Q3 BATTERY ISSUE

[Shane Oneill]

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hi i have had my Q3 for about a month and during that time reading reviews and watching videos everyone seems to be remarking how good the battery life is

with many saying they still had battery left after a full day of shooting

it's the battery that came new with the new camera and this morning, while out shooting, with EVF set to EVF Extended , thus turning the `LCD off and thereby conserving battery power, and the  AUTO POWER OFF at 5MINS and  DISPLAYS /AF AUTO off at 1min, and with minimal chimping i got 104 shots before the battery started flashing red. i then put the spare in and after78 shots thats 2/3 empty.

this is awful no? ...am i doing something wrong? am about to go on hioliday for 2 weeks and now seriously worried that after being out shooting for a couple of hours both batteries will be dead

thanks

shane

[Ingo]

During an intensive Workshop today and yesterday I got about 300 shots per battery with the same settings you mentioned. So your experience sounds a little bit strange. 

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[AussieQ]

5 hours ago, Shane Oneill said:

hi i have had my Q3 for about a month and during that time reading reviews and watching videos everyone seems to be remarking how good the battery life is

with many saying they still had battery left after a full day of shooting

it's the battery that came new with the new camera and this morning, while out shooting, with EVF set to EVF Extended , thus turning the `LCD off and thereby conserving battery power, and the  AUTO POWER OFF at 5MINS and  DISPLAYS /AF AUTO off at 1min, and with minimal chimping i got 104 shots before the battery started flashing red. i then put the spare in and after78 shots thats 2/3 empty.

this is awful no? ...am i doing something wrong? am about to go on hioliday for 2 weeks and now seriously worried that after being out shooting for a couple of hours both batteries will be dead

thanks

shane

Completely agree, the battery life is appalling. I ended up having to get another battery. I have turned off all things like wifi/bluetooth, even only using the evf instead of screen and it still does not perform as expected. Yeah I could hold the shutter down for 300 frames and they would all be taken but the issue is the camera does not last a days use of walking around taking the occasional snap.

[SrMi]

Those experiencing battery issues should try resetting the camera as it seems that their battery usage is untypical.

[beewee]

6 hours ago, Shane Oneill said:

hi i have had my Q3 for about a month and during that time reading reviews and watching videos everyone seems to be remarking how good the battery life is

with many saying they still had battery left after a full day of shooting

it's the battery that came new with the new camera and this morning, while out shooting, with EVF set to EVF Extended , thus turning the `LCD off and thereby conserving battery power, and the  AUTO POWER OFF at 5MINS and  DISPLAYS /AF AUTO off at 1min, and with minimal chimping i got 104 shots before the battery started flashing red. i then put the spare in and after78 shots thats 2/3 empty.

this is awful no? ...am i doing something wrong? am about to go on hioliday for 2 weeks and now seriously worried that after being out shooting for a couple of hours both batteries will be dead

thanks

shane

Are you on the latest firmware?

I took 980 shots last week on a single battery using v1.2.0 FW and still had at least 30% remaining. I keep the camera powered off when not shooting.

I had geotagging set to always and FOTOs connection on Eco mode.

Edited August 13 by beewee

[BobsFirstLeica]

One setting that will eat up battery life is lens image stabilization set to on all the time. That said, I would first, recommend a full reset.  Then check to make sure stabilization is set to Auto.

Bob

[SrMi]

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2 hours ago, BobsFirstLeica said:

One setting that will eat up battery life is lens image stabilization set to on all the time. That said, I would first, recommend a full reset.  Then check to make sure stabilization is set to Auto.

Bob

Are you sure about that?

OIS is the same as in Q2 and nobody is complaining about battery life in Q2.

Also, in my experience with Nikon OIS, only large and heavy long lenses use noticeable power when OIS is active.

 

 

[Stephen_C]

The other thing to check (if you're using the Leica FOTOS app—for geotagging, for example) is the connectivity mode you have set (see page 234 of the downloadable manual). There is an Eco Mode for what is described as "Extended battery life”.

Stephen

Edited August 13 by Stephen_C

[Shane Oneill]

thanks stephen

 

[BobsFirstLeica]

10 hours ago, SrMi said:

Are you sure about that?

OIS is the same as in Q2 and nobody is complaining about battery life in Q2.

Also, in my experience with Nikon OIS, only large and heavy long lenses use noticeable power when OIS is active.

