Additional batteries. Do you have?

[Arvay]

Do you really need additional batteries?
How many?
Do you buy Leica's or some other ?

[tmfabian]

I've got 3 batteries (1 in the camera, 2 in the bag.)
Do I always need them...no, but it is nice to have them when I do.

[Roger Hicks]

One spare at least. That's always been enough for a day's shooting for me, if both are freshly charged when I set out. I'm thinking of getting another.

Does anyone other than Leica make 'em yet?

Cheers,

R.

[gfspencer]

I two. One in the camera and one in the bag. I'll probably buy a third.

[tbarker13]

I carry three for piece of mind. I've needed two on multiple occasions. Can't remember actually using the third one, though I do a lot of chimping.

There is a third-party maker that sells them. I've heard of some people using them successfully, but that's an area where I've chosen to stick with the brand.

[Arvay]

One spare at least. That's always been enough for a day's shooting for me, if both are freshly charged when I set out. I'm thinking of getting another.

Does anyone other than Leica make 'em yet?

Cheers,

R.

I found some on bay : http://cgi.ebay.com/za54-Battery-For-Leica-M8-14464-Digital-Camera_W0QQitemZ330257352528QQcmdZViewItem?hash=it em330257352528&_trkparms=72%3A392%7C39%3A1%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14.l1318
but really don't know is it possible to use them.
Anyway the price is very tasty

[sienarot]

Does anyone other than Leica make 'em yet?

I highly doubt Leica makes their own batteries ;)

[Jodorowsky]

I use a leica battery and two clones from China (ebay £5 for 2). All of the batteries work fine. Touch wood.

[Roger Hicks]

I highly doubt Leica makes their own batteries ;)

Dear Derrick,

Fair comment. What I meant was, I didn't know that they were available other than Leica-branded.

Some third-party batteries work fine; others don't.

Cheers,

R.

[tmfabian]

I highly doubt Leica makes their own batteries ;)
you're right
leica doesn't make their own batteries or the charger they come with, they're made by a german battery manufacturer...i forget their name, but someone on this forum knows....i recall them mentioning the company a few times before.

[jaapv]

Ansmann
I've got four Leica ones and four el-cheapo Chinese ones. One Chinese died and the Leica batteries are considerably better.

[Ben Z]

I've found that a battery (can only speak for the genuine Leica brand) lasts me almost through two 2GB SD cards. I do not use the LCD monitor for review after each shot, I have it turned off and only use it for changing settings (which I don't do often). I also have the camera set to go into sleep mode in a fairly short time, I believe 5 min. Since each 2 GB card takes around 180 DNGs (which is 5 rolls of 36-exp film), one fully-charged battey is plenty for me to go out in the morning. For me the second one is insurance.

So how many batteries you need depends on how you set the camera and how many shots you take in an average day.

[jaapv]

And for how long you are out of reach of a charging possibility....

[Gabriel M.A.]

I also have three: one in the camera, one in the bag, one ready at home.

I rotate one battery once, twice on a strange occasion, per week (when the one in the camera is spent, of course). Some weeks there's no rotation.

[JohnTF]

One spare at least. That's always been enough for a day's shooting for me, if both are freshly charged when I set out. I'm thinking of getting another.

Does anyone other than Leica make 'em yet?

Cheers,

R.

Roger, my super smart tech friend tells me if you can find a battery made in Japan, buy it. That said, I found some after market batteries reasonable, well, cheap, bundled them with a spare charger or two, and sent along my money to Hong Kong, and all arrived OK after a few weeks. As the company had about 250K sales, I did not expect much in the way of personal contact, but someone answered my question and combined the shipping. :angel:

Price difference might buy a CV lens, and the camera seems to like them.

As you well know, battery technology has taken a quantum leap in recent years, but as well, if one cell dies in a series set up, best you have a spare.

I do not know if the folks making them actually know how they will fare, I spent extra money, bought a US made battery for my portable phone, and it was bad in about a week.

I would be much more pissed if a hundred dollar Leica branded battery failed.

Someone in the tech media must be looking at these?

Regards, John

[Ben Z]

And for how long you are out of reach of a charging possibility....

Yes of course, I forgot that. The only time it happens to me is when there's a hurricane...and after the last one I bought a Honda generator. Of course with gas priced where it is now, maybe a stationary bike rigged to a generator might have been a better idea...although I can't imagine my wife reacting postively to being asked to man it. "The light is fading and my M8's battery is dead...Pedal faster sweetheart!" :D

[jaapv]

Come on, Benson, your wife is a game gal...:D
My problem is Africa. Although Leica thoughtfully provided a car cigar lighter connector, I find the Land Rovers used there either have the thing disconnected, or they are so old that they are 6 Volts, or positive earth.:o
So I need to be independent of electricity for two weeks at least.

[baycrest]

Got 2 Leica batteries and 2 batteries from the Hong Kong web site. At $10 each, I figured it was worth the try compared to the Leica OEM. The Hong Kong batteries are are longer lasting than the Leica's.

