anyone know how many years I could expect out of new Sony BP-GL95 Li-Ion

I am currently using Anton Bauer Hytron 140, they are very heavy

I am also looking at the Anton Bauer Dionic Anton/Bauer - Products - Dionic 90 (http://www.antonbauer.com/Products/Dionic90)
However, these may only live 1 - 2 years

I am also looking at the Anton Bauer Dionic Anton/Bauer - Products - Dionic 90 (http://www.antonbauer.com/Products/Dionic90)
However, these may only live 1 - 2 years

I currently use 4 of these with a different camera system all together and the first 2 are now just over 2 years old with no "death" in sight, although OCCASIONALLY I need to double check to ensure they ACTUALLY took a charge in the first place. My 3rd and 4th Dionics are approaching 2 and 1.5 years respectively. All still holding full charge in terms of run time compared to new, give or take 10%.

good to know, that means I can keep my current Anton Bauer interactive charger

I shot a Doco and we were supplied AB Dionic batteries. We originally were given 6 batteries. Over the 120 days shooting we had 3 die on us. The shooting environment was rather harsh and the batteries were constantly bounced around being charged via a charger setup to charge the bats while we were travelling to the next location.

[QUOTE=Anton Strauss;1535318]anyone know how many years I could expect out of new Sony BP-GL95 Li-Ion


Anton ~

If you have a look at the following site this table will give you a good run-down on what to expect from different battery chemistrys. The third heading down will give you an average on the number of charge cycles per chemistry. Work out the battery life on your average usage / charge cycles.

Chapter 2: Battery Chemistries (http://www.buchmann.ca/chap2-page2.asp)

Another great battery information resource is:

Battery charger and battery analyzer experts - Cadex Electronics Inc. (http://www.cadex.com/)

They don't make batteries so have no vested interest other than they are one of the world leaders in charger / analyzer design.

looks like I may get new AB Hytron 100, they last 2 years longer than my Hytron 140 which are now almost dead after 150 charge cycles
Anton/Bauer - Products - HyTRON 100 (http://www.antonbauer.com/Products/HyTRON100)

I also have AB ProPac 14 that are now 6 years old and they still work like new, but they are only 60wh

I also have AB ProPac 14 that are now 6 years old and they still work like new, but they are only 60wh

REALLY?!?! I have nothing but bad luck with ProPac and TrimPacs so I just plain old won't use 'em. Interesting discussion.

I had nothing but good luck and lots of use with my Dionic90s. I loved my Hytron 120s but at 5.5 pounds each they had to go. They were killing me. After a job I would walk with my right shoulder 3 inches lower than my left. ;-)

at 5.5 pounds each they had to go. They were killing me. After a job I would walk with my right shoulder 3 inches lower than my left. ;-)

That's why they invented tripods, old timer! <sly wink>

is that what those things are for? ;-)
The last couple of years I used FS cams I spent a lot of time on the legs but lets face it, there are times when it just doesn't work so I'd force myself to get off the pod and after one very long and difficult wedding season plus getting a year older, I gave up the Hytrons. When I went to the Dionics it was like a whole new world. <sings---I feel pretty, I feel pretty....> well maybe not that but it prolonged my using FS cams for another 3 years. Finally had to give it up.

Makes a HUGE difference as well depending on just HOW the camera is naturally balanced: I find that big batteries help to balance out unwieldy front heavy cameras. When I first started shooting news using BetaSX series cameras, I found them SERIOUSLY front heavy compared to the dockable BetaSP cameras I had been using so the BPL-90 Sonys were a Godsend, even though they were heavier than the BPL-60s JUST because they "rotated" the centre of gravity back onto my shoulder more and out of my hands.

Yep, agreed. I always had at least 1 receiver hanging off the back of the camera to help balance it, sometimes I had 2. Remember stacking the bricks (NP1s) 3 or 4 on the back end. Yikes. I can't even remember, weren't the run times like 30 or 40 minutes? Short short short.
Ah the good old days. NOT! ;-)

NP1 "chocolate bars" were indeed good for JUST over 30 - 40 minutes or ONE BetaSP tape with focusing and waiting around a bit. I'm pretty sure THAT is why the Standby switch was implemented on early dockables/one piece camcorders...

The 13.2v and later 14.4v variants were BETTER but I'm glad we weren't stuck with 45 minute run times these days...

Of course, one could always wear a battery belt! That would give you at LEAST 2 hours... ;>

NP1 "chocolate bars" were indeed good for JUST over 30 - 40 minutes or ONE BetaSP tape with focusing and waiting around a bit. I'm pretty sure THAT is why the Standby switch was implemented on early dockables/one piece camcorders...

The 13.2v and later 14.4v variants were BETTER but I'm glad we weren't stuck with 45 minute run times these days...

