Camera question

[samintx]

I love my Lumix Panasonic cameras. The one I took to Burma was about 5 yrs old and performed perfectly till on one of the days as I aimed it the screen said something about recharge battery. A new battery got the same response.

When I got home I found a cable that came with the camera to hook the CAMERA to USB/wall. Charged the camera and works perfectly now. Question: is there an internal battery in the Lumix? I know there is RAM where pictures can be taken when the SD card if full but was perplexed about an internal battery.

I always take 3 cameras with me on my trips just in case. I was glad to have 2 Canons along on the Burma trip. (diff Zoom)

One lady on the trip, at the final stop left her camera! all her pics were in the camera. I always download to my AIR and thumb drive at the end of each day so I may lose the camera but not the pics!

[Racer X]

Smart to copy to a computer/tablet when traveling, especially to a thumb drive as well. Someone may steal your gear, but they won't care about a thumb drive stuck in a suitcase pocket.

[hal]

Sam - I have a Lumix ZS19 that I used as my backpacking camera and I started getting 'This Battery Cannot be Used with This Camera' (or something like that) error. THe problem turned out to be that I damaged the battery door such that it just couldn't maintain a solid connection and would lose power. I put a little something under the battery for force it up against the camera's contacts and it works fine now.

[Filliam H. Muffman]

Camera model?

It could be you need to clean the contacts on the battery and in the battery compartment of the camera. Plugging it in to the charger gave it enough voltage to clear the fault. You can use a pencil eraser if you take care to blow out all the eraser rubbings.

I remember something about some Lumix models would not clear the low battery fault if the lens wasn't fully retracted before the battery died.

[lost in space]

I love my Lumix FZ150.

Some third party batteries get a little wonky with age (just like us!), and the cameras can have trouble recognizing them. Haven't had the problem with OEM batteries, though.

[samintx]

Racer X wrote:
Smart to copy to a computer/tablet when traveling, especially to a thumb drive as well. Someone may steal your gear, but they won't care about a thumb drive stuck in a suitcase pocket.

Friend, my cables, thumb drives and anything connected to my cameras travels WITH ME in my purse/hand luggage. I think I'd rather lose a suitcase than my camera, AIR, cables and spare batteries!

[samintx]

hal wrote:
Sam - I have a Lumix ZS19 that I used as my backpacking camera and I started getting 'This Battery Cannot be Used with This Camera' (or something like that) error. THe problem turned out to be that I damaged the battery door such that it just couldn't maintain a solid connection and would lose power. I put a little something under the battery for force it up against the camera's contacts and it works fine now.

I have the 19 and 20 and because of a Problem with the Canon SX280 where I put a sliver of velcro under the cover I thought this was the problem. But it wasn't. Until I used the cable on the camera to solve the problem. Good advice from you however…with my Canon experience.

[samintx]

Filliam H. Muffman wrote:
Camera model?

It could be you need to clean the contacts on the battery and in the battery compartment of the camera. Plugging it in to the charger gave it enough voltage to clear the fault. You can use a pencil eraser if you take care to blow out all the eraser rubbings.

I remember something about some Lumix models would not clear the low battery fault if the lens wasn't fully retracted before the battery died.

I was thinking about that solution…what about alcohol on a Qtip??

[Racer X]

samintx wrote:
[quote=Racer X]
Smart to copy to a computer/tablet when traveling, especially to a thumb drive as well. Someone may steal your gear, but they won't care about a thumb drive stuck in a suitcase pocket.

Friend, my cables, thumb drives and anything connected to my cameras travels WITH ME in my purse/hand luggage. I think I'd rather lose a suitcase than my camera, AIR, cables and spare batteries!
Right. But a thumb drive in a suitcase as well might be your salvation some day.

[Filliam H. Muffman]

samintx wrote:
[quote=Filliam H. Muffman]
Camera model?

It could be you need to clean the contacts on the battery and in the battery compartment of the camera. Plugging it in to the charger gave it enough voltage to clear the fault. You can use a pencil eraser if you take care to blow out all the eraser rubbings.

I remember something about some Lumix models would not clear the low battery fault if the lens wasn't fully retracted before the battery died.

I was thinking about that solution…what about alcohol on a Qtip??
Getting a new set of recently manufactured batteries sound like a good preventative measure if you still like using that camera.

A Qtip is fine for general cleaning, especially if you have over 90% isopropyl alcohol. It will clean off dust and other collected crud. The slightly abrasive property of an eraser could help remove any oxidation that might have resulted from condensation when bringing a camera from an air conditioned room into a warmer environment. The eraser shouldn't be necessary if everything looks shiny.