Best
Rob

[ChipNovaMac]

I've got 3 batteries (1 in the camera, 2 in the bag.)
Do I always need them...no, but it is nice to have them when I do.

I hear you.... not very happy with battery life so far with my M8.

I've found that a battery (can only speak for the genuine Leica brand) lasts me almost through two 2GB SD cards. I do not use the LCD monitor for review after each shot, I have it turned off and only use it for changing settings (which I don't do often). I also have the camera set to go into sleep mode in a fairly short time, I believe 5 min. Since each 2 GB card takes around 180 DNGs (which is 5 rolls of 36-exp film), one fully-charged battey is plenty for me to go out in the morning. For me the second one is insurance.

So how many batteries you need depends on how you set the camera and how many shots you take in an average day.

For the way I use the M8, I am getting just about one 2gb card before I get uneasy with the battery level.

Under normal conditions that one extra battery should be enough - but I am spoiled with my Nikons that give me at least 400+ before the low battery warning. Under normal shooting one would do just fine, but I know that there have been times that I have done 400+ plus shots in a VERY long day. I like having a cushion.

[tmfabian]

I hear you.... not very happy with battery life so far with my M8.



For the way I use the M8, I am getting just about one 2gb card before I get uneasy with the battery level.

Under normal conditions that one extra battery should be enough - but I am spoiled with my Nikons that give me at least 400+ before the low battery warning. Under normal shooting one would do just fine, but I know that there have been times that I have done 400+ plus shots in a VERY long day. I like having a cushion.

Really? Just one 2G card full? I get about 2 1/2 cards per battery. The first time I used the M8 i was ticked off because the first bar drops off pretty quick(i thought well this battery life blows) and the second bar stays on a wee bit longer but that last bar just stays on forever.

[ChipNovaMac]

Really? Just one 2G card full? I get about 2 1/2 cards per battery. The first time I used the M8 i was ticked off because the first bar drops off pretty quick(i thought well this battery life blows) and the second bar stays on a wee bit longer but that last bar just stays on forever.

Maybe Leica plays it more conservative....

For me my 3rd battery was a freebie from a customer of mine that lost his M8 in a theft (without insurance <yikes>) that gave me his spare battery that was lost...

But with my 3 batteries right now I can rest easy.... :) May have to test things out... and leave that huge charger at home now on a week long trip. :)

[jaapv]

I get over 400 shots from my Leica batteries, but no auto-review and I shoot DNG only. Computing time eats batteries, I find. Auto-turnoff enabled as well, of course.The Hong-Kong ones do about 250 shots.

[Roger Hicks]

Come on, Benson, your wife is a game gal...:D
My problem is Africa. Although Leica thoughtfully provided a car cigar lighter connector, I find the Land Rovers used there either have the thing disconnected, or they are so old that they are 6 Volts, or positive earth.:o
So I need to be independent of electricity for two weeks at least.

There's an easy way around this one. On the dash, to the left of the clocks, there are two little holes, one red-surrounded, one black. These are connected directly to the battery. They take standard banana pins or (if you can find one) a special adapter plug. They are more trouble to disconnect than they are worth.

Buy a cigarette lighter extension lead; cut off the bit that goes into the cigarette lighter socket (incidentally, I've never seen a cigarette lighter in a Land Rover); fit banana pins or the (reversible) plug; and you're away. This is how I run the cooler in my Land Rover to keep the film cool.

Alternatively, of course, put crocodile clips in place of the banana plugs/adapter plug; clip directly to the battery; charge overnight (I assume the bonnets have locks on them).

As far as I know -- and this is memory only, i.e. I have not checked it -- even the last Series 1 LRs were 12v, so any LR made in the last 50 years should be 12v. The oldest LR I have owned (1963) was 12v.

Cheers,

R.

[jaapv]

You have to see the wiring in African vehicles to believe it - yes those sockets - I know them. They are never connected. The only sure way to get electricity form these things is indeed to use crocodile clips as I believe they are called on the battery leads. After all, this is the way they are usually fired up too. That is why these clips last two days before they are pinched. And batteries - there is a bird that produces a descending series of whistles - it is known as the African Battery Bird.
One of the few guys I know that runs a decent vehicle (apart from the luxury camps that take the George Clooney crowd) is Chris McBride.
He has a pristine Landcruiser - and one of the first of the series 1....Several decades old

[Sam2nd]

I waited my second, the seller does not have.
I think a second batterie is necesary, al least for no to charger the first one always at half life

[RingoHung]

you hv got to have two. You can still shoot when another one is being charged...at least.

[DaveB]

I have 7 batteries: 2 Leica and 5 from that nice guy in China.

I spend as long as four weeks away from chargers and need enough to shoot up to 20 GB of DNG's.

Im my experience they've all functioned the same so far as I can tell.

[Philippe D.]

I bought a spare battery with my first M8.
I got two Leica and two no-name with the second-hand M8 i bought later.
That's make 3 batteries for each body.
I have the feeling, the no-name drain faster as the brand ones.