2 DVX100's and Baterry life notification at DVinfo.net

Peter Jefferson · September 12th, 2004, 10:53 PM

wierd.. i have dvx's the original and a new advanced one.. and BOTH of them seem to have issues deciphering how much battery life is left..

i use different mha range batterys from 1600 thru to 5400, and the battery bar jsut shows either full, half, 3 quarters, but NONE that actually show that the battery is actually dying.. ie, a quarter full or flashing batt icon 5 mins before it dies..

jsut wondering if this is a standard defec for the cams??
the batteries are fine, i know that for a fact coz i am meticulous with charging regimes,

anyone else experience instant death???

jsut curoius coz ill be bringing this up to panasonics attention very soon..

i cant afford to NOT know how much battery i have left..

Daniel Hollister · September 13th, 2004, 06:06 PM

the gas gauge on my car stays around half and then suddenly drops to the bottom when it's getting empty... :-/

well anway... i have a 5400 and a 7200mah battery, and my 100A goes to one quarter maybe 20 minutes before it dies. so it's still not perfectly accurate, as it should go to one quarter about an hour before it dies, but it still doesnt seem to be as bad as what you are describing.

HOWEVER, one thing i have noticed is that, even when the battery begins "dying" and it's flashing and everything, can still usually get at least 15 minutes more out of the thing... past 20 if using viewfinder. perhaps this is how panasonic compensates? i dunno...

Peter Jefferson · September 13th, 2004, 07:04 PM

hmm.. u see the fact that your still getting instant death is the point here.. sure ur battery may be slowly dying and your getting SOME notification, but its not going to the last quarter then flashing to give notice then dying..

i dont like this coz if ur filmin an event, you CANT AFFORD to allow a defect like this stop your work..

Barry Green · September 13th, 2004, 10:19 PM

I don't have a 100A, I have an original 100, but I've used the 100A many times. Never has there been an "instant death" situation. The battery will run down gradually, with the graph updating, and then near the end of battery life the battery graph will flash, as will the red record/tally light. This will usually go on for a good 10 minutes before the battery is finally exhausted.

If your camera isn't behaving that way, either there's something wrong with your camera or with your battery. Is it an authentic Panasonic battery, or some third-party brand?

Peter Jefferson · September 13th, 2004, 11:25 PM

theyre all authentic batteries, and what youre describing is the way the batteries SHOULD be running down, but they dont..

Barry Green · September 14th, 2004, 08:17 PM

Then that confirms that there's something wrong, either with the camera or the batteries, because on all the cameras I've used, that is how the batteries perform... there should be *plenty* of warning, and no "sudden death"...

Peter Jefferson · September 14th, 2004, 09:46 PM

im thnkin it could be caused by the "topping up " of the batteries..

ie, 3 quarters full, so i stick it back in the charger to top up for a job..
then WHAM

i THINK this may be the a cause.. ive heard it happen with mobile fones, but it only happens with the DVX, not the MX500 or my other Pana cams..

Jesse Rosten · September 14th, 2004, 10:33 PM

I own a DVX100a and also experience SDS (sudden death syndrom) I think the problem lies in the camera because I've used Panny authorized batteries and generics and get the same problem. The first time it happened to me was in the middle of a shoot. Went from half-full to dead. Couldn't figure out was was wrong with the camera cause the battery was the last thing I was thinking about ("can't be the battery, it says half full").

ALthough now that I think about it... any of those batteries could have been "topped off." Should maybe run some tests to see if therein lies the problem.

Peter Jefferson · September 15th, 2004, 12:24 AM

i think it is the problem.. i think battery memory is dying (even though it says on teh packaging no memory effect)

ive seen it happen to mobile fones.. i dont see why this makes it any different cnonsidering theyre all lithium ion batteries.

