Sony NP-FM50 battery

Elena Lamberson · May 11, 2003

--I am now on my second NPFM50 batteries for this camera (DSC-S70). It works fine for 6- 10 months and then the camera says "FULL" after I charge, it but indicates no battery left when I disconnect and turn the camera on. Does this mean I have to buy a THIRD battery?? What is the deal with these batteries?? Are all Sony batteries this crappy?
HELP!

R2D2 · May 11, 2003

I believe I saw a previous post on this, and the problem turned out to be a slightly corroded A/C plug (where it plugs into the camera).
Perhaps do a search...
R2

Elena Lamberson said:
--I am now on my second NPFM50 batteries for this camera (DSC-S70).
It works fine for 6- 10 months and then the camera says "FULL"
after I charge, it but indicates no battery left when I disconnect
and turn the camera on. Does this mean I have to buy a THIRD
battery?? What is the deal with these batteries?? Are all Sony
batteries this crappy?
HELP!

Elena Lamberson · May 11, 2003

Wow! I happen to have another identical A/C charging cord which came with my Sony video camera, I will now switch them and let you know if this is the problem! Thanks so much!

R2D2 said:
Elena Lamberson said:

--I am now on my second NPFM50 batteries for this camera (DSC-S70).
It works fine for 6- 10 months and then the camera says "FULL"
after I charge, it but indicates no battery left when I disconnect
and turn the camera on. Does this mean I have to buy a THIRD
battery?? What is the deal with these batteries?? Are all Sony
batteries this crappy?
HELP!

Click to expand...

Elena Lamberson · May 11, 2003

Well, I tried the other A/C charging cord and the same thing happened. It did not charge the camera. Does anyone know if these batteries just die after a few months or is something wrong w/ the camera?

I am heading to Hawaii on 5/26 and will need to buy a new battery if I cannot resolve this soon. Thanks for any information.

Elena Lamberson said:
R2D2 said:

Elena Lamberson said:

--I am now on my second NPFM50 batteries for this camera (DSC-S70).
It works fine for 6- 10 months and then the camera says "FULL"
after I charge, it but indicates no battery left when I disconnect
and turn the camera on. Does this mean I have to buy a THIRD
battery?? What is the deal with these batteries?? Are all Sony
batteries this crappy?
HELP!

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

--

R2D2 · May 11, 2003

Perhaps take it to a local Battery store and have it evaluated and conditioned. I took a couple of old camcorder batteries to one and it helped one of the batts, but the other was toast.
Might be best to bite the bullet and get a new one for the trip though.

BTW, have a blast in Hawaii! Climb Haleakala for me! And post some pics

R2

Elena Lamberson said:
Well, I tried the other A/C charging cord and the same thing
happened. It did not charge the camera. Does anyone know if these
batteries just die after a few months or is something wrong w/ the
camera?
I am heading to Hawaii on 5/26 and will need to buy a new battery
if I cannot resolve this soon. Thanks for any information.

Saint Zany · May 11, 2003

Elena,

I am sorry you're having a problem. I had a DSC-S70 for over two years and I had no such problem. I currently have two batteries (NP-FM50) and one of them is over two years old and have no problem using it with my new camera DSC-F717. What is your frequency of recharging the battery? I guess if you recharge it so many times you will eventually run into the end of the batteries' lifecycle. I am not sure if that is the problem in your case, however.

Zany

Elena Lamberson said:
--I am now on my second NPFM50 batteries for this camera (DSC-S70).
It works fine for 6- 10 months and then the camera says "FULL"
after I charge, it but indicates no battery left when I disconnect
and turn the camera on. Does this mean I have to buy a THIRD
battery?? What is the deal with these batteries?? Are all Sony
batteries this crappy?
HELP!

Charlesn · May 11, 2003

Elena:

I've been using Sony lithiums for years (including the NP-FM50), and what you are describing is definitely not normal. Even if you were recharging them on a daily basis, your batteries shouldn't be quitting in 6-10 months. Given that you've had this problem with two different batteries, it seems likely that your issue is with the camera and not the battery. I'd have it checked by Sony.

Charles

Elena Lamberson · May 12, 2003

I plug it in when downloading & working w/ the photos; however, I do admit that sometimes it stays plugged in for days before the camera is used again. I didnt know that was a problem. I guess I will just buy another battery, charge it (as mentioned in another post about always charging new batteries prior to first use) before we go on our trip. I want to get another camera - one that can take more action photos and a better zoom. Do you like the F717?
Thanks, Elena

Saint Zany said:
Zany

Elena Lamberson said:

--I am now on my second NPFM50 batteries for this camera (DSC-S70).
It works fine for 6- 10 months and then the camera says "FULL"
after I charge, it but indicates no battery left when I disconnect
and turn the camera on. Does this mean I have to buy a THIRD
battery?? What is the deal with these batteries?? Are all Sony
batteries this crappy?
HELP!

Click to expand...

