to make a difference)

With this setup, I go from a fully charged battery to 3/4 (per the camera icon) in less than 15 minutes.

[SrMi]

2 hours ago, criogenics said:

I've been using a VM 35 1.2 with a third party adapter.

- Prefocus Off (but why does it matter, it's a MF only lens? Can the SL2-s not tell that there's not an AF lens connected?)

- Default power saving settings

- No bluetooth

- EVF auto

- Image stabilization on (but off doesn't seem to make a difference)

With this setup, I go from a fully charged battery to 3/4 (per the camera icon) in less than 15 minutes.

You are correct; pre-focus does not matter with MF. Bluetooth (low energy) and IBIS do not consume a significant amount of power. 

EVF consumes more power than LCD, but both should not be on when unnecessary (hence EVF Extended). Note that the EVF can accidentally activate when holding the camera near the body and triggering the eye sensor.

Another possible battery drain is the automatic transfer of images to the phone. I am not using Leica Fotos, so I do not know if that can be an issue.

How does the battery life compare to your other mirrorless cameras?

[Chaemono]

Yes, battery life is not great but it's last on my list as a purchasing criterion. It can be easily alleviated by always carrying a spare. SL2-S works great with M lenses, BTW. Just started a thread.

[panoreserve]

vor 6 Stunden schrieb Tom B:

camera ist always "on" (this was the most effective change)

Really??!!

[MediaFotografie]

btw, is true that the power consumption of the SL2-S is lower than the SL2? Any observations?
(according to data sheet 510 instead of 370 images)

[criogenics]

2 hours ago, SrMi said:

You are correct; pre-focus does not matter with MF. Bluetooth (low energy) and IBIS do not consume a significant amount of power. 

EVF consumes more power than LCD, but both should not be on when unnecessary (hence EVF Extended). Note that the EVF can accidentally activate when holding the camera near the body and triggering the eye sensor.

Another possible battery drain is the automatic transfer of images to the phone. I am not using Leica Fotos, so I do not know if that can be an issue.

How does the battery life compare to your other mirrorless cameras?

I also have a Q2 and get great performance out of it - have shot entire weddings on just one battery pack (500 photos, 4 hours of shooting on and off). The SL2-s is just awful in comparison, really disappointed so far and I might return it. It seems to use 3x the battery of the Q2 in a week of testing so far.

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[Photoworks]

48 minutes ago, criogenics said:

I also have a Q2 and get great performance out of it - have shot entire weddings on just one battery pack (500 photos, 4 hours of shooting on and off). The SL2-s is just awful in comparison, really disappointed so far and I might return it. It seems to use 3x the battery of the Q2 in a week of testing so far.

Can it be that the New toy is keeping you using the back screen all the time to change settings, flern the camera and admiring the wonderful images your are taking.

I found the consumption vary on usage, there are days where I have shoots with 3000 frames and only use 2 batteries on my SL2.

[LocalHero1953]

1 hour ago, criogenics said:

I also have a Q2 and get great performance out of it - have shot entire weddings on just one battery pack (500 photos, 4 hours of shooting on and off). The SL2-s is just awful in comparison, really disappointed so far and I might return it. It seems to use 3x the battery of the Q2 in a week of testing so far.

OK, I haven't stress tested it, but I've been out on two occasions for 2-3 hours with the camera on, taking a couple of hundred pictures; I started with a partly used battery which died after about 1/3 of the time, and put a new battery in for the remaining 2/3. Without changing the battery, I used it today during a cycle ride in very cold weather and took another 20-30 shots. It is down to 75% (using the tiny battery bar). So certainly not a rigorous test, but more or less what I'd have expected from the SL.