Battery issue?

[Ricardo00]

I understand you replace with afreshly charged battery but just in case, these batteries self-discharge pretty fast with the camera sitting on the shelf.

Not sure why you say this, haven't seen the batteries self-discharging when not in the D500 or when in my D7200. I have only had this problem when the batteries were in my D500s. Can you cite a reference for this observation?

Last condition listed in the quote from the user manual in my previous post

https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/64212094

JC
Some cameras, some lenses, some computers

Hmmm, guess you added the part about "pretty fast"? Yes all batteries lose some of their charge sitting around, but the loss I have seen with my Nikon batteries left sitting is what I would call very slow, not "pretty fast". Meaning a few months, not overnight like I have seen in the D500.

We are in violent agreement. Battery in camera, camera sitting on a shelf. We are talking D500 here

JC
Some cameras, some lenses, some computers

Hopefully not "violent" but a peaceful disagreement about what the wording in the user manual says. To me, "Batteries will lose their charge if left unused" refers to batteries left in your bag or on the shelf outside the camera, not to batteries left in the camera. And it refers to a slow drain that again is normal for all batteries, whether in the camera or not.

However, I am talking about the extremely rapid drain of a battery left in my D500 for unexplained reasons. This has happened to me on approximately a dozen occasions (the most recent was about a week ago). The settings on my camera are the same, the batteries are the same, it just happens. I will pick up the camera a day after using it and it is completely drained, I can't even turn on the camera. I would never have left the camera with more than two or three bars used. And since I pick up the camera almost every day, it has occurred in 48 hours or less. I really don't think that the comment in the User Manual that "Batteries will lose their charge if left unused" applies to this type of rapid drain. If this has not happened to you, I really don't think you can appreciate the problem that the D500 seems to have managing its energy utilization.

 

[n057]

I understand you replace with afreshly charged battery but just in case, these batteries self-discharge pretty fast with the camera sitting on the shelf.

Not sure why you say this, haven't seen the batteries self-discharging when not in the D500 or when in my D7200. I have only had this problem when the batteries were in my D500s. Can you cite a reference for this observation?

Last condition listed in the quote from the user manual in my previous post

https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/64212094

JC
Some cameras, some lenses, some computers

Hmmm, guess you added the part about "pretty fast"? Yes all batteries lose some of their charge sitting around, but the loss I have seen with my Nikon batteries left sitting is what I would call very slow, not "pretty fast". Meaning a few months, not overnight like I have seen in the D500.

We are in violent agreement. Battery in camera, camera sitting on a shelf. We are talking D500 here

JC
Some cameras, some lenses, some computers

Hopefully not "violent" but a peaceful disagreement about what the wording in the user manual says. To me, "Batteries will lose their charge if left unused" refers to batteries left in your bag or on the shelf outside the camera, not to batteries left in the camera. And it refers to a slow drain that again is normal for all batteries, whether in the camera or not.

However, I am talking about the extremely rapid drain of a battery left in my D500 for unexplained reasons. This has happened to me on approximately a dozen occasions (the most recent was about a week ago). The settings on my camera are the same, the batteries are the same, it just happens. I will pick up the camera a day after using it and it is completely drained, I can't even turn on the camera. I would never have left the camera with more than two or three bars used. And since I pick up the camera almost every day, it has occurred in 48 hours or less. I really don't think that the comment in the User Manual that "Batteries will lose their charge if left unused" applies to this type of rapid drain. If this has not happened to you, I really don't think you can appreciate the problem that the D500 seems to have managing its energy utilization.

I must have the version of the D500 that they were not supposed to sell then


JC
Some cameras, some lenses, some computers

 

[Ricardo00]

I understand you replace with afreshly charged battery but just in case, these batteries self-discharge pretty fast with the camera sitting on the shelf.

Not sure why you say this, haven't seen the batteries self-discharging when not in the D500 or when in my D7200. I have only had this problem when the batteries were in my D500s. Can you cite a reference for this observation?

Last condition listed in the quote from the user manual in my previous post

https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/64212094

JC
Some cameras, some lenses, some computers

Hmmm, guess you added the part about "pretty fast"? Yes all batteries lose some of their charge sitting around, but the loss I have seen with my Nikon batteries left sitting is what I would call very slow, not "pretty fast". Meaning a few months, not overnight like I have seen in the D500.

We are in violent agreement. Battery in camera, camera sitting on a shelf. We are talking D500 here

JC
Some cameras, some lenses, some computers

Hopefully not "violent" but a peaceful disagreement about what the wording in the user manual says. To me, "Batteries will lose their charge if left unused" refers to batteries left in your bag or on the shelf outside the camera, not to batteries left in the camera. And it refers to a slow drain that again is normal for all batteries, whether in the camera or not.

However, I am talking about the extremely rapid drain of a battery left in my D500 for unexplained reasons. This has happened to me on approximately a dozen occasions (the most recent was about a week ago). The settings on my camera are the same, the batteries are the same, it just happens. I will pick up the camera a day after using it and it is completely drained, I can't even turn on the camera. I would never have left the camera with more than two or three bars used. And since I pick up the camera almost every day, it has occurred in 48 hours or less. I really don't think that the comment in the User Manual that "Batteries will lose their charge if left unused" applies to this type of rapid drain. If this has not happened to you, I really don't think you can appreciate the problem that the D500 seems to have managing its energy utilization.

I must have the version of the D500 that they were not supposed to sell then

JC
Some cameras, some lenses, some computers

Again, I have to disagree with you. I have the version of D500 that they should not have been selling and should have offered to replace! Unfortunately Nikon and the lucky users who haven't had these problems still belittle those who have.

 

[KiserBinNC]

That's just it -- it happens with both Nikon and third-party batteries ...

