K200D battery symbol in LCD flashes, even with good batteries

jaytaz · 05-22-2010, 09:12 PM

Hello all,
I'd hoped my first post would have been a little more joyful than asking for help with a problem. But at least I've done a little bit of reading first before asking about something that many people will no doubt respond along the lines of "you are using the wrong type/old batteries" but read on...

My K200D has been very good to me over the last year since getting it. In the last few days, it's been stored in its protective carry pack, in the car... which has been outside in below freezing temperatures. It was then that this problem began.

The top LCD panel shows a flashing battery depleted symbol, and nothing else at all. In the weeks prior to this happening, the NiMH batteries were working fine with the K200D. But knowing that cold affects batteries, I left the camera & batteries to warm up to room temp for three hours... still no joy.

It was probably time to retire those cells anyway... their internal resistance was probably getting a little high, even though they charge up to an acceptable voltage and hold their charge OK.

So, the spare set of cells (hybrid low-self-discharge types, Varta brand, similar to the lauded Sanyo Eneloops) which were known to also work very well in the K200D were inserted, freshly charged. This turned on the K200D for about 10 seconds, before powering down and displaying the now all too familiar flashing battery depleted symbol in the LCD panel. I tried cleaning the battery contacts with some IPA too. I've not been able to acheive any progress beyond this point.

I suspect the recent cold weather has somehow affected something that is prematurely putting the brakes on the show, despite using known good, freshly charged cells and everything being at a comfortable room temperature.

I'm pretty electronicly handy (being a communications technician) so not afraid to tinker with the internals of delicate circuitry, should that be called for. Have other K200D owners had similar experiences, and know of a solution?

Adam · 05-22-2010, 09:24 PM

Have you tried the camera using regular 1.5v non-rechargeable outdoors? How about indoors? All rechargeable batteries only have 1.2v instead of the regular 1.5, and perhaps the cold instantly decommissions those. Just a thought.

JohnBee · 05-22-2010, 09:29 PM

I had a hell of a run with rechargable and our K200D camera(similar circumstances). Until I just accepted that rechargables were simply to fical to use reliably with that camera. So we switch to lithium ion cells exclusively and never looked back(problems solved). We just kept a spare set in our pack at all times...

The down side of course, is that its costly, and I hate spending money!!!
Unfortunately... we found outselves in the exact same predicament with our Kx camera(arg!).

PS. you might want to look at the firmware on your camera also... BUT... make damned sure you're camera is power stable before messing with it(you will end-up with a dead camera if the power fails during an update).

Marc Sabatella · 05-23-2010, 12:15 AM

I'd agree with the suggestion to try a set of lithiums, but good quality NiMH cells - particularly hybrids like the Varta - hould work fine. Is it possible the charger is the problem here?

esben · 05-23-2010, 11:34 AM

I have the same problem - I just use Energizer Lithium Ultimate cells.

I buy them on ebay.co.uk

Just do a search - ecell store is the cheapest - 12 x AA for £12.45,- they last for 6 months around 4 hours of usage per week.

I set the auto preview to 1 second - I promise you won't be dissapointed.

The problem is, the K200D needs 1.5 volts - And NIMH and eneloops are only 1.2 - well thats my theory anyway

You get 12 AA Energizers for the price of 4 AA eneloops

jaytaz · 05-23-2010, 05:26 PM

This is very odd. After spending 12 hours inside overnight, the K200D is now fine on all three sets of batteries. Perhaps a little bit of condensation had formed inside the camera circuitry, or perhaps the ghost that we joke about and blame whenever something goes 'missing' in the house had taken up temporary residence in the K200D?

No matter, the end result has me smiling again... and I'll have to remember to keep the camera in a relatively warm location when its not being used.

madbrain · 05-24-2010, 07:06 PM

Originally posted by esben

You get 12 AA Energizers for the price of 4 AA eneloops

And you will get fewer shots on 12 AAs energizer non-rechargeables than you will get from one set of eneloops the first time they are fully charged.

esben · 05-28-2010, 02:00 PM

okay, I just figured since my other +2500mah rechargeables didnøt work for more than 10 shots, energizers were better. But if I can get 3000 shots per charge I'll reconsider

**felixkh** · 05-28-2010, 04:59 PM

Originally posted by esben

okay, I just figured since my other +2500mah rechargeables didnøt work for more than 10 shots, energizers were better. But if I can get 3000 shots per charge I'll reconsider

How about 1500 shots per set of Eneloops?

