Anyone found a decent 3rd party battery for the XA20 yet?

I keep searching but have not found one yet. At some point someone has to make this battery though.

I think the xa20 battery is the same as the hf-g30 batt. I got one at eBatts.com. It's the equivalent of the one that comes with the g30, and so far seems good. I was assured by eBatts that it is functionally the same.

I think the xa20 battery is the same as the hf-g30 batt. I got one at eBatts.com. It's the equivalent of the one that comes with the g30, and so far seems good. I was assured by eBatts that it is functionally the same.

What model number did you get. Looking at their website, there appears to be three that they claim will work but one is getting slammed under the user reviews as being incompatible.

Bob

I wonder if the reason the XA20/25 and G30 demand a different battery is because they use about 50% more power than the XA10. Given the sensitivities/hazards associated with Li ion battery technology, the safety features built into the BP819 series may have been set at too low a threshold for the XA10, and thus we have the BP820 series battery.

What model number did you get. Looking at their website, there appears to be three that they claim will work but one is getting slammed under the user reviews as being incompatible.

Bob

B-9679H is the one I got

B-9679H is the one I got

The price 34.95. It's the larger one of the three offered.

The price 34.95. It's the larger one of the three offered.

There's a little confusion on my part, because I think there were only two offerings when I ordered mine. I am thinking that of the two offered at that time, the larger of the two was the same size as the battery that comes with the G30, eBatts does not indicate the Sony battery that their batteries replace, so it makes it a little confusing. Probably best to contact them and get clarification.

B-9679H is the one I got

Not doubting that yours works, but that is the one that has two reviews (8/4 and 8/24) saying that it does not work with these new cameras. I might just call ebatts to see what they say about these new Canon cameras and the batteries. I need another battery or two pretty bad and I really don't want to pay the asking price for the actual Canon batteries unless I absolutely have too.

Not really my business, but do you really want to risk junking a $2000+ camera with a $30 Chinese knock-off battery? The BP820 is around $100, which is really quite reasonable for a camera at this level.

The OEM battery at least has more chance of being compatible and not letting you down mid-filming than the knock-offs.

I've ran 3rd party batteries in nearly every video and still camera that I have owned over the past 10 years. Often times I've had better battery life from these 3rd party batteries than I did with OEM.

While I agree that OEM are going to have inherently less risk, if I can get as good or better life from a 3rd party battery that is known to work in a camera, then that is the route that I will take. If not then sure I will suck it up and buy an OEM battery or two.

Give it time, there will be quality 3rd party batteries that come along. These cameras are too new yet.

A primary issue with low cost third party batteries is the quality control during manufacture; both fit/finish and the internals. We recall that some third party sold for the XL1/GL1 were just a tad fatter than the Canon (by a few thousands of an inch) and did not fit in the XH-A1. You could force them in, but paid hell to get them out. (Problem fixed with some sand paper applied to the battery case).

In my experience some have a higher likelihood of battery failure overtime compared to an OEM battery. But is is also not uncommon to get a winner as well that is just as good.

You pays your money and takes your chances.

A primary issue with low cost third party batteries is the quality control during manufacture; both fit/finish and the internals. We recall that some third party sold for the XL1/GL1 were just a tad fatter than the Canon (by a few thousands of an inch) and did not fit in the XH-A1. You could force them in, but paid hell to get them out. (Problem fixed with some sand paper applied to the battery case).

In my experience some have a higher likelihood of battery failure overtime compared to an OEM battery. But is is also not uncommon to get a winner as well that is just as good.

You pays your money and takes your chances.

Very true. If you are producing work for clients, it is not advisable to take chances.

I just do videos for sharing with family and friends.

Hi there,

My first post here, as I have been waiting some time now to reply as I've only just had my account validated, so here goes, rather belatedly.

I had made enquiries at Blue Nook in the US about Wasabi batteries to fit my XA20, I received an informative email back informing me that compatibile Wasabi batteries to fit HG-F30 / XA20 / XA25 should be available in approx two months time and to get back in touch with them nearer the middle part of September.

I had read of fairly favourable comments on Amazon on this particular make of battery, hence the reason I started searching on the net for them.

Here in the UK I can find the BP-828 from one seller at £88.02p, all others seem to want between £105 - £129.

Based on my positive experience with Wasabi batteries in my Panasonic Lumix GH3, I'd be willing to give the ones for my XA20 a try when they become available.

Thanx Alan for your experience of those batteries - thats good to know.

I think there's finally a 3rd party battery (manufactured in China) for sale on ebay that will work with the XA20 (at least, they advertise that it will). I've ordered 2 and will post my results when it arrives.

Li ion BP 828 BP828 Decoding Battery Charger for Canon HF G30 XA20 XA25 BP 820 | eBay (http://www.ebay.com/itm/Li-ion-BP-828-BP828-Decoding-Battery-Charger-For-CANON-HF-G30-XA20-XA25-BP-820-/151139410938?pt=Batteries_Chargers&hash=item23309c63fa)

2XLI ion BP 828 BP828 Decoding Battery Charger for Canon HF G30 XA20 XA25 BP 820 | eBay (http://www.ebay.com/itm/2xLi-ion-BP-828-BP828-Decoding-Battery-Charger-For-CANON-HF-G30-XA20-XA25-BP-820-/151139411933?pt=Batteries_Chargers&hash=item23309c67dd)

Thanks for that Gary,
In the meantime I have been advised by Blue Nook, the distributors for Wasabi batteries, that the new model to fit the Canon HG30/XA20/XA25 should be available around November 6th

From the photos of the charger, it look similar to the stuff now at BestBatt in the related thread, but perhaps a slightly lower price for battery and charger..

