Nikon FG battery issue

[John M.]

A few years ago a friend of mine gave me his Nikon FG after he went digital. I was warned by my local camera shop that the model was notorious for eating batteries, and that I needed to take them out when I wasn't using it. For a while it seemed I could get away with leaving the batteries in for the day while I was on an outing, but yesterday after shooting about a dozen exposures and having the batteries in for maybe two hours, I lost all power. Has anyone else experienced this?

I have other cameras I use more, but I like the results I get with the FG, when it works. If it doesn't retain enough battery life for me to have it ready at a moment's notice when I'm at least planning on shooting, though, it doesn't seem very useful.

 

[darkosaric]

I have used FG and FG20 in the past - never had this problem. Was it very cold outside?

 

[benjiboy]

If you got the camera for free it's worth spending the cost of getting the electrical fault that's causing the excessive battery drain repaired.

 

[Les Sarile]

You must have a faulty camera as my FG certainly does not have this issue as I have had batteries in mine for quite a long time (almost a year?) and it works just fine. In fact, this is the first I have ever read about the FG "eating batteries".

 

[BrianShaw]

Were the batteries that you used fresh?

 

[removed-user-1]

My experience with the FG - one of my favorites - was that bumping or holding down thr shutter button partway would drain the batteries. The camera has no "off switch" but turning the shutter dial to m90 will turn off the meter.

 

[darkosaric]

So to summarize: use new batteries, when camera not in use - put shutter in M90 position, and avoid very cold places. If after this you still have battery problem - something is faulty in electrics.

 

[David Lyga]

darkosaric: I use 'cold' to safeguard and preserve batteries, and with good results. I have a hundred button batteries in my freezer and that really does keep them fresh. - David Lyga

 

[Aristotle80]

My wife and I have used 2 FGs for the better part of a decade now. There is a secret to save the battery! Look at the shutter speed dial. The "A", "P", and numbered settings are all electronically controlled. The "M90" and "B" settings are fully mechanical, though they still close the circuit to the hot shoe. Any and every time that you are not using the camera, rotate the shutter speed dial to either "M90" or "B". This ensures that the battery will not drain, even if the shutter spring is weak or something slightly presses the shutter down. My batteries last for 2 or 3 years shooting around 25 rolls a year.

In short, always leave the shutter speed dial on the mechanical settings and the electronics will not drain. Leaving the dial anywhere else while the camera is in storage can drain the battery.

 

[darkosaric]

darkosaric: I use 'cold' to safeguard and preserve batteries, and with good results. I have a hundred button batteries in my freezer and that really does keep them fresh. - David Lyga

When I use my F3 on cold winter day (-20 Celsius and lower) - battery goes down in a hour. After it gets warm again - battery is working again. So now when is very cold outside as simplest solution I use full mechanical camera .

 

[freecom2]

When I had an FG, it didn't exhibit any battery draining problems. Bulb/M90 and you'll be fine.

 

[Chan Tran]

When I use my F3 on cold winter day (-20 Celsius and lower) - battery goes down in a hour. After it gets warm again - battery is working again. So now when is very cold outside as simplest solution I use full mechanical camera .

You misunderstood David. David said to freeze his batteries to preserve them. When the battery gets cold it quit delivering power and quit the self discharge also thus preserve its power. At normal temperature batteries discharge themselves when not being used. Freeze them stop this. So if the FG is draining the battery, you can litterary freeze the whole thing the preserve the battery but then I don't want to freeze the camera as some components would crack.

 

[Les Sarile]

So to summarize: use new batteries, when camera not in use - put shutter in M90 position, and avoid very cold places. If after this you still have battery problem - something is faulty in electrics.

For cold weather, use the 3V Lithium CR1/3N or equivalent. Lithiums work well into freezing temperatures along with higher power densities and long shelf life.

 

[PentaxBronica]

You'd be surprised about freezing cameras. I put my KX in a sealed bag in the freezer overnight to kill a dust mite I spotted wandering in the viewfinder. It didn't seem to suffer any ill effects once taken out and allowed to come back up to room temperature, I was careful not to open the bag immediately so as to avoid condensation problems. Not advised if the camera has an LCD display!

 

[benjiboy]

One of these multi-meters is a good investment for checking the voltage of your batteries so you can see if the camera or the batteries are faulty http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_s...ripbooks,371&rh=n:228013,k:digital+multimeter
I check my camera and light meter batteries with mine each time before I go out and use them.