R-D1 battery problems

[peppermill]

Hi Chaps,

For ages I was happy with my R-D1 batteries, but unfortunately now I seem to have lost 2.

One of them is actually full but in the R-D1 is just freezes up the camera. The other one takes a shot but randomly will freeze half way through a frame even if the battery is full.

I'm considering handing the batteries into the supermarket for proper disposal however my only 2 remaining working batteries are the real epson one and a cheap 'fuji compatible' bought in some tech shop in hong kong.

Now I'm returning to ebay in search or another 2 batteries in order to have a successful photo trip in Cuba but I'm wondering why I'm having the problems I'm having and what I should buy to avoid them in future.

I would usually search for NP-80 with the most mAh possible.

Cheers,

Tom

 

[Rob-F]

I can remember seeing another thread (here, or over at photo.net?) about this 2 or 3 years ago. The poster said that off-brand batteries have caused the camera to freeze up. He recommended using only the Epson original equipment batteries.

I've noticed that not all replacement rechargeables for my Leica D-Lux 3 are the same voltage. Some can be marked a tenth of a volt different from the OEM version. Could be part of the problem in your case. Or (more likely) it could be that the off-brand ones cannot supply enough current to run the camera, at least after they have aged a bit.

At least with the R-D1, it is apparently best to use only original Epson Batteries.

 

[f16sunshine]

Hi Tom
I abandoned the knock off batteries completely after experiencing similar issues. I think I recall Back Alley having good luck with 3rd party juice. Maybe he will chime in. At this point I have 2 Epson batteries and plan to order another one. The (re) introduction of the RD1x should put a few more batteries on the marketplace for us all. It sucks the original cost so much.
Cheers

 

[Chicagobob]

Where?

Where?

OK. I'm sold. Only Epson batteries. Now, where can we purchase the (new) OEM batteries? I cannot find anything. Anyone have a source?
Bob

 

[sevres_babylone]

I bought one from the Matsuiyastore on ebay a year or so ago. However, I don't see the batteries listed anymore. Since they are selling the latest R-D1, I was somewhat surprised. You might email them and see if that is an oversight, or if they have any ideas. I also gave up on the "no-names" after having similar problems to yours. Other people seem to have had better luck with them.

 

[back alley]

i can't find any epson branded batteries and epson canada refuses to reply to my enquiries lately.

i have a few off brand batteries that work fine, especially those listed at 1800mah.

 

[sevres_babylone]

Just to clarify, not all of the generics caused me those problems. The one I bought from B&H when I bought the camera (can't remember the name right now, and it wasn't supercheap) worked okay for over 3 years, and the it kind of just faded away, without bringing the house down like Samson in Gaza. Another time, I had an off-brand one which was working well, so ordered another couple of that brand, which lasted about a week. That's when I decided to order an Epson-branded one from Matsuiyastore. Finally, I bought a second body, just so I could get the Epson batteries that came with it.😀

 

[cfritze]

I've got three off-brand batteries purchased on ebay, advertised as replacements for NP80, rated at 1800 mAh. No issues after 6 months of regular use.

 

[Mr_Flibble]

Of the 3 batteries that came with my R-D1 the Epson one works best,
the other two (Power2000 for Fuji NP-80, rated 3.7v 1300mAh li-ion) don't not last very long.

I'm sure it has something to do with the way the camera draws current in bursts. Because at the first shutter activation the camera works fine, but when it starts writing to the memory card it apparently uses a lot of juice and the low capacity batteries are not up to sustaining such a power drain. So the camera shuts off. Turning it off and on helps but is a big pain.

A couple of months ago I've bought a 2 1600mAh ones from a British seller for about 8 GBP a piece and these last a little longer then the Epson brand battery by my experience. No problems at all

 

[phototektour]

Of the 3 batteries that came with my R-D1 the Epson one works best,
the other two (Power2000 for Fuji NP-80, rated 3.7v 1300mAh li-ion) don't not last very long. ...

I'm still using batteries for my R-D1 from my Leica "digilux zoom" from a long time ago without any probs, running exactly like the OEM Epsons. Maybe it has something to do how you are charging and where you storage the batts.

 

[peppermill]

Thanks chaps,

Well my ebay 1300 mah ones did last around 6 months but were never any good. I really can't seem to find any 'decent brand' batteries so i'm just ordering some random ones on ebay see how it turns out. Taking 1800Mah ones this time. Just hope my camera won't die on me in cuba 🙂