[wtfgary]

I have used 15 minutes to type a very long message for the above topic in english but my computer "hanged" once it is done. I also think that it is better to type it out in Chinese so that we can share the information. Can any F-200 user volunteer to contact me at wtfgary@sinaman.com, leave me your phone number then I will tell you what to type. Any volunteer ???

[chowbb]

can u share it briefly here? Thanks

[hero_lie]

我係新買f200的用家，在最初o既時候，我發覺d電好快用晒，同埋發現如果開LCD影相就會好快hang機，之後我就熄左LCD去影相，竟然影成過百張開閃光燈都仲有電！於是我又開返LCD影，但都係hang機！
但粒電差左五、六次之後，我再用來影，好離奇地，影左十張開LCD連閃光燈啟動下，hang左一次。但接著再影時，竟連影過百張都無事，而且粒電仲係full的狀態，於是，我對f200開始起返信心！

[dclkwok]

seems strange! Suggest to send it back for checking!

[hero_lie]

我之前拎過返去想換，但果d人用佢粒電試又無事，用我粒電事就有事，原來d差電真係要差多幾次先會發揮真正效用！
我以家影左百幾張都係Full電，仲未有再hang情況！(我用跟機的1850)！
所以我新買o既2100電都差多幾次先拎去試，如果情況同1850一樣的話，我就覺得F200 係物超所值啦！

[wtfgary]

No one contact me yet :( so I guess I am typing it with my poor English, please bear with me.
Last week, I had a chance to meet a Manager of a rechargeable battery company. She taught me some tricks -

1) Charge your battery properly-
At the back of the charger, it should have something like this: AA -100mA (higher or lower mA number is possible). Say, if you are charging a 1800mAh AA battery, it means you should charge the battery for at least 18 hours (1800mAh/100mA = 18h). For maximum performance, 20% of buffer charging time is encouraged. Therefore, for the above case, user should charge 21.6 hours.

2) DON'T TRUST THE CHARGER SIGNAL
Some charger has a ready signal, you know, "Charging" is Red, "Ready" is Green. However, it is more like a timer instead of a signal. Say, the charger comes with 1800mAh batteries, then the charger's timer is only good for 1800mAh batteries. Once the time is up, the signal will turn from red to green and it only output a minimal level of electricity to keep the batteries in excellent condition. If you are charging 2100mAh batteries with the above charger, please cut the power and charge again after you see the "Ready" signal. You should be able to see the "Charging" signal once again.

3) Don't trust your battery as well -
Check your rechargeable battery carefully. For example, a 1800 mAh GP battery doesn't have 1800mAh of power. It written something like this on the battery body (min.1750 mAh)

4) Stronger power battery will launch soon. She also gave me a pack of 2300 mAh batteries for testing purpose.

5) Turn the LCD monitor off when using slow shutter.

I decided to follow her ideas and charge batteries like what she said ...

Result: 1) My friend used my F-200 to take pictures in a party. He used Auto Mode with LCD on, turning on & off sometime, review pictures and battery is only 1800 mAh. He is able to capture 68 pictures in around 1.5 hour and then the machine "hang" for the first time.
2) I decided to conduct a test myself. I also use 1800 mAh batteries. In the past three days, I have been taking pictures with Auto Mode, turned off LCD when using slow shutter, review pictures and set up.... Although I am not taking a lot of pictures in a same day but my machine is still OK . Actually, today is my 3rd day and batteries are still strong.

3) I will test my new 2300 mAh batteries soon !!!

[wtfgary]

Friends, I have used my new 2300mAh batteries to keep shooting photos with my F-200.

First I charge the batteries properly. Secondly, I used the AUTO mode to keep shooting photos with LCD on. By the way, I use 4 mega pixel, standard file format and 64 M SD Card (allow me to take 61 photos).

After taking 61 photos, I deleted all pics and go again. Two properly charged 2300 mAh batteries allowed me to take more than 3 non-stop rounds of photos - 61*3= 183 photos. I decided to stop after the 3rd round, so I know 2300mAh is able to help me to take more than 183 photos.

[kbg_lord]

Thanks for you info!
I also have the hang problem with my F200 :(
I use sanyo 2000mAH battery and charger.
I emailed to Minolta about this problem.
They only suggest me to use higher mAH battery.

I will try your method.

[hero_lie]

我用sanyo 2100mAH..........咁係咪每次都要差成21個鐘頭先可以用？
仲有，我新買左四粒panasonic 2000aMH 的差電，可唔可以用三洋果部差機差佢呀？(不過我已經用左)我發覺差左一個左右，顯示燈熄左.........

[wtfgary]

hero_lie, check the back of your charger, it really depends on the power output of the charger. I have four chargers on hand all they all have different power output. Yes, it is OK to use different charger but you have to "know" your charger.

kbg_lord, hope my suggestion will help. Wait for your feedback.

[andrewwong0001]

hero_lie, I'm using the Sanyo charger which bundled with the Minolta F200 package and charge the Panasonic 2000mAH batteries. It works properly and the batteries are fully charged. So, don't worry! ^_^

The charger output is 565mA or 1275mA (quick charge). For the 565mA output, the Panasonic batteries should be conducted a 3.5-hour charge. For the 1275mA output, the Panasonic batteries should be conducted a 1.5-hour charge.

[鈴木一郎]

thanks for sharing

[cx712]

Does it mean that we need to charge the batteries for about 20 hours EVERYTIME before we use them??

[andrewwong0001]

cx712
Please see my comment!

[cx712]

Hi Andrew,
Thank you for your response and I still have some questions to ask:
1. After 'quick charging' the batteries, the batteries are about 60% full (1275 out of 2000). How long will the batteries last? (or how many photos can you take?)
2. Can we charge the batteries for a longer period of time ,say 3 hours, to ensure that the batteries are FULLY CHARGED?

Thank you