It happens with original and non original batteries and the 12-24f2.8 or 24-70f2.8 mounted. About 30% in two days, completely empty in less than a week. How can that happen while the machine is switched off? Everthing has been bought brand new last month.

I think mine drains slowly too. Since it's electronic, even when it's off it's still powered and drawing juice. Unplug everything in your house unless you're actually using it, and you'll notice your electric bill will drop 40%.

Does this happen to anyone else?

mike777 wrote:
It happens with original and non original batteries and the 12-24f2.8 or 24-70f2.8 mounted. About 30% in two days, completely empty in less than a week. How can that happen while the machine is switched off? Everthing has been bought brand new last month.

You have a problem, the system is always drawing a little power but it should last a long long time.

Dave

I have had lots of different Canon bodies and they wouldn't drain a battery in several months...

davenfl wrote:
You have a problem, the system is always drawing a little power but it should last a long long time.

That's what I feared but being new to the dark side I wasn't sure.

My D50's battery doesn't drain that fast even with the camera "on" 24/7. Pretty sure my D700's don't drain that fast.

That's not normal on my D300, I'd do a controlled test with no shooting and a freshly charged battery.

could be the battery not the camera.

mike777 wrote:
It happens with original and non original batteries and the 12-24f2.8 or 24-70f2.8 mounted. About 30% in two days, completely empty in less than a week. How can that happen while the machine is switched off? Everthing has been bought brand new last month.

I change a battery in my D700 once every 10 days or so, shooting every couple of days. I think that's not normal. I would change batteries first.

That is not normal for any camera. Obviously something is still drawing current. It is RMA time.

EBH

There is some battery drain as it is used to power the viewfinder LCD at all times. Without a battery it goes very dark. The Canons do not operate this way but they also do not provide the built-in viewfinder grid.

However, the battery should not drain significantly within a week let alone a couple of days. You therefore have two possibilities: A dicky camera or a dicky charger. I have been told that most 3rd party batteries don't go well with the D700 charger (because of the electronic controllers within the batteries) but even if that is true the Nikon battery ought to be charging ok. On balance I would guess that the camera is at fault.

- Alan

If it's happening with more than one battery, it has to be the camera. It's time to contact Nikon.

Sam Bennett wrote:
My D50's battery doesn't drain that fast even with the camera "on" 24/7. Pretty sure my D700's don't drain that fast.

Second this, I leave my S5 Pro and D70 on almost 99% of the time, and unless I'm out shooting the batteries remain staunchly where I leave them... I charge both of them very infrequently.

I just checked mine again. Camera has been sitting for a couple of days, and the battery is still at 75% (wasn't charged when I put it away either).

I seem to recall I had something of the same problem. The battery seemed to lose charge when camera was not in use.

After some dis-recharges of the battery, this is no longer a problem. Perhaps you could try to "massage" the battery a bit.

We have a D700 in the lab, and we shoot frequently. With the vertical grip, we have gone MONTHS without worrying about the battery before.

Thanks everybody for all the input. The battery problem is a bit of a disappointment after noticing how solid the Nikon gear seems to be but I think it can be ironed out sooner or later (I have nothing else to complain about). For now I will wait a bit before taking the D700 to Nikon Service. First because I want to see if it could be related to the fact that the batteries have been charged only once (though I think it's not very likely) and second because I don't want to let go of my new toy already.
I will let you know what happens...

what about removing the batteries from the camera when it's not in use, mabey it'd keep the full charge?

when the batteries are not in the camera they don't discharge
(the problem surely is body related)

---XR--- wrote:
what about removing the batteries from the camera when it's not in use, mabey it'd keep the full charge?

Yeah not normal. I've left my camera in the "ON" position for weeks in my bag (by accident actually) and the battery did not drain any noticeable amount -- it was still full.

D700 too.

Yep, something is amiss. I have a D700 that has sat unused for weeks at times, with no noticeable drain. Even left on in the bag for days, not more than a couple % loss of charge, if that.

My D70 has been in the truck since last fall. I charged it the other day just to be on the safe side. Lithium batteries are the cat's pajamas when it comes to long life.

I've had my D700 with it's battery charged sit dormant for a month and it's still near 100% so I've been very impressed with the LiIon battery's capability of holding on to a charge.

NiMH followed by NiCd have a high rate of "self-discharge" -- sitting idle, they bleed energy through internal resistance. LiON has MUCH lower self-discharge but not as much current handling capability (which isn't a huge issue for dSLRs!)

Cold performance is the other area where batteries suffer "voltage depression". I'm curious what the D700's battery is like under extreme cold, but I suspect it will still be great.

And now for a rather different situation:

Battery 1, original, went completely dead after the first charge.
Battery 2, not original, went completely dead after the first charge.
Battery 3, not original, went completely dead after the first charge.

Battery 1, after the first REcharge only lost 1% in the last 24 hours.

Mocca, do you read me ? ? ?

I will report on what further happens but if things continue for the better it will take some time...