Battery Drainage Issue May Be Solved!

basspig

basspig

Veteran
I read on another forum that Sony has a fix for the drainage issue with the camera is turned off.

As you may be aware, new TSA rules this week require the batteries be installed in all devices that travel on US airlines. In the case of an international flight, by the time you reach your destination, the EX1 would have drained the battery to zero. You cannot store your batteries off the camera, with the new TSA regulations, so this is a real issue for EX1 users.

At any rate, the report is that a circuit board is replaced and the drain down problem is solved.
 
jdajda said:
Can you link to these new regs? The most current info that TSA is posting is here and went into effect in January http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/assistant/batteries.shtm and allows loose batteries in carry on luggage.
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My information is coming from othter videographers who have traveled last week under "new" regulations.

What's being said is that TSA enforcement is irregular--with some smaller airports unaware of the specification and being excessive with restrictions. A guy en route to Africa had to toss a $650 Anton Bauer battery in a hazmat bin at one airport because the TSA wouldn't allow more than two batteries per flyer on the plane. Another in London found out the TSA folks in Jersey had removed his lead-acid batteries from his lighting equipment and he got a note once on board the plane.

Regardless of the official regs, local airports are enforcing it with Draconian irregularity.


Anyway, the good news is that Sony may have corrected the battery drain down problem, which means you can comply with the new TSA regs requiring the batteries to be attached to their devices while in flight.
 
I'm assuming you have to send in your EX1 to Sony (or an authorized dealer) to have this circuit board replaced?
 
Definately. Sony won't even let us update our firmware! A circuit board replacement involves intricate disassembly of the camera. The only question for me is whether I can get the work done between assignments.
 
So we go o holiday or to a job with our EX1's and 6 batteries. Are you telling me that when I get to the airport I would not be allowed to take more than one or two of the batteries on the flight? Never heard such nonsense in my life. American govt has gone barmy.
 
basspig said:
My information is coming from othter videographers who have traveled last week under "new" regulations.

What's being said is that TSA enforcement is irregular--with some smaller airports unaware of the specification and being excessive with restrictions. A guy en route to Africa had to toss a $650 Anton Bauer battery in a hazmat bin at one airport because the TSA wouldn't allow more than two batteries per flyer on the plane. Another in London found out the TSA folks in Jersey had removed his lead-acid batteries from his lighting equipment and he got a note once on board the plane.

Regardless of the official regs, local airports are enforcing it with Draconian irregularity.


Anyway, the good news is that Sony may have corrected the battery drain down problem, which means you can comply with the new TSA regs requiring the batteries to be attached to their devices while in flight.
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OT (and I'm glad they may have fixed the battery issue! That would be crazy to have to put up with), but everything you just described sounds like they were enforcing the regs they set in January. Your friend could only carry on two of his batteries as they were most likely over 100wh. You can only carry two over 100wh. You can have as many as you want under 100wh in your carry on. Lead Acid batteries have never been allowed unless its part of an electric wheelchair or something else. Just flew two weeks ago with 5 5600mah panasonic batteries in my carryon with no problems. Sounds to me like they are just doing their jobs.
 
Yet another reason I'll take the Greyhound Bus over air travel. As for the Sony issue, if they have a faulty product, they should provide a loaner while yours is being serviced. We all know you are looking at about 3 weeks without a cam, at the very least.
 
So how do we get our EX1 fixed? Where/how/what number should we contact Sony regarding this fix? How long does it take for this fix?
 
It seems to me that if you place a piece of paper between the batteriy and the camera contact that should solve the problem, or masking tape on the battery contact. If it doesn't make contact it can't drain.
 
Jeff, the situation is inconsistent. If you're flying out of SFO or another major airport, they often don't even go through your equipment. But the cases sighted were at small midwestern airports where the TSA 'rent a cops' seemed to have more time to scrutinize every package.
 
My EX1 order goes out today (along with the rest of my studio stuff), are the current cameras in stock going to be repaired before they're sent or are they still sending out cameras that will need to be sent back to an authorized Sony dealer for a fix? That wouldn't seem like an effecient process, neither for the end user or for Sony.
 
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Also, is there a link or anything to an official announcement by Sony, or the recommended process on how to get it fixed? Is this like a "recall" or something?
 
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I would not assume that cameras in stock have this fix. Sony may be incorporating it into cameras made after a certain date, but store inventory can be old.

Someone on another forum just reported on the repair, stating that the battery now can be left on the camera without losing charge when powered off. It appears to be a recent development.

I have sent e-mail to my contact at Sony in San Jose, and am awaiting his reply.

As for loaner cameras, that seems hard to obtain from Sony. They had my EX1 back in March for at least a week and I was forced into two rentals to cover shooting commitments. Of course, now that the recession is hitting here in full force, I may not have to worry about rentals, as bookings are way down this month from two months ago. Like 80% less than usual for this time of year.
 
Hey Bass, would you have your guy check my camera, too? ;-) Seriously, I'd be curious to know if ALL EX1's that pass through the shop now are automatically retrofitted with this board OR any of the other "fixes" we have been wanting? Mine is in there right now with lens and rear-panel paint problems but was wondering if they would do the circuit board fix too.
 
thxdave, why not call the service center where your camera is being worked on and ask them to do the retrofit? Don't assume it will automatically get repaired unless you ask.

San Jose is sending me a prepaid ship label this week, so mine's going in end of the week.. 5 day turnaround I was told.
 
I would have done that except, for some reason, my dealer wanted to handle the returns and repair for me. So, he sent it in but that extra step delays the whole process. He did say that they (the Sony repair techs) aren't all that crazy about getting calls from disgruntled EX1 owners so I guess this is a way to "insulate" them a bit from our constant update calls. After only having mine for two weeks, I guess I'd be hard-pressed to hold back MY anger during one of those calls! ;-)
 
Is there any "official" word on this issue yet? All I see is someone heard something from another forum. Shirley there'd be some sort of recognition or announcement to send in the camera to fix this problem?
 
I suspect there won't be an official word on this. Can you imagine the flood of repairs it would cause?
 
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