Sony Alpha Batteries
Posted on: Sun, 09/07/2008 - 12:12am
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Sony Alpha Batteries
Has anyone experienced battery death with any of the Alpha series cameras? I have both a SOny A100 & A700. I purchased a second battery for each so that I would have any problems on a walk. I went to try my A700 a couple of days ago and the battery was dead. I replaced the battery with my spare and the camera was fine. Tried to re-charge the A700 battery but it won't take a charge. Somy told me to send it back and they would review it and repair it. Today my A100 did the same thing. I tried charging the battery and it appeared to come back. I am wondering if the batteries should be stored in the camera even if the switch is off. Any comments or experiences?
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Butch
Hi Butch,
Not sure about batteries suddenly dying, but the shop guy told me when I bought my A350 that I should always ALWAYS! take the battery out of the camera when I'm finished shooting, mainly to prevent gradual loss of charge during storage. It's a good idea for any occasional-use battery powered device, I suppose, though I'm lazy about it...
Hi Butch,
That's pretty bad luck on your batteries. I haven't experienced or heard of any issues with the Alpha batteries, so far they seem pretty reliable and robust. One thing to consider though is that under-use can be as bad as over using a battery. If you don't often use/charge the battery that can cause the occasional problem, I would recommend using the battery/camera at least once a month.
Hi Stevej and welcome to AMW good to have you around and feel free to post some photos at some point when you are ready.
Cheers
Andrew
Head Waiter: AlphaMountWorld.com
I have 2 batteries for my A350 I never take them out of the camera and so far not a problem. I think with all NimH batteries there is a problem of voltage drop with age this can lead to failure even with a full charged battery in a device which monitors the voltage. I have several sets of Nimh batteries which work radios and toys but won't run a camera. They were perfectly all right when new. This is the reason for the introduction of Sanyo eneloop batteries.
The older I get the better I used to be.
I use the camera -A700 about every 3 days which is why I was supprised. Both batteries worked fine on vacation a month ago. The A100 I use much less often - like once since I bought the A700. The battery that wasn't in the camera works fine. The battery that was in the camera charged but not quit the same way as I expected. The charger light went solid at once but the battery appears to have taken a charge after 1 1/2 hrs. I now am storing the A100 without the battery in the camera. I am sending the A700 battery back to Sony. They said they would repair it or send me a replacement. I'll let folks here know what happens.
Butch