M9 Battery Life

[Tom Diaz]

I don't know whether the batteries are not yet fully conditioned, but I'm finding I get fewer exposures per charge than with the M8. What have other people experienced?

I figured the camera would be a bit more power hungry than an M8.

NOTE: I discovered recently that my camera's "Auto Power Off" menu item was set to OFF, meaning that it was on all the time unless I switched off the mechanical switch. So, for a while I thought the battery drain was much worse than it really is. I still notice a difference but not so severe or annoying.

 

[swoop]

I remember reading somewhere that the battery life was a bit less with the M9 as compared to the M8. It mostly has to do with more processing power being used when creating image files. Dramatic enough that RAW+JPG yields 200 images or so.

I don't own an M9 yet. But that's what I've read.

 

[eleskin]

Battery pack for M9?

Battery pack for M9?

Why doesn't Leica design a battery pack for the bottom of the camera that would be the same size as the M winder? They could also use an extension plug for the SD card slot so you could load the cards on the side or bottom of the new power pack.

All this talk of bags full of batteries at $100 a pop is really ridiculous for a $7000 camera when we all know that Nikon and Canon have this option for much cheaper cameras!

Shame on Leica!!!!

 

[Tom Diaz]

Why doesn't Leica design a battery pack for the bottom of the camera that would be the same size as the M winder? They could also use an extension plug for the SD card slot so you could load the cards on the side or bottom of the new power pack.

All this talk of bags full of batteries at $100 a pop is really ridiculous for a $7000 camera when we all know that Nikon and Canon have this option for much cheaper cameras!

Shame on Leica!!!!

I don't mind carrying an extra battery in my pocket. If the shooting capacity were even half that of the M8 that would be enough for a fairly long day's outing. However, I am not yet seeing that kind of capacity.

I wonder if for some reason there is more of a battery drain when you do not actually switch off the M9. I don't know why that would be, but it seems possible. Anyway, I hope others will tune in as their experience accumulates.

TD

 

[ali_baba]

i second the battery pack bottom thing.
would be great!

maybe even have a slot for 2 memory cards so you can backup like a pro (d3) camera should!

cheers

ps -- my m9 drains batteries, and if you're shooting a bunch you dont notice the signs that the battery is dying, it just dies.

fun stuff, but WONDERFUL images.

 

[Tom Diaz]

i second the battery pack bottom thing.
would be great!

maybe even have a slot for 2 memory cards so you can backup like a pro (d3) camera should!

cheers

ps -- my m9 drains batteries, and if you're shooting a bunch you dont notice the signs that the battery is dying, it just dies.

fun stuff, but WONDERFUL images.

How many DNG+JPG shots do you think you are getting per charge?

Tom

 

[dsaxe]

I am getting the same thing with my M9. I received it on wednesday and I notice that the battery dies very quickly after it reaches 50%. (75 shots or so) I also suspect that it drains when it remains on but not in use. I have two batteries and they both exhibit this probel.

 

[Tom Diaz]

I am getting the same thing with my M9. I received it on wednesday and I notice that the battery dies very quickly after it reaches 50%. (75 shots or so) I also suspect that it drains when it remains on but not in use. I have two batteries and they both exhibit this probel.

Hi, there.

Go through the menu and be sure the "Auto Power Off" item is set to something reasonable. Mine was initially OFF. (Maybe that is the default; I'm not sure.)

So, I should confess that my initial impression was based on the camera actually being ON all the time that the power switch was not actually switched off. And I often leave it on, not only because I forget but because I do not want to have to switch it on when something interesting happens in front of me.

The M9 still seems to drain batteries faster than the M8, but I am not so unhappy now. Definitely not unhappy enough to want a supplementary battery pack. I would much rather carry a second battery (which I have already) or a third one if I needed it.

Tom

 

[Gabriel M.A.]

All this talk of bags full of batteries at $100 a pop is really ridiculous for a $7000 camera when we all know that Nikon and Canon have this option for much cheaper cameras!

Shame on Leica!!!!

Yeah! Shame on a company that keeps on selling stuff I can't afford but others can. Shame on them!

 

[yanidel]

I haven't noticed a significant difference with the M8. Two batteries are more than enough for a full day.

 

[sper]

That's crazy...they need to design new batteries. My D700 will shoot a very, very long day. And the battery in the camera, powered off, lasts for weeks. I don't remember the last time I charged mine, and I've been shooting Thanksgiving at half charge.

 

[yanidel]

That's crazy...they need to design new batteries. My D700 will shoot a very, very long day. And the battery in the camera, powered off, lasts for weeks. I don't remember the last time I charged mine, and I've been shooting Thanksgiving at half charge.

It's no big deal, my iphone needs to be charged every night, sometimes at half day. And I can't even use spare batteries ...

 

[nksyoon]

That's crazy...they need to design new batteries. My D700 will shoot a very, very long day.

How big is the battery for the D700 compared to the one for the M8/9?

I found my M9 battery on its first charge outlasted a 4GB card shooting uncompressed DNG with Auto-Off at 2 minutes with a lot of chimping, deleting and manual lens setting.

 

[250swb]

I'm not sure if I'm seeing anything different with my M9 (given the report that the battery drains quickly after 50% is reached).

But, with a 16gb card I'm getting 150 .dng (only) and the battery is showing 80% charge left. I know digital frame counters can guess/average things until the final few shots, but thats more than 35% of the card capacity (426 shown) for 20% drop in charge. I don't use Auto Review, but do chimp. I imagine I'll know for sure when I go under the 50% charge mark.


Steve

 

[bottley1]

Is there any feedback letting you know the M9 is on? Without the little round display on top (as with the M8) how do you know whether it's "on" or "asleep"?

the "off" switch?

 

[ali_baba]

i don't shoot dng + jpg.
just dng.
i dont know - i get about 1 battery to 1 8GB card now.

I suppose I got that with the M8 but it took 2x as many photos.
i also use the review on 1 second.

i dont know -- i felt the m8 battery life was better.

comeon leica!
make a handgrip with extra batteries and dual CF card slots so you can back up your cards (like a d3)

thanks!

 

[yanidel]

Is there any feedback letting you know the M9 is on? Without the little round display on top (as with the M8) how do you know whether it's "on" or "asleep"?

No feedback (apart from LCD), but you can set the asleep model to 5 or even 10 minutes. To me, and already from my M8 times, it has become an automatism to slightly press the shutter button every once in a while to make sure it is not asleep without looking at camera.. So for me, the lack of display on top is a non issue, I actually like not to have it design wise and the info screen is much more detailed and readable at night.

 

[eleskin]

One battery for 1 GIG?

One battery for 1 GIG?

One battery for one gig? That is truly HORRIBLE! As a matter of fact that really STINKS! Shame on Leica! SHAME!!!!!!!

 

[250swb]

"One battery for one gig? That is truly HORRIBLE! As a matter of fact that really STINKS! Shame on Leica! SHAME!!!!!!!"ali baba said 8gb for one battery, not 1gb for one battery.I've just got back from making some photo's and for 2.76gb of .dng files the battery indicator is at 87%, or halfway between the 75% and 100% full.Steve

 

[Gabriel M.A.]

the "off" switch?

Yes, but what if you don't know English? 🙄