Of course, one could always wear a battery belt! That would give you at LEAST 2 hours... ;>

yes and they also served as weight belts for scuba diving as well as weighing down people you might want to make 'disappear' into the lake.

I had nothing but good luck and lots of use with my Dionic90s. I loved my Hytron 120s but at 5.5 pounds each they had to go. They were killing me. After a job I would walk with my right shoulder 3 inches lower than my left. ;-)

yes, I also want lighter, if I can get 2-3 years out of the Dionic, I would prefer them over the heavy Hytron

I use a Hytron 140, a Dionic 90, and one of the new Dionic 90HC's.

I use the Hytron140(it's about four years old, and still good) for tripod work, and the 90's for hand-held. It only takes a second to swap batteries, so I go back and forth whenever possible.

The new Dionic 90HC's can handle more current, and have no problem running my PDW F350 and a 50watt Ultralite. The older style Dionics can't handle that much current and I was limited to a 20W lamp for the sungun.

There is almost no difference in the cost between the HC's and the older 90's so that's what I'll get from now on.

My first Dionic that I bought about four years ago is still going, though it will only run my camera for about 20 minutes or so. It was a very good battery though for about three years.

The second Dionic 90 that I bought has not been so good. It abruptly shuts down at the 40% range according to my camera, which is not good because it's a real pain when an XDCam camera is powered down without being able to save the clip it was recording properly.

That battery was about 14 months old when this problem first showed up. It has been sent to the dealer to determine what can be done.

Anton only warranties these batteries for 18 months so we will see how they treat me.

If they don't treat me well, I will likely look at moving to another make as dependability is the most important thing for me.

hmmmm, I would still like to know what sort of lifetime I could expect from the Sony 90's

if they last a lot longer, then I don't mind buying a Sony charger and sell my AB charger

also, I was not really happy with the Hytron 140, it has bitten me badly

all day shoot at darling harbour auditorium

the first battery was getting low so I swapped to the second and placed the first one on the interactive charger

then when the second one went low, I wanted to grab the first one and it was flat, because the charger went into a maintenance test cycle and was fully discharging the battery

I was not impressed, and since then this has happened on several occasions, but now I know to watch the charger display when connecting the battery to make sure I hit cancel when it beeps and starts testing

I like to bring a Hytron 120 and several Dionic 90s. If I'm on the sticks I'll go with the H 120 and handheld the 90s.
Dan

also, I was not really happy with the Hytron 140, it has bitten me badly

all day shoot at darling harbour auditorium

the first battery was getting low so I swapped to the second and placed the first one on the interactive charger

then when the second one went low, I wanted to grab the first one and it was flat, because the charger went into a maintenance test cycle and was fully discharging the battery

I was not impressed, and since then this has happened on several occasions, but now I know to watch the charger display when connecting the battery to make sure I hit cancel when it beeps and starts testing

I recently bought an AntonBauer Tandem 70 charger/power supply. It fits in between the camera mount and the battery. It's very handy because it powers the camera or if the camera is turned off it charges the battery.

If you are on sticks for a long period of time, just plug in the AC cable and you don't wear your battery down. If you need to go handheld, just unplug the AC cable and off you go.

I particularly like it for feeding my laptop on location, because I just plug in the AC cable beside the laptop and use it for transferring files.

It also charges a battery when off the camera, so it makes a good location charger as well. It only weighs about a pound, and even helps the balance of my F350.

I found some good reports about the Dionic
http://www.antonbauer.com/uploads/AntonBauer%20-%20D90%20Round-up%20-%20FINAL.pdf

I will order 2 of them and see how they go

I also found this handbook very handy
http://www.antonbauer.com/uploads/Downloads/Public%20Downloads/Video%20Battery%20Handbook.pdf

The second Dionic 90 that I bought has not been so good. It abruptly shuts down at the 40% range according to my camera, which is not good because it's a real pain when an XDCam camera is powered down without being able to save the clip it was recording properly.

That battery was about 14 months old when this problem first showed up. It has been sent to the dealer to determine what can be done.

Anton only warranties these batteries for 18 months so we will see how they treat me.


An update on my Dionic90 shutdown issue.

After having some trouble getting my Anton distributor to accurately relay the nature of my problem to the service department, I was able to get Anton Bauer's Customer Support involved.

Mike Pedevillano has arranged for a replacement battery to be sent to me.

His concern and quick action has re-assured me that Anton Bauer cares very much about us(the end users), and our ability to trust their products.

If you have problems, this a good place to turn.

Peter, I agree AB customer service is in fact one of the best out there. They really know the meaning of the words Customer Service. When I was using their batteries on my full size cameras I had a couple of small issues with my Intellicharger and they took care of it for me in fast and compentent fashion. They are really up there.

I received my new Dionic 90's today

wow, they are light, and my camera is now front heavy when on shoulder :)

readjusting shoulder pad all the way forward helped a bit but not enough, I need to add some weight :)