Marc Sabatella · 05-29-2010, 09:06 AM

On a K200D? Not likely. More like 600-ish shots per charge in my experience, as someone who chimps a bit but virtually never uses flash or shoots very long exposures. So it wouldn't be correct to say that Eneloops will give you as many shots *on one charge* as 12 lithiums. But it *is* true that they'll give you hundreds of times more shots over their life. Last year I shot 12,000 images, all on the same two sets of Eneloops (well, one set of Eneloops, the other a set of clones). That's a total cost of under $20 to take 12,000 images. And those *same* two sets gave me around 10,000 shots the year before, and the year before that, and I expect will do so this year as well. That's over 40,000 shots for $20. Try that with disposables...

NSabino · 09-01-2010, 03:31 AM

I'm desperate, i have runing every forums looking for a solution, but I'm more convinced than ever that my case is machine malfunction.

Since three weeks ago, that the K200D only flashes battery symbol in LCD.
I never had the same problems that i read about battery performance, with the machine taking only a few dozen photos with good batteries.
Normally i can take around 300 to 600 photos with some Energyzer +2500mah rechargeables, and i got around 1100 pinctures with the Energyzer Lithium that came with the machine when i bought it.

I've tried numerous times on / off, remove battery, put back, put everything in nanual, autofocus off, Stabilizer off, nothing works. The batteries are charged, I've tried with some new Energyzer Alkaline, and now I've tried with some Energyzer Lithium, this ones should give enough power to the camera.
I have already connected the machine to a 6.5V transformer that is not Pentax, but without success.

The only thing that the machine does, besides the battery flashing on the lcd, is an internal click when you put the batteries, but I think it happened before.
All this happened to me before, but only for a day.

My hopes are vanishing...

05-22-2010, 09:12 PM	#1
jaytaz New Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Australias most beautiful island Posts: 2	K200D battery symbol in LCD flashes, even with good batteries Hello all, I'd hoped my first post would have been a little more joyful than asking for help with a problem. But at least I've done a little bit of reading first before asking about something that many people will no doubt respond along the lines of "you are using the wrong type/old batteries" but read on... My K200D has been very good to me over the last year since getting it. In the last few days, it's been stored in its protective carry pack, in the car... which has been outside in below freezing temperatures. It was then that this problem began. The top LCD panel shows a flashing battery depleted symbol, and nothing else at all. In the weeks prior to this happening, the NiMH batteries were working fine with the K200D. But knowing that cold affects batteries, I left the camera & batteries to warm up to room temp for three hours... still no joy. It was probably time to retire those cells anyway... their internal resistance was probably getting a little high, even though they charge up to an acceptable voltage and hold their charge OK. So, the spare set of cells (hybrid low-self-discharge types, Varta brand, similar to the lauded Sanyo Eneloops) which were known to also work very well in the K200D were inserted, freshly charged. This turned on the K200D for about 10 seconds, before powering down and displaying the now all too familiar flashing battery depleted symbol in the LCD panel. I tried cleaning the battery contacts with some IPA too. I've not been able to acheive any progress beyond this point. I suspect the recent cold weather has somehow affected something that is prematurely putting the brakes on the show, despite using known good, freshly charged cells and everything being at a comfortable room temperature. I'm pretty electronicly handy (being a communications technician) so not afraid to tinker with the internals of delicate circuitry, should that be called for. Have other K200D owners had similar experiences, and know of a solution?

05-22-2010, 09:24 PM	#2
Adam Administrator Site Webmaster Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Arizona Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 51,608	Have you tried the camera using regular 1.5v non-rechargeable outdoors? How about indoors? All rechargeable batteries only have 1.2v instead of the regular 1.5, and perhaps the cold instantly decommissions those. Just a thought. Adam PentaxForums.com Webmaster (Site Usage Guide \| Site Help \| My Photography) PentaxForums.com server and development costs are user-supported. You can help cover these costs by donating or purchasing one of our Pentax eBooks. Or, buy your photo gear from our affiliates, Adorama, B&H Photo, KEH, or Topaz Labs, and get FREE Marketplace access - click here to see how! Trusted Pentax retailers:

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05-22-2010, 09:29 PM	#3
JohnBee Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Newrfoundland Photos: Albums Posts: 4,667	I had a hell of a run with rechargable and our K200D camera(similar circumstances). Until I just accepted that rechargables were simply to fical to use reliably with that camera. So we switch to lithium ion cells exclusively and never looked back(problems solved). We just kept a spare set in our pack at all times... The down side of course, is that its costly, and I hate spending money!!! Unfortunately... we found outselves in the exact same predicament with our Kx camera(arg!). PS. you might want to look at the firmware on your camera also... BUT... make damned sure you're camera is power stable before messing with it(you will end-up with a dead camera if the power fails during an update).

