Hello,

Can anyone help me regarding the battery for this camera. It no longer charges, it's not the charger because I ordered another type on Amazon and still not charging.

So referred to the Manual's "Trouble Shooting" section and found the somewhat 'curt' solution. Charge battery or if it does not charge Change Battery. That's it! No instruction on how to do this.
Can anyone tell me how I do this - I see Amazon and eBay are full of this type battery to purchase so clearly I can change it.
Do I simply undo all the little star screws to get into the camera? Or do I have to have it done professionally?

Any help will be truly appreciated
I know it's only an old-ish cheapie camera - but I've managed to get some great images from it.

Many many thanks
Dinah

[BigMackCam]

Hi Dinah... do you have the user guide to hand? Look on page 16 - it shows that there is a battery compartment door. Open that, and there should be a little spring-loaded tab that is holding the battery in place - if you press it (usually you have to push it to one side or something like that) the battery should spring out, then you just put the new battery in its place, push until it clicks home, and close the door. Job done.

Hi Dinah... do you have the user guide to hand? Look on page 16 - it shows that there is a battery compartment door. Open that, and there should be a little spring-loaded tab that is holding the battery in place - if you press it (usually you have to push it to one side or something like that) the battery should spring out, then you just put the new battery in its place, push until it clicks home, and close the door. Job done.

Thank you soooo much Mike -
I found it immediately on page 15 and 16 - as you said - and found the battery popping out by pushing the orange tab.
Have to admit, I went thru the User guide but clearly overlooked this.
Brilliant!! Can now go ahead and order a new battery.
Many many thanks
Dinah

[BigMackCam]

You're very welcome, Dinah - glad you've got it sorted

You're very welcome, Dinah - glad you've got it sorted

Hello again Mike

Well!!! some weeks later - and not really sorted out - bought 2 new batteries, bought a new "MemoryCow" computer to camera charger, inserted battery found to be fully charged and working but now needs re-charging. Guess what - new battery is also not charging.

So the questions I have to ask myself-
1) is the charger connection in my camera no longer working?
2) so do I then buy one of those flat-bed thingamajiggy battery chargers and hope that works?
3) or have I ended up with un-chargeable batteries because even tho they pretend to be from UK, they actually come from China?

4) or do I simply give up the ghost on this little camera and invest in a good used but inexpensive Pentax compact digital camera (which I was after so that I could start entering PentaxForum photo competitions.

Hmmm - think I've just answered my questions - No 4 sounds like the best option.

Anyway, just thought I'd share this with you - but actually I'm also quite disappointed in the results.

Hope you're having a good week=end.

Dinah

[BigMackCam]

Hi Dinah

Sorry to hear you're still having problems.

I've just looked on Amazon and the MemoryCow product you're referring to is a USB charging cable that you plug into your computer - correct? A few questions (and things for you to check):

- is the MemoryCow cable the correct one for your model of camera?
- have you successfully charged any other devices from the same USB port on your computer? (Some USB ports don't provide power - or sufficient power - to charge other devices)
- are you leaving the computer switched on and running (and not in sleep mode) while you charge the camera? (it's probable that the USB port only provides power when the computer is running)
- do you see a charging light or any other inidication of charging on the camera itself when it is connected via that cable to your computer? (Most cameras have a little LED that glows red, green or orange during charging - or they may display a charging symbol on the screen)
- have you tried the other USB ports on your computer? (on some computers with multiple USB ports, not all ports will provide power)
- do you have a phone, tablet or Kindle charger that has a USB connection? If so, you can plug your MemoryCow lead into that charger and try charging from it

Let me know how you get on? I'm not ready to give up on your little camera just yet!

Hello Mike,

You make me smile - I dont want to give up on it either.
As to your questions - herewith copied and answered.

