Phase One 645 Battery Management/Meter is HORRIBLE

[ngophotographer]

Why don't you just take some extra batteries and not worry too much about the battery meter?

As mentioned previously, I need to do more testing and determine if there is a hardware fault (that needs to be repaired) or does using battery of type x give me more consistent results.

For me, its not an issue of just taking extra batteries, but being able to trust my gear in the field.  I trust my Phase One back-- its been proved.

I understand that the following statement is comparing apple and oranges (mechanical vs. electronic/mechanical), but after hiking miles for a shot or driving in the middle of nowhere for several hours, I can pull out my 501CM and "know" its going to work.  Right now, I don't "know" that the Phase One body will work.


NGOphotographer

[mazma]

do you leave the Digital back attached to the camera?
if so, there is a battery drain from the camera's batteries. don't ask me why. i have an AFDII with a p25 back. i even upgraded the camera's firmware with mamiya. but if i leave the digital back attached it sucks the battery life.
not the back battery, but the camera itself.

[Doug Peterson]

do you leave the Digital back attached to the camera?
if so, there is a battery drain from the camera's batteries. don't ask me why. i have an AFDII with a p25 back. i even upgraded the camera's firmware with mamiya. but if i leave the digital back attached it sucks the battery life.
not the back battery, but the camera itself.

Which leaves two possible solutions. Detach the back (introduces dust), or slide out the convenient AA battery holder in the body when not in use.

Doug Peterson,  Head of Technical Services
Capture Integration, Phase One Dealer
Personal Portfolio

[smhoer]

Which leaves two possible solutions. Detach the back (introduces dust), or slide out the convenient AA battery holder in the body when not in use.

Doug Peterson,  Head of Technical Services
Capture Integration, Phase One Dealer
Personal Portfolio

I would call those very temporary fixes.  The solution is to fix the firmware or hardware issue causing this problem.

[Bill Caulfeild-Browne]

I would call those very temporary fixes.  The solution is to fix the firmware or hardware issue causing this problem.

I get fairly good life out of Duracell batteries in the AFD III, but occasionally they will APPEAR to die suddenly. I take the holder out of the camera, clean the ends of each battery and reinstall - and voila, they work again. I wonder if there is something in the nature of the beast that causes some sort of "corrosion" to build up on the cells?

Recently,I was away shooting on the north shore of Lake Superior for two weeks in quite cool temperatures and took about 1000 shots. I only had to change the camera batteries once and the P45+ batteries once also. Not great compared with my 1DSII but quite acceptable.

Bill