NZ90 camera and the battery

[zuheir]

I saw a long thread concerning date codes on batteries and how they performed with the use of the camera but didn't see any closure on the issue. Any one knows the outcome. I have the same problem with my new NZ90, no feedback from Sony yet.

[kbxrx1]

every search you will ever find, about pics and flash will show the same results, the NZ battery SUCKS!

Buy a AA adapter from ebay, they are 5.00 and you can run forever on it. I looked into buying a spare bp500 or 2, whats the point? 100.00 buys a helluvalot of AA, even NIMH AA are cheaper.

[tonyreynolds]

every search you will ever find, about pics and flash will show the same results, the NZ battery SUCKS!

Buy a AA adapter from ebay, they are 5.00 and you can run forever on it. I looked into buying a spare bp500 or 2, whats the point? 100.00 buys a helluvalot of AA, even NIMH AA are cheaper.

The NZ battery actually works quite well. The problem is the Smart Lithium battery interface. A "dumb" battery would have been better. The NZ is STILL the only (I believe...) Palm OS unit that has a user-replaceable battery. I have 4. They can be had for anywhere from $25-$60 on eBay OR, from www.laptopbatteries.com. (A third-party unit; NOT Sony OEM.)

The problem (as has been note ad nauseum), is that the NZ camera circuity needs to charge the capacitor that fires the flash. This is the reason for the intitial draw-down on power. The work-around is to manually turn the flash OFF, so it doesn't fire. Most of the time it's not needed anyway, as the range is quite short.

The NZ camera is FABULOUS for what it is: it is the BEST PDA camera of ANY PDA past or present. The settings, flash and quality are all there. The only problem is the battery draw, but as noted, there are work-arounds for that.

I use my NZ camera ALL THE TIME to document things for business. It's a nice to have when my better Minolta digicam is unavailable. I can vary the flash intensity, as well as the white balance, etc. I also find that in MOST low-light situations, if I can brace the NZ, I can get much better available-light images than I can using the flash...

Tony

[jwnorris]

Is ther some way to have the flash off when you launch the camera? That way you wouldn't charge the flash, as it seems to draw the battery down even if you have turned the flash off after launching the camera application.


<snip>
The work-around is to manually turn the flash OFF, so it doesn't fire. Most of the time it's not needed anyway, as the range is quite short.
<snip>
Tony

[tonyreynolds]

Is ther some way to have the flash off when you launch the camera? That way you wouldn't charge the flash, as it seems to draw the battery down even if you have turned the flash off after launching the camera application.

That would be a good idea, but I haven't figured it out...

TR

[PBM808]

That would be a good idea, but I haven't figured it out...

TR

the solution is quite obvious . . . . first, open the camera, then turn off the flash, then go into settings (wrench icon) and then tap "save setting" that will keep every setting you have at that moment, and it will open as that next time you go into camera. ;)

[bobele]

the solution is quite obvious . . . . first, open the camera, then turn off the flash, then go into settings (wrench icon) and then tap "save setting" that will keep every setting you have at that moment, and it will open as that next time you go into camera. ;)

Thats correct. You just did forget to mention that this does NOT affect the behaviour of the battery in any way...
:)

[WirelessAndy]

Thats correct. You just did forget to mention that this does NOT affect the behaviour of the battery in any way...
:)

...but does it at least prevent the flash from recharging every time the camera is launched?

[tonyreynolds]

Thats correct. You just did forget to mention that this does NOT affect the behaviour of the battery in any way...
:)

This is not true according to my test...

I did as noted above, changed the flash setting to "off" and then saved it in that state. I charged the unit in the cradle 'til it was 100%, then opened the lens and turned the camera on.

No immediate battery drain as before and even after several shots the battery indicator still read 90%.

I'm happy :)

Tony

[WirelessAndy]

Thanks Tony,

Next month, I'll be starting at a new job where I've learned I'll be issued a new PDA... a new-in-box NZ90!

I'm attempting to learn as much as possible beforehand. (I've already got that external AA pack from eBay, just in case) and a second Sony OEM battery on it's way.

Thanks for the flash/battery/camera tip.

[bobele]

This is not true according to my test...

I did as noted above, changed the flash setting to "off" and then saved it in that state. I charged the unit in the cradle 'til it was 100%, then opened the lens and turned the camera on.

No immediate battery drain as before and even after several shots the battery indicator still read 90%.

I'm happy :)

Tony

This is a very interesting test, as I was not able to reproduce it with three different NZ90s and several batteries. When the camera appliation is started, the battery indicator drops for about 35-40%, flash enabled or not.

The best hint to you being wrong is the movie-recorder. It does not use the flash in any way, but also brings down the battery extremely while running. You will mostly not be able to record movies longer than 5 minutes before the camera shuts down.

Try again, please.

[PBM808]

i can vouch for tony's results. i have the drop down to 90% assumingly due to the power needed to function the real-time lcd viewfinder. after a picture, it does drop down to 70% range but does return to 90% eventually. i am using a factory battery, the only one i have, that came with the NZ.