Bad New 1V or Battery?

Theo Sulphate · Mar 27, 2016

Apparently it's not an uncommon problem,

(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

Easy but annoying thing way to prolong battery life is to remove it from the camera whenever you're not going to be using it.

RattyMouse · Mar 27, 2016

I made a very interesting discovery with my EOS 1V today. I shot a few images with my 85L and then slapped on the good ol' 50mm f/1.8 II lens. Guess what? Full battery strength!! I shot the whole day with the 50mm lens on and at no time did the battery gauge read less than maximum strength.

I'm not sure why this would be, but my guess is that the camera is OK.

Would everyone else agree with this?

By the way, I have had this 85L for about 10 years and it has never acted up at all.

Dr Croubie · Mar 27, 2016

RattyMouse said:
I made a very interesting discovery with my EOS 1V today. I shot a few images with my 85L and then slapped on the good ol' 50mm f/1.8 II lens. Guess what? Full battery strength!! I shot the whole day with the 50mm lens on and at no time did the battery gauge read less than maximum strength.

I'm not sure why this would be, but my guess is that the camera is OK.

Would everyone else agree with this?

By the way, I have had this 85L for about 10 years and it has never acted up at all.

Is that the original 85L? I seem to remember that that one had the 'focus-by-wire', which may be presenting a bit of a constant-load to the battery and draining it enough to fall a few bars (much like my 40/2.8 has the STM motor which also weren't around in the film days)

RattyMouse · Mar 27, 2016

Dr Croubie said:
Is that the original 85L? I seem to remember that that one had the 'focus-by-wire', which may be presenting a bit of a constant-load to the battery and draining it enough to fall a few bars (much like my 40/2.8 has the STM motor which also weren't around in the film days)

No, it's an 85L II, but that one was focus by wire as well.

McFortner · Mar 27, 2016

MattKing said:
Carefully clean the battery contacts.

You may have some oxidation on the battery terminals. There is a product called DeoxIT that removes oxidation from electrical contacts. You can get it online or from most guitar stores. For cameras, I would soak the end of a Q-Tip with it and wipe it across the terminals, then let it dry. I've had several cameras that I have had to do this to because of cameras stored with batteries for a long time that got some oxidation and corrosion on them it it helps.

Theo Sulphate · Mar 28, 2016

Not too surprising - in the APUG link of my earlier post several people mentioned that they thought the camera "monitored" the lens, even when switched off.

EdSawyer · Mar 28, 2016

I was going to suggest trying a different lens. The 85L is a bit of a current hog, it has a lot of glass to move around, and the biggest USM motor is used in it. I would think the camera is probably fine. But as mentioned, the E1 grip/power booster is a good choice for powering these, esp. with the rechargable NP-E2 battery packs. 2CR5 on any camera with the 85L is going to be less battery grunt than ideal, IMNSHO.

flatulent1 · Mar 30, 2016

MattKing said:
Are you using a 2CR5 battery, or are you using the battery pack BP-E1?

The Canon Camera Museum site states that AA lithium cannot be used in the BP-E1.

Well, that may simply mean that they don't know, couldn't be bothered to fully test the combination, and want to disclaim liability. I have been using AA lithiums in my BP-E1 for years with no problems. I've also been using AA lithiums in my T90, again with no issues, just a slightly increased frame rate.

flatulent1 · Mar 30, 2016

By the way, for those of you with recently acquired 1Vs, you might want to try to get yourselves the battery pack BP-E1. Takes four AA batteries, gives the camera better handling, and doesn't weigh nearly as much as the power booster PB-E1. I have battery packs on both my 1V and 3. Won't leave home without them.

Poisson Du Jour · Apr 2, 2016

flatulent1 said:
Well, that may simply mean that they don't know, couldn't be bothered to fully test the combination, and want to disclaim liability. I have been using AA lithiums in my BP-E1 for years with no problems. I've also been using AA lithiums in my T90, again with no issues, just a slightly increased frame rate.

The Canon Camera Museum has come in for a lot of suspect information published there over the years. There is no real evidence that using AA lithium batteries in any of the power drive boosters e.g. for the EOS 1N or 1V, is detrimental to operation or reliability. I have been using lithium AA batteries in my PDB-E1 since 1994 (original purchase date of the 1N). For a short time of ownership of the EOS 1V, lithium batteries we also used in the drive booster on that too (I have had a long, enduring preference for the simplicity and operational decluttering of the 1N as opposed to the 1V!). One important thing to note is that lithium batteries have a steep end-of-life curve and can potentially stop the drive dead in its tracks such as mid-way between winding-on. If this happens, the drive effectively will be jammed; it is recoverable by replacing the batteries and firing the shutter.

RattyMouse · Apr 4, 2016

I'm going to return the camera. After two rolls of film shot through it, very few images are properly focused. I dont understand it so back it goes.

Ricardo Miranda · Apr 4, 2016

Well, in the early 2000s I was the proud owner of an EOS-1N and an EOS-3.
Never had a problem with them, only with an older PB-E1.
The -3 was bought new, but the -1N had come from a working professional.
My only problem was the weight of them with the Power Boosters and some fast /2.8 zooms.
Today, I'm very happy with low weight Olympus OM cameras.
The MIR site has a nice picture of a -3 with PB-E2 side by side with an OM-2 and Power Winder.

RattyMouse · Apr 4, 2016

Ricardo Miranda said:
Well, in the early 2000s I was the proud owner of an EOS-1N and an EOS-3.
Never had a problem with them, only with an older PB-E1.
The -3 was bought new, but the -1N had come from a working professional.
My only problem was the weight of them with the Power Boosters and some fast /2.8 zooms.
Today, I'm very happy with low weight Olympus OM cameras.
The MIR site has a nice picture of a -3 with PB-E2 side by side with an OM-2 and Power Winder.

I really wish this EOS 1V worked for me, but I just can't get sharp images out of it. Now I'm going to sell my 85L. I just dont have time to deal with an issue like this.

EdSawyer · Apr 4, 2016

just get another camera, 1V are not that hard to find. 85L could be the issue too?

Bad New 1V or Battery?

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