Cameras and batteries...What? Me worry?

[venchka]

I am constantly amazed by the OCD nonsense related to camera size, appearance, lens size, weight, etc. As if any of these made up faults have any effect on the photos produced by said heavy, Fuggly, over sized cameras and optics.

Next comes the worry over batteries. Autofocus & motordrives aside, the batteries used to power internal meters and autoexposure are small, light, cheap, last almost forever, easily field replaced, and generally a non-concern to picture taking. Every battery powered camera I own has a battery test circuit. Every camera I own that requires a battery has at least one spare battery handy all the time. Before any major event I install a fresh battery and double check the condition of the spares.

I have never ever replaced a battery in the field nor lost a shot to a dead battery

Batteries in cameras: "Much ado about nothing."

That is my story and I'm sticking to it.

Wayne

 

[Roger Hicks]

I am constantly amazed by the OCD nonsense related to camera size, appearance, lens size, weight, etc. As if any of these made up faults have any effect on the photos produced by said heavy, Fuggly, over sized cameras and optics.

Next comes the worry over batteries. Autofocus & motordrives aside, the batteries used to power internal meters and autoexposure are small, light, cheap, last almost forever, easily field replaced, and generally a non-concern to picture taking. Every battery powered camera I own has a battery test circuit. Every camera I own that requires a battery has at least one spare battery handy all the time. Before any major event I install a fresh battery and double check the condition of the spares.

I have never ever replaced a battery in the field nor lost a shot to a dead battery

Batteries in cameras: "Much ado about nothing."

That is my story and I'm sticking to it.

Wayne

Dear Wayne,

Or, alternatively, we're stuck with it.

Who's the obsessive/compulsive? The one who never has to change a battery in the field because he is OC about batteries, or the one who just takes pictures and forgets sometimes?

And if you really believe that there are no drawbacks to big, heavy cameras, you presumably just take pictures of your cat in the back yard: you seldom walk for miles carrying your cameras, or travel by air or motorcycle,

Yes, both these caricatures are unpleasant and unrealistic. But given the tone of your post, I thought you might be interested in finding out how it feels to be insulted gratuitously.

Cheers,

R.

 

[zuiko85]

Well Wayne, I'll mention at least one good thing about battery dependent cameras;

You can sometimes find a really good deal on one!

Example; I found a really perfect looking Olympus OM-2sp with a 50mm f1.8 attached in a second hand store, price $9.99 because it was "jammed".

I bought it, walked next door to an office supply, purchased and installed to 1.5v silver oxide cells and the little beastie came to life right away, fully functional.

Score one for battery dependent cameras.

 

[Spicy]

It's not so much finding batteries that's a pain (though that's part of it), it's the battery-dependent cameras that will only be useful as long as a) spare batteries that fit the specs are produced, and b) the electronics necessary to operate said battery-dependent camera are in good working order.

While I've heard it said that Nikon FEs are great shooters, once the electronics go bad, there's no way to repair it to working order, short of cannibalizing another FE body for circuitboards.

It may also be a moot point, as all of this obviously is dependent on the availability of 35mm/etc film, in itself a concern for many. However, mechanical cameras will generally be serviceable as long as someone is able to fabricate parts. As complicated as that may be, it is certainly a more likely case than someone firing up the assembly line and reprinting another 500 Nikon-FE spec circuitboards.

 

[D.J.]

Did someone get insulted gratuitously?

 

[Livesteamer]

I wasn't insulted. You can call me anything you want.

Just don't call me late for dinner. Joe

PS Where do I put the battery in my IIIc???

 

[JohnTF]

It's not so much finding batteries that's a pain (though that's part of it), it's the battery-dependent cameras that will only be useful as long as a) spare batteries that fit the specs are produced, and b) the electronics necessary to operate said battery-dependent camera are in good working order.

While I've heard it said that Nikon FEs are great shooters, once the electronics go bad, there's no way to repair it to working order, short of cannibalizing another FE body for circuitboards.

.

You are not speaking of the occasional mirror lock up with a dead battery are you? I had it happen a few times, fiddled my way past it, and also noted it to someone who had a "broken" FE, -- I would not be surprised if it happened with other cameras -- when the battery died it sometimes left the mirror up and the shutter open, ruining that exposure and possibly the two next to it. I had it happen while hanging over a glacier in a telecabine, and was happy to have a spare battery and a coin to swap it out.