 

 

I noticed with my Q2 (only had it for 3 months) the battery seemed to drain faster with OIS on "all the time" than in auto.  Noticed that when I first got the Q3.  After watching one of the "how-to" videos by one of the more credible individuals mentioned in another thread, I changed the setting to AUTO.  In concert with that change I set my minimum shutter speed in auto-ISO up to 1/125s.  In my shooting style I would like more choices.  I seem to recall there were more with the Q2.  Bottom line -- the battery life seems to be better in AUTO though I have not done enough testing to confirm.

Edited August 13 by BobsFirstLeica

[Shane Oneill]

thanks

[beewee]

I wonder how much body/face/eye detect AF impacts battery life. I’d imagine there’s a lot of processing going on trying to detect people, even if the camera on standby. I normally just use single point AFs and haven’t experienced any battery life problems.

[Aram Langhans]

21 hours ago, SrMi said:

Are you sure about that?

OIS is the same as in Q2 and nobody is complaining about battery life in Q2.

Also, in my experience with Nikon OIS, only large and heavy long lenses use noticeable power when OIS is active.

 

 

I have the Q2 and battery life is dismal on it.  I am luck to get 150 shots unless I am doing something like taking macros where I will shoot 10-15 frames right away for stacking many times so I can amass a few hundred shots at once.  But with wandering around shooting occasional shots, OIS set to Auto, turning camera off when not shooting, using EVF Extended mode and hardly chimping, 125-150 is max. I just got back from a trip to Victoria, Canada and expended both batteries walking around for about 8 hours taking about 300 shots,  I have two batteries and they both behave the same.  One of the things I was looking forward to if my Q3 ever arrives was the greater battery life everyone seems to be talking about except for now.

[LocalHero1953]

Odd. I'm sure all the different experiences are just down to individual practices (power-off/sleep, chimping, finger on shutter to keep awake, time spent setting up a shot, time spent looking through VF not shooting). If I'm out for the day doing my tourist bit with the Q2 then I'll take a spare battery but will not necessarily need it. But then, I'm not spending 100% of my time taking photos - I'm looking at things tourists are supposed to look at, drinking coffee etc, then getting my camera out when I see a shot. I could easily take more than 200, probably 300, but I don't count - it's just not a normal issue for me.

Also I came to the Q2 from the CL, which had a worse battery life.

Edited August 14 by LocalHero1953

[Marc B-C]

7 hours ago, Aram Langhans said:

I have the Q2 and battery life is dismal on it.  I am luck to get 150 shots unless I am doing something like taking macros where I will shoot 10-15 frames right away for stacking many times so I can amass a few hundred shots at once.  But with wandering around shooting occasional shots, OIS set to Auto, turning camera off when not shooting, using EVF Extended mode and hardly chimping, 125-150 is max. I just got back from a trip to Victoria, Canada and expended both batteries walking around for about 8 hours taking about 300 shots,  I have two batteries and they both behave the same.  One of the things I was looking forward to if my Q3 ever arrives was the greater battery life everyone seems to be talking about except for now.

I have a similar issue with my Q2 using the same settings as you, other than using auto off for the camera during the "shooting" day (I read somewhere that this was better for battery life rather than a full start up each time on).

Interestingly one of the batteries drains down over time when in the camera and the camera is switched off, whereas the second does not appear to do so in the same timeframe. One battery came with the camera, the other was bought new separately. 

Perhaps there is also the element of luck of the draw and the batteries we receive?

[jmschuh]

 

Two notes: 

1. The viewfinder requires more power than the rear display, especially with 120Hz refresh rate.

2. the batteries need a few 100% cycles to reach full capacity. This is also stated in the battery manual.

 

[clasami]

Mine is also a bit short on breath - but it is only on  the third load cycle. Will monitor how it develops.

 

P.S.: Reduced power saving wait to 1 minute and screen off to 30 seconds. 

Edited August 25 by clasami

[clasami]

This could have an impact on battery life (and the camera getting slightly warm):

 

[Manners]

Hi.  I've recently had a similar issue with my battery.  Fully charged and I got less than 100 shots before it expired.  In addition the camera got very hot, almost too hot to hold......I changed the power off to 2 mins.  After turning it off completely, allowing it to cool down, I turned it back on and it still got warm.  Is this a battery issue or camera, either way for 5 and a half grand I expect better?  I mailed Leica support last Sunday and I'm still waiting for a response.

I'm going out with it again tomorrow to see if it happens again.  Maybe the lastest firmware upgrade will sort it out........... If not I shall be demanding something is done to sort the issue or my money back (Not fit for purpose).   No problems with my Q2 and expected the same for the Q3.

 

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[Le Chef]

How many cycles has the battery been through so far?
Are you using identical settings to those you used with your Q2? Worth checking and maybe switching off everything you don’t use on a daily basis.