Any luck w rechargeable batteries in the F6?

[Huss]

I am currently travelling and took my Nikon F6 with me as I wanted to give it extensive use as it deserves it. I bought these batteries w charger before I left as well as bringing along the standard non rechargeable CR123 cells as back up.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ..._CR123A_Rechargeable_Lithium_Ion_Battery.html

The standard cells last about 15 rolls of 36 exp film. These rechargeable ones went from fully charged to completely flat in 3 rolls! I thought that maybe they were defective but then noticed they are rated at 400mAh while the standard cells are 1400mAh.
I didn't check this before ordering - didnt even think about it so that was my fault - but are there any rechargeable cells out there with better performance? The B&H site doesnt show any specs for any of their other cells apart from being 3V.

I dont have much interest in the MB-40 battery grip as that makes the camera much heavier and larger and would just switch to one of my other Nikons that either dont need batteries or last forever with just 2 LR44 cells.

So, know of any decent rechargeable CR123 cells out there that can match up to the regular cells?
Thanks!

 

[sevo]

No CR123 rechargeables I've ever tried went beyond the 300-400mAh regular ones are supposed to have. It might be that claims to 600 or 1000mAh as printed on some of them work out if they are used at a very low constant trickle current (e.g. as a SRAM memory backup battery), but as far as camera or flash use is concerned, forget about it. They aren't even a smart idea in the Contax G1, which draws a fraction of the current the F6 needs.

 

[KM-25]

The standard cells last about 15 rolls of 36 exp film.

Wow...that is not very impressive battery life. I change the AA's in my F100 about once a year and it sees about 30-40 rolls in that period.

 

[Huss]

Just got an email from B&H - unsolicited (apart from them reading my customer review) - asking if it is ok to give my contact info to Watson. Watson apparently wants to figure out why the batteries last only 3 rolls of film.

 

[Timmyjoe]

Well if they're truly rated 400 mAh, that's less than a third of the standard non-rechargeable batteries (1400 mAh), so I would only expect maybe 4 rolls (less than 1/3 of 15). That is quite disappointing though. I had looked at the F6 but was concerned about the battery issue. And I agree, adding the MB-40 really changes the camera.

Please let us know what you find out, I'd be very interested.

 

[Huss]

Well if they're truly rated 400 mAh, that's less than a third of the standard non-rechargeable batteries (1400 mAh), so I would only expect maybe 4 rolls (less than 1/3 of 15). That is quite disappointing though. I had looked at the F6 but was concerned about the battery issue. And I agree, adding the MB-40 really changes the camera.

Please let us know what you find out, I'd be very interested.

To be honest I think 15 rolls is awful too. And I got that with manual focus lenses, and rewinding manually! So the camera was using as little e-juice as possible. I also took the batteries out between use as the F6 runs them down even when off (but of course much less than when in use).

FYI you can buy the regular non rechargeable cells for about $1 each from places like batteriesplus. Which is what I will keep on doing from now on.

 

[Timmyjoe]

I hear you Huss, unfortunately I'm one of those "tree huggers" and always worried about adding to the landfills. I've got pretty much all my Nikon gear running off rechargeables now days, save the FTN finder on my F.

 

[ChrisLivsey]

http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/f6.htm

Says, and who are we to argue 😱 18 rolls. It is at the end of the "review" and then he has a complicated story of them lasting years because he didn't shoot it etc etc.

 

[Huss]

http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/f6.htm

Says, and who are we to argue 😱 18 rolls. It is at the end of the "review" and then he has a complicated story of them lasting years because he didn't shoot it etc etc.

He does not mention 18 rolls. He first mentions 'about 10 rolls'. Then when he got to the 2/3 charge level, he mentions 'several more rolls', 'about 6 rolls', and 'after 7 rolls'.
So... with that level of accurate roll keeping over a period of 3 years...I'm a lot more comfortable with my actual number of 15 shot over a period of 3 weeks.

If you value Ming Thein's opinion more than Rockwell's (!) , he also found they last 15 rolls.

http://blog.mingthein.com/2013/07/25/fd-shooting-with-the-legends-the-nikon-f6/

And this little nugget on battery drain in the comments section:

"Agree on the F6’s lithiums though: it seems to eat them if you leave them in the camera.."

But good ol' Rockwell can leave them in for 3 years with no effect? Rrrright.

 

[dtcls100]

After the F6's firmware is updated, the camera's battery consumption is markedly reduced. When I first got my 2 F6 bodies, the batteries indicator would start to go down after just 3-5 rolls (36 exp. using the CR123 batteries) and head downhill rapidly after that. After the free firmware upgrade (done by Nikon in Melville, NY for US warranty cameras), I have not seen the battery indicator go down at all, even after about 10 rolls.

