S
sarangiman
Guest
I recently bought a Phase One 645AF (Mamiya AFD III) from Capture Integration.
I use a HM401 film back with it.
I noticed from the beginning that battery life was dismal. Often a set of newly charged AA batteries (2400mAH Maha Imedions or 2700mAH Maha Powerexes) would only power a few rolls. In the cold weather, often the camera would die after one roll. When left *off*, the batteries would be dead within 2 days.
So I did some testing with my multimeter. I put my ammeter in series with my Phase One 645AF + batteries & found a 27mA continuous draw when the film back is in place. 0mA draw when the film back is detached. Removing the battery from the film back has no effect.
27mA! That's crazy! Assuming linearity, if you have a set of 2700mA-hrs AA batteries in there (pretty much the highest capacity AA you can find), that means they'd all be *fully* drained in 100 hours! Half-drained in 50 hours (2 days)! And since half-drain is enough to lower the voltage so as to fall well below 9v, it's no surprise that my camera dies within a day or two even when off!
I hear tons of mixed reports -- some people reporting similar issues, others reporting no issues when batteries are left in there for months, even with the film back on.
Could people report back with their experiences? I find it hard to believe that a company would release a Mark III version of a product that has a continuous drain of 27mA!
If anyone else wants to try with their body, all you have to do is connect a multimeter in current mode in series; i.e., connect a wire from the + terminal in camera to + terminal on battery holder (top of exposed AA battery), then connect - terminal on battery holder (bottom of exposed AA battery) to + terminal on multimeter, then connect - terminal on multimeter to - terminal in camera (alligator clips or leads do the trick just fine). Leave camera in 'locked' position.
Cheers,
Rishi
I use a HM401 film back with it.
I noticed from the beginning that battery life was dismal. Often a set of newly charged AA batteries (2400mAH Maha Imedions or 2700mAH Maha Powerexes) would only power a few rolls. In the cold weather, often the camera would die after one roll. When left *off*, the batteries would be dead within 2 days.
So I did some testing with my multimeter. I put my ammeter in series with my Phase One 645AF + batteries & found a 27mA continuous draw when the film back is in place. 0mA draw when the film back is detached. Removing the battery from the film back has no effect.
27mA! That's crazy! Assuming linearity, if you have a set of 2700mA-hrs AA batteries in there (pretty much the highest capacity AA you can find), that means they'd all be *fully* drained in 100 hours! Half-drained in 50 hours (2 days)! And since half-drain is enough to lower the voltage so as to fall well below 9v, it's no surprise that my camera dies within a day or two even when off!
I hear tons of mixed reports -- some people reporting similar issues, others reporting no issues when batteries are left in there for months, even with the film back on.
Could people report back with their experiences? I find it hard to believe that a company would release a Mark III version of a product that has a continuous drain of 27mA!
If anyone else wants to try with their body, all you have to do is connect a multimeter in current mode in series; i.e., connect a wire from the + terminal in camera to + terminal on battery holder (top of exposed AA battery), then connect - terminal on battery holder (bottom of exposed AA battery) to + terminal on multimeter, then connect - terminal on multimeter to - terminal in camera (alligator clips or leads do the trick just fine). Leave camera in 'locked' position.
Cheers,
Rishi