Replacing the battery did not immediately reset it, but subsequently setting it to the manual exposure setting, tripping the shutter (or did it trip by itself?) got things back to normal.

The early ones did not shut down the meter if you left the lever untucked, but that was addressed by Nikon a bit down the line.

I think I forgot to check the batteries and failed to bring spares for my M7 one trip, my own fault, and I probably managed to run the battery down by the way I left the camera and the bag I chose.

I can tell you there were no replacements that I found in Puerto Valarta, but I was not very clever with the watch battery folks either who did not speak English, French or Leica for that matter.

I did carry my FEII for many years, I believe its battery is one of the most common camera batteries?

Regards, John

 

[venchka]

Dear Wayne,

...
And if you really believe that there are no drawbacks to big, heavy cameras, you presumably just take pictures of your cat in the back yard: you seldom walk for miles carrying your cameras, or travel by air or motorcycle,

...
Cheers,

R.

Roger,

I would draw your attention to the following albums in my LUG Gallery.

The photos in Colorado were taken during a multi-day, self-propelled, self-contained backpacking trip in what is now the Holy Cross Wilderness near Leadville, CO. Elevations varied between 7,000 feet and 12,550 feet. Camera used was a Pentax 6x7 w/105mm-2.5 lens. Spare battery in my backpack. Gossen Multi-beam meter & spare battery. Color & B&W white film used.



The photos from Paris & Normandy were taken during a 2 week excursion travelling by foot, bus & train while living out of a German rucksack I purchased for the trip. Cameras used: Canon IVS2 w/50-1.8 lens & Mamiya C220 w/105-3.5 lens. Obviously the Canon fit within the size constraints many here feel is the maximum for travel cameras. Gossen Multi-beam meter & spare battery.




No tripod used on either trip.

My cat isn't allowed in the yard. She is strictly a house cat. I rarely take pictures of her.

Why was this thread reported? That is disturbing. 😱😉😀😎

Wayne

 

[Paul Luscher]

Hmmm....I didn't realize this was such a touchy issue ( and I have done street shooting with a Leica SL 2...)

 

[Godfrey]

Not sure what point this thread is trying to make.
Nor why it would be reported.

I've had battery dependent as well as non battery dependent cameras since 1968. Still have a couple of the older ones. Most still working fine, even though original batteries long gone. Some are not. No big deal.

"Equipment is transitory. Photographs endure."

 

[thegman]

Hmmm....I didn't realize this was such a touchy issue ( and I have done street shooting with a Leica SL 2...)

On the internet, everything is a touchy issue. There will always be someone who disagrees with you strongly, regardless of what you say and how innocuous it seems to you.

As it happens, I'm content with batteries for meters/shutters etc, but not with motor drives as the battery does not last very long, and seems to expire with little warning. Count me in the no-battery camp, but not one who feels too strongly about it.

 

[venchka]

Hmmm....I didn't realize this was such a touchy issue ( and I have done street shooting with a Leica SL 2...)

Just an old Geezer making an observation re: Battery dependent, big, ugly, heavy cameras & lenses.

If one were to believe all of the rants on the internet wherein folks cast aspersions upon the above mentioned "faults" of many perfectly good cameras, cameras with built in electric meters in general & the Nikon F Photomic in particular, one particular Leica model, TLR's in general, medium format SLRs, etc. would never have been built. The fact that all of the above are very useful and have generated countless quality images tends to disprove some "internet facts" regarding size & complexity of photographic hardware.

I totally understand that many people like and use small, light, all mechanical cameras. I own and use a few myself. What I fail to understand is the dismissal of any hardware that doesn't fit the small, light, mechanical mold.

Crawling back under my rock.

Wayne

 

[tunalegs]

I think people have gotten a lot more paranoid about batteries since digital cameras have gotten popular.

I don't think anybody really worried that much 20 years ago. Having a battery die while shooting with a film camera is a rare, very very rare experience. With digital? A lot more probable and common. Probably why more people are paranoid about batteries now.

 

[Roger Hicks]

Just an old Geezer making an observation re: Battery dependent, big, ugly, heavy cameras & lenses.

If one were to believe all of the rants on the internet wherein folks cast aspersions upon the above mentioned "faults" of many perfectly good cameras, cameras with built in electric meters in general & the Nikon F Photomic in particular, one particular Leica model, TLR's in general, medium format SLRs, etc. would never have been built. The fact that all of the above are very useful and have generated countless quality images tends to disprove some "internet facts" regarding size & complexity of photographic hardware.

