AC130: Battery Drains ???

Q

qap15

Well-known member
Whenever i charge the battery and leave it plugged into my AC130 for a day or two, it drains down the battery and shows only 30 minutes remaining. This only happens when the camera is off, this doesn't happen with neither my HMC or DVX, is this "the way this camera works" or a problem?
 
I always keep a charged battery ready to go in my AC160 and even after a couple of weeks, the battery shows full capacity. I have both the Panasonic batteries and some no-names and haven't seen this problem.
 
jchristie said:
I always keep a charged battery ready to go in my AC160 and even after a couple of weeks, the battery shows full capacity. I have both the Panasonic batteries and some no-names and haven't seen this problem.
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Yes i also do the same but when i put both cameras on, the battery in the HMC is showing full, but the one in the AC130 has gone from 2hours 40minutes to only 30minutes i have even tried the batteries in the HMC with no problem at all, after one week they are still full in the HMC.
 
Hi Guys

I often will leave a battery in my 130's overnight or longer and there is no drain issue at all there...Either the camera was running or the battery has a problem and is discharging itself (If you have more than one battery see if others do it) I also use genuine and another 4 generics and all are fine!!

Chris
 
I have always labored under the assumption that once you start on a battery you should run it right down instead of keeping it topped up so the compromise is let it run down unless I know I will need to start off with batteries that are fully charged.

I have seen warnings that a battery will develop a memory if you top it up. In other cases I have seen comments that no special attention is needed.

It would be inconvenient to have to run down a battery and then re-charge it each time you go out on an assignment.

I seem to recall from the Panasonic manual that it says the batteries should be removed when the camera is not in use. It did not say how long not in use.

Anyone able to say what is right/not right in the above?
 
Panasonic normally say that for prolonged periods your batteries need to be left a half charged (when they are shipped they are half charged) What "prolonged periods" are I have no idea..I use my cameras daily so the batteries come out in the afternoon and are charged for the shoot the next day!! Li-Ion are claimed to have no memory effect at all..in real life they might develop some but I have noticed that my generic batteries just left in the case (these are my 2010 sets) do run down!! I normally replace them regardless after 12 months. See if your battery drops just left on the shelf for two days??? It might have a faulty cell in it???

Chris
 
From our FAQ
Q. Do I need to discharge my Li-Ion battery before charging?
A. Li-Ion chemistry does not benefit from discharging. Doing so does not make it last longer, and deep discharge will shorten Li-Ion battery life cycle.
 
kwkeirstead said:
I have always labored under the assumption that once you start on a battery you should run it right down instead of keeping it topped up so the compromise is let it run down unless I know I will need to start off with batteries that are fully charged.

I have seen warnings that a battery will develop a memory if you top it up. In other cases I have seen comments that no special attention is needed.
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Those precautions apply to older nickel-cadmium (NiCd) and, to a lesser extent, nickel metal hydride (NiMH) batteries, but are obsolete and not the correct procedures for lithum-ion battery chemistry.

Li-ion cells do not develop memory. And they have the longest possible life span if you do not run them all the way down and, in fact, recharge them as soon as possible after use. Roughly speaking, if a Li-ion battery is good for, say, 500 full discharge-charge cycles, it will last for 1000 cycles if you only use 50% of its available capacity each time. In other words, the working life depends on the total amount of energy extracted from the battery over time more than on the absolute number of charging cycles as with NiCd chemistry. There is nothing to be gained by running the battery until it is empty each time.

This makes life easier since it means you can just put all your used and partially used batteries on the charger overnight and pick them up the next morning ready to shoot again, without concern about having partially discharged batteries around that may have a variable amount of life left.

The main advantage of Li-ion chemistry is that it stores more energy per unit weight than the other common formulas. A secondary advantage is that the self-discharge rate is very low, on the order of 0.3% per day, so you can leave charged batteries in the bag for a few days, at least, without them going flat on their own. (If a Li-ion battery starts to do this, then it needs to be replaced.) Conventional NiMH batteries are very poor in this respect and should be used within a day or so after charging (although the new "low self discharge" cells like the Sanyo Eneloops and Maha Imedions are greatly improved).

Downsides of Li-ion chemistry are that the 3.6V/cell characteristic voltage doesn't mesh well with equipment designed for conventional 1.5V primary batteries, nor do the physical battery enclosures, and they require a somewhat complex charging protocol that really demands a microprocessor-controlled charger to control voltage and current appropriately. There is a limit to how fast you can charge a Li-ion cell which makes them unsuitable for very high charging rates; good old NiCds are still the champions in that race. This is another reason to consider keeping plenty of spare Li-ion batteries around and recharging them before they're completely empty if possible; that will mimimize the charging time.

- Greg
 
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