Leica M9/MM battery prob?

[xdayv]

I have 3 batteries for my MM. The first just won't accept a charge anymore, the charger blinks its lights rapidly indicating some type of an error. The 2nd one, whenever I charge, it's always start at 80% (80% indicator in the charger lights up)... And with this 2nd batt, I always run out quickly, usually around half charge capacity more or less.

Is this normal? Or something is wrong? Any tips or workaorund? TIA.

 

[Kwesi]

How about the 3rd battery?
If it's normal then there is something wrong with your other batteries. If it's also acting strange then the problem may be your charger

 

[xdayv]

How about the 3rd battery?
If it's normal then there is something wrong with your other batteries. If it's also acting strange then the problem may be your charger

Thanks for the quick reply. The third one is working normally. The first one came with the MM on 11/2012, the 2nd early 2013 and the third late 2013. The first 2 batts used to work normally, and eventually ended up being like these (as mentioned in the original post).

 

[kbg32]

Are they OEM batteries or knockoffs? Knockoffs, though cheaper, will fail. I have had many by different manufacturers. I have found that they do not last long at all. Either they just give up, won't hold a full charge or will only partially charge. I have had 2 fail in the camera. I grabbed the camera out of my bag and it was quite hot to the touch. The battery just gave up. After the second one failed like this, I didn't want to risk damage to the camera and will never use the knockoffs again. It is better to buy the OEM batteries. I have never had one fail in 8 years I have had mine. I have a few and I make sure they get all get rotated in use.

 

[rscheffler]

I'd also suspect it's the batteries based on your earlier answer, though I'm a bit surprised, if they're actual Leica ones, that they're on their way out after only a couple years of use (though unknown is when they were made).

I have five batteries, one of which is probably from late 2009 (bought the M9 used in 2010) and two from late 2010. All still seem to work pretty normally, though this winter, for the first time, I had sudden shutdown problems with my M9 in cold conditions around the freezing point and lower. It may have been a combination of older batteries and not having updated to the latest firmware version with improved power management (haven't updated for a couple specific reasons).

I'm not familiar with the MM firmware versions and how those might mirror the M9 firmware updates, but your problem also doesn't seem to be specific to the camera, for the most part.

In any case, here's a handy firmware reference site. Of note, with Leica's update 1.196 for the M9, they stated the following:

It is the nature of Li-ion batteries that the capacity weakens after a certain time. We recommend replacing the batteries for the M8 and the M9 after 3 years at the latest. Heavy usage can even accelerate the aging process, and then batteries should be replaced earlier.In case that the total amount of pictures, that can be taken with a certain battery, is significantly lowerthan before with Firmware 1.196, we recommend replacing this battery.

 

[raid]

I wonder which firmware my M9 will have once Leica returns it to me. I use Leica batteries in my M8 and M9 unless I suddenly need to replace the battery when I am outside the home, then I slip in a generic battery. These work too for me (so far).

 

[kbg32]

I'd be careful Raid. I now use all OEM batteries due to the issues I have had with generics. The amount of money I've spent on generics could have been spent on additional OEM batteries.

 

[siracusa]

That's good advice Keith. My experience may not be representative as I've only had one generic battery, which is hardly an ideal sample. It worked fine for six months before giving out. The charger indicates it's full but the in camera meter shows it as a touch under 75% charged. I tried completely draining and recharging it to no effect. I now only use oem batteries. Though I hasten to add that a sample of one generic battery hardly seems generalisable, and others may have had great success with generics I don't want to take the risk of buying any more batteries that won't last.

 

[raid]

I will get another one or two OEM batteries then.

 

[kbg32]

I have had close to 10 generics from different manufacturers. Not one has lasted more then 6 months.

 

[Lss]

I currently have three batteries for my M8. One is a genuine Leica (that was supposedly brand new when I received the camera) and two are generics off eBay. They remain quite equal in capacity, there is no difference that can be observed in normal use. I expect all three to start showing their age, and perhaps they are. It's just not noticeable yet.

Leica has implemented means to make use of generics somewhat inconvenient, but it doesn't bother me much. The battery life of M8 is not really that terrible, if you seldom go to several hundreds of exposures per day.

