Battery life on R2A's

[snaggs]

Can someone tell me what the battery life is like on the R2A's? The other day, I had a total photography failure. My digital was in for repair, and I pull my try F65 out, got 2 shots and the batterys were dead.

Just wondering whether I should stick with a mechanical R2 over the R2A.

Daniel.

 

[Peter]

If you are worried about battery life the R2 is a very reliable camera that is very economic with electricity. A pair of LR44 in the R2 could last for a year.

 

[chug]

Altho they wont last if you use the bulb option and keep the shutter open for hours on end wasting it down that way.. *looks innocent* I think I shall take out the batteries next time I keep the shutter open on my R or L for an hour or more at a time 😛

 

[dphotoguy]

do you guys know if it will drain the battery if the camera is not shut off? i know there is really no on and off button, what i'm talking about is that switch that clicks over to the red dot next to the shutter release button.

 

[Flow]

Does the R2A/R3A need to drain the battery juice to hold the shutter open in bulb? I know some cameras don't even need battery at all to hold the shutter open in bulb mode like the M7 or the Canon EOS-1V. They just need to battery to open and close the shutter. Does the manual of R2A/R3A say?



Flowen

 

[Roger Hicks]

Three months so far and counting with an R3A -- and it very rarely gets turned off when it isn't being used. Probably no more than a couple of dozen films through it, three dozen at the outside. On the other hand, 15 months with an MP (which is almost never turned off) when using silver cells, much less with alkaline. I can't get used to the idea of a camera with an on-off switch...

Cheers,

Roger (www.rogerandfrances.com)

 

[rich815]

I bought my R3A in December 2004, used it for about 12 rolls or so, and just had to change the batteries. A bit short if you ask me. My Contax G2, which while it uses a different battery definitely uses more power since each and every shot and/or focus on a shot (whether taken or not) uses a lot of power for AF, let alone the auto-wind. And those batteries last for 6-9 months.

 

[phototone]

With any electronic shutter camera (all digital, many film SLR'S), you do run the risk of battery failure at the most inappropriate time. ALWAYS, ALWAYS carry an extra set or two unless you are just foolin' around.

The advantage of an electronically controled shutter, as opposed to a purely mechanical shutter is "spot-on" shutter speeds. Best for transparencies.

I remember years ago when they were the hot thing, I purchased a brand new Nikon F2, and used it professionally, but seldom at the maximum shutter speeds. 1/2000 sec. Much to my dismay, when I DID have a need to use 1/1000, and 1/2000, I found they were far too out of range to get acceptable slides, and the 1/2000 was uneven across the frame. The Nikon f2 is a purely mechanical focal plane shutter, that other than having a titanium shutter curtain, is very similar to your standard Leica "M" style shutter.

On the other hand, my Nikon FE2, which uses a Copal Electronic shutter very much like what is in the current Bessa R2a and R3a, has always been extremely accurate for slide photos at all speeds, and has good battery life. In fact, it may be the same shutter.

 

[Roger Hicks]

'Carry a spare set'

Yeah, right.

Scenario 1: you grab the camera and go out. Where are the spare batteries? Do you want to spend 10 minutes looking? Unless you always wear the same clothes and carry the same camera bag, this is entirely possible.

Scenario 2: You have two or more cameras that use the same batteries (for my wife and myself at present, MP, R3A, R, R2, R2C, T, and of course the Voigtlander shoe-mount meter for the older Ms). One of them needs new batteries: you put in the spare set. How many spare sets do you carry? (This happened to me last week).

Scenario 3: The 'new' batteries have about a 20-minute life because, in order to replace the set you just used, you have to buy them at the corner shop or from a kiosk and they are elderly LR44s not SR44s.

Scenario 4: You're going to be in rural India for a couple of months. How many spare batteries do you carry?

I've been shooting as an amateur and professionally for close on 40 years and I certainly wouldn't call battery dependency a trivial issue. I always carry AT LEAST one camera that I can use without batteries.

And before anyone says, "Well, you always pick up film, don't you?" the big difference is that I may well use several rolls of film but I am unlikely to need even one set of batteries on most trips. Likewise, the idea of replacing all batteries annually is wasteful, expensive and (with some battery-huingry cameras) insufficient anyway.

I don't know if there's room in a Bessa but in case there is I'll suggest to Kobayashi-san that he installs a compartment for spare batteries.

Cheers,

Roger (www.rogerandfrances.com)

 

[Roger Hicks]

So: scenario 1, you put the spare batteries in a drawer. You take them out of the drawer and put them in your camera vest pocket. You take them out of the pocket at the end of the day/trip and put them back in the drawer. On the next trip you take the batteries out of the drawer and put them in your camera bag, then back into the drawer at the end of the shoot. As I said before, yeah, right. I take pictures rather than keep track of batteries.

Scenario 2: yes if you don't mind losing your meter. What's 'carrying smart'? My wife carries 2 cameras; I carry 2; you want to fight over batteries? Again, we'd rather take pictures.

Scenario 3: you buy in a less than ideal location because you've just used your one spare set and don't want to be caught without another spare set. If you live out in the mofussil, never mind being on a long trip, silver oxide batteries aren't easy to find.

Scenario 4: No, instead of carrying a dozen spare batteries, carry cameras that are not battery-dependent. You almost certainly won't lose your meter, and if you do, it's not the end of the world. Lose your camera: that's another matter.

If you are the kind of person who ALWAYS carries spare batteries and ALWAYS knows where they are, I salute you. But I am human and fallible -- again, to borrow your phrase, hardly a copyrighted concept -- and I suspect I'm not the only one who is that way on the forum.

You say in your post that you'd have thought that you might carry lots of spares when you're on a long shooting trip. Well, so you might think, if you were infallible; had unlimited time and space; and had never actually done it. But there are lots of things to think about when you are planning a long trip, and lots of things to forget, and lots of things to lose in a crevice in a bag, and (for example) not much space when you are travelling 4000 km on a motorcycle. Not having to worry about batteries is one less thing to have to worry about. This isn't just what I think -- it's what I know from decades of travelling on three continents. If batteries were the most important thing I'd ever forgotten, I wouldn't worry.

So I'm sorry, but I disagree completely. It's not trivial. I know other professionals who have shot with all-mechanical cameras when their batteries have died, including 'fresh' batteries out of the pack.

Fortunately, you don't have to do it my way, and I don't have to do it your way. We can let anyone who reads our opposing viewpoints decide which of us they more resemble, and which way they want to do it.

Cheers,

Roger (www.rogerandfrances.com)