B-9679H is the one I got

UPDATE:
I recently tried this battery from ebatts.com in my G30 and the camera reported it as incompatible. It's weird, because the battery worked ok when I initially tried it????
I had a critical moment lost due to only having that battery as a spare. My other batteries were flat at that time. I will use Canon batteries now.
I also replied to the other battery thread on this forum as to the problem. Steer clear of this battery.

Hmm - seems Gary may have wasted his money then, or has he ?
because its an Ebay purchase, I know that here in the UK you can get your money back if the item you purchased is "not fit for purpose" eg incorrectly described in this case.

I find it strange Tom, that the battery originally worked and now doesn't, I presume the battery had held a charge since the last time you used it.

Yes, I found it very strange also that all of a sudden it would not work. I don't know the exact status of the charge, because it produced the compatibility message and powered down automatically before getting to the point of indicating the charge status . Degree of charge may have something to do with it, but I didn't try recharging it and retrying it..............I angrily threw it as far as I could. (The green people will be on my case for that). A more rational person would probably have tested the battery in some way, but that lost photo opportunity erased any rational thoughts I might have formed.

At least the ebatt web page does not claim the B-9679H supports the XA20/25 or G30, but the BP820 listing for it may be an error.

If it worked once, it may have been an early failure that would have been covered under warranty.

I reported this in the other thread but will also do it here. I tried the battery from ebatts that stated on the web site it was compatible with the XA20 but was not. The battery from Bestbatt BP-828 does work. I have charged it in camera with it showing 225 min fully charged and used it several times swapping out the original battery and the 828 with no problems.....yet!!

Thanks for re-posting Tim, that's important information.

FWIW: I posted my initial observations with the BestBatt BP-828 eqivalent and their charger in the other current running battery thread.
http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/canon-xa-vixia-series-avchd-camcorders/517557-genuine-canon-batteries-used-xa-10-not-compatible-xa-20-a.html
Have yet to use them beyond charging and checking for power-up.

Good news, everyone. The 3rd party batteries from ebay that I posted about earlier arrived yesterday and I tried one of them out with my XA20 at a football game tonight. It performed flawlessly without any error messages and I'm very happy with the purchase. After a full charge, the display showed 180 minutes (compared to 120 minutes from the Canon supplied battery that came with the XA20) and it still had 60 minutes left after recording the 2 hour game. I discovered that these batteries will also work with the XA10 but, as many have already noted, the XA10 batteries will not work with the XA20. The charger performed flawlessly as well and I discovered that it can also be used to charge XA10 batteries. You can also charge the battery by attaching it to the XA20 and plugging it in.

Li ion BP 828 BP828 Decoding Battery Charger for Canon HF G30 XA20 XA25 BP 820 | eBay (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=151139410938&ssPageName=ADME:L:OC:US:3160)

New Li ion BP 828 BP828 Decoding Battery for Canon HF G30 XA20 XA25 BP 820 | eBay (http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Li-ion-BP-828-BP828-Decoding-Battery-CANON-HF-G30-XA20-XA25-BP-820-/161123653040?pt=Batteries_Chargers&hash=item2583b7d5b0)

Based on my experience so far, I would highly recommend these batteries for use in the XA20 as they appear to be completely compatible for a lot less money than the Canon BP 828s..

Remember folks, that typical issues with 3rd party batteries often will not show up for awhile. At best they normally will not last as long and within relatively short number of cycles they will discharge much faster then they should.

I bought one of these, so I'm not knocking them. I really do love the low price, but as they say, we get what we pay for.

Knock on wood.....I have some that I bought for the Sony VX-2100's that I'm still using in LED lamps. I always try to stay with some of the more common name brands though. I guess I'll keep using them until I get burnt... (no pun intended)

I still have the Sony generics also for lights. Those were exceptional.

The main issue I see with third party is typically quality control. That may result in shorter useful life span. The other issue can be slight variations in chemistry depending on the ultimate sourceof the included cells.

In the final analysis it maybe a bit like automotive batteries - there are many brands but only few plants producing them.

I too purchased high capacity generic batteries from Hong Kong well over 10 years ago, these were for a Sony Hi8 camcorder, even now these are still holding their charge ok - I just wish I could remember the company I got them from so that I could see if they do batts for my Canon XA20.

As with a lot of this type of stuff there are no markings on the product to identify them or where they came from apart from the standard " Made in Hong Kong"

I ordered the battery + charger from the link provided by Gary in his earlier post, items arrived today, took just over a week to be delivered from placing the order.

Everything working as it should, upon attaching the battery to my XA20 it shew 216 minutes of charge, after charging in supplied charger it shew 267 minutes - used it to run camera in media mode for approx 10 minutes and then charged this time via the camera - when charging completed, now showing 273 minutes.

Well pleased with this purchase, only time will tell how it will last but only having paid £30.01p ( $41.20 ) in total, I don't consider this a big deal if it does not last too long, and as a bonus I've got a stand alone charger for the original BP-820 battery.

Link was:-
Li ion BP 828 BP828 Decoding Battery Charger for Canon HF G30 XA20 XA25 BP 820 | eBay