Muddyvalley wrote:
Can't help you here. Mine are all Nikon. For a valid experiment we would probably need a newer battery anyway. Those factory warnings are all for current technology. My curiosity isn't strong enough to ruin a good battery. (rubber gloves, goggles, a face mask, and a hacksaw?) Sodium bicarbonate?
Make sure it's dead first! :-)
:D :D :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: :D :)
Oh, it's well dead! I last charged it about 6 months ago, and it held the charge for a matter of minutes. I replaced it - with 'compatible' batteries - but I gave the camcorder away soon after. Couldn't stand messing with tape after using one with an SD card - about 20 times the storage, none of the hassle!
Muddyvalley wrote:
Do you know for certain there is no safety-device inside?
They may have some kind of fusible link or circuit board that shuts it off if the battery over heats. I've never opened one up. If I had a bad one, I would tear it open & see. But I've never had one go bad. Just the after market battery (which went south) I bought before I bought the Nikon brand spare. (which still works)It would be interesting to find out
I have a Canon battery pack BP-617 from my old miniDV camcorder. This battery died, through about 8 years of disuse. Last time I charged it, it held the charge for about 2 minutes.
Anyway, I would be happy to dismantle it, if someone can tell me just how to get inside without taking a sledge-hammer to it. There are no screws, no obvious entryways at all. The warning message says that it may explode if used with an incorrect charger, but doesn't mention the explosive potential of hitting it with a brick...
Muddyvalley wrote:
And Nikon & Canon's take on the matter:
Nikon:"Counterfeit products may not be equipped with safety mechanisms such as the built in protection device. When these counterfeit products are used or charged, camera performance may be sacrificed, or the products may be the cause of fire or explosion due to the generation of extreme heat or leakage. In the worst cases, people may be burned or otherwise injured, and of course cameras or battery chargers may be damaged."
https://support.nikonusa.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/8119Canon:
"Counterfeit accessories, such as battery packs, battery chargers and AC adapters, intended for use with Canon camera or video camcorder products, are not equipped with protective devices that meet Canons designated quality standards"
http://www.usa.canon.com/cusa/support/consumer?pageKeyCode=prdAdvDetail&docId=0901e0248004cc7eAnd Nikon & Canon's take on the matter: br br... (
show quote)
Well, of course they are going to say something like this - they want you to buy their way-overpriced batteries!
Think about what a battery *is*... There are no safety-devices built in to their batteries. They may well use better-quality components, I don't know, but certainly not *that* much better! You could probably buy a cheap camera for the price of OEM batteries!
mwsilvers wrote:
You can download a copy of the manual for free in PDF format and search for things like this in an instant.
I have a copy - I downloaded it before I even ordered the camera. The point is, if you don't know about 'safety shift', then how would you look for it?
It *is* easier to search a pdf than a book, I grant, but it is much easier to *read* a book than a pdf. Believe it or not, there were scientific papers published just a couple of months ago, proving that people understand much more of what they read from a physical book than they do of something they read electronically. That included kindles, ipads, pc screens - and it also included youngsters who have grown up in the 'screen age'.
That is beside the point, though. Here I am, years of experience with film SLRs, from Canon, Nikon, and others. I have just bought my first non-P&S digital camera. How am I supposed to deduce that it will have a feature (enabled by default) which tells it to ignore the settings put in by the user - even when not in auto?
Even if you suspected that camera manufacturers were sneaky and might try something like that (although that is a heck of a leap!), how do you know what you should search for in the magic pdf file?
This camera absolutely cries out for a decent after-market book, explaining all this stuff... If there is one out there, Amazon don't know about it.
Linda From Maine wrote:
Just to frustrate you a bit more: there is an index :) However, it doesn't mention safety shift. But that is yet one more tidbit worth knowing, so your frustration is our gain!
You're right, my mistake... less than 4 pages tucked in between the tables and the FCC notice. I missed that.
What frustrates me the most, is that I love this little camera! It is such a leap from anything I have used before. It deserves a better manual...
WAL wrote:
One would think that one of the camera sites or a magazine would break a few batteries down to see what's inside. I think they would find they all come from China. Then the question would be what are the batteries if any that provide the features of the original batteries.
Canon et al would not be happy with a magazine doing that, and just think about all those lovely advertising dollars!
maydincanada wrote:
ok. the canon one is 75.00 and the "knockoff" is only 35.00 so I thought I would try it but I dont want to ruin my camera. and I agree with your statement about the camera companies changing batteries! There seemed to be a different battery for every type and model of camera in the store!
I have Fotive in my SX50, and Halcyon in my P&S. When amazon have 2 batteries plus a charger, plus a car charger lead for less than the price of a single Canon battery, it's a no-brainer. Canon have priced themselves right out of the market. I would bet that even the ones marked as Canon are made by someone else...
CResQ wrote:
Canon 5D MKIII :D
Maybe it got accidentally diverted to my address? I would give it a good home!
CHOLLY wrote:
From a photographic point of view, the first picture hands down!
Artistically speaking, the third comes close to the first.
Nice image!
Yeah, that would be my order... 1, then 3, with 2 a long way behind. The first one is really good.
Graham Smith wrote:
He would not have finished the calculation. Did you not zoom right in? ;-)
Graham
No - all the SAS have a good head of hair...
oops - quoted the wrong message...
Country's Mama wrote:
I have been wanting to give this a try.
I used my 100mm vivitar macro lens with the adapter removed.
One continuous side light and of course the Christmas lights against a black background.
I don't find anything wrong with the hearts, but I find the one light which is *not* a heart to be distracting. Especially because it is so close to the rose...
Crwiwy wrote:
I like it with the fishing boat - it adds just enough movement and interest to the picture and would make agreat 'hanger' for any wall.
Yeah, I agree. Without the boat, it would be a nice enough landscape, but the boat makes the picture...
Dlevon wrote:
I agree. Another example of not reading your manual thoroughly! What is it about humans!
I have read it... Not always easy to follow the dozens of 'see page N' comments in almost every section of the book! You have to remember, other than a "switch on, zoom and press the button" P&S, my last camera was a Canon A1. If you set it to Tv, then it would expose at the speed you told it. I made the error of believing that the newer Canons would do the same thing...
As far as 'safety shift' goes: It is not listed in the contents page. There is no index. It mentions it briefly on pp 150, and there is a paragraph about it on page 151 - but there is no heading or bold print to catch your eye if you were looking for it!
As an old programmer, I *always* read the manuals. If there is a printed manual with the product, I sit down and read it before I do anything else. I am not good with pdf manuals, but even after paying out to get this one printed out, it is really a POS as manuals go. There are dozens of pages describing such 'important' features as programming names and faces so the camera can recognise people, but not a lot about using it as a camera... The idea of a technical manula without an index is just bizarre!
windshoppe wrote:
I just got my SX50 and it DOES have the safety shift feature. You can disable it in the menu if it's currently on.
Yeah, I remember seeing something about it in the book. I need to go back and read it again - thanks to the person who gave the page numbers, it is a pain to find anything in this manual!
I was aggravated, because that was the last chance I had to test the setup before today's rain and then tomorrow's arrival of the frigid air which the rest of the US has been 'enjoying' for a few days now. I am not always the most patient of people...