EJN · May 12, 2003

Elena Lamberson said:
--I am now on my second NPFM50 batteries for this camera (DSC-S70).
It works fine for 6- 10 months and then the camera says "FULL"
after I charge, it but indicates no battery left when I disconnect
and turn the camera on. Does this mean I have to buy a THIRD
battery?? What is the deal with these batteries?? Are all Sony
batteries this crappy?
HELP!

I'm pretty sure it's your particular battery (could be the camera but as it was OK before for a lengthy period that seems unlikely) but I had in use a Sony S-75 about 16-17 months ago now...same battery and since I got the 717 just last week I've used both the new which came with it , AND the very old battery from S-7 days...still going strong and giving no trouble at all in the 717 alongside the brand new one when interchanged

--
EJN

EJN · May 12, 2003

The technical way of course would be to use a good DC voltmeter and make quite sure that you ARE getting a voltage at the plug that goes into the camera to charge. Failing that , is there any chance you can get another charger maybe at a dealer, just to see if a different one puts a light on and a charge in the battery ?

You ask about liking the 717 - well, after 8 digis I can say without hesitation that it would be very difficult in my eyes to find better value ...especially NOW, as the price has dropped in anticipation of a new one from Sony. As an old medium format film man, I can honestly say that I've had NOTHING to give the same quality in digi since using in awe my good old Hasselblad in film days - it is incredible - and perfectly usable up to ISO 800 without a whisker of doubt

EJN

Macro · May 12, 2003

I have more 11000+ photos on my 707 since last June. I keep three batteries in rotation. More photos were taken with the original of course. But all 3 work great with no noticeable loss of capacity. I only use the external Sony charger and never charge in the camera. Also, I usually only charge when the battery is drained (according to the camera indicator).
--
Macro-
(aka David Hasenick)
http://www.pbase.com/dbh/galleries

Elena Lamberson said:
--I am now on my second NPFM50 batteries for this camera (DSC-S70).
It works fine for 6- 10 months and then the camera says "FULL"
after I charge, it but indicates no battery left when I disconnect
and turn the camera on. Does this mean I have to buy a THIRD
battery?? What is the deal with these batteries?? Are all Sony
batteries this crappy?
HELP!

Saint Zany · May 12, 2003

I am not sure if that's the problem but maybe you should take the battery out if you want to leave your camera plugged in for an extended period of time. All batteries have a fixed number of charge/drain life cycle. I don't remember what this number was for FM50. For most people, this seem to be more than a couple of years on the average.

And yes, I love F717. The reason why I got DSC-S70 few years ago was I couldn't afford F505 at the time but still wanted some sort of manual control. S70 is great with its Carl-Zeiss lens and still take very good pictures, but F717 has so much more flexibility and the swivel LCD screen is wonderful. Only downside would be its size but that comes with the territory.

Regards,
Zany

Elena Lamberson said:
I plug it in when downloading & working w/ the photos; however, I
do admit that sometimes it stays plugged in for days before the
camera is used again. I didnt know that was a problem. I guess I
will just buy another battery, charge it (as mentioned in another
post about always charging new batteries prior to first use) before
we go on our trip. I want to get another camera - one that can
take more action photos and a better zoom. Do you like the F717?
Thanks, Elena

Elena Lamberson · May 12, 2003

I am not sure what you mean about the "external Sony charger and never charge in the camera" Have I been doing this wrong all along? I just take the camera , plug it into the computer and then the charger while downloading photos, working on them etc. How else should I be doing this?

Macro said:
Elena Lamberson said:

--I am now on my second NPFM50 batteries for this camera (DSC-S70).
It works fine for 6- 10 months and then the camera says "FULL"
after I charge, it but indicates no battery left when I disconnect
and turn the camera on. Does this mean I have to buy a THIRD
battery?? What is the deal with these batteries?? Are all Sony
batteries this crappy?
HELP!

Click to expand...

EJN · May 12, 2003

Elena Lamberson said:
I am not sure what you mean about the "external Sony charger and
never charge in the camera" Have I been doing this wrong all
along? I just take the camera , plug it into the computer and then
the charger while downloading photos, working on them etc. How
else should I be doing this?

Preferably I do suggest you use a Memstick card-reader (or multiple type that will cover you foir ANY mem cards you may use) - don't d/load from the camera, it just uses juice for one thing and must give some 'wear & tear' on the camera electronics that you can do without. For charging I've always found it perfectly OK to leave the stick in camera and just plug the mains adaptor unit lead into the camera. Nothing wrong with that ...but using the camera for download...not a lot do that..

EJN

R2D2 · May 12, 2003

USB 2.0 makes it go Very fast.
R2

EJN said:
Elena Lamberson said:

I am not sure what you mean about the "external Sony charger and
never charge in the camera" Have I been doing this wrong all
along? I just take the camera , plug it into the computer and then
the charger while downloading photos, working on them etc. How
else should I be doing this?

Click to expand...

