My CFV forgets what day it is.

[peterbkk]

My CFV forgets what day and time it is. If I do not use the CFV for a few days, the date and time resets back to the original 2000 year date. I have to remember to set it back to the current date and time before taking any photos.

It is a nuisance because, if I do not remember to set it, the image date stored in the image's EXIF data is wrong, effecting the sort sequence in programs like Aperture 2.

I know we have discussed this problem in one of the long, long CFV threads, but I was wondering if anyone had come up with a solution to this problem.

Has anyone had a response from Hasselblad on this issue?

Regards
Peter

 

[jotloob]

Peter

The response from HASSELBLAD was just to replace the small battery which is used for the TOY/TOD . This can only be done in an authorized HASSELBLAD repair center . This has been done to my CFV back , but I know from others as well .
This small battery is charged when the back is powered on .
I made a test last year , where I left the CFV back powered on for 12 hours .
This is possible by replceing the big batteries with fully charged ones , whenever they are empty .
My assumption was , that the small battery will then be fully loaded . I did not use my CFV back for about seven weeks , but found correct TOY/TOD , checking for correct setting once a week . After this period of time , the TOY/TOD setting was lost again .
I am afraid , there will be no other solution than checking for a correct setting before you start shooting .

Jürgen

 

[peterbkk]

The response from HASSELBLAD was just to replace the small battery which is used for the TOY/TOD .

Thanks for the response.

I guess that 7 weeks is better than my current situation, when the TOY/TOD battery only lasts a day or two.

I'll have to find an opportunity to get my CFV down to Hasselblad in Singapore.

Regards
Peter

 

[jotloob]

Peter

The design is , like with an ECO Drive wristwatch . This little beast battery is just working like a buffer . If nothing goes in , nothing can come out .
So you will have to keep your CFV powered on from time to time .
I do hope , the replacement will not take as long as it took with my CFV back .
It was 3 weeks . Good luck .

Regards Jürgen

 

[peterbkk]

Peter

The design is , like with an ECO Drive wristwatch . This little beast battery is just working like a buffer . If nothing goes in , nothing can come out .
So you will have to keep your CFV powered on from time to time .
I do hope , the replacement will not take as long as it took with my CFV back .
It was 3 weeks . Good luck .

Regards Jürgen

Seems like a design flaw. Most cameras have a small rechargeable battery to power the internal clock. But, usually they last for months, if not years, without needing a power boost. I have a Sony camcorder that I don't use very often, but the time is always correct...

 

[jotloob]

Peter

"Seems like a design flaw" .

I don't think so . In my opinion , they just used poor quality batteries , to save money .
I have a sientific pocket calculator from HP . It came with 2 little lithium/ionen batteries . Twelve years later , I had to replace them . Isn't that great ? ? ?
But , sorry to to say , many companies forget , that quality keeps their good brand name , and that saving just pennies can destroy a lot .


Regards Jürgen

 

[frieder]

I had to send my CFV Back to Hasselblad in Sweden twice for this reason. It seems to be a design problem of the clock IC. At the moment it´s working well. But I try to switch on the CFV once a week for one hour. Hasselblad should find a solution for this problem!

Frieder

 

[atanabe]

I had the same problem, contacted Hasselblad and they pointed me in the direction of the manual. Sure enough it was there, connect the Firewire cable to the CFV port and computer, keep the computer on (this is the only time the Firewire has power) and let the internal battery charge for up to 12 hours. The battery should last for about 2 weeks, if it does not hold the charge then it needs to be replaced.

Al

 

[peterbkk]

I had the same problem, contacted Hasselblad and they pointed me in the direction of the manual. Sure enough it was there, connect the Firewire cable to the CFV port and computer, keep the computer on (this is the only time the Firewire has power) and let the internal battery charge for up to 12 hours. The battery should last for about 2 weeks, if it does not hold the charge then it needs to be replaced.

Al

I will give that a try. In the past I tried charging the clock battery by leaving the CFV switched on (untethered) but only did it for a couple of hours until the CFV's external battery ran flat. I will try it tethered for 12 hours and see what happens.

Regards
Peter

 

[frieder]

I will try it tethered for 12 hours and see what happens.

Regards
Peter

I assume the following will happen: one year later you will have to change the battery again. And as you have been run out of guarantee you will have to pay pretty much money and to wait at least 3 weeks for the replacement. Perhaps the Imacon engineers should ask their far-east-colleagues from Sony, Nikon, Canon or some notebook manufaturer how to design simple functions of electronic circuits.

