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I've had a Panasonic DMC-GF2 for a couple of years and the battery life has always been terrible. I've bought a new battery, thinking that was the problem and battery life has still been bad. I will put a fully charged battery in the camera and 48 hours later (with the camera off the whole time) the battery will be dead.

Friends of mine with the same camera have not had this issue. I wish I had identified this problem and returned the camera while it was still under warranty. Am I doing something wrong or did I just get a bad unit?

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  • \$\begingroup\$ New battery brand? \$\endgroup\$
    – Itai
    Feb 23, 2013 at 17:51
  • \$\begingroup\$ I have the same problem... the battery is seriously drained even when the camera is OFF. \$\endgroup\$
    – krumpelstiltskin
    Oct 6, 2013 at 11:51

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I have own this camera for 2 years and I don't have battery problem you mentioned. The camera preserve its battery power well even I forgot to switch it off, the camera goes into sleep mode after a while. Although Panasonic has released a newer firmware but the firmware update isn't relate to battery power. So I guess your unit should have some problem and should return it before the warranty expire.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Sadly, I think this is the case. \$\endgroup\$
    – Chris W.
    Feb 25, 2013 at 19:04
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You shouldn't leave the battery in the camera when not using it for some time, e.g. over night. That being said, 48 hours is still bad.

However, as long as long as the battery lasts for an entire day of shooting, you can just charge the battery over night. If not, you'll have to work with two batteries,.

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    \$\begingroup\$ I really don't think overnight counts as not using the camera for a long time! The take-your-batteries-out-when-not-in-use advice applies on a six-month or longer time frame. \$\endgroup\$
    – mattdm
    Feb 24, 2013 at 8:54
  • \$\begingroup\$ Some Panasonic cameras do have a significant leakage, so that overnight does count. I had an FZ-20 which was rather similar. \$\endgroup\$
    – oefe
    Feb 24, 2013 at 8:59
  • \$\begingroup\$ Let me rephrase. I don't think overnight should count. :) Or, I don't think overnight counts, unless there is a problem. \$\endgroup\$
    – mattdm
    Feb 24, 2013 at 9:04
  • \$\begingroup\$ Certainly it would be better if his camera wouldn't leak. However, if it does, getting into the habit of removing the battery after use is probably the easiest solution. \$\endgroup\$
    – oefe
    Feb 24, 2013 at 9:15
  • \$\begingroup\$ Okay, fair enough. I just didn't want it mistaken for general advice. \$\endgroup\$
    – mattdm
    Feb 24, 2013 at 9:16
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You answered the question yourself by saying that your friends have the same camera with no issues, so you basically confirmed it is most likely and issue with the camera.

As for the previous mention of taking your battery out overnight is a little odd and in all my time doing photography have never come across such a suggestion. In fact, I have one camera that I can leave switched on for days without hardly any decrease in battery because most cameras will go into a form of power saving mode.

If I was you I would bite the bullet and submit a support request to Panasonic and see what they say.

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