FS-4 LED bug? at DVinfo.net

David Yuen · August 20th, 2005, 12:28 AM

Can anyone confirm an apparent bug in the FS-4 LED coloring? I'm using version 1.0.1.

1. I charge a battery until the LED goes green.
2. I remove the battery and the LED goes red.
3. I insert a second battery (which is discharged and needs to be charged) and the LED turns green.
4. I disconnect the power and then reconnect the power and the LED turns orange.

Step #3 is the part that caused me to lose 90 minutes of footage because I did not have a second charged battery. When I plugged in the second battery for charging, it immediately lit up green so I figured that it had charged up during some prior usage.

When I insert a discharged battery, I expect the LED to display the state of the battery, but it instead displays the state of the previous battery. Disconnecting and reconnecting the power resets the LED to the proper color/battery condition.

Mark Whittle · September 1st, 2005, 09:21 PM

Thanks for this info, David. Last night after an all day shoot I did exactly as you described and assumed the second battery was fully charged, as it had been on charge during our lunch break.

I will put it on charge again today as I have a big shoot tomorrow and wouldn't want to find out the hard way that the battery was not fully charged.

You may well have saved my shoot!

Mark

David Yuen · September 1st, 2005, 09:28 PM

I'm glad to know that I've helped someone, even if Focus Enhancements tech support has yet to respond to my e-mails of Aug. 23 and Aug. 25 with any assistance in this matter.

Daniel Kohl · September 4th, 2005, 12:52 PM

Hi you guys,

This is not meant to downplay this bug. I would suggest, though, always checking the battery status on the LCD battery status indicator. I know that that means powering up just to power down again.

Clearly one would expect the LEDs to be accurate.

Jim Olson · September 13th, 2005, 11:34 PM

Hello all (especially David Yuen)
First, let me apologize because our corporate web server crashed and we lost a couple of days of emails around Aug 25th - 27th, and we lost our tech support email archive for Aug 4 - 27. So David, we may have lost your emails before we got a chance to respond.

However, that said -- the FS-4 should as Daniel suggests, be power cycled with the battery installed before you trust the indicator LED for the currently installed battery. As our engineering staff told me, "the battery LED is OK after a power reset, and the battery indicator on the LCD is OK when the battery is not being charged."

Thanks,
Jim at Focus

David Yuen · September 14th, 2005, 12:44 AM

All I ask is that this be documented. I'm used to my Canon GL2 charger, where I can charge battery after battery and see the correct status without having to fiddle with the electrical plug or power up the GL2 just to see the battery status.

August 20th, 2005, 12:28 AM	#1
David Yuen Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Fort Lauderdale, FL Posts: 185	FS-4 LED bug? Can anyone confirm an apparent bug in the FS-4 LED coloring? I'm using version 1.0.1. 1. I charge a battery until the LED goes green. 2. I remove the battery and the LED goes red. 3. I insert a second battery (which is discharged and needs to be charged) and the LED turns green. 4. I disconnect the power and then reconnect the power and the LED turns orange. Step #3 is the part that caused me to lose 90 minutes of footage because I did not have a second charged battery. When I plugged in the second battery for charging, it immediately lit up green so I figured that it had charged up during some prior usage. When I insert a discharged battery, I expect the LED to display the state of the battery, but it instead displays the state of the previous battery. Disconnecting and reconnecting the power resets the LED to the proper color/battery condition.

September 1st, 2005, 09:21 PM	#2
Mark Whittle Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Bunbury, Western Australia Posts: 153	Thanks for this info, David. Last night after an all day shoot I did exactly as you described and assumed the second battery was fully charged, as it had been on charge during our lunch break. I will put it on charge again today as I have a big shoot tomorrow and wouldn't want to find out the hard way that the battery was not fully charged. You may well have saved my shoot! Mark __________________ MW

September 4th, 2005, 12:52 PM	#4
Daniel Kohl Contributor Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Frankfurt, Germany Posts: 571	Hi you guys, This is not meant to downplay this bug. I would suggest, though, always checking the battery status on the LCD battery status indicator. I know that that means powering up just to power down again. Clearly one would expect the LEDs to be accurate. __________________ Daniel Kohl Frankenstein meets XL1

September 13th, 2005, 11:34 PM	#5
Jim Olson Focus Enhancements Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 8	Confirming battery LED indicator behavior Hello all (especially David Yuen) First, let me apologize because our corporate web server crashed and we lost a couple of days of emails around Aug 25th - 27th, and we lost our tech support email archive for Aug 4 - 27. So David, we may have lost your emails before we got a chance to respond. However, that said -- the FS-4 should as Daniel suggests, be power cycled with the battery installed before you trust the indicator LED for the currently installed battery. As our engineering staff told me, "the battery LED is OK after a power reset, and the battery indicator on the LCD is OK when the battery is not being charged." Thanks, Jim at Focus

September 14th, 2005, 12:44 AM	#6
David Yuen Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Fort Lauderdale, FL Posts: 185	Please put this into the documentation All I ask is that this be documented. I'm used to my Canon GL2 charger, where I can charge battery after battery and see the correct status without having to fiddle with the electrical plug or power up the GL2 just to see the battery status.

September 1st, 2005, 09:28 PM	#3
David Yuen Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Fort Lauderdale, FL Posts: 185	Glad to hear it I'm glad to know that I've helped someone, even if Focus Enhancements tech support has yet to respond to my e-mails of Aug. 23 and Aug. 25 with any assistance in this matter.