Frieder, who had to replace the battery twice.

 

[polypal]

I suppose not all users of CFV backs have been informed that the clock/date systems
uses good old vacuum tubes, the most reliable electronics ever invented by mankind.
These circuits need a great deal extra power so the back up battery only lasts
4 weeks.

Due to constant charging and discharging it has to be replaced every 10 months.
First time under warranty of course after that at a modest 177,21 euro plus shipping.

 

[dh7lk]

I will give that a try. In the past I tried charging the clock battery by leaving the CFV switched on (untethered) but only did it for a couple of hours until the CFV's external battery ran flat. I will try it tethered for 12 hours and see what happens.

Regards
Peter

Got the same advise from Hasselblad to recharge by running >12h on firewire.
No result, lost TOD/TOY again after some hours. Send to Hasselblad, back from Hasselblad, after 2 weeks same result. Again to Hasselblad and back with
changed processor board (warranty). Now it works fine still with long periods
of no use.....
Regards
Lutz

 

[atanabe]

Got the same advise from Hasselblad to recharge by running >12h on firewire.
No result, lost TOD/TOY again after some hours. Send to Hasselblad, back from Hasselblad, after 2 weeks same result. Again to Hasselblad and back with
changed processor board (warranty). Now it works fine still with long periods
of no use.....
Regards
Lutz

I was told by Hasselblad that if the battery does not hold the charge that the circuit board needs to be replaced. It looks like a lot of CFVs have this problem. So if your CFV does not hold a charge and it is under warranty by all means get it checked out to avoid an expensive repair later.
Once they determine that a repair is warranted and if your CFV is still covered by warranty (if you registered online they actually use it) you will be sent an RMA. Once the back has been received, an email will be sent acknowledging receipt. I wish other manufacturers would do the same.

Best of luck,
Al

 

[peterbkk]

Update on clock battery performance?

Thought I would kick this old thread back to life to see if there has been any new experiences out there.

To be frank, my 'blad and the CFV sat idle for most of last year (hangs head in shame). Then I took it out and shot some images.

The images showed that I did have some problems with the CFV so it had to go back to Sweden (I'll do another thread on this). I had them fix the clock at the same time. Now the clock setting lasts at least a week. I have not tested for longer.

For those of you who have had the problem fixed in Sweden, how long is the clock battery holding up before you need to reset the date?

Regards
Peter

 

[frieder]

CFV clock

After having sent my CFV back to Sweden one year ago, it' s working now without problems.
Frieder

 

[jotloob]

After having sent my CFV back to Sweden one year ago, it' s working now without problems.
Frieder

I had my CFV sent to Sweden because of the same TOY/TOD problem .
Thereafter the TOY/TOD was hold for about seven weeks .
Now the problem is back and TOY/TOD is hold for about 3 days only , even after the back was attached to my computer for 12 hours . With PHOCUS started the TOY/TOD value is set automatically to the correct current value .

I will not send it to HASSELBLAD again , even having an extended warrenty . HASSELBLAD is obviously unable to fix that problem .

 

[polypal]

I will not send it to HASSELBLAD again , even having an extended warrenty . HASSELBLAD is obviously unable to fix that problem .

Sad but true:
A 10.000 USD digital back is not able to store TOD/TOY data while at the same time any cheap mobile phone does that without problems.

 

[michaelhcothran]

It's a nuisance for sure. My chosen recourse is simply to plug the back into my computer via the firewire connection when not in use (the back, that is). Since my computer is "on" whenever I'm home, the back keeps itself charged. In essence, my body & CFV back "live" next to the computer, instead of being stored in a cabinet or camera bag.

 

[peterbkk]

It's a nuisance for sure. My chosen recourse is simply to plug the back into my computer via the firewire connection when not in use (the back, that is). Since my computer is "on" whenever I'm home, the back keeps itself charged. In essence, my body & CFV back "live" next to the computer, instead of being stored in a cabinet or camera bag.

Wish I could do that too but I would have a fungus problem if I did that. (http://www.hasselbladinfo.com/forum/showthread.php?p=32565#post32565)

You may also be wearing out the cooling fan by running the CFV too often.

I am just going to try to use the CFV once a week and charge up the clock battery by connecting to Firewire for an hour or two.

Regards
Peter

 

[vandevantersh]

Mine "died" a few months after the warranty expired. For me, it wasn't worth the time or cost to have the battery changed. Now, I just check the settings after turning the back on and reset as needed. It takes < 30". It's is annoying but in the "big" picture, a trivial problem.

Steve