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Leaf Aptus 5 II advice

danlindberg

Well-known member
I bought my fat pixel back new 10 years ago and it has worked perfect for the 5500 exposures I have done. I love the rendering and colours. It needs light with native iso25 and not playing well with either longer exposure times or higher iso - but this is fine, I simply use it in conditions where it shines.

However, I print large (standard size 140 x 100 cm) and then my other back, Credo 60, is the better choice. Although, I will admit that in certain light and conditions, the Aptus has a better 'feel'.

Anyway, as it happens, the Aptus has been in my safe untouched for a couple of years. Today I quite suddenly thought of it and wanted to give it a spin! I charged the batteries and thought I take a few test shots at home before leaving.

Nope. It did not want to play. It started, but froze. Battery off, then started again and I could format the card. Trying to expose it but froze. Battery off. Next time couldn't format. Battery off. Yes, started, factory reset and format. After exposure it showed a corrupt file on display. Switched it off and then on again, format card, another corrupt file. Next exposure it froze......
....and on and on. I have tried switching it on and off atleast 40 times but it wont play.

I know for a fact that when I left it in the safe a couple of years ago it worked perfect, so what can happen when it just sits?

Any suggestions for me to try? Unfortunately I have read a few horror stories about the 'fix' is more expensive than the value.

I know it is ten years ago I bought it but I did pay 'full' price at €9000 and with only 5500 exposures it would be sad to use it as a doorstop. I even thought I investigate if it would be possible to convert it into an achromatic....but now I guess I would be lucky only to get it working.
 

yaya

Active member
Hi Dan,

My guess would be dead/ unstable batteries and (possibly) a CF card that is not compatible with the older UDMA protocol...suggest you look at these two areas...

BR

Yair
 

danlindberg

Well-known member
Hi Yair, (long time - hope everything is well)

Thanks for the tips.

Do you mean the external battery? It charged fine and it says on the display that it was fully charged.

I have used only two CF cards for its entire life and it is true that one of them refuses to be formatted now while the other will. So I have tried with the one that formats.

Should I buy a new one to try?
 

RobbieAB

Member
Hi Yair, (long time - hope everything is well)

Thanks for the tips.

Do you mean the external battery? It charged fine and it says on the display that it was fully charged.

I have used only two CF cards for its entire life and it is true that one of them refuses to be formatted now while the other will. So I have tried with the one that formats.

Should I buy a new one to try?
Do you have any other cameras that use CF cards? If so, you have nothing to loose trying a new one. Assuming the camera implements the various specs correctly, if the card and camera can't agree on a mutually compatible UDMA mode, it should just fall back to very slow mode.

If the batteries you are using are 10 years old, and have spent several years just sitting, it's definitely worth trying a new, or at least known good, battery.
 

Boinger

Active member
It does not matter if the camera can turn on if the battery is 10 years old.

It's likely that it cannot hold any significant charge.

Do you have a DMM or a MM?

You can test the voltage after charging the battery and after putting it in the camera and turning it on test the voltage again. Should give you an answer.

Secondly if the battery is not producing enough volts. From the get go it may have enough charge to get the camera working but not enough sustained voltage to keep it running.

Sounds like a battery issue to me personally.

Batteries do not last forever I notice significant degradation in all my batteries in various tech I have even after 1 year of use.

It also does not matter if the battery has been relatively unused. Age is not kind to the chemicals inside. It is one of the reasons why alkaline batteries are preferred for emergency gear vs rechargeable. They can hold a charge much longer.
 

danlindberg

Well-known member
I hear you regarding old batteries! That would be really great if it is that simple!! I just find a little strange that the back actually indicates 'full' and I have gone through the menus and switched it on and off like crazy and it only 'just' moved one dot less on the display. And the fan goes on and sounds like it is going strong.
My Credo has a different battery so I can't test those...
 

Boinger

Active member
I hear you regarding old batteries! That would be really great if it is that simple!! I just find a little strange that the back actually indicates 'full' and I have gone through the menus and switched it on and off like crazy and it only 'just' moved one dot less on the display. And the fan goes on and sounds like it is going strong.
My Credo has a different battery so I can't test those...
Well that's why I asked if you had a DMM

See the battery can be operating and have capacity. But if it is operating at a lower voltage it will cause issues.

I don't know what voltage those batteries operate at.

But basically what can be happening is if the minimum operational voltage is 8v. And the battery's normal capacity is lets say 8.4V then as you use it voltage will drop to 8.35 - 8.3

But if your battery is "charging to its peak" but due to its age the voltage may be dropping to 7.9V lets say the camera can still work but it can be quirky.

