Vivitar DVR850 - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: bilko
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 24, 2012, 03:32:40 pm
content: Anybody ever bought one of these cameras ?I bought one in February 2012, haven't used it because the product is either badly designed or faulty. The battery is a Li Ion. It lasts the whole of three days in the camera from a full charge to flat, with the camera switched off. If I remove the battery, it doesn't self discharge so the battery appears to be OK.What's the problem, the camera is supposed to be waterproof up to about 2 or 3m. Every time you charge the battery, you have to open the seal on the battery door to plug in the charger.I have spent the last two months trying to sort this out with the manufacturer.The camera draws 2.4mA when it is switched off, either bad design, bad camera or fake parts.What would you do ?

author: cybergibbons
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 24, 2012, 03:39:23 pm
content: What problem needs sorting out? Why is it an issue opening the seal on the battery door?

author: bilko
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 24, 2012, 03:54:26 pm
content: Because the camera is supposed to be an underwater camera and the seal and the battery compartment aren't up to the job of being opened so often.The problem is with the 2.4mA battery discharge whilst the camera is switched off, I would expect a few microamperes at most, even Dave's one button toggle switch uses far less current than this commercial product, see EEVblog262-SoftLatchPowerSwitchOh, and if you spontaneously grab the camera to start filming, you can guarantee the battery will be flat!

author: cybergibbons
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 24, 2012, 04:28:50 pm
content: Most of the cheap underwater cameras have all of their ports, battery etc. under one cover. Why can't the seal take it?

author: bilko
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 24, 2012, 04:42:29 pm
content: Because the seal, the door, the hinge and the catch or insubstantial and will not take the wear and tear and remain waterproof. This is not the main issue, the main issue is the high discharge rate whilst the camera is switched off. This camera couldn't have been through any quality control or this issue should have been picked up (or the manufacturer's have decided to turn a blind eye to this).As far as I am concerned this makes the product unusable and therefore a design failure.

author: cybergibbons
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 24, 2012, 10:50:22 pm
content: So is it a fault with just yours or all of them? Can't you return it to the retailer?

author: bilko
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 24, 2012, 10:55:23 pm
content: I'm trying to find out. The manufacturer is silent on this one which makes me a bit suspicious. I haven't heard of anybody else having the same fault, that's not to say that there is/was a bad batch.I suppose that I may well have to return it to the retailer, however the return postage will cost around what I paid for the camera.Just wondered if anybody else has the same camera and experienced the same fault before accepting a replacement.