September 12th, 2004, 10:53 PM	#1
Peter Jefferson Inner Circle Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Aus Posts: 3,884	2 DVX100's and Baterry life notification wierd.. i have dvx's the original and a new advanced one.. and BOTH of them seem to have issues deciphering how much battery life is left.. i use different mha range batterys from 1600 thru to 5400, and the battery bar jsut shows either full, half, 3 quarters, but NONE that actually show that the battery is actually dying.. ie, a quarter full or flashing batt icon 5 mins before it dies.. jsut wondering if this is a standard defec for the cams?? the batteries are fine, i know that for a fact coz i am meticulous with charging regimes, anyone else experience instant death??? jsut curoius coz ill be bringing this up to panasonics attention very soon.. i cant afford to NOT know how much battery i have left..

September 13th, 2004, 06:06 PM	#2
Daniel Hollister Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Hollywood, CA Posts: 128	the gas gauge on my car stays around half and then suddenly drops to the bottom when it's getting empty... :-/ well anway... i have a 5400 and a 7200mah battery, and my 100A goes to one quarter maybe 20 minutes before it dies. so it's still not perfectly accurate, as it should go to one quarter about an hour before it dies, but it still doesnt seem to be as bad as what you are describing. HOWEVER, one thing i have noticed is that, even when the battery begins "dying" and it's flashing and everything, can still usually get at least 15 minutes more out of the thing... past 20 if using viewfinder. perhaps this is how panasonic compensates? i dunno...

September 13th, 2004, 07:04 PM	#3
Peter Jefferson Inner Circle Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Aus Posts: 3,884	hmm.. u see the fact that your still getting instant death is the point here.. sure ur battery may be slowly dying and your getting SOME notification, but its not going to the last quarter then flashing to give notice then dying.. i dont like this coz if ur filmin an event, you CANT AFFORD to allow a defect like this stop your work..

September 13th, 2004, 10:19 PM	#4
Barry Green Barry Wan Kenobi Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: North Carolina Posts: 3,863	I don't have a 100A, I have an original 100, but I've used the 100A many times. Never has there been an "instant death" situation. The battery will run down gradually, with the graph updating, and then near the end of battery life the battery graph will flash, as will the red record/tally light. This will usually go on for a good 10 minutes before the battery is finally exhausted. If your camera isn't behaving that way, either there's something wrong with your camera or with your battery. Is it an authentic Panasonic battery, or some third-party brand?

September 13th, 2004, 11:25 PM	#5
Peter Jefferson Inner Circle Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Aus Posts: 3,884	theyre all authentic batteries, and what youre describing is the way the batteries SHOULD be running down, but they dont..

September 14th, 2004, 08:17 PM	#6
Barry Green Barry Wan Kenobi Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: North Carolina Posts: 3,863	Then that confirms that there's something wrong, either with the camera or the batteries, because on all the cameras I've used, that is how the batteries perform... there should be plenty of warning, and no "sudden death"...

September 14th, 2004, 09:46 PM	#7
Peter Jefferson Inner Circle Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Aus Posts: 3,884	im thnkin it could be caused by the "topping up " of the batteries.. ie, 3 quarters full, so i stick it back in the charger to top up for a job.. then WHAM i THINK this may be the a cause.. ive heard it happen with mobile fones, but it only happens with the DVX, not the MX500 or my other Pana cams..

September 14th, 2004, 10:33 PM	#8
Jesse Rosten Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Redding, California Posts: 114	I own a DVX100a and also experience SDS (sudden death syndrom) I think the problem lies in the camera because I've used Panny authorized batteries and generics and get the same problem. The first time it happened to me was in the middle of a shoot. Went from half-full to dead. Couldn't figure out was was wrong with the camera cause the battery was the last thing I was thinking about ("can't be the battery, it says half full"). ALthough now that I think about it... any of those batteries could have been "topped off." Should maybe run some tests to see if therein lies the problem.

September 15th, 2004, 12:24 AM	#9
Peter Jefferson Inner Circle Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Aus Posts: 3,884	i think it is the problem.. i think battery memory is dying (even though it says on teh packaging no memory effect) ive seen it happen to mobile fones.. i dont see why this makes it any different cnonsidering theyre all lithium ion batteries.