Pxr _ Iraq

Arkady · 18-12-2005, 23:25

Just to keep you all up to date.
The new D2x bodies both worked very well, coping with the dust and crap and general knocking about. One body now looks considerably scuffed due to being bounced against my 9mm pistol until I moved the holster round to the other side of my belt.
Battery life is still an amazing improvement over the D1-series batteries. I watched one photographer run out of juice at al-Hillah and amost cried in disgust. He hadn't conditioned the batteries, I think, as mine never went down as quickly as his did. I asked him if he'd refreshed them recently and he didn't have a clue what I was talking about.
You'd think people would know about the kit they use, wouldn't you?

Once again, the 1Gb cards I have been issued proved too small for the job (shooting RAW-NEF) and I had to use my back-up Lexar 512 cards on several occasions as the Sandisk ones were downloading to my Smartdisk ImageMate too slowly (10-12 minutes for the whole 1Gb card) - that's the fault of the HD: USB1 technology, not the cards, which are fine.
We're suggesting a minimum card size of 2Gb, preferably 4Gb for safety's sake.

My older-model 70-200mm came unglued - the two screws at the fat end came loose and the whole assembly started wobbling until I tightened them up with a Leatherman. 18 months since the last service, so i can't complain. Rather than take it back to Nikon, I'll get the Loc-Tite out tomorrow as all of my lenses are due for repalcement shortly.

My Lowe dri-zone failed on me - the waterproof zip seperated and proved impossible to fix without major clobbering - if you fill the bag one iota over capacity, the waterproof zip wont close properly, rendering the whole thing pointless.
We're waiting for word on the upgrades we've suggested and I'll keep you informed of how that goes.

**stepheno** · 19-12-2005, 07:05

Thanks for the update Arkady. Interesting reading - stay well.

regards

SammyC · 19-12-2005, 08:50

Excellent!

So are you getting replacements for your ImageMate?

Arkady · 19-12-2005, 09:00

Yes, well be getting the new Smartdisk Imagemate, whatever-it-is with faster transfer speeds and USB2/firewire connectivity. Also does a 'beep' to let you know the transfer of data is complete, which my current one doesn't (you have to keep peering at a very dim LED to see how it's going).

***Dave*** · 19-12-2005, 10:08

Manufacturers can't ask for a harsher environment for testing than you encounter Rob

Matty · 19-12-2005, 10:12

Interesting reading Rob, certainly is a harsh testbed!

Joe T · 19-12-2005, 18:42

Cheers for the update.

Mr THX · 19-12-2005, 22:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arkady

He hadn't conditioned the batteries, I think, as mine never went down as quickly as his did. .

What does this entail then Rob ??

CT · 20-12-2005, 00:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr THX

What does this entail then Rob ??

Some battery chargers have a facility when charging batteries to condition them before you start charging. I think it's just the equivalent of fully discharging the battery before you begin charging again to eliminate the 'memory' which batteries can develop where they're only able to to take in a certain charge - due to not being fully discharged before charging on a regular basis.

It's not something you need to do every time you charge a battery, but doing it at regular intervals keeps the battery in tip top condition. The ID and 1DS has this facility and obviously Rob's D2X does too.

Conditioning a full charged battery on the 1D (not that I can imagine why you'd want to) can take up to eight hours!

Arkady · 20-12-2005, 08:58

Nikon battery chargers have a 'refresh' button that fully discharges then charges the battery, thus putting it back to optimum. Even though they always said Li-Ion batts didn't get a 'memory' it was plain that they did and this was the way Nikon got around the problem as it effectively 'wipes' the memory. We discovered that you could successfully 'refresh' a battery about twenty times over the course of it's life (about three years in continuous use) before it became useless and had to be disposed of.

The new D2X batteries seem to have an almost infinite charge in them - akin to 'hollywood' ammo mags in old war movies - or the A-Team... they just never run out.

Before use it's wise to 'condition' the battery for about 18 hours - stick it on charge and just leave it charging despite what the LEDs tell you - same as for a mobile phone battery, in fact. Then it'll always take a full charge even when it needs a 'trickle' to top it up.