Using an MB-40 with 8 rechargeable Sony AA batteries, the batteries seem to last at least 25+ rolls.

 

[jonmanjiro]

After the F6's firmware is updated, the camera's battery consumption is markedly reduced. When I first got my 2 F6 bodies, the batteries indicator would start to go down after just 3-5 rolls (36 exp. using the CR123 batteries) and head downhill rapidly after that. After the free firmware upgrade (done by Nikon in Melville, NY for US warranty cameras), I have not seen the battery indicator go down at all, even after about 10 rolls.

Using an MB-40 with 8 rechargeable Sony AA batteries, the batteries seem to last at least 25+ rolls.

Good point regarding the firmware. According to the official announcement on Nikon's Japanese language website (link below), all cameras from s/n 0018754 left the factory with the current firmware version, and earlier cameras can be upgraded for free at any Nikon Service Center in Japan. An English version of the announcement used to be on the Nikon USA website too, but I can't find it now.

http://www.nikon-image.com/support/whatsnew/2005/f6_firmup.html

 

[randolph45]

not Nikon but similarities in battery times

not Nikon but similarities in battery times

One of the reasons I switched from my Canon 650 to a T90 was the cr123 didn't last long:bang: ,and the T90 used double A's which are less expensive and can be found in most countries.

 

[sevo]

Well if they're truly rated 400 mAh,

They are some that are rated double that - I had a Panasonic made pair rated 800mAh each. That is still little more than half the capacity of regular batteries, and mine did not last noticeably longer than the plain 400mAh ones in the Contax G1. I think they may require a flat low current discharge pattern very different from the high current bursts by the camera motors to reach that longevity.

 

[Huss]

Good point regarding the firmware. According to the official announcement on Nikon's Japanese language website (link below), all cameras from s/n 0018754 left the factory with the current firmware version, and earlier cameras can be upgraded for free at any Nikon Service Center in Japan. An English version of the announcement used to be on the Nikon USA website too, but I can't find it now.

http://www.nikon-image.com/support/whatsnew/2005/f6_firmup.html

Mine is 30478 so it has the latest firmware.

It seems there is a reason Nikon provides the MB-40 pack. But I feel it makes the camera too big to be carried around all day like I did this past week (pics to follow once I get them back from thefindlab.com!)

 

[Huss]

After the free firmware upgrade (done by Nikon in Melville, NY for US warranty cameras), I have not seen the battery indicator go down at all, even after about 10 rolls.

The battery indicator remains at full charge until about the 12th roll. Then they are toast by #15 with the regular cells. With the rechargeable ones, they are at full charge for the first two rolls, then roll #3 kills them.

 

[btgc]

One of the reasons I switched from my Canon 650 to a T90 was the cr123 didn't last long:bang: ,and the T90 used double A's which are less expensive and can be found in most countries.

AAs are great when they are...great. When one finds himself in remote place in front of a boot with crappy stale AAs laying behind sunlit window he may think, damn, I wish my camera to depend on small sized long shelf life lithium cells!

I hail Ricoh engineers which made XR-X working on either regular or rechargeable AA's.

 

[David Hughes]

Hi,

They don't quite hold a full charge when new but take a few charges to get them up to full capacity. Then they should stay good for hundreds of charges but slowly fade over time.

FWIW, I've AA's I bought in 2003 that are still in use but on their last legs. I use an 'intelligent' Maha charger and keep and use the AA's in sets of four.

Regards, David

 

[Huss]

Just got a call from Watson and they will send me a new set. Even though I mentioned the difference between 400mAh and 1400mAh, the very nice technical support rep thought the batteries should still last much longer than 3 rolls.
So, we'll see.

 

[Huss]

I just finished testing the new batteries.
I tested it the exact same way as before - Nikon F6, Nikon 28-105 AF lens, single shot using AF and auto rewind. I sacrificed an old roll of film, and used it over and over again.
After 30 rolls shot and the power bar still on full I called it quits and had dinner! The previous set lasted three rolls before being exhausted.
The standard non rechargeable batteries lasted about 12-15 rolls.

I did notice one thing. When I opened the package these new batteries were sealed in shrink wrap plastic within the packet. The ones from B& H were not.
The new batteries had no charge and took several hours to charge. The ones from B&H showed a charge when I got them, and fully charged within the your.
So.. I think B&H sent me someone else's returned batteries as new.

 

[john_s]

......So.. I think B&H sent me someone else's returned batteries as new.

I have always been suspicious about the generous return policies of some USA shops. Here in Australia returning purchases is generally very restricted unless there is something clearly defective, at least in my experience. I also wonder about expensive lenses sold by dealers that are used but mint: has someone tested them and found them to be not quite right?