fredlee70x7 Posted February 10, 2002 Share Posted February 10, 2002 This is not a question but my first day with Rollei 6008i. I two days ago received from a Hong Kong dealer the body set and 90/4 Apo-Symmar which I paid $1,450 and $2,130 respectively. Substantial savings than buying from US/Canadian dealers. With the waist-level finder, the camera/lens combo is not much smaller than my Mamiya RZ67II plus 110/2.8 nor is much lighter (approx. 2.4kg vs 2.5kg for RZ/110). But the hand grip and ergonomics really shines and I felt very comfortable hand-holding the camera/lens when I was street-shooting though I used shutter speed of 1/250 to ensure sharpness. The Rollei even has the built-in meter and winder and is absolutely superior to RZ67II for ease of use. I finished 3 rolls (1 Velvia and 2 Reala's) but haven't got them developed yet. I'll post again when I receive them from the lab. I found the NiCad battery fast to deteroiate when shooting in cold outdoor. It was -10C to -15C and the fully charged/brand new battery only last less than 10 shots and the capacity indicator started showing levels of 7, 5 then b. If you always shoot in cold weather, you better get the external battery connector. However, one thing puzzles me... The same battery gave "full" capacity indication when used directly on the camera but showed "7" when used it indirectly via the external battery connector. Is it normal? I wish I had bought this camera long ago but I still like my Mamiya's. Maybe one day I'll shoot side-by-side and compare. Anyway I'm happy with the Rollei and can't wait longer to see the results! Thanks for folks from this forum who helped answered by questions when I was pondering to buy it or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael_reichmann1 Posted February 10, 2002 Share Posted February 10, 2002 Either your battery or the camera is defective. I've owned a couple of 6008 cameras over the past 5 years and always get between 20 and 40 rolls per shot, depending in the temperature. I have regularly used the camera is arctic conditions. Even at -20C you should get 8-10 rolls to a battery charge. Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark_messerly Posted February 10, 2002 Share Posted February 10, 2002 Sometimes NiCad batteries require several full charge/discharge cycles before they provide rated capacity. As received usually the 'Cad would be in a low charge state and it is always important to initially charge them fully which can be longer than the normal stated recharge time in the instructions. The battery could be defective but try a few cycles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark_messerly Posted February 10, 2002 Share Posted February 10, 2002 I am unsure of how the battery pack attaches to this camera, but sometimes removing the battery in cold conditions and keeping it inside a warm pocket until needed can help, as the performance of the battery does decrease rapidly with lowered temperatures! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tak_l._poon1 Posted February 10, 2002 Share Posted February 10, 2002 Dear Fred, I have very similar experience. The newly bought batteries need a longer charging. In cold weathers (I usually take zero celcius as the dividing line, but of course this is only arbitrary) I always use the extension cable. I also get a battery=7 or 8 with the cable. But it works fine. Enjoy! Regards, Tak Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edward_s_carmick Posted February 10, 2002 Share Posted February 10, 2002 Fred Welcome to Rollei. For cold weather use you might try lithium AA's.Buy the Rollei Power Interface. Buy or make a ten slot AA battery holder which you could connect to the camera with a two or three foot cord. You could keep the battery pack next to your body if you like.The power interface would also let you use the normal battery charger as an AC power source in the studio. I got this from Jeffery Karp at Rollei USAEd Carmick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fredlee70x7 Posted February 10, 2002 Author Share Posted February 10, 2002 Thanks for the replies. Yes the battery i tried was brand new and I wasn't sure if it was fully charged. I charged it right after taking it out from package. But after a few minutes, the red LED light went off and I tried it on the body and the viewfinder display showed it was in full capacity. So I stop continued charging and took it out for shooting as I assumed the battery was fully charged when leaving the factory. Am I right? What's the proper way to charge a battery? I read through the manual but still not sure. The manual says the red LED is on during quick charge which lasts about an hour then the floating charge will continue. What is floating charge for? After I put the battery in, the red light went out after a few minutes but flashed for approx. every 15-16 sec. How can I tell when the charging is completed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tak_l._poon1 Posted February 15, 2002 Share Posted February 15, 2002 Hi Fred, The instruction book is indeed very obscure. The first 10 minutes of charging is quick charge, and the red light is on. After that the charger goes into 'trickle charge' with the red light out and it takes up to another hour for the battery to be fully charged. You may find further information as well as a lot of useful tips about your camera in the following website: www.geocities.com/SoHo/Village/3762/Rollei/index.html Regards, Tak Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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