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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

TIME AND DATE ISSUE...really?

Ok guys I have (maybe) good news!
Three days ago I had this date and time reset, so I set the actual one, then I turned off the camera (after a good hour) and I left fro three days. I have just coming home now, I powered on the camera and....the date and time was perfect!
I just updated the new firmware (not the beta) and now I am doing an auto blackshade calibration, so It will stay in the plug still for long.
I always have the camera stored with my 4,7 inch monitor attached,the new side handle , the canon mount and the I/o Expander as is easy to me for run and gun situation to have all set in the case. So if really is the monitor that drain the battery is something that need to be solved in the fimrware. Also I use the time code as EDGE so is not running all the time (maybe this help?)

So, for what we understood....leave the camera for a couple of hours in the DC plug without Vlock battery. The turn off and power on the camera after three days and check what happen. If the date and time is set it mean that we need to power on the camera even if we dont use at least for two hours a week! lol

Please guys update this thread. Thanks!
 
While things aren't nearly as bad as, say, Magic Lantern, it's because of these kinds of dumb issues that there are ops/DoPs/ACs/production/etc still claiming that 'REDs are always in beta' and why even aging 1080p Alexa Classics still rent well compared to REDs that are half a decade newer. Fortunately there are a lot of workarounds that keep the camera functional, but they really are in a constant state of quirkiness and unlike ~2007-2012 (when RED was the only game in town) there are plenty of other other affordable 4k+/raw cameras on the market now. I have a feeling tolerance for this kind of stuff will dwindle rather quickly...

(Here's hoping Hydrogen doesn't suffer from these kinds of perpetual bugs, because I don't think the average phone user will be nearly as forgiving.)

As for user-fixing/recharging, with the cameras I've used/seen, having the camera on for the day does *not* recharge anything, and as soon as I shut-down/reboot it resets the date/time (even if it's for a battery swap and off for less than 10seconds after being on for 4-8 hours). Not only should this have been user-replaceable in DSMC2, but it just shouldn't be happening, period. I'd be curious to know if R1s suffer from it as well...

Also, it shouldn't be after a matter of days/weeks of inactivity, it should be a matter of months, if not years before it just slips (again, look at every other camera/computer/wristwatch/cellphone/electronic device with internal clock/etc that you've ever used)...
 
Guys,

Remove the monitor and any EVF connected to the brain as indicated on my post to be sure it is NOT a factor Please!

Thank you,
 
Ulf Krentz said:
Thanks Brian, I´m aware. The battery was drained and the camera only powered up for around a minute, not much time to charge, OK?
Click to expand...

Better understanding of the point you were making. Thanks for the clarification!


Neil Abeynayake said:
Guys,

Remove the monitor and any EVF connected to the brain as indicated on my post to be sure it is NOT a factor Please!

Thank you,
Click to expand...


Covered - In ehe scenario I posted - I typically remove the EVF and / or touchscreen before stowing the camera. However, the side handle stays on (as mentioned, DSMC2 requires tooling to remove).
 
Brian F Kobylarz said:
Covered - In ehe scenario I posted - I typically remove the EVF and / or touchscreen before stowing the camera. However, the side handle stays on (as mentioned, DSMC2 requires tooling to remove).
Click to expand...

To remove the DSMC2 Side Handle you need a Torx 10 screwdriver. You could pick one at any auto parts store or the local hardware store for less than $5.00.
 
Ulf Krentz said:
To make sure it keeps the time I had to power it up and set the time, than switched it off but kept it powered via the DC in for one hour. Checked, time is still present. Switched off again, no power waited for another hour, checked still holding time. So either the time when the camera was powering up and being on (for about 1 Min in total) is enough to charge the battery to keep the internal clock running or it may have been the DC in. I´ll check back tomorrow.
Click to expand...

My Epic-W lost the time over night, so I think it is safe to say it does not charge when switched off while DC-in powered. While I would not mind to just set the time when starting to work with my camera after a longer period of pause my conclusion for now is to not let the camera sit without being used, as this will deep discharge the internal battery, probably leading to early death. This is odd and has nothing to do with any battery issues (I never experienced) on DSMC1.
 
Just turned on the camera today -after being off for a little more than 48 hours-, and time and date have reset.

I am going to do a last test, using Neil's steps: http://www.reduser.net/forum/showth...ISSUE-really&p=1755319&viewfull=1#post1755319

I never had this issue either with DMSC1. It is also quite discomforting to hear that sending the camera back to RED has apparently not solved the issue for some users here.
 