Preferably I do suggest you use a Memstick card-reader (or multiple
type that will cover you foir ANY mem cards you may use) - don't
d/load from the camera, it just uses juice for one thing and must
give some 'wear & tear' on the camera electronics that you can do
without. For charging I've always found it perfectly OK to leave
the stick in camera and just plug the mains adaptor unit lead into
the camera. Nothing wrong with that ...but using the camera for
download...not a lot do that..

EJN

Gerrit Pang · May 12, 2003

Elena,

I'm no battery expert, but it's been said that batteries only have so many charges and recycles in them.

If I were you, I would buy 2 new batteries, Charge them up fully as recommended and use each one till it is drained fully before recharging if possible.

Also do not leave the camera and battery plugged in and being charged too much longer after the recharging light goes out. This is just in case there is such a condition of "overcharging" which may have a negative effect on the batteries.

Have fun in the sun,

Elena Lamberson said:
Macro said:

Elena Lamberson said:

--I am now on my second NPFM50 batteries for this camera (DSC-S70).
It works fine for 6- 10 months and then the camera says "FULL"
after I charge, it but indicates no battery left when I disconnect
and turn the camera on. Does this mean I have to buy a THIRD
battery?? What is the deal with these batteries?? Are all Sony
batteries this crappy?
HELP!

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

--

EJN · May 13, 2003

R2D2 said:
USB 2.0 makes it go Very fast.
R2

Yeah, but we don't all have USB 2 . On laptops particularly it's only the fairly (very) recent ones that are now putting it on here...USB 1.1 is still pretty good though

EJN

Elena Lamberson · May 13, 2003

So, how do you charge the battery if it is not in the camera? Is there some other thing I should purchase to charge batteries?

And, one of you said to take the Mem stick out and stick it into a Mem card reader (which I do not have) instead of downloading directly from the camera. Is this the best way to keep from draining these batteries out?

So, I guess I need an "external battery charge"r (what is the name so I can purchase one) and a "Mem card reader" (also need name of it)???

And, of course 2 more batteries before I go on my trip. Per another poster I need to fully charge each new battery before using it. Right?

On trips can I just charge the battery in the camera when it gets low so I don't have to drag all the other stuff around? I am taking my laptop and can download the photos to a CD if necessary. But our kids always want to see the all the photos on the computer at the end of the day in a slide show. Thanks for everyone's help!

Elena

Gerrit Pang said:
I'm no battery expert, but it's been said that batteries only have
so many charges and recycles in them.

If I were you, I would buy 2 new batteries, Charge them up fully as
recommended and use each one till it is drained fully before
recharging if possible.

Also do not leave the camera and battery plugged in and being
charged too much longer after the recharging light goes out. This
is just in case there is such a condition of "overcharging" which
may have a negative effect on the batteries.

Have fun in the sun,

Elena Lamberson said:

Macro said:

Elena Lamberson said:

--I am now on my second NPFM50 batteries for this camera (DSC-S70).
It works fine for 6- 10 months and then the camera says "FULL"
after I charge, it but indicates no battery left when I disconnect
and turn the camera on. Does this mean I have to buy a THIRD
battery?? What is the deal with these batteries?? Are all Sony
batteries this crappy?
HELP!

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

--

Click to expand...

Hofy · May 13, 2003

Check the battery contacts INSIDE the camera for corrosion or broken pins.

Also try an external battery charger.
This is the least expensive one from Sonystyle.com ($59.99)

http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/eCS/Store/en/-/USD/SY_DisplayProductInformation-Start ;sid=rU0-HyfjwtQ-HRkio3c0FGjzETSe_6u_xUM=?CatalogCategoryID=6%2egKC0%2eNXQ8AAAD1PIeUMSDD&ProductID=TTEKC0%2eN95YAAAD1DoeUMSDH&Dept=dcc

--
3D Stereo photography, because the world isn't flat.
http://www.pbase.com/hofy

Mike G.75791 · May 13, 2003

I have an Ambico Lithium-Ion Universal Camcorder Battery Quick Charger Model: V-0916 that has adapters for most camcorder batteries, including the Sony NPFM 50. It is small and light weight and comes with a 12 V car adapter also. I have been using it for over a year and I highly recommend it..
Best Buy and Circuit City carry it.
http://www.bestbuy.com/Detail.asp?m=1&cat=788&scat=&e=11001151

Mike Godett

Elena Lamberson said:
--I am now on my second NPFM50 batteries for this camera (DSC-S70).
It works fine for 6- 10 months and then the camera says "FULL"
after I charge, it but indicates no battery left when I disconnect
and turn the camera on. Does this mean I have to buy a THIRD
battery?? What is the deal with these batteries?? Are all Sony
batteries this crappy?
HELP!

Sony NP-FM50 battery

Member

Veteran Member

Member

Member

Veteran Member

Forum Enthusiast

Forum Enthusiast

Member

EJN

Guest

EJN

Guest

Veteran Member

Forum Enthusiast

Member

EJN

Guest

Veteran Member

Gerrit Pang

Guest

EJN

Guest

Member

Well-known member

Veteran Member

Keyboard shortcuts