I totally understand that many people like and use small, light, all mechanical cameras. I own and use a few myself. What I fail to understand is the dismissal of any hardware that doesn't fit the small, light, mechanical mold.

Crawling back under my rock.

Wayne

Dear Wayne,

Highlight 1: You are of course absolutely right.

Highlight 2: And what I fail to understand is dismissing those who disagree with you as suffering from OCD.

As I said in my first reply, I was posting cruel caricatures. So were you. It's as well to admit it when one does so. Did I think you photographed only your cat? Of course not. I was merely attempting to replicate your own dismissive tone.

We really disagree very little about any of this. Including our surprise that the thread was reported.

Cheers,

R.

 

[Roger Hicks]

I think people have gotten a lot more paranoid about batteries since digital cameras have gotten popular.

I don't think anybody really worried that much 20 years ago. Having a battery die while shooting with a film camera is a rare, very very rare experience. With digital? A lot more probable and common. Probably why more people are paranoid about batteries now.

Of course, there's the question of how rare is 'rare'. I can think only of two occasions when it was a nuisance -- once in rural France, at a games and toy festival in (I think) Parthenay, once at the Summer Palace in Beijing -- and that's in 40+ years of using metered cameras/cameras with meters.

The truth is, it rarely matters much. Unlike, as you say, digi. Digi is why I wear Levis with a watch pocket (and transfer batteries when I change trousers) and carry a spare SD card in my wallet (where, when I was younger, I'd have carried a 'packet of three'). The very unimportance of batteries that power only meters is why I suggested that it's more obsessive-compulsive to worry about it, than not to worry about it.

Cheers,

R.

 

[JohnTF]

Wayne, from another old geezer--

Have traveled with heavy gear, there are great things you can do, I used to carry two large Domke bags around Europe, and have tripods stashed in several locations.

I may still be hoarding the last of those old batteries for Nikons.

I have had to adjust to carry lighter equipment, simply because I cannot haul the heavy stuff, and when my carrying got in the way of my seeing, I had to adjust to lighter equipment some of which is entirely dependent not only on light, but also battery power. Prudence says I have to carry what I need to keep it running.

I've not forgotten the Rollei, Mamiya, Hasselblad, days-- maybe again after a CLA / overhaul on my knees. I think the right one is going to cost more than the latest Leica Kit, I just hope they are on their game the day I get it done.

You seem a guy who can adjust what is in his hands to the task at hand regardless of fantastic innovation and/or fad.

I have to assume a lot of enthuastic posting has to be a bit of tongue in cheek, though I am in a forum mainly dedicated to what were called "miniature" cameras in my youth, still is not going to keep me from saying I do not appreciate a negative that can be easily seen as a keeper while holding it up to a bare bulb.

I can adjust to smaller formats that yield quality handsome images.

So, +1 on the non dismissal of hardware of size and format.

I also prefer a large car for daily use, the MG in the garage works as well, if it is not raining, one has a couple tripods in the trunk.

Regards, John

 

[paulfish4570]

i have gotten over my fear of battery loss. i much like my electronic shutter me super. i keep spare batteries around. same kind as those that power my r2m's meter ...

 

[JohnTF]

Digi is why I wear Levis with a watch pocket (and transfer batteries when I change trousers) and carry a spare SD card in my wallet (where, when I was younger, I'd have carried a 'packet of three').

Cheers,

R.

So now that the SD cards have such high capacity and durability, you only need a packet of one? ;-)

J

 

[JohnTF]

Roger, do you carry a spare M body when you go afield?

I did have a MF SLR jam when I was in a seventh floor walk up studio with a very live model in front of me while spending a summer living in a studio in Prague.

As I shifted to smaller kit, I normally found room for two bodies + lenses in a modest shoulder bag.

Of course when I was getting paid to shoot an event, I had two large bags with complete duplicate equipment, from large flash, to a spare sync cord in my jacket pocket. All those jobs were MF -- few years back. Twice swapped out a sync cord while shooting.

Regards, J

 

[Roger Hicks]

So now that the SD cards have such high capacity and durability, you only need a packet of one? ;-)

J

Dear John,

Yeah, but the SD cards are not lubricated...

Cheers,

R.