PowerShot SX610 HS Date Problem

[m_barlow]

Does the SX610 HS camera have a battery for time/date? My daughter is trying to transfer pics from Europe, but when she tries to begin the process for transferring pics via wifi, she gets a message saying "set the correct date and time" and the date has been reset to 00/00/00. Apparently it is keeping her from transferring the pics. She was able to transfer pics earlier in the week. I don't have a way to talk to her, so we have just been trading emails on it and has been hard to trouble shoot.  Any advice is appreciated!

[John_]

No not a seperate changeable battery. There is an internal rechargable battery that charges up off the main battery in about 4 hours and should remain charged after that for about 3 weeks by itself. So once she puts the main battery in, in about 4 hours that date/time battery will charge and last for 3 weeks or so

[m_barlow]

Thank you for the reply. She said she has been taking pics all day today, and the battery hasn't run out this week, so I would think that internal battery would remain charged.  Any thoughts on why the date battery would not be charged in this situation? Or is there anything else that could be causing the problem?

[John_]

Unless there is a problem with that internal date/time battery I can't find any reason for it resetting all the time. Once she sets the date it should stay there as long as the main battery was in long enough to charge it up. .

[John_]

There is one other possibility. On her battery there are multiple metal contacts perhaps there is a seperate contact on the battery that is used to only charge the date/time battery. If so and I am just guessing since I do not have access to the technical drawings, that contact might be dirty or damaged or the battery iself is defective. A new battery is something fairly inexpensive to try especially if the camera is out of warranty. If it is in warranty she should report the problem before it expires then send it off for repair when she gets a chance. There are also contacts inside the battery compartment that mate up with the battery one of those might be dirty or damaged. She can look inside and also at the battery and see if she sees an obvious problem like a bent or broken contact or dirty one. A q-tip can be used to clean them.

[Richard]

Hi M_barlow,

Thanks for posting.

If the camera's date and time must be reset each time she starts the camera, it will require repair to resolve this issue.

Since she's overseas, there are a couple of alternatives to the transfer via Wi-Fi:

Her camera camera accepts a USB to mini-B cable (not included). The camera's USB terminal is located on the right-hand side of the camera (as you're holding it to take a photo) under a small door.  These cables are normally available from camera and electronics shops, or camera or electronics departments in larger stores. This cable is also used with other electronic equipment, so she may have one already.

She may also use of a card reader to download her images.

A card reader is an inexpensive device that allows her to download images and video without connecting the camera to her computer. She just removes the memory card from her camera and plugs it into the card reader. The card reader plugs into a USB port, allowing the computer to access the pictures and videos on the memory card.

Card readers may be found in the same stores that sell USB cables.