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Batterys only charging to ~30%
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mojoest View Drop Down
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Posts: 9 		Post Options Post Options   Quote mojoest Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: Batterys only charging to ~30%
    Posted: 14 January 2012 at 23:02
I've been finding that on weekends away my Sony battery doesn't always last the distance and so decided to get a spare. After seeing the price of official batteries I took the cheap option and went for a L12 eBay one. But it only seems to charge to about 30% before the charger stops charging and then the battery doesn't last very long, 50 shots maybe.

A few weeks later I saw a Duracell version on Amazon for L22 and thought, being a reputable company their batteries would be fine, but the same thing happens with this one. Meanwhile the official battery I have charges up to 100% and lasts much longer even though its now 3 years old!

I'm using then in an A65.

Is there a way to re calibrate the batteries, is it just the charger thinks they're full and if only it would keep charging they'd be fine? Or are they both duff?

I know the batteries can take a few charges to come to their best, but they've both had 3-4 charges now and things don't seem to be getting any better.

Any ideas?

Edited by mojoest - 14 January 2012 at 23:23
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mojoest View Drop Down
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Posts: 9 		Post Options Post Options   Quote mojoest Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 January 2012 at 23:11
hmm I dont think the message board understands pound (sterling) sings so when it has L12 and L22 thats 12 pounds and 22 pounds not battery types
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waleskeg View Drop Down
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Posts: 2186 		Post Options Post Options   Quote waleskeg Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 January 2012 at 23:17
High probability you got the Chinese imports known to be not very good.
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WestCoast View Drop Down
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Posts: 596 		Post Options Post Options   Quote WestCoast Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 January 2012 at 23:24
I believe you have to prime a new battery. This means you should use it till it’s totally exhausted and at 0, then you need to charge it to the max and about 1hour longer after the light goes out. This should maximise it.
I have done this with my non Sony spare and it works just as good.
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waleskeg View Drop Down
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Posts: 2186 		Post Options Post Options   Quote waleskeg Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 January 2012 at 00:13
Originally posted by WestCoast WestCoast wrote:

I believe you have to prime a new battery. This means you should use it till it’s totally exhausted and at 0, then you need to charge it to the max and about 1hour longer after the light goes out. This should maximise it.
I have done this with my non Sony spare and it works just as good.


Never knew that one, learn something new every day here on Dyxum.
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stiuskr View Drop Down
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Posts: 7492 		Post Options Post Options   Quote stiuskr Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 January 2012 at 02:51
New batteries do need a few discharge/charge cycles to reach max performance but that's not going to help with counterfeit batteries.
Rob Suits Jr.
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Bob Maddison View Drop Down
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Posts: 438 		Post Options Post Options   Quote Bob Maddison Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 January 2012 at 08:53
Originally posted by WestCoast WestCoast wrote:

I believe you have to prime a new battery. This means you should use it till it’s totally exhausted and at 0, then you need to charge it to the max and about 1hour longer after the light goes out. This should maximise it.


You should NOT discharge the battery fully if you can possibly avoid it. This can lead to the reverse charging of one cell, destroying it. Most cameras will not allow you to do so.
However, a NEW battery MUST be fully charged before you attempt to use it. It contains only a small residual charge and if you use it "out of the box", you can cause irreversible damage.
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russellsbags View Drop Down
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Posts: 1930 		Post Options Post Options   Quote russellsbags Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 January 2012 at 10:02
The first thing I always do with a new battery is charge it right up and beyond as described by WestCoast. I tend to leave them charging overnight. This has never damaged any batteries I own and I also have never had any problems and they seem to last way beyond the recommended no of shots but I guess that's because they use lots of flash and all sorts when testing. I also remove and recharge them when they are between 5-10% and also rotate them so they all get even use.

I have 6 official Sony NP-FM500H and one official Sony NP-FW50 for my NEX 5 and one copy bought as a present from 7dayshop and have never had any such problems you've described. I also have a copy from 7dayshop for my Canon video camera and can recommend them 100%.

That said I'm always reluctant to use non original batteries in my precious kit and wouldn't dream of putting one in my A77. I'm pretty sure if it did damage the camera the warranty would be void as I'm guessing Sony may be able to tell, but I'm willing to be corrected. These batteries do have chips in them so I'm guessing it would be easy to store a record somewhere within the camera.

I'm guessing there is something wrong with both of your batteries and if it was me I'd return them both if it's still early days and make sure you charge the new ones fully before use.
John.

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Bob J View Drop Down
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Posts: 15471 		Post Options Post Options   Quote Bob J Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 January 2012 at 10:46
I've also used the 7 Day Shop variants and have never had any problems.
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