Battery zapping on EX-1 at DVinfo.net

Phil Hanna · April 24th, 2008, 07:08 AM

I believe I saw something about this subject here once before, but I recently experienced it. I left a battery attached to a turned-off EX-1 and the battery became fully drained. Any idea why? I would think a company as good electronically as Sony would have caught this in testing.

Phil

Daniel Weber · April 24th, 2008, 07:11 AM

The fix to the problem is don't leave a battery on the camera.

I know that it sucks and that a camera shouldn't do this, but that is the way it is. Sony dropped the ball on this one, but for all the other good things the camera does, I will put up with it.

Daniel Weber

Nick Schale · April 24th, 2008, 07:40 AM

The reason is this.

One of the buttons on the top (but under the handle grip) displays info about the batter... i.e. remaining life, and times charged.

Well even if the camera is "OFF" the connection remains. Which takes power to run, therefore it drains the battery.

Heard this from a Sony rep at their booth in NAB. He says they will probably take out the 'feature' of battery info on the next model. But for now, the fix is remove the battery.

I agree that they dropped the ball, but also agree with Daniel, I'll put up with this one

Eric Pascarelli · April 24th, 2008, 07:43 AM

But still, it seems to draw about 25% of the full operating current (given the time it takes to drain). That's an awful lot for a battery metering circuit.

I think there's more to it.

Phil Hanna · April 24th, 2008, 07:47 AM

The battery info makes sense. I remember the old clocks in car dashboards that could eventually run down a car battery if the car sat for months without running. I agree the camera has great features. I have been taking the battery off too since I read the first post of this. I though Sony might be able to fix this with an update, but if it is hard wired, I doubt that would be possible. I am having a ball with the camera and learning more about it everyday.

Thanks for the feedback.

Phil

Sean Seah · April 30th, 2008, 09:57 AM

wow does that affect the operation time as well? BTW, what is the max time u guys have achieved with the standard battery with LCD on?

Robert Young · April 30th, 2008, 06:14 PM

I don't believe that the battery info button is the cause of the battery drain. I have had other Sony cams with the same feature- I could, and often did, leave the battery in for months with hardly any drain. Something else is going on. I'm not sure that even Sony knows what it is at this point.

April 24th, 2008, 07:08 AM	#1
Phil Hanna Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Indian Rocks Beach, FL Posts: 165	Battery zapping on EX-1 I believe I saw something about this subject here once before, but I recently experienced it. I left a battery attached to a turned-off EX-1 and the battery became fully drained. Any idea why? I would think a company as good electronically as Sony would have caught this in testing. Phil

April 24th, 2008, 07:47 AM	#5
Phil Hanna Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Indian Rocks Beach, FL Posts: 165	I agree The battery info makes sense. I remember the old clocks in car dashboards that could eventually run down a car battery if the car sat for months without running. I agree the camera has great features. I have been taking the battery off too since I read the first post of this. I though Sony might be able to fix this with an update, but if it is hard wired, I doubt that would be possible. I am having a ball with the camera and learning more about it everyday. Thanks for the feedback. Phil

April 24th, 2008, 07:11 AM	#2
Daniel Weber Major Player Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Maryland, USA Posts: 696	The fix to the problem is don't leave a battery on the camera. I know that it sucks and that a camera shouldn't do this, but that is the way it is. Sony dropped the ball on this one, but for all the other good things the camera does, I will put up with it. Daniel Weber

April 24th, 2008, 07:40 AM	#3
Nick Schale Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Leavenworth, KS Posts: 72	The reason is this. One of the buttons on the top (but under the handle grip) displays info about the batter... i.e. remaining life, and times charged. Well even if the camera is "OFF" the connection remains. Which takes power to run, therefore it drains the battery. Heard this from a Sony rep at their booth in NAB. He says they will probably take out the 'feature' of battery info on the next model. But for now, the fix is remove the battery. I agree that they dropped the ball, but also agree with Daniel, I'll put up with this one

April 24th, 2008, 07:43 AM	#4
Eric Pascarelli Major Player Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 498	But still, it seems to draw about 25% of the full operating current (given the time it takes to drain). That's an awful lot for a battery metering circuit. I think there's more to it.

April 30th, 2008, 09:57 AM	#6
Sean Seah Trustee Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Singapore Posts: 1,498	wow does that affect the operation time as well? BTW, what is the max time u guys have achieved with the standard battery with LCD on?

April 30th, 2008, 06:14 PM	#7
Robert Young Trustee Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Coronado Island Posts: 1,472	I don't believe that the battery info button is the cause of the battery drain. I have had other Sony cams with the same feature- I could, and often did, leave the battery in for months with hardly any drain. Something else is going on. I'm not sure that even Sony knows what it is at this point.