I'm always disconnecting my monitor when my DSMC1 camera is being stored, it's still loosing time and date. But it also does so when being powered off for a short period of time (seconds). Guess the battery was deep discharged or something, since it doesn't hold any charge anymore.
 
Neil Abeynayake said:
To remove the DSMC2 Side Handle you need a Torx 10 screwdriver. You could pick one at any auto parts store or the local hardware store for less than $5.00.
Click to expand...

I have a substantial collection of tools. The required Torx live in the camera bag.

As mentioned in earlier post, if removing the side handle is the solution to mitigating a drain on the internal battery, well, that is just a PITA.
Should not be necessary with this caliper of gear.

Request: Can you test out your theory and share the results?
 
Brian, FYI I don´t have a side handle and my Epic-W is loosing Time and Date within a couple of days after being in use for a period of time. Not sure if any additional accessories add drain to the battery. As I already wrote above, it looks like we have to keep the camera running at least every few days. I seriously hope this issue gets addressed.
 
Brian F Kobylarz said:
I have a substantial collection of tools. The required Torx live in the camera bag.

As mentioned in earlier post, if removing the side handle is the solution to mitigating a drain on the internal battery, well, that is just a PITA.
Should not be necessary with this caliper of gear.

Request: Can you test out your theory and share the results?
Click to expand...

I turned the camera off right after my post (edit) on this thread (1:00 p.m. Pacific on Monday the 4th). I want to keep it off for 48 hours before turning it on. That is going to be around 1:00 p.m. Pacific on Wednesday the 6th.

I'll post my results, here around 2:00 p.m. PDT on Thursday.

Good luck guys.
 
Brad Harris said:
Hi all,

If you have not yet reached out to RED Product Support directly, please submit a request on support.red.com and send a saved log file along with a description of your particular issue and any accessories you may have attached to your camera BRAIN.
Click to expand...

Hello Brad,

Can you answer...

Does the camera have to be ON for the battery to charge? Or, does having an Anton Bauer type battery on the back, or just having the DC line powered, but the camera off work? Also, how often do we need to do this? And, how long will the charge last before we need to charge the small battery again?
 
Martin Stevens said:
Hello Brad,

Can you answer...

Does the camera have to be ON for the battery to charge? Or, does having an Anton Bauer type battery on the back, or just having the DC line powered, but the camera off work? Also, how often do we need to do this? And, how long will the charge last before we need to charge the small battery again?
Click to expand...

I have been contacted by RED support (What a great customer care, btw) and got this answer which probably is of interest for many:

To confirm, the internal battery in DSMC2 cameras is rechargeable; the battery will recharge itself when the camera is on and operated under normal conditions. If the camera were to sit on a shelf for say, about 6 months, then the battery could be depleted by then. However it can be recharged by turning on the camera and leaving it powered for about 2 hours.

This sounds like a good functionality for me.

Cheers,

Ulf
 
Brad Harris said:
Hi all,

If you have not yet reached out to RED Product Support directly, please submit a request on support.red.com and send a saved log file along with a description of your particular issue and any accessories you may have attached to your camera BRAIN.
Click to expand...

I already did, sent in my camera and they replaced the entire board with the battery, got it back, issue is still the same. So submitting for support doesn't help if Red support teams doesn't know why it happens. Just replacing something that probably will have the same issue is not helping I'm afraid.
 
I got same answer from customer service and they are always very nice and helpful. So is what I said, if you keep the camera off for long time the battery can drain so is better to keep on in working conditions at least twice a week. This will recharge the internal battery.
 
So is this official, we have a rechargeable battery that last 2days... A clock battery that holds a 2day charge, tell me it ain't so
 
OK, I got the same email and waiting for an RMA from RED. Our Epic-W is going to Irvine HQ on this Friday, just to be on the safe side.

Here are "Test Results" from our posting as of 18:00 PDT on 09/06/2017:

The Epic-W was completely stripped down and kept "naked" for over 48 hours. Guess what? The camera started without ANY hissyfits. Isn't that great or what?????

My deductions on this is; there is a power draw either the monitor and/or the DSMC2 Side Handle while the camera is turned off and/or in storage.

The ball is in your court RED Engineering Team.

Now please "Do something" about it. No excuses! We have gone through this enough!
 
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