Warspite · 20-12-2005, 11:38

True regarding Li-Ion, have to tell people to do the same with their laptops, otherwise they will plug their portables in even if they are only there for 10mins and the laptops already fully charged. Best way to use NiCad and LiIon is fully charge, run down, fully charge, will give the battery the longest life and also a longer lasting charge.
(However it is not recommended that you run LiIon batteries down and leave them for any extended period of time without any charge at all).

fingerz · 20-12-2005, 13:10

Can you buy chargers for Canon batteries that will let you fully discharge them before charging?

Running them all the way down in the camera is annoying and risks having no charge when you need to take a shot.

CT · 20-12-2005, 14:00

If you can get one Jamey I suspect it will be a non -Canon offering.

The ID comes with a refresher/charger as standard for the NimH battery, whereas the Li-ion batteries in the 20D aren't supposed to be prone to the memory problem. I'm still impressed with the 2OD battery life, and one of the things I like about the 20D is I can stick the battery on charge any time for a quick top up. How they stand up in the long term remains to be seen.

There's also a huge difference in replacement cost, with a 1D battery costing over 90 quid.

fingerz · 20-12-2005, 14:09

Yeah. I 'm pretty happy with the 20D's battery life so I guess it doesn't really matter. And I can get batteries for about £11 so really... With prices like those the environment can **** right off

CT · 20-12-2005, 14:16

With a battery grip and 2 batteries in the 20D, you're pretty fire proof. I can still run the camera on one battery while the other is charging.

dod · 20-12-2005, 14:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by CT

How they stand up in the long term remains to be seen.

I've had two non canon batteries for the 20 and both are now in a state where they might give about 100 shots at a push. I've replaced them with genuine Canon items as I got caught out once because of it.

fingerz · 20-12-2005, 14:40

How long did they last before you started to notice their performance decreasing?

Was it still worth the money saved?

18-12-2005, 23:25	#1 (permalink)
Arkady Forum Regular Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Aldershot, Hampshire Posts: 1,198	Pxr _ Iraq Just to keep you all up to date. The new D2x bodies both worked very well, coping with the dust and crap and general knocking about. One body now looks considerably scuffed due to being bounced against my 9mm pistol until I moved the holster round to the other side of my belt. Battery life is still an amazing improvement over the D1-series batteries. I watched one photographer run out of juice at al-Hillah and amost cried in disgust. He hadn't conditioned the batteries, I think, as mine never went down as quickly as his did. I asked him if he'd refreshed them recently and he didn't have a clue what I was talking about. You'd think people would know about the kit they use, wouldn't you? Once again, the 1Gb cards I have been issued proved too small for the job (shooting RAW-NEF) and I had to use my back-up Lexar 512 cards on several occasions as the Sandisk ones were downloading to my Smartdisk ImageMate too slowly (10-12 minutes for the whole 1Gb card) - that's the fault of the HD: USB1 technology, not the cards, which are fine. We're suggesting a minimum card size of 2Gb, preferably 4Gb for safety's sake. My older-model 70-200mm came unglued - the two screws at the fat end came loose and the whole assembly started wobbling until I tightened them up with a Leatherman. 18 months since the last service, so i can't complain. Rather than take it back to Nikon, I'll get the Loc-Tite out tomorrow as all of my lenses are due for repalcement shortly. My Lowe dri-zone failed on me - the waterproof zip seperated and proved impossible to fix without major clobbering - if you fill the bag one iota over capacity, the waterproof zip wont close properly, rendering the whole thing pointless. We're waiting for word on the upgrades we've suggested and I'll keep you informed of how that goes. __________________ "When I hold a camera, I Know no fear..." Alfred Eisenstadt Nikon D2x Bodies x2 14mm f/2.8 Sigma; 17-24mm f/2.8 Nikkor; 28-80mm f/2.8 Nikkor; 24-85mm f/2.8-4 Nikkor; 80-200mm f/2.8 Nikkor; 300mm f/2.8 Nikkor; 600mm f/4 Nikkor SB-800 Flash x2

19-12-2005, 10:08	#5 (permalink)
*Dave* Pixalo Crew Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 15,615	Manufacturers can't ask for a harsher environment for testing than you encounter Rob Last edited by Dave : 19-12-2005 at 19:03.

