Cameras and batteries...What? Me worry?

[kuzano]

I've searched and searched.... and

I've searched and searched.... and

I simply cannot find a place to put a battery in my Kiev (KNEB), and yet it continues to deliver the juiciest, most wonderful pictures with the incredible J8 lens on the front. Thank the powers that be for Sunny 16.

Oh yes, and those wonderful Selenium meters that have been covered or cased for their 50-60 year life span. Who shoots in the dark anyway?

 

[kuzano]

Using more and more digital equipment alongside film cameras, the battery discussion appears to be very laboured, because no digicam will work without batteries. The discharge rate of the battery packs is so much annoying with today's technology, I feel very comfortable with the battery drain rate of electronic film cameras, lasting for weeks or months instead of hours.

I like the committed debate on an non-existing issue anyway 🙂

Ah, proprietary battery packs,,,,

And yet my Fujifilm S3 Pro simply runs on and on, delivering incredibly well exposed images on 4 double AA batteries. Incredible color palette as well. And the extended dynamic range feature, .. just to die for!!

Quick stop at a Big Box Store very occasionally and "I'm Back!" Same with my little Fuji E550 P&S.

 

[venchka]

Of course the matter of battery dependancy (as many other camera 'issues') is totally blown out of proportion by online discussions and articles. On the other hand, if you consider the thousands of people spending several hours a day on camera forums just too talk about old gear, you just have to make stuff up and create problems where there are none to keep the whole thing going. Just like this thread. And this reply...

I love it! Thanks for the chuckle.

Wayne

 

[Corto]

Ah, proprietary battery packs,,,,

And yet my Fujifilm S3 Pro simply runs on and on, delivering incredibly well exposed images on 4 double AA batteries. Incredible color palette as well. And the extended dynamic range feature, .. just to die for!!

Quick stop at a Big Box Store very occasionally and "I'm Back!" Same with my little Fuji E550 P&S.

I feel the same way about Pentax battery grips, Just add AA.......

 

[NeeZee]

I love it! Thanks for the chuckle.

Wayne

You're welcome 🙂

 

[JohnTF]

You're welcome 🙂

Reporting that to the mods now. ;-)

 

[Pioneer]

I also recall losing 30 rolls of film on a five week trip shooting with a new Nikon SLR AF that underexposed my negatives with a faulty shutter. Nikon piled on voiding the warranty because I scratched the bottom of the camera.
J

I had a similar issue with a beautiful little Super Isolette on a trip to Chile a few years ago. The shutter decided to quit working at the beginning of the trip and I used up 10 rolls of film for naught. Funny thing though, there was no battery to blame. I think these types of problems can happen on cameras with or without batteries.

 

[JohnTF]

I had a similar issue with a beautiful little Super Isolette on a trip to Chile a few years ago. The shutter decided to quit working at the beginning of the trip and I used up 10 rolls of film for naught. Funny thing though, there was no battery to blame. I think these types of problems can happen on cameras with or without batteries.

I gave myself half the blame, it was not a battery issue, but with an AE, AF, camera, you can listen and look for problems, but if it is underexposing 3 stops you may well miss it. I really did not think I had to test new out of the box Nikons, would have done it regardless, but I was a bit pressed for time.

Of course the body with slides over exposed, and the one with negative film underexposed. I tried to compensate with processing, but it was a waste of money with the negatives, the slides only were a bit off, one stop, so pulling was possible.

New cameras should be tested.

Batteries, after a few hard lessons, I made sure there were spares in the case. Have had some modern batteries die, but I have to say newer batteries are much better than early ones.

You can easily become blase, and my luggage has a half dozen chargers and sets of cords. Often I buy a charger / spare battery combination, as a back up for both.

When I did some paid work, I used to verify the sync before I loaded film, or even shoot a test roll at the local one hour, trying to see if I could screw up the settings. My Nikons and Metz CT 60s with the right module really would not let me screw up. I gave the photos to the lab techs, who then did not charge me, and felt I was prudently covered.

I did have a Kodak branded processor scratch a dozen rolls of film because they did not keep the machine clean-- there are always things to go wrong.

Regards, John

 

[RObert Budding]

What do the people who hate batteries do about phones? Ditch the batteries and use a hand crank?

 

[Roger Hicks]

What do the people who hate batteries do about phones? Ditch the batteries and use a hand crank?

Not a very good parallel. There are still plenty of 'phones around without batteries. They plug into the wall.

Cheers,

R.

 

[paulfish4570]

this thread has longer legs than i though it would have had ...

 

[Roger Hicks]

this thread has longer legs than i though it would have had ...

Must be long-life batteries.

Or maybe most of us use computers plugged into the wall...

Cheers,

R.

 

[venchka]

Not a very good parallel. There are still plenty of 'phones around without batteries. They plug into the wall.

Cheers,

R.

Mrs. Wayne keeps a Princess phone that works without plugging into wall power for emergencies. It has come in handy on several occasions.

Wayne

 

[Spanik]

Had to design a central office card last year that supported ringdown phones. Thought those had gone extinct 50 years ago.

 

[venchka]

Film, all manual cameras, vinyl recordings and dial phones are all extinct.

Wayne

 

[JohnTF]

Not a very good parallel. There are still plenty of 'phones around without batteries. They plug into the wall.

Cheers,

R.

I realized that most of my land line phones were cordless, so they would be useless if the power went out, so I keep a few old phones hooked up, but they are becoming fewer as the wiring in the house is changed, and ages. Some of the wiring is 90 years old, there are nooks built in to the walls for phones.

I do have a hand crank oak phone bolted to the wall, my great grandparents were in a remote area and they started with their local phones and operator, the crank put out a bodacious jolt to ring the operator, but there was a lead acid battery inside the oak box to allow the conversation. Have no idea how they charged it, but the box show the leak stains inside.

Even in my grandparents' home, there was one wall phone with no dial, and when the phone rang, it rang in six houses, you had to know your ring code. Of course, a lot of listening in went on, you could sell stuff pretty quickly if you mentioned it.

We did have a modern Brownie 127 box camera, and most of the rolls were four season rolls on Verichrome Pan.

I carried my darkroom with enlarger to the basement, had to draw water directly from the water tanks, no real drain, almost had to wash the prints in the creek.

I carry the good Military flashlights with red filters in the base, to be fitted in case I do any printing while on the road, or work with ortho film in pinhole cameras-- no batteries in those cameras. There might be an App for safelight on the iPhone?

Regards, John

 

[Sejanus.Aelianus]

Being close to pension age, I recognise the battery paranoia that used to lead to photographic magazine cliches like "no professional would use a camera with a built in meter".

So let's face it, Roger, et al, you're just not professional!

😀

 

[Roger Hicks]

Being close to pension age, I recognise the battery paranoia that used to lead to photographic magazine cliches like "no professional would use a camera with a built in meter".

So let's face it, Roger, et al, you're just not professional!

😀

I resigned myself to that years ago. It's much more fun being a paid amateur.

Then again, when I started in advertising in the 70s, professionals very rarely did use cameras with batteries. In fact, for many applications they couldn't. Except when I once used a camera with a lens in a Sinar electronic shutter, I've never found a place for batteries in 5x4 inch studio cameras (press cameras are different).

Cheers,

R.

 

[Jonnyfez]

For me the battery issue was about their losing power when VERY cold out. My first SLR was a Minolta X700 that would be rendered all but useless when used in frigid temps. Swore that off and got a Nikon FM. Problem solved. Still use the FM, and an F, and a M2 but also a D200. Haven't had cold weather battery issues with the D200. Pretty much a non-issue for me these days.