5D doesn't power up right away when changing battery

[tom_berkowski]

<p>I always keep my 5D (original) in on position. Lately when I change battery, I do not have immediate power. Even when I press shutter or other button (like when getting out of sleep mode), I don't get power. I have to switch from Av to M then back again to get power, then I'm fine until I change batteries again.</p>

<p>I'm almost positive this is a new experience. I have had this body for 3 year.</p>

<p>This happens on different batteries, so I don't think it's a battery thing.</p>

<p>This is a minor annoyance since it only happens when I change batteries, but any idea how I can fix?</p>

[picturesque]

<p>You might try changing/checking the coin battery in the body.</p>

[picturesque]

<p>You might try changing/checking the coin battery in the body. And it might be time to start turning off the body when you aren't using it.</p>

[tom_berkowski]

<p>If the coin battery were dead, I wouldn't have the right time/date (which I do), so I don't think that's it. Still, it's a cheap & easy thing to do so it's worth a try.</p>

<p>What good would it do to turn body off? I know batteries would last longer, but my problem happens when I replace a low battery with a fully charged full battery.</p>

[PuppyDigs]

If you turn it off, you'll get immediate power when you switch it back on after the battery change.

[tom_berkowski]

<p>That makes sense, but if that's the benefit, I'll put up with doing a Av to M to Av switch to get power.</p>

<p>I have the on/off switch taped in on position so that I don't accidentally turn it off when it bouces around my body. That happened a lot before I taped it. If I go back to on/off untaped, I know I'll accidentally turn off the back dial a lot, which will cause me inconvenience when shooting (such as unexpectedly not being able to +/- exposure in Av). I'd rather have my inconvenience during battery change, a lot less frequent. </p>

<p>I suppose I could also untape, retape more often, but that's anther inconvenience.</p>

 

[sarah_fox]

<p>Tom, the hard switch doesn't really kill power to the 5D anyway. It's just a logic switch -- a means of waking it up and putting it to sleep manually.</p>

<p>Sometimes logic boards get "confused" either because of a firmware bug or a voltage transient that flips a bit somewhere. I suspect that's the problem. Try this: Jot down all of your custom function settings. Then remove both the main battery and the coin cell. Leave the camera this way for maybe an hour. Then reinstall the coin cell (maybe even a new one) and the main battery. Finally, consult your notes, and reprogram the custom functions. This is pretty much the same sort of solution as rebooting your computer.</p>

[tom_berkowski]

<p>Thanks, Sarah. I'll do that. I know I can go through custom functions pretty easily, noting option selected for each of the CF. </p>

<p>Is there a way to find all the settings for "C"? I realized it records almost everything (like minutes before going into sleep mode which can be different in C vs. all others). I've repeatedly done "register camera settings" every time I figure out I wanted someting in C, so it would be good to know what those were. </p>

<p>I doubt there's a quick way to know all the C settings, but I figured I'd ask.</p>

<p>Also, is battery removal going to make me upload custom picture settings again?</p>

 

[john_tran14]

<blockquote>

<p> I have to switch from Av to M</p>

</blockquote>

<p>This wouldn't be a problem for me at all because I switched my dial to M and super glued it there for good. Maybe it's just a suggestion from the designer to use M mode more</p>

[PuppyDigs]

<blockquote>

<p>This wouldn't be a problem for me at all because I switched my dial to M and super glued it there for good. Maybe it's just a suggestion from the designer to use M mode more</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Hopefully nobody will borrow your camera and bust the command dial trying to switch it to another mode...</p>

[john_tran14]

<blockquote>

<p>borrow your camera and bust the command dial</p>

</blockquote>

<p>I will paint the dial all black then put only a letter P on it at the mode index. This way nobody would try to turn it anywhere else (umm... except myself)</p>

[sarah_fox]

<p>Tom, if you remove the batteries in this way, your camera will have total amnesia. It will be in the same firmware state as the day you pulled it out of its box.</p>

[tom_berkowski]

<p>Thanks, Sarah. I'll plan accordingly and do this when I have time to reprogram. I once sent my body in for service to Canon, and it came back with total amnesia. I had to re-upload custom picture styles and CF settings.</p>

<p>I realized I can save time when I need to note all CF settings by looking at data in DPP where it tells all CF settings for that image. That way, I don't have to use the body to scroll through each CF setting one-at-at-time.</p>

[picturesque]

<p>I suggest changing the coin battery even though the date and time are still OK because I once changed the coin battery on my 20D when it froze in the middle of formatting, and then never had the freezing problem again. Whether or not it was the real resolution, it is an easy and cheap way to possibly eliminate a problem, particularly if you've never replaced it before.</p>

<p>As for not leaving the body on all the time--obviously *something* happened with the body, probably due to your leaving it on--as Sarah said--maybe it got confused. Ergo, if your reset works, don't keep doing it. At least, that's what I'd conclude.</p>

<p>I routinely use gaffers tape to keep the battery compartment of my flash closed. I rip it off and stick it back on many times, and then I replace the strip of tape when it doesn't stick well. I don't see why you couldn't do this to the switch when you are using the camera. Or, use any cheap tape once and throw it away.</p>