05-23-2010, 12:15 AM	#4
Marc Sabatella Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Denver, CO Photos: Gallery Posts: 10,685	I'd agree with the suggestion to try a set of lithiums, but good quality NiMH cells - particularly hybrids like the Varta - hould work fine. Is it possible the charger is the problem here?

05-23-2010, 11:34 AM	#5
esben Forum Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Copenhagen Photos: Albums Posts: 59	I have the same problem - I just use Energizer Lithium Ultimate cells. I buy them on ebay.co.uk Just do a search - ecell store is the cheapest - 12 x AA for £12.45,- they last for 6 months around 4 hours of usage per week. I set the auto preview to 1 second - I promise you won't be dissapointed. The problem is, the K200D needs 1.5 volts - And NIMH and eneloops are only 1.2 - well thats my theory anyway You get 12 AA Energizers for the price of 4 AA eneloops

05-23-2010, 05:26 PM	#6
jaytaz New Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Australias most beautiful island Posts: 2 Original Poster	This is very odd. After spending 12 hours inside overnight, the K200D is now fine on all three sets of batteries. Perhaps a little bit of condensation had formed inside the camera circuitry, or perhaps the ghost that we joke about and blame whenever something goes 'missing' in the house had taken up temporary residence in the K200D? No matter, the end result has me smiling again... and I'll have to remember to keep the camera in a relatively warm location when its not being used.

05-24-2010, 07:06 PM	#7
madbrain Veteran Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: San Jose, CA Posts: 1,341	Originally posted by esben You get 12 AA Energizers for the price of 4 AA eneloops And you will get fewer shots on 12 AAs energizer non-rechargeables than you will get from one set of eneloops the first time they are fully charged.

05-28-2010, 02:00 PM	#8
esben Forum Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Copenhagen Photos: Albums Posts: 59	okay, I just figured since my other +2500mah rechargeables didnøt work for more than 10 shots, energizers were better. But if I can get 3000 shots per charge I'll reconsider

05-28-2010, 04:59 PM	#9
felixkh Site Supporter Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Singapore Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,201	Originally posted by esben okay, I just figured since my other +2500mah rechargeables didnøt work for more than 10 shots, energizers were better. But if I can get 3000 shots per charge I'll reconsider How about 1500 shots per set of Eneloops?

05-29-2010, 09:06 AM	#10
Marc Sabatella Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Denver, CO Photos: Gallery Posts: 10,685	On a K200D? Not likely. More like 600-ish shots per charge in my experience, as someone who chimps a bit but virtually never uses flash or shoots very long exposures. So it wouldn't be correct to say that Eneloops will give you as many shots on one charge as 12 lithiums. But it is true that they'll give you hundreds of times more shots over their life. Last year I shot 12,000 images, all on the same two sets of Eneloops (well, one set of Eneloops, the other a set of clones). That's a total cost of under $20 to take 12,000 images. And those same two sets gave me around 10,000 shots the year before, and the year before that, and I expect will do so this year as well. That's over 40,000 shots for $20. Try that with disposables...

09-01-2010, 03:31 AM	#11
NSabino New Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Alenquer Posts: 3	I'm desperate, i have runing every forums looking for a solution, but I'm more convinced than ever that my case is machine malfunction. Since three weeks ago, that the K200D only flashes battery symbol in LCD. I never had the same problems that i read about battery performance, with the machine taking only a few dozen photos with good batteries. Normally i can take around 300 to 600 photos with some Energyzer +2500mah rechargeables, and i got around 1100 pinctures with the Energyzer Lithium that came with the machine when i bought it. I've tried numerous times on / off, remove battery, put back, put everything in nanual, autofocus off, Stabilizer off, nothing works. The batteries are charged, I've tried with some new Energyzer Alkaline, and now I've tried with some Energyzer Lithium, this ones should give enough power to the camera. I have already connected the machine to a 6.5V transformer that is not Pentax, but without success. The only thing that the machine does, besides the battery flashing on the lcd, is an internal click when you put the batteries, but I think it happened before. All this happened to me before, but only for a day. My hopes are vanishing...