Battery indicator sohing low when using my new 24-105L

dave_bass5 · 14-09-2008, 10:43 PM

Hi.
Ive posted tihs on dpreview but thought i would get as much feed back as possible before.
Ive been a bit confused about this problem but have whittled it down it seems my new 24-105L is causing the battery indicator to jump to low within about 20-30 shots.

Thing is i have got at least 120 shots out of the battery after so im not sure if the battery is really low or its the indicator showing a miss reading.

No problems with my other lens (including my 17-55IS) so i dont think its an IS problem. I can normally get 500+ shots with my 17-55IS and also had a 70-200 f/4 IS that again never caused any issues.
Any thoughts?

Also, does anyone know what Kerso's returns system is. The lens is only a weeks old so i think i might try and get a replacement rather than send it to Canon. Any thoughts on this?
I'll email him tomorrow but just thought id ask now to see if anyone has any experience.

T0MAT01 · 15-09-2008, 8:12 AM

So, with a fully charged battery you get 20-30 shots before it says the battery is low and then you only get a further 120 before it's completly flat? That's not many shots. You are using the Canon original battery? It should manage 600+ shots as long as you're not using the pop up flash too much.

It could be a problem with the lens, but I would have thought that you would hear the IS gyros spinning constantly or something like that if it was. It could also be a battery or a charger problem. Do you know anyone local who has a camera you could try your battery in to check that's not at fault?

dave_bass5 · 15-09-2008, 8:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by T0MAT01

So, with a fully charged battery you get 20-30 shots before it says the battery is low and then you only get a further 120 before it's completly flat? That's not many shots. You are using the Canon original battery? It should manage 600+ shots as long as you're not using the pop up flash too much.

It could be a problem with the lens, but I would have thought that you would hear the IS gyros spinning constantly or something like that if it was. It could also be a battery or a charger problem. Do you know anyone local who has a camera you could try your battery in to check that's not at fault?

Almost. yes, fully charged im getting around 20-30 shots before the indicator changes (and only with this one lens) but so far the battery hasn't run out. Its still going since yesterday and ive now had about 140 shots with the indicator on low. Not using the pop up flash at all but IS is always on. I did have a listen and it sounds like its working ok. you can hear it start up when i half press the shutter and then it goes off after a few sec's.

Im using the battery that came with the camera but im going to buy a new one today or tomorrow (just need to find the cheapest place).

It could well be a charger or battery problem as it seemed to charge very quickly but i cant figure out why it would be just this lens causing it to behave like this.

richard plumb · 15-09-2008, 12:40 PM

its a known problem with either early 40Ds or early 24-105s. I think it was the 40D that needed updated firmware.

check out canon for latest firmware and see if it fixes it.

dave_bass5 · 15-09-2008, 12:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by richard plumb

its a known problem with either early 40Ds or early 24-105s. I think it was the 40D that needed updated firmware.

check out canon for latest firmware and see if it fixes it.

Thanks Richard but im already on 1.08 on my 40D and i checked the serial number on the lens and its not one of the early ones (i remember they had flare problems). Also my old copy was fine and this is almost two years later.

Do you have any links to this problem (or were you thinking of the Flare issue?)

dave_bass5 · 15-09-2008, 12:53 PM

Just noticed that the battery indicator is now flashing so it really has drained in just over 300 shots.
Two days ago i got 500+ from my 17-55IS so something is wrong. A new battery is on its way but im sure thats not the problem.

I've emailed Ian to get it swapped over, not sure what he will say though.

richard plumb · 15-09-2008, 1:40 PM

sorry, may have got it muddled up. Seems like it may have been a grip issue.

dave_bass5 · 15-09-2008, 1:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by richard plumb

sorry, may have got it muddled up. Seems like it may have been a grip issue.

No problem.
Ive spoke to Canon Tech support and they dont have a clue but are looking in to it for me and escalating the call.

Bugger.

Im really happy with the lens other than this. Focusing is spot on and i would say its better than my old copy.

jonnypb · 15-09-2008, 3:12 PM

Just got my 24-105 the other week from Ian as well. Haven't noticed any problems with it on my 40D yet but I'll fire off plenty of shots tonight. Think I'm on the latest firmware for the 40D

Seems strange though that your 17-55 has gone from 500+ shots to 300 before the battery is drained. Might be worth trying the battery before you send the lens back especially if you've got a sharp copy and the focus is spot on

I'd have thought he'd swap it as it's only a couple of weeks old if the battery doesn't solve the problem.

Hope it's sorted soon, lets us know the fix!

dave_bass5 · 15-09-2008, 3:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jonnypb

Just got my 24-105 the other week from Ian as well. Haven't noticed any problems with it on my 40D yet but I'll fire off plenty of shots tonight. Think I'm on the latest firmware for the 40D

Seems strange though that your 17-55 has gone from 500+ shots to 300 before the battery is drained. Might be worth trying the battery before you send the lens back especially if you've got a sharp copy and the focus is spot on

I'd have thought he'd swap it as it's only a couple of weeks old if the battery doesn't solve the problem.

Hope it's sorted soon, lets us know the fix!

Sorry, maybe it wasn't clear. I can still get 500+ shots with any of my lens's other than the 24-105L. In fact come to think of it i had about 40+ shots on my CF when i went out yesterday so i guess that's even less than what i had first thought i took with the 24-105L.

Still not heard from Ian but ill not pester him until i try the new battery tomorrow.

dave_bass5 · 16-09-2008, 1:00 PM

Right. A quick update.
New Battery arrived today. I put it on charge for about 15-20mins and it was showing full. That seems a bit quick to me and in a blind panic i ordered a new charger as well (that ill probably sell straight away).
Anyway, ive now taken 300 shots with the new battery/24-105L and the indicator is still showing full.

Only thing is im just sitting at work, focusing on something and holing the shutter down until the buffer fills up, giving it a bit of time and doing it again so while ive taken a lot more shots than i could get before im not really switching the IS on and off that much a si would during a day's shooting.

It looks promising but im still nervious. Its also interesting that if it is the battery then why did it go funny. One thought is i also got a grip a few weeks ago and while i noticed the level indicator drop to low once in that it was ok afterwards. maybe the grip has messed with the battery.

dave_bass5 · 16-09-2008, 3:03 PM

Just run the above test with the old battery and its giving me the same amount of shots (310) and the indicator is still showing full so i guess this is not an ideal test.