19-12-2005, 07:05	#2 (permalink)
stepheno Pixalo Crew Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 6,844	Thanks for the update Arkady. Interesting reading - stay well. regards

19-12-2005, 08:50	#3 (permalink)
SammyC Forum Regular Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Bristol Posts: 1,466	Excellent! So are you getting replacements for your ImageMate?

19-12-2005, 09:00	#4 (permalink)
Arkady Forum Regular Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Aldershot, Hampshire Posts: 1,198	Yes, well be getting the new Smartdisk Imagemate, whatever-it-is with faster transfer speeds and USB2/firewire connectivity. Also does a 'beep' to let you know the transfer of data is complete, which my current one doesn't (you have to keep peering at a very dim LED to see how it's going).

19-12-2005, 10:12	#6 (permalink)
Matty Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: kings hill Posts: 5,269	Interesting reading Rob, certainly is a harsh testbed!

19-12-2005, 18:42	#7 (permalink)
Joe T Forum Regular Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Amersham, Bucks Posts: 978	Cheers for the update.

20-12-2005, 08:58	#10 (permalink)
Arkady Forum Regular Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Aldershot, Hampshire Posts: 1,198	Nikon battery chargers have a 'refresh' button that fully discharges then charges the battery, thus putting it back to optimum. Even though they always said Li-Ion batts didn't get a 'memory' it was plain that they did and this was the way Nikon got around the problem as it effectively 'wipes' the memory. We discovered that you could successfully 'refresh' a battery about twenty times over the course of it's life (about three years in continuous use) before it became useless and had to be disposed of. The new D2X batteries seem to have an almost infinite charge in them - akin to 'hollywood' ammo mags in old war movies - or the A-Team... they just never run out. Before use it's wise to 'condition' the battery for about 18 hours - stick it on charge and just leave it charging despite what the LEDs tell you - same as for a mobile phone battery, in fact. Then it'll always take a full charge even when it needs a 'trickle' to top it up.

20-12-2005, 11:38	#11 (permalink)
Warspite Feet under the table Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Newcastle Sunderland Middlesbrough (UK) Posts: 1,736	True regarding Li-Ion, have to tell people to do the same with their laptops, otherwise they will plug their portables in even if they are only there for 10mins and the laptops already fully charged. Best way to use NiCad and LiIon is fully charge, run down, fully charge, will give the battery the longest life and also a longer lasting charge. (However it is not recommended that you run LiIon batteries down and leave them for any extended period of time without any charge at all).

20-12-2005, 13:10	#12 (permalink)
fingerz Forum Regular Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 790	Can you buy chargers for Canon batteries that will let you fully discharge them before charging? Running them all the way down in the camera is annoying and risks having no charge when you need to take a shot.

20-12-2005, 14:00	#13 (permalink)
CT Feet under the table Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: West Mids UK Posts: 3,500	If you can get one Jamey I suspect it will be a non -Canon offering. The ID comes with a refresher/charger as standard for the NimH battery, whereas the Li-ion batteries in the 20D aren't supposed to be prone to the memory problem. I'm still impressed with the 2OD battery life, and one of the things I like about the 20D is I can stick the battery on charge any time for a quick top up. How they stand up in the long term remains to be seen. There's also a huge difference in replacement cost, with a 1D battery costing over 90 quid.

20-12-2005, 14:09	#14 (permalink)
fingerz Forum Regular Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 790	Yeah. I 'm pretty happy with the 20D's battery life so I guess it doesn't really matter. And I can get batteries for about £11 so really... With prices like those the environment can **** right off

20-12-2005, 14:16	#15 (permalink)
CT Feet under the table Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: West Mids UK Posts: 3,500	With a battery grip and 2 batteries in the 20D, you're pretty fire proof. I can still run the camera on one battery while the other is charging.

20-12-2005, 14:40	#17 (permalink)
fingerz Forum Regular Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 790	How long did they last before you started to notice their performance decreasing? Was it still worth the money saved?

20-12-2005, 14:48	#18 (permalink)
dod Feet under the table Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Nairn Posts: 1,911