R3A battery life? (Possible troubles here)

[bml]

Ok, so something is definitely wonky with my R3A. (This is separate from the exposure quirks that I have recently experienced.)

First, I should ask: what is the typical battery life of the R3A?

I recently went on a trip to London, and had to change my batteries after about three rolls of shooting. (Of course, I have shot about five rolls previous to this trip, plus whatever the original owner did with the camera on the same set of batteries.) As a note, I replaced the dead batteries with the spares included with the R3A in the box.

Anyway, I went out to do some photographing today, and my battery pooped out on me. Now, it doesn't seem right that the batteries should die after just four rolls of film.

I knew something was wrong nearing the 28th frame (of 36 exposures) because I was experiencing shutter issues using AE mode. The shutter would open after I pushed the release, but it would take nearly four seconds to close. (However, going fully manual allowed me to finish up the rest of the roll.)

When I put the new roll in, I got a low battery warning in the viewfinder, and poof: dead.

What's the deal? Why should they die so quickly?

Is something faulty with my R3A?

 

[CameraQuest]

R2A / R3A Battery Life

R2A / R3A Battery Life

providing the batteries are fresh, silver battteries should last 6 mo to a year depending upon use, alkalines a bit less. some users report more than a year.

providing the batteries were fresh and good, something is not right with the camera. remember just because you bought the batteries today, it does not mean the batteries were not sitting on the shelf 3 years waiting to be sold.

Stephen

 

[ferider]

Lock the shutter when you put the camera in your bag and see if the battery life improves.

Roland.

 

[pvdhaar]

The SR76 are SilverOxide, aren't they? That means limited shelf life of about 2 years after production. Check the expiration date on the package to make sure you get fresh ones. SilverOxides aren't like Lithiums that can lay around for a decade and still be used..

 

[ClaremontPhoto]

I get the best part of a year from cheap LR44's in my Voigtlander R3A using it for a roll or two each week.

I don't think the shutter lock affects battery life and I really never use it. Also on the later R3M there isn't a shutter lock.

 

[kshapero]

I bought an R3A a year ago, switched to an R3M with the same batteries from the R3A and still going strong. One time all failed. I took the batteries out and cleaned them with an eraser. Worked fine. Also invest in a cheap battery tester to keep sane about batteries.

 

[ronnie_retro]

Bessa battery life

Bessa battery life

You might wish to take a look at post #573 - I give some detailed info about the R2A/R3A expected battery life there. I'll summarize my thoughts:

1) If I'm reading your post correctly, your batteries went dead after 8 rolls plus whatever the previous owner shot , so we're dealing with unknown usage here-

2). The replacement batteries might have been moldy oldies; alkalines are cheaper but have maybe 1/2 capacity of silver oxide cells and short shelf life -


3). I never shoot this many rolls without replacing the batteries, but I think maybe 2 dozen 24 exposure rolls is a reasonable expectation - maybe others have a firm number they have shot -

4). Although there is a battery switch, drain when not actually in use is very low, so accidentally leaving the switch on for a week or month should not cause you any trouble -

5). I buy silver oxide cells on the web at a very good price (~$1 ea.) compared to local retail outlets, and so change out the batteries every few months and keep spares in my glove compartment and camera bag. Spending no more than $1/month you can be sure of always having fresh cells even if you're a moderately heavy shooter.

Hope this gives you enough info to clear up your problem -

 

[AirTimid]

Ronnie, where do you get your batteries?

 

[ferider]

I don't think the shutter lock affects battery life and I really never use it. Also on the later R3M there isn't a shutter lock.

I suggested it to avoid that the shutter gets accidentally pushed in the bag and keeps the camera on. Happens easily, in particular with soft releases installed.

Roland.

 

[ronnie_retro]

Batteries

Batteries

I've bought mine from www.batterybob.com. Maxell SR44SW (silver oxides) are currently listed at a 5 pack for $6.00 so the price must have gone up a bit recently. Still 1/3 price of the local yokels. I think postage is a dollar.

For you super heavy users out there, he's got
a pack-o-500 alakaline LR-44s for $150.😀

Lots of other places to shop I'm sure - but I've had super prompt service from this guy every time (got 'em received within <24 hours a couple of times.)

 

[bml]

I just picked up two Energizer LR44s (for $9 total, blargh), so I'll give an update if something happens...

I have no idea when the previous set expired, because I didn't keep the packaging.

Will have to stock up at batterybob.com next time. +_+

EDIT: Also, I use the shutter release lock whenever I'm not using the camera.

 

[bml]

Ok, pretty pissed now...

I went for a brief walk outside, and took three shots... All manual settings on the first, and AE mode on shots two and three...

Again, on that last shot... the shutter lagged. It did not close until at least a second had passed.

This is what started to happen the first and second time my batteries were going dead. However, I have taken less than half a roll of photos on these brand new batteries.

This just seems like too much. Can it be that the batteries are already going... or is something just really buggy with AE? And... maybe the buggy AE mode is causing quick battery drain? I have no idea what to think.

If it really matters, it was about 28[SIZE=-1]°[/SIZE]F outside (pretty damn cold).

Would exposure to the cold cause some of the camera's electronics to get wonky?


I'm afraid I'm gonna have to get someone to look at this, so that will be my next question...

 

[back alley]

is it under warranty still?

sounds like a short of some kind.
i shoot with sr44 in the zi at -30c to -40c and i have no battery problems.

joe

 

[AirTimid]

I have about at least a dozen rolls through my R2A on the original batteries and everything seems fine.

 

[bml]

After some thinking and testing, I have a new theory regarding the problems with my R3A...

Up until now, I could not isolate the problem to the batteries or shutter. I thought the "shutter lag" (when in AE mode) was a sign of upcoming battery failure. So, I assumed a circuit was the cause of the problem. However, assuming now that the batteries were faulty, and thereby had no relation to the shutter lag problems... It must be the meter that is wonky. (Again, this is assuming that the supposedly fresh pair of batteries I put in were not at full capacity.) I realize now that dying batteries should not cause the shutter to lag in AE mode.

I just snapped about 100 tests exposures in AE mode (with no film loaded). Out of those shutter releases, only one or two were "lagged". I did another 50 or so shutter releases in manual mode. There was no shutter lag. This confirms the fact that shutter lag only occurs when in AE mode.

So, this must mean that the meter is incorrectly reading the light when in AE mode, resulting in several second-long exposures. Why? I don't know.

Confusing! But I think this makes the most sense.

I don't think there is a battery problem after all... Now, for that meter....