Fuji A205 DigiCam False Battery Low Indicator

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

I got this camera brand new just a few days back. I've plunked in the
Panaonic alkaline batteries which came with the camera and within half
day or about the camera low battery light comes on. The camera at this
stage will auto shutdown believing the batteries are low. I was only
testing out the camera and maybe only took max 15-20 frames leaving
the LCD screen on. I did leave the batteries in the camera. The same
thing happened to another new set of EverReady alkaline batteries.
However I tried the same set of alkaline's on my walkman and the
walkman plays as if the batteries are new. I also tested the both sets
of alkaline "AA" using a multi-meter and they all tested good none of
them failed.

Can anyone suggest what I should do ? Has anyone seen a similar
problem ? Thanks for reading this post.

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

"Tom Henry" <tom23499@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:b72967b4.0412302222.39f0fc23@posting.google.com...
> I got this camera brand new just a few days back. I've plunked in the
> Panaonic alkaline batteries which came with the camera and within half
> day or about the camera low battery light comes on. The camera at this
> stage will auto shutdown believing the batteries are low. I was only
> testing out the camera and maybe only took max 15-20 frames leaving
> the LCD screen on. I did leave the batteries in the camera. The same
> thing happened to another new set of EverReady alkaline batteries.
> However I tried the same set of alkaline's on my walkman and the
> walkman plays as if the batteries are new. I also tested the both sets
> of alkaline "AA" using a multi-meter and they all tested good none of
> them failed.
>
> Can anyone suggest what I should do ? Has anyone seen a similar
> problem ? Thanks for reading this post.

I should ask you how you test batteries using a multi-meter? I suspect you
are just checking no-load voltage. A multi-meter is not the appropriate
instrument to check primary cells unless you are just looking to see if they
are live or dead. You need a load for those cells: One make of battery
tester checks AA batteries with a 36 ohm load and expects to see upwards of
1.05 volts under that load. Batteries in that state would not power a
digicam however. If you want a good indication, and only have a multimeter
without a load resistor, check the batteries in a high current setting,
perhaps a 12 amp setting if you have it. The batteries should be able to
put out a number of amps momentarily. You will find that under the same
conditions Ni-MH batteries that are fully charged will be able to put out
more amps than alkalines under such short circuit testing. Be careful not
to short circuit test for more than 2 to 5 seconds at a crack because
considerable heat will develop and sparks may fly.