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09-06-2013, 04:11 PM   #1
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K200D firmware poor rechargeable battery life!

Dear Pentaxians,

I have owned a K200D since 2008 and have been a happy customer. I had recently gotten the camera out of storage to use it again and decided to check if there was new firmware available? My original camera had 1.00 and found the update to 1.01 and so I applied it.

The problem I am having now is that the rechargeable batteries I had been using all long just fine, now do not work. After a full charge I installed them into the camera and they looked OK when I put them in, however by the next morning the camera shut down indicating that the batteries were full discharged! Which seemed strange, I suspected the batteries but I tested them in several other devices and they worked fine with long life.

Then I read several threads here that complained about short battery life with rechargeable batteries. I suspect a bug in the firmware upgrade. Anyone else notice this? Can I download the old 1.00 firmware to get my camera back to the way it was?

By the way, normal alkaline batteries still seem to work OK.

09-06-2013, 04:54 PM   #2
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I doubt that the firmware would be the problem, i have k200d v1.01 and it runs fine with Eneloop NiMh-batteries.

Maybe the problem is physical, alkalines are 1,5V while NiMh-batts are 1,2V. While in storage it is possible that some electrolytecondensator in camera has dried (this could cause the power leaking during night) or contacs had oxidated so combined with the lower voltage of NiMh this makes your camera think batteries are empty. However, K200D is known to be little picky when it comes to NiMh.
Clean the contacts up and try again.

In some cases electronic devices have woken up, even "resurrected" after long storage when they get little powerboost. Maybe using alkalines or even better non-rechargeable 1,5V litiumbatteries for a while gets your camera back in line.
And itīs nice to hear that it works, anyway!

Last edited by Jan178; 09-06-2013 at 04:57 PM. Reason: to make this somewhat understandable
09-06-2013, 06:41 PM   #3
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I have a K200D and never really had good luck with the rechargeable batteries. I use "Energizer Ultimate Lithium Batteries" in both the camera and the battery grip. They are not rechargeable, but they last a very long time. Energizer claims they last 8-9x as long as regular alkaline batteries. My experience with them leads me to believe that's true. The other good thing about them, they have a very long shelf life.
09-06-2013, 07:25 PM   #4
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^ I used Varta lithium-batteries before, internet says Energizers are much better but canīt find those anywhere from my city. Without flash Vartas gave me about 500-600 shots, Sanyo Eneloops gives me 300-400 so iīm very happy about them. I have 2 packs of Vartas as backup, since lithium has indeed good shelflife.

Also iīm waiting for winter and will test Eneloopīs stamina in waaay subzero. Lithiums back me up there too.

09-06-2013, 07:35 PM   #5
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QuoteOriginally posted by Jan178 Quote
^ I used Varta lithium-batteries before, internet says Energizers are much better but canīt find those anywhere from my city. Without flash Vartas gave me about 500-600 shots, Sanyo Eneloops gives me 300-400 so iīm very happy about them. I have 2 packs of Vartas as backup, since lithium has indeed good shelflife.

Also iīm waiting for winter and will test Eneloopīs stamina in waaay subzero. Lithiums back me up there too.
That's right. I forgot about the cold weather performance. In the US you can get Energizer Ultimate Lithium Batteries online at Amazon. I'm not familiar with what online services you have access to in Finland.
09-06-2013, 08:21 PM   #6
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I use Sanyo Eneloop's in my K200D with a grip. I took over 2300 shots per day a couple of weekends ago at the boat races without changing batteries! Both sets were pretty much empty at the end of each day. I was happy with that! P.S. Ver. 1.01 firmware in mine.


Last edited by kkoether; 09-06-2013 at 09:13 PM.
09-07-2013, 02:58 AM   #7
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QuoteOriginally posted by taz840209 Quote
That's right. I forgot about the cold weather performance. In the US you can get Energizer Ultimate Lithium Batteries online at Amazon. I'm not familiar with what online services you have access to in Finland.
I can get them online, of course, and planning to do so when buying next ones. Vartas are good but if Energizers are even better...



QuoteOriginally posted by kkoether Quote
I use Sanyo Eneloop's in my K200D with a grip. I took over 2300 shots per day a couple of weekends ago at the boat races without changing batteries! Both sets were pretty much empty at the end of each day. I was happy with that! P.S. Ver. 1.01 firmware in mine.
Now thatīs lots of shot with one set of batts!

09-09-2013, 07:51 PM   #8
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QuoteOriginally posted by kkoether Quote
I use Sanyo Eneloop's in my K200D with a grip. I took over 2300 shots per day a couple of weekends ago at the boat races without changing batteries! Both sets were pretty much empty at the end of each day. I was happy with that! P.S. Ver. 1.01 firmware in mine.
Nice picture!! The K200 is underrated...IMHO. I have a K20 also and like them both. I really think the K200 has an advantage with using AA batteries.
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