Guest Walt Posted November 11, 2007 Share #1 Posted November 11, 2007 Advertisement (gone after registration) I have always had the practice of changing batteries when the indicator gets to two bars. Since installing the most recent firmware, this seems to happen rather quickly on all four of my batteries. So, I am wondering if the camera is pulling more juice or the indicator is simply more accurate (linear?) and is now showing what was actually going on all along. Has anyone else noticed this? Walt Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted November 11, 2007 Posted November 11, 2007 Hi Guest Walt, Take a look here Latest Firmware--battery level indication?. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
scott kirkpatrick Posted November 11, 2007 Share #2 Posted November 11, 2007 I have always had the practice of changing batteries when the indicator gets to two bars. Since installing the most recent firmware, this seems to happen rather quickly on all four of my batteries. So, I am wondering if the camera is pulling more juice or the indicator is simply more accurate (linear?) and is now showing what was actually going on all along. Has anyone else noticed this? Walt Yes, I've noticed this as well. The note that came with the firmware says this part of the firmware was "improved," so I would vote for a more linear response. Someone else has reported that some batteries which previously didn't show a proper "fully charged" indication now work again, suggesting that the problem had been with the camera, not those batteries. scott Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shootist Posted November 11, 2007 Share #3 Posted November 11, 2007 Actually I've notive the opposite, although at the present I am using aftermarket batteries exclusively (saving the 4 real Leica batteries I have). It seems the camera runs longer @ full charge meter reading then it did before the FW update. I still haven't run either of the 2 AM batteries down to one bar and done a recharge on them to see if the camera now see them as fully charged. It didn't before and I needed to fully drain them before the recharge to get them to show 3 bars. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
farnz Posted November 11, 2007 Share #4 Posted November 11, 2007 ... (saving the 4 real Leica batteries I have)... Ed, Lithium Ion batteries are excellent for power density (the milliampere-hour capacity that's available within the battery's volume) but unfortunately they have a finite shelf life. So, for example, say your Leica and aftermarket batteries were manufactured on the same date, if you put your Leica batteries in a drawer and only used the aftermarket batteries until they died then when you pulled out your Leica batteries they wouldn't be in much better shape, even if you had followed all the advice on refreshing them every few months etc. Unfortunately LiOn batteries need to be replaced every few years with new ones, which is why the date of manufacture stamped on the battery is so important. Pete. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shootist Posted November 12, 2007 Share #5 Posted November 12, 2007 Ed, Lithium Ion batteries are excellent for power density (the milliampere-hour capacity that's available within the battery's volume) but unfortunately they have a finite shelf life. So, for example, say your Leica and aftermarket batteries were manufactured on the same date, if you put your Leica batteries in a drawer and only used the aftermarket batteries until they died then when you pulled out your Leica batteries they wouldn't be in much better shape, even if you had followed all the advice on refreshing them every few months etc. Unfortunately LiOn batteries need to be replaced every few years with new ones, which is why the date of manufacture stamped on the battery is so important. Pete. Franz yes I have read that but that is not my experience, at least with Dell notebook batteries. I have some that are 4 years old and they still hold a good charge. I just pulled one out of a desk drawer that hasn't been used for a year or more and it was made 4/12/2003, I bought it 11/17/2003. It had 4 lights ahowing when you hit the test button on the battery so I stuck it in my Dell Inspiron i8200 sitting in the docking station to charge it up. It is now running that notebook. I have 4 Leica batteries and 2 aftermarket. Even if all of them fail in 2-3-4 years I'll just buy new ones. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marquinius Posted November 12, 2007 Share #6 Posted November 12, 2007 I'm on newest firmware, took my camera with two bars showing and went out to shoot ... about 25 pics later camera died. Battery was completely flat. Agreed, it was cold (above zero, but still ...), but I was really surprised by the suddenness of the battery being spent. I'm using two leica batteries and will try and see what's what with the level indicator. If two bar's really means "better get the spare one out", you might ask why bars at all .. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shootist Posted November 12, 2007 Share #7 Posted November 12, 2007 Advertisement (gone after registration) I think your problem has more to do with the cold. Do you use the review featrue? that drains the battery. What part of 2 bars were you on? It could of been on the low end of 2 bars and almost immediately gone to 1 bar. I find the best thing to do is either always have a spare battery with me or never leave home with anything less then a newly charged battery in the camera. The Leica M8 does use a lot of power and the batteries aren't that big. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marquinius Posted November 12, 2007 Share #8 Posted November 12, 2007 Yes, I also think the cold was the primary reason for the battery draining so fast. And as I was just two blocks away from home I didn't take the spare ... another lesson learned. As to the two bars ... I really don't remember if it was two bars "just" or "for awhile". And being a newbie I have to look at the preview to check histogram etc. Oh well ...I'll fiddle around a bit to get a better feel about the batteries and will definately take both off them with me next time I'm just going around the block. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nryn Posted November 12, 2007 Share #9 Posted November 12, 2007 I don't think it was the cold. I was at a birthday party the other day and my M8's battery died after about 20 shots, despite showing 2 bars when I started shooting. I had a fully charged one on hand, thankfully. I should say that I don't think this battery was charged since the firmware update, and I don't know if the update had any effect on the battery charge/battery level meter calibration. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
farnz Posted November 12, 2007 Share #10 Posted November 12, 2007 Unfortunately there is no way to accurately calculate the amount of charge remaining in a battery - even a battery discharge test will only provide an indication which is about 10% accurate. This doesn't only apply to the M8, this applies to all equipment that uses a battery - your car included. Additionally, the typical character of battery discharge is that when it starts to go flat it will go flat very quickly because it has reached the 'knee' of the discharge curve, which plunges towards zero charge rapidly. If the M8 had a 10 segment battery capacity display then it would be much easier to guage when to change a battery but it doesn't. With only three segments available the accuracy is further diminished and the display becomes only a vague indication of the charge remaining in the battery. For this reason I interpret the bars as follows and urge others to do the same: 3 bars: the battery's okay 2 bars: change the battery at the next convenient moment. 1 bar: change the battery now. Pete. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andybarton Posted November 12, 2007 Share #11 Posted November 12, 2007 My DMR's display doesn't even show a battery level indicator. I know when it's dying when the wind on becomes laboured. ) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shootist Posted November 12, 2007 Share #12 Posted November 12, 2007 For this reason I interpret the bars as follows and urge others to do the same: 3 bars: the battery's okay 2 bars: change the battery at the next convenient moment. 1 bar: change the battery now. Pete. Agree with 1 but the other 2 aren't that bad. 3 Bars = shoot shoot shoot 2 Bars = shoot shoot and watch the meter 1 Bar = shoot and at the next free moment change the battery. I have found that when needed the camera works OK with NO bars displayed. But it could die on you at any point, 1-2-3>10 shots. I always try to change out the battery once the meter gets to one bar and I notice it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
2Bébèrt Posted November 12, 2007 Share #13 Posted November 12, 2007 My battery seems to last longer. Before the update, 3 bars, 2bars and 15 min. later empty. Now the 3 and 2 bar status seems more gradually.So the 2 bars are more usefull, shooting without panic. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woofer Posted November 12, 2007 Share #14 Posted November 12, 2007 A related question and, sorry if this sounds ... dumb! Is it OK to store several batteries in the same container while backpacking , in other words , the batteries would be sitting in a pouch next to each other ... is there a problem with them losing charge etc as they rub together. Regards Leslie Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shootist Posted November 12, 2007 Share #15 Posted November 12, 2007 No not really. I have all my batteries, 6 of them, all in the same spot in my bag. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
farnz Posted November 12, 2007 Share #16 Posted November 12, 2007 Leslie, The only way they could lose charge in this way is if their terminals were to accidentally come into contact with +ves to -ves. This is impossible owing to the plastic protective casing around the terminals unless there was water in the pouch or the plastic casings on at least two of the batteries was damaged. Pete. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
zonevt Posted November 13, 2007 Share #17 Posted November 13, 2007 I own two M8 cameras and four batteries, two Leica and two after market brand. For months the after market batteries did not show any level bars when fully charged and seemed to drain fast when used. After the recent firmware change both after market batteries show full bars when charged in both cameras. I have not tested the use life of them yet but hope they will now last longer. They were both new batteries when they failed to show level bars and had poor performance....Tom. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woofer Posted November 13, 2007 Share #18 Posted November 13, 2007 Re batteries in the same case .... thanks Ed and Pete for your help Love this forum Regards , Leslie Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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