I kinda solved my problem -- I went ahead and switched over to using EN-EL18s -- but I may pick up another charger for the 15s and see if that's the issue ...

 

[Ringwraith69]

Just to check if I'm getting the whole picture. Your D500 has worked fine in the past but for no apparent reason it has started to show battery drain problems while nothing has been changed in the cameras settings and with the same batteries that worked without issue before?

If that's the case then simple reasoning would lead to the conclusion that something that was fine before is now defective. There can be plenty of reasons why a D500 drains batteries without there being a technical problem (for instance: switching the camera to 'airplane mode' will save hugely on power drainage) but if you're experiencing this out of the blue and with no apparent cause, then the only logical answer is: something in the camera (most likely), the batteries (least likely) or the charger (less likely) broke down.

I'd have the camera thoroughly checked for defects, hopefully they can find the fault and any repair needed will be done under warranty.

 

[Ricardo00]

Just to check if I'm getting the whole picture. Your D500 has worked fine in the past but for no apparent reason it has started to show battery drain problems while nothing has been changed in the cameras settings and with the same batteries that worked without issue before?

If that's the case then simple reasoning would lead to the conclusion that something that was fine before is now defective. There can be plenty of reasons why a D500 drains batteries without there being a technical problem (for instance: switching the camera to 'airplane mode' will save hugely on power drainage) but if you're experiencing this out of the blue and with no apparent cause, then the only logical answer is: something in the camera (most likely), the batteries (least likely) or the charger (less likely) broke down.

I'd have the camera thoroughly checked for defects, hopefully they can find the fault and any repair needed will be done under warranty.

Not sure if you meant this question for the OP, but speaking for myself, my problem is erratic (ie. it may be weeks between occurrences). Not a consistent change in the camera. When I spoke to a person at the Nikon repair center, they thought it might be tough to repair since the problem occurred at random inconsistently. They thought it would be better for me to figure out exactly when this occurs. Unfortunately I never have.

PS. I have had my D500s in airplane mode since I got them.

 

[EricK214]

I never use live view, it's horrible pain and simple. Without love view and using XQD 64GB at 440/400 shooting raw, second card set to be overflow I will get as many as 1100 to 1200 images per charge. I shoot manual, auto ISO 90% of the time. I leave the camera in airplane mode all the time.

If you're leaving it in live view all the time while walking around, that would like do it.

 

[Leonard Shepherd]

If you're leaving it in live view all the time while walking around, that would like do it.

I would expect less than 2 hours with LiveView permanently on - though I have never set out to do a specific measurement.

 

[Ricardo00]

I never use live view, it's horrible pain and simple. Without love view and using XQD 64GB at 440/400 shooting raw, second card set to be overflow I will get as many as 1100 to 1200 images per charge. I shoot manual, auto ISO 90% of the time. I leave the camera in airplane mode all the time.

If you're leaving it in live view all the time while walking around, that would like do it.

The problem I have had was not while using Live view, it is when I put the camera down after having used it for awhile (and there are still several bars left on the battery) and then go to shoot a while later and the battery is either completely drained (can't turn on) or almost drained (ie. in red). Live view was not on during this time (Live view will actually shut off after 10 min even if you accidentally leave it on).

Live view is most useful when you have your camera/lens set up on a tripod for example to photograph a nest or wildlife or the night sky and are waiting for something interesting to happen. It allows you to watch without touching the camera. It also allows you to fine tune the focus. Also if it is very cold, you can keep your hands in your pocket while waiting for an event.

 

[Ricardo00]

If you're leaving it in live view all the time while walking around, that would like do it.

I would expect less than 2 hours with LiveView permanently on - though I have never set out to do a specific measurement.

With a D500, it is about 70 min, I have specifically tested it with multiple batteries. In addition, you can not leave Live View on, it will shut automatically off after 10 min.

 

[KiserBinNC]

Close ... but the issue isn't with the camera (still getting 1,000 frames with a fully-charged battery) ... the issue was that batteries would show as fully charged on my Watson charger, only to show up as dead batteries once inserted in my D500 (either the body or my grip) ... Nikon brand or third party batteries make no difference ...

 

[Leonard Shepherd]

the issue was that batteries would show as fully charged on my Watson charger, only to show up as dead batteries once inserted in my D500 (either the body or my grip) ... Nikon brand or third party batteries make no difference ... come with a Nikon charger

Nikon bodies come with a Nikon charger.

If the batteries operate as they should after charging in a Nikon charger there is an extremely high probability there is an issue with the Watson charger.

If charged batteries using either charger work as normal in another camera body - there is a problem with one of the bodies.

 

[D3400]

Hey guys ... having an issue with the batteries in my D500, and hoping someone on here may have some answers ... I put what I think are fully-charged batteries into my D500, only to see the camera give me that "dead battery" icon ... doesn't matter if its a Nikon brand or third-party, new or older, in the camera itself or the vertical grip -- I get the same problem ... anybody run into this, and what did you do?

Happened to me last week. I charged the battery with original Nikon charger and put it back in my D500 and the camera gave me the "dead battery" message. I tested with other batteries and they works fine. So what I did was, I took the 'dead battery' out, let it rest for a day, then charge the battery again. After that it seems to be working normally again. I took around 100 shots after that and the battery life doesn't go down.

Not sure what causing this but will be testing the battery again this weekend.

 

[Leonard Shepherd]

Happened to me last week. I charged the battery with original Nikon charger and put it back in my D500 and the camera gave me the "dead battery" message. I tested with other batteries and they works fine. So what I did was, I took the 'dead battery' out, let it rest for a day, then charge the battery again. After that it seems to be working normally again.

Try carefully cleaning the contacts on the battery and in the charger.