Power is very important to all electronics. For example I can't tell you how many people's computers I have fixed with constant instability and crashes simply by changing the power supply, and after they were rock solid stable. If the power supply is supplying poor quality voltage the computer can still work but cause issues. Voltage swings / instability is the source of most problems in all electronics.

These backs are nothing more than small computers. So I would think voltage is very imp. Do you have a DC power adapter you can try with? or a Firewire cable with no battery?

If you can tether it to a computer with a firewire cable you can at least see if it turns on and works properly (don't really need to tether it) We are just using it as a power source.

I build my own amplifiers for audio. And I can't tell you how much I struggle sometimes just building a good power supply unit.
 

bensonga

Well-known member
I hear you regarding old batteries! That would be really great if it is that simple!! I just find a little strange that the back actually indicates 'full' and I have gone through the menus and switched it on and off like crazy and it only 'just' moved one dot less on the display. And the fan goes on and sounds like it is going strong.
My Credo has a different battery so I can't test those...
I had a somewhat similar issue with a Nikon D1x which I bought recently (used of course). The battery indicated it was "Full", but I could only take 2-3 shots before it was exhausted. I ran it through the Nikon charger battery re-conditioning cycle 3 times (as recommended), but had the same result. I bought a new battery and all is well.

I think getting a new battery should be your first step. I hope that does the trick. The Aptus II 5 (same as mine) is certainly a fat pixel digital back worth keeping alive and well for as long as possible. I can only hope that there is at least one company which continues to make batteries in the future for these older cameras and digital backs....

Gary
 

GrahamWelland

Subscriber & Workshop Member
I would say battery issues. If internal I can send you a link to how to replace as I’ve done this several times including for Ben.

External batteries are standard Sony or canon unlike my Rollei.
 

med

Active member
Can you fire up the back tethered with a proper FireWire cable (with a powered hub if from a laptop)? That should rule out or confirm battery issues...
 

danlindberg

Well-known member
Thanks guys for the input! I will try and find either a firewire hub or a new fresh battery! It actually holds the date so I suppose the internal battery is ok!

I'll let you know what happens....
 

SteveG

New member
Thanks guys for the input! I will try and find either a firewire hub or a new fresh battery! It actually holds the date so I suppose the internal battery is ok!

I'll let you know what happens....
Dan,

In a prior life, I sold many Aptus backs and if memory serves, the Aptus II series came with a small Firewire to DC adapter that allowed you to plug the battery charger power supply into the DB for powering via the firewire port on the bottom. See if you can locate your adapter and give it a try, it eliminates the need for a powered FW hub for this test.

-Steve
 

danlindberg

Well-known member
Unfortunately a firewire to DC adaptor never came with my package.

I have ordered a replacement battery, so now it is just a question of waiting around a week and then hope it works nicely :toocool:
 

photomassimo

New member
Dan,

In a prior life, I sold many Aptus backs and if memory serves, the Aptus II series came with a small Firewire to DC adapter that allowed you to plug the battery charger power supply into the DB for powering via the firewire port on the bottom. See if you can locate your adapter and give it a try, it eliminates the need for a powered FW hub for this test.

-Steve
Hi Steve, do you know what is the name of this firewire to dc adapter?
I have an Aptus 12II and i really hate the repeater.
Thank you
Massimo
 

Steve Hendrix

Well-known member
I am actually looking to power the back with some kind of ac adaptor
While is tethered, trying to get rid of the FireWire repeater. Not sure if this is possible.

Thank you
Massimo

You could do this with a Phase One IQ digital back, with the separate firewire and USB ports, but not with a leaf DM-22 and its single firewire port, which is the only option for tethering and for ac powering, but not both at the same time.


Steve Hendrix/CI
 

photomassimo

New member
You could do this with a Phase One IQ digital back, with the separate firewire and USB ports, but not with a leaf DM-22 and its single firewire port, which is the only option for tethering and for ac powering, but not both at the same time.


Steve Hendrix/CI
Thank you Steve, trying bypass the FireWire repeater, sometimes the back doesn’t get much power and disconnects but works fine when the battery is on and is not tethered.
Massimo
 

photomassimo

New member
You could do this with a Phase One IQ digital back, with the separate firewire and USB ports, but not with a leaf DM-22 and its single firewire port, which is the only option for tethering and for ac powering, but not both at the same time.


Steve Hendrix/CI
Hi Steve one last question.
My digital back works tethered but after few minutes of inactivity it stops working and the fan too.
Looks like it times out.
This back fell and we fix it but now i am wondering if i can do more.
We attached the display wire that was gone and changed the battery but i didn't look into the firewire.
I am using an old iMac with a firewire port and UNIbrain repeater and the original Leaf cable L shape.
If you have any idea please let me know, this back is not worth to have it repair by Phase, too expensive.
Thank you
Massimo
 
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