 

[V-12]

Is this normal? Or something is wrong? Any tips or workaorund? TIA.

If it is an OEM battery it may simply need resetting, so drain it completely and then charge it again.

V

 

[raid]

I heard that the M8 is more forgiving than the M9 (maybe newer firmware?) with respect to generic batteries being used.

 

[Pioneer]

I have three generics for my M9 that have lasted almost two years now. It was the OEM battery that died first. Everyone has their own experiences to rely on.

 

[raid]

It could be that "generic" is not one brand with one reliability. There may exist dozens of generic brands.

 

[icebear]

I have 4 Leica batteries for my M9 and MM but only 3 in regular use. The 4th has never been used yet. I almost always run them until fully empty and then charge them. I shoot DNG only and never use auto preview. Occasionally I check for the highlights in the histogram in difficult situations. Shooting like this, I get a full SD card (16GBs, about 400 shots) out of one fully charged battery if needed.

I never had any issues but I have also never done the M9 firmware update which supposedly fixed some battery issues.
If it's not broken don't fix it 😀.

On a side note :
I always keep the spare battery in a tiny zip lock bag. When I need to change, the empty one goes in the bag.
So there is no chance for any dust /dirt to accumulate on the contacts.

 

[xdayv]

If it is an OEM battery it may simply need resetting, so drain it completely and then charge it again.

V

All of these batteries are OEM. I already did completly draining them, same result.

I have 4 Leica batteries for my M9 and MM but only 3 in regular use. The 4th has never been used yet. I almost always run them until fully empty and then charge them. I shoot DNG only and never use auto preview. Occasionally I check for the highlights in the histogram in difficult situations. Shooting like this, I get a full SD card (16GBs, about 400 shots) out of one fully charged battery if needed.

I never had any issues but I have also never done the M9 firmware update which supposedly fixed some battery issues.
If it's not broken don't fix it 😀.

On a side note :
I always keep the spare battery in a tiny zip lock bag. When I need to change, the empty one goes in the bag.
So there is no chance for any dust /dirt to accumulate on the contacts.

Klaus, admittedly I do sometimes charge halfway through... but not that often. I didn't experience this on my other brand cameras. And same here, I have auto-preview off as default, and keeps a spare battery in a tiny zip lock.

 

[Pioneer]

I think Icebear has a good point. It is important to make sure that the battery contacts get cleaned. Even a small amount of corrosion can cause heat to build up inside the battery while being charged. Heat destroys a battery faster than anything else I know except perhaps a direct short. Corrosion also affects the amount of current flow to the camera which in turn results in occasional faults that are often blamed on the camera. Back when we used AAs for power this wasn't a big issue since we changed them out without recharging.

Of course everyone here keeps their batteries scrupulously clean.

I know I do...😎

 

[raid]

This is the key

This is the key

I also started since last summer to allow each battery to run empty before recharging the batteries. The OEM and the generic brands work fine then. I also keep batteries in a ziploc bag.

I have 4 Leica batteries for my M9 and MM but only 3 in regular use. The 4th has never been used yet. I almost always run them until fully empty and then charge them. I shoot DNG only and never use auto preview. Occasionally I check for the highlights in the histogram in difficult situations. Shooting like this, I get a full SD card (16GBs, about 400 shots) out of one fully charged battery if needed.

I never had any issues but I have also never done the M9 firmware update which supposedly fixed some battery issues.
If it's not broken don't fix it 😀.

On a side note :
I always keep the spare battery in a tiny zip lock bag. When I need to change, the empty one goes in the bag.
So there is no chance for any dust /dirt to accumulate on the contacts.

 

[john neal]

Interesting, a Li-ion battery should not have any memory effect, so charging anywhere in the discharge cycle should not make any difference (according to the manufacturers).

I have found that off-brand batteries die very quickly, which is a sign of poor materials that are not, necessarily, reflected in the price. I now only buy genuine and find they last much much longer.

I have seen some debate about the latest frimware for both M9 and MM being sensitive to battery charge state, in that the cameras often close down very shortly after the battery is reported to be at 50% charge (i.e. disproportionately quickly, compared to the first 50% of charge). Apparently, earlier versions of firmware last down to 10% or so. there is some stuff to read on L User forum.