I'm looking to buy a HM100 in the next week or so and wanted some advice on an extra battery.

Are all 3rd party brands okay or are some better than others?

Is there such thing as a 5-hour battery?

Do I need to buy a separate charger or can I charge on-camera?

Finally, a local guy is selling his for $2100. It's only got 5 hours on it as videography wasn't his thing. Is this a good price?

I bid on one on ebay (with an extra JVC small battery, 2 16GB cards, and a Sagemax 2-year warranty) but got beat out at $2100.

Thanks for any/all help.

Dave

Hi Dave, I just picked up a new hm-100 for around 2300 and change. I tried going the ebay route, but never got the deal I wanted- the 2 year extended warranty is good and thats how I would go. For 2100 with all those accesories I would pull the trigger all the way up to about 2350-

This a big battery that sits under the camera Lasts for DAYS, not HRS.

I have one, It is awesome.

Anton Bauer ANELIPJ100K ElipZ 10K Battery and Charger Kit 1
Anton Bauer ANELIPJ100K ElipZ 10K Battery and Charger Kit 1 B&H

I second Andy's recommendation for the Anton Bauer battery -- I have one on my HM100 and the charge on that thing lasts for ever. Yes, it's big and heavy, but it's also a lot better than changing batteries every hour or two...

Thanks guys. That battery's a little too big and expensive for my taste.

However, I saw this one online. It's a SterlingTek POWWER 3000mAH.

Anyone using this battery?

The battery that comes with the camera sounds like it's only good for a few hours with the LCD closed. That true?

I get less than 1 hr usually.

Battery usage is of course dependent on things like whether you're using the LCD or image stabilisation, ambient temperature, etc., but I'm guessing I typically get about 90 minutes from the stock battery when fully-charged and when using the LCD and all the frills. Not so good -- which is why I have the AB battery as well...

Thanks guys. Very good to know!