istDS Battery discharging

Hi,

I appear to have a problem with my DS. My batteries discharge in the camera when it is not in use.

Is this a common problem or am I just unlucky?

Oh yes they are good quality batteries and are not that old.

Has anyone had similar problems?

It is normal for NiMH batteries to lose their charge over a period of maybe just a week or two.

Eventually, they also lose their ability to recharge at all. I've seen fugures from 500 to 1000 quoted as their maximum charge cycles before they need replacing.

Sounds like one of the individual batteries is faulty - run a voltage meter across them to check, you'll probably find one of them has lost its charge. This can happen from time-to-time with batteries, even relatively new ones unfortunately.

What sort of batteries are you using?

Regular NiMH batteries will discharge on their own - even out of the camera.

For long term life, the best ones are the Hybrio or Eneloop. They hold charge for up to 12 months.

(I use them in my wife's *ist-DS)

Other types of battery - like Lithium AA or CRV3, and AA Alkaline should not run out when in the camera (but the alkalines will have a very poor life anyway compared to decent NiMH/Hybrio/Eneloop cells)

Matt

Thanks for the advice.

I was concerned that there may have been a fault with the camera resulting in the discharging of the batteries.

I'm currently using two sets of NiMH energizer batteries and have recently noticed that I'm recharging them more regularly than before. I hadn't noticed this previously!

I use CR V3 Lithium batteries rather than rechargeables in my Ds - they last for what seems like ever and aren't that expensive as a result. I used the set in the camera in the US, and though I had a spare set with me I didn't need them - I took over 1200 photos there, plus maybe another 1000 before and since and I'm still on the same set.

Stevieds: welcome to the forum. I normally have a spare set of AA NiMh in the camera bag. It does mean a constant round of charging and recharging. It might be sensible to carry a spare set of CRV3s.


May be of interest to anyone in the UK: my local branch of Boots (St Johns Wood, London) has CRV3 on sale for £2.50 and a 3 for 2 offer. There may be similar offers in other branches.

Thanks for the welcome smc.

I usually carry a spare set of rechargeables with me, but I think I may take yours and Gwyn's advice and get some CRV3's. I seem to remember that the first set that I had lasted for many weeks.

Thanks again folks.

I wonder if my routine will help you out a bit?
I buy my batteries, date them with a sharpie pen, and mark them in sets of four.
I rotate the sets between various devices (I have several flash units that get used more often than my ds2). So when I have one device is use often (my ringflash) and its batteries run down, I'll grab a set from another device, put the dead ones in the charger, and the ones from the charger into another device.
Easy enough for me, when I got all my devices organized.
a device sitting unused for a month or two, still gets batteries swapped.
Every set of batteries gets run down completely before hitting the charger.

(of course I deviate from this plan during a Wedding shoot, but go back to the routine right after).

Don

Dating the batteries is a good idea. I understand NiMH capacity is related to age rather than usage, and older, more oxidised batteries hold less charge.