- is the MemoryCow cable the correct one for your model of camera?
Yes it is - I checked for that very carefully - and yes it does fit into the camera - perfectly
- have you successfully charged any other devices from the same USB port on your computer? (Some USB ports don't provide power - or sufficient power - to charge other devices)
Yes - my Samsung smart phone, my Nexus tablet and also used this means of connection to download images from both onto my computer.
- are you leaving the computer switched on and running (and not in sleep mode) while you charge the camera? (it's probable that the USB port only provides power when the computer is running)
Big smile here because I know what you might be thinking (I do have my blonde moments but not in this case - Big smile again) - but yes I do have it on.
- do you see a charging light or any other inidication of charging on the camera itself when it is connected via that cable to your computer? (Most cameras have a little LED that glows red, green or orange during charging - or they may display a charging symbol on the screen)
That's how I know its not charging - blue ring light does not flash as it used to
- have you tried the other USB ports on your computer? (on some computers with multiple USB ports, not all ports will provide power)
My computer has multiple USB ports and I use them all, they all work (it's a fairly new HP Computer)
- do you have a phone, tablet or Kindle charger that has a USB connection? If so, you can plug your MemoryCow lead into that charger and try charging from it
Tried that too but still not charging so have to conclude that somehow the charging connection in the camera has gone 'kaput' which means - last resort is buying that flat bed thingammajiggy because with a charged battery, the camera works perfectly.

As for the new batteries - that's another long story, as I ordered on Amazon from a company stating as being UK based, (I check veeery carefully in order to avoid anything from China) showing an image of a Pentax battery and received something completely different... from China!!!.... and slightly larger so didn't fit. Can you believe they offered me first £3 then £5 refund and I could keep the batteries. When I asked them (via Paypal) "What part of 'The battery DOES NOT FIT' don't you understand?" and my persisting with Paypal did I get a full refund.
2nd order I placed on slightly more expensive batteries also showing Pentax battery image, also indicating UK business I received two that were not what they showed, also from China and do fit but also a tight fit and needs to be prised out of the slot. I try every angle to avoid buying anything Chinese but they have become as cunning as a bag of monkeys to get any business in every way possible. They offered full refund immediately if I wanted to return the batteries as I also complained about their false images and the tight fit - so I am sorely tempted to now return them them and go for the Duracell complete set battery and charger.

Pentax Optio E85 Battery

And on a much lighter note - and I know this email is already long - but I have to share this genuine 'Blonde Moment' a very dear friend of mine had when I was still living in Zimbabwe.
Sally - whilst a truly bright & sharp successful business woman - did have her moments. So she gets to start her car in the morning, battery is flat (left her park lights on overnight), phones her local garage who tells her she'll have to bring her battery in for re-charging - but if she can get help push-starting, she could get the engine to turn and running and drive to the garage.
A few miles down the road, her friend Brian happened to pass and stopped to help, seeing three African males pouring sweat and clearly totally exhausted from pushing. When told the problem, he popped open the bonnet to see what could be the problem...... to discover with somewhat incredulity there was no battery in there.
"Sally, sweetie," he asked in the most kindliest manner "where is the battery?"
"Oh" said she smiling and flipping her hair in a flirting manner, quite pleased with herself, "It's in the boot, the mechanic said it would have to be taken out to be charged, so I decided to do that for him and save time."
And that is a true story - I worked for her

And on that note I must get going.

Thank you again Mike for your help - I think I will go the Duracell route. I won't give up.

Have a lovely week and hope you enjoyed my Blonde story.

Dinah





Read more at: https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/189-repairs-warranty-service/326374-penta...#ixzz4I2Y9MoyX

[BigMackCam]

Hi Dinah

Well, it seems like you've covered pretty much everything! There's only one thing left to try, I think, before splashing out on a battery and charger...

Occasionally, dust and debris can get inside the camera's charging port. It doesn't take much before the contacts are prevented from mating properly with the cable, even though everything looks alright. It would be worth blowing sharply into the port a few times before trying the charging cable one last time. This fixed the problem with my phone failing to charge, so there's a chance it may work for you.

Regarding the tight-fit battery... yes, I'd return it if you can. The Duracell battery and charger should be very good quality, but I suppose you'd have to consider whether almost £30 of investment is worthwhile given that it's a six-year-old camera.

For my spare batteries, I use a brand called Ex-pro, and I've found them to be very good - decent quality, and good capacity. There's no guarantee that their batteries will be a better fit than the one you've just bought, but they may be worth trying. On Amazon, you can pick up an Ex-pro charger for £9.97 and an Ex-pro D-LI90 battery for £5.97, including delivery. Of course, if you still have your original Pentax battery, you could simply buy the Ex-pro charger.

I enjoyed the blonde story Some years ago, a girl friend of mine came into work in a T-shirt bearing the slogan "Naturally blonde - please speak slowly."

Good luck with the battery and/or charger!

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Last edited by BigMackCam; 08-22-2016 at 05:46 AM.