EX1 battery problem

G

Gogu

Well-known member
I'm having a nasty problem with the battery of my EX1.
It seems the battery is depleting even when the camera is turned OFF.

I charged and formatted the battery and then left it mounted on the camera for 2 days. When I tried to turn it on it wouldn't start because the battery was gone.

Why is this happening? IS there a problem with the camera or maybe the battery. I hope is the battery though...please help.
 
No, your camera and accu are ok!
It is one of these many bugs of the EX1.

EX1:
great picture quality
"bad" camera

:evil:
 
EX1 drains the battery even when it is off. If you do a search on it, you will find many posts related to the EX1 battery drainage.
 
Just detach when not in use.
On the other hand, you are not supposed to leave batteries fully charged for any length of time (keep them under 90%).

Just one more thing to worry about.
 
I hope that Sony will fix this, but I have a hunch they will not be able to do so without an expensive re-design.

But it is another of the annoying "gotcha's" that Sony tends to throw at us users.
 
Thanks guys. I was scared that my precious little camera had a problem. I'll just have to cope with it.:Drogar-SunGlass(DBG
 
It was one of the first things I noticed when I reviewed the camera - a battery with, supposedly, two hours of life was lasting about 50-60 minutes tops. I assumed I simply had a dud battery but it sounds like quite a few people have run into this.
 
It seems to be a dual problem, with the battery mount itself draining via the gold plate ports as well as the internal battery support which also uses auxiliary battery power when a U battery is in place. Pretty inconvenient, but at least it forces you to check your battery levels more than usual. EX 3 might have this bug fix, although I doubt it.
 
Man, I just placed an order for my EX1 based studio. I wasn't aware that the EX1 had this bad of a battery problem. Why would a big company like Sony, who is very experienced in video camera manufacturing, have such a basic problem? It's not like they're reinventing how cameras are powered by batteries. Sheesh. My video productions will be primarily in wilderness settings on multi-day trips, using solar chargers. If this battery problem is universal to each camera, this will pose a serious challenge. Best case scenario is that I'll have to always take the batteries out when I'm not shooting... what a pain. I'm not one to complain, but I'll admit this is a frustration. I wish Panny had come out with a true high-def version of their HVX-200 to compete with this EX1. It seems Sony had their best engineers work on the picture quality of the EX1 and left the rest of the design to the janitorial staff or something.
 
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Question... I just did a search on this problem and I've read some cases where the battery loses juice even when NOT mounted in the camera. Is anyone else experiencing this? I may have to cancel my order because battery longevity is a vital component of my productions.
 
All batteries loose some charge just sitting on a shelf. Lithium ion batteries lose much less than nickel cadmium, but it's still about 1% per day.

However, the real problem is that the EX1 is never powered off. It's like your VCR or TV that's always on standby, using about 3 watts, so it can be listening for your remote control's power on command. Only difference is the EX1 doesn't power on with a remote control.

I'm speculating that because the battery has five connections instead of two, Sony may have decided to forgoe the fancy 4-pole switch in favor of leaving some circuits powered on.

I think it's a good idea to make some noise about this problem, as it poses a serious obstacle for traveling videographers and journalists, and losing/dropping batteries is a problem that increases exponentially when you're removing the battery 10 times a day. Make noise, get Sony to fix it. I think we have a reasonable expectation, based on all prior Sony cameras, that the power be OFF when switched off.
 
I have ordered three BP-U60 batteries, which is over $700 in batteries... I'd like to think at that price they won't drain like a snotty nose.
 
Okay, I'm done venting. Just had to get that out of my system. Ha! If I have to get 10 batteries, so be it, the EX1 picture is worth it for the type of footage I'll be shooting. Wait, I feel one more surge of frustration coming on... AARRRGGGHH!!!... okay, it's cool, whew! that felt good... I'm done.
 
Buck,

Nice talking to you the other day. The EX-1 I have does drain when connected but not when unhooked from the unit. I have just been taking the battery out when I am not using. I do the same with my HVX200. Old habits never die but lets face it the EX1 needs that fix hopefully in a firmware update but highly unlikely as basspig stated.

Sony did post my video on their homepage for the PCM-D1 check it out here.
http://pro.sony.com/bbsc/ssr/cat-audio/cat-recorders/product-PCMD1/

click on the Jim Kinsey video link in the top right hand corner.

JK
 
Hey Jim, yes, it was a great pleasure speaking with you, thanks for taking the time! That is very cool having your video on Sony's webpage for the PCM-D1! I have ordered one.

Hey, speaking of audio, if you had to choose between the Sennheiser MKH-416 or the Sanken CMS-10, which would you choose? I wanted to go one step higher than the ME66 (I think, ha!).
 
Buck,

The 416 is a great choice! I never have really used the Sanken CMS-10. Sony makes a new stereo shotgun mic I will be testing out in Africa this summer the 680s stereo/mono switchable. Tried it out at NAB and sounded great.

JK
 
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