Quick question...
First of all, I just ordered the Z1 w/ the HDV deck from B&H and am veryy excited. I have a shoot on this coming Saturday, but it should be in before then. My big question is, what batteries are included? Is there a large capacity or just a small capacity battery? Thanks in advance.

-Rob

Just a small battery is included- you better order a larger capacity or two. Kurth

Yeah, don't expect to do much shooting with the included battery :-) My NPF-970's probably give between 4 and 5 hours continuous shooting with both viewfinder and LCD screen on (never run one completely dead in non-stop use). I got two, plus a 960 I already had, so I don't worry much about running out of power most of the time.

Rob, I usually get between 2-3 hrs out of the included NP-F570 with the LCD running. I too would recommend picking up more battery power.

I got a used NP-F960 off B&H the other day. I haven't read a lot about them anywhere online until I saw it on B&H. When I searched for it on Sony's web site my results would all redirect to the 970 page so I just assumed it was good to go. My assumption, based on Boyd's comment is that wasn't a terribly bad decision after all.

In anycase, I'm hoping that between the 570, 960 and my AB HyTRON 50 I'll have 10+ hours of shooting at a time.

awesome guys, thats what I needed to know. One of my professors seemed to think that it would come with both because with he got his it did. I guess I'll be checking out a large battery from the university for next weekend!

The NPF-960 was the largest capacity battery Sony made for a long time. It runs my VX-2000 for a good 8 hours! When Sony introduced the FX-1 they also rolled out the NPF-970 which has a little more capacity. My 960 is nearly 4 years old so that might affect life, but my NPF-970 lasts noticeably longer, maybe another hour.

Based on what you're saying, I guess Sony has discontinued the 960. Wow, do you really think that little 570 will run 2 or 3 hours? Honestly, I never even used mine but based on its size and weight relative to the 970 that's hard to believe. Or maybe my estimate of 970 life is too conservative? I'm talking about a scenario filming a live performance for over three hours non-stop, then capturing the video with rewinding, etc. I don't think the 970 will last more than about 5 hours in this scenario and I'd expect the 570 to last only a fraction of that.

The NPF-960 was the largest capacity battery Sony made for a long time. It runs my VX-2000 for a good 8 hours! When Sony introduced the FX-1 they also rolled out the NPF-970 which has a little more capacity. My 960 is nearly 4 years old so that might affect life, but my NPF-970 lasts noticeably longer, maybe another hour.

Based on what you're saying, I guess Sony has discontinued the 960. Wow, do you really think that little 570 will run 2 or 3 hours? Honestly, I never even used mine but based on its size and weight relative to the 970 that's hard to believe. Or maybe my estimate of 970 life is too conservative? I'm talking about a scenario filming a live performance for over three hours non-stop, then capturing the video with rewinding, etc. I don't think the 970 will last more than about 5 hours in this scenario and I'd expect the 570 to last only a fraction of that.


Looks like the 970 is the one to get. I've also heard that the knockoff brand batteries don't last as long--few extra bucks for the sony but if it's got a longer lifespan it's probably worth it.

w/ the HDV deck from B&H


Let us know how you like the deck.

I've also heard that the knockoff brand batteries don't last as long--few extra bucks for the sony but if it's got a longer lifespan it's probably worth it.

I suppose there are a variety of 3rd party brands, but when I got my camera B&H didn't have the sony 970's in stock so I got a Power 2000. So far as I can tell, it lasts about the same amount of time as my genuine Sony 970. But I would have prefered to get the Sony if they were in stock at the time.

OTOH, I got two Sony NPF-960's when I bought my VX-2000 back in 2001. One of them died without warning after about two years but the other one is still going strong. Go figure...

..and there's been some reports of 3rd party batteries not functioning in the z1. Probably they were ebay offerings. Kurth

Well I brought my generic 970 battery for my fx-1 from ebay and it's been working great.

I get a readout of 370 min. with the lcd monitor used. It comes with a battery charger and the cost was under $50.00.

I just check and can't find the guy who was selling it. I've only come up with one guy selling a generic 970 for 47.99.

My question from a different post. Anyone have issues with charging their generics and using it with their camcorders? This is in reference to a short that caused several FX-1 and Z1 users to send it for repairs.

Wow, do you really think that little 570 will run 2 or 3 hours?
I didn't consider the battery issue until after I had my Z1 and had already spent far to much of my non-existent budget. I had to shoot my documentary entirely with the 570 for the first day. I got an hour and 40 minutes of footage off that battery. The shoot was about 4 and a half hours long. I'd say I got about 140 minutes (give or take a few). Is it possible that it had a little extra life in it running off the first charge? I haven't used it much since. I tried being careful to avoid running the camera when I wasn't shooting but I had the LCD on when I was.

I have had a couple of 960s go south, but, they are four years old. They start with lots of time on the viewfinder indicator, and they die 10 minutes later. They just quit recycling. I have replaced them with 970s. Big batteries are worth it. Sony brand name costs more but you can never have too much reliability or too many batteres. I run lights, clamshell decks and cameras,rotating four batteries. And, they really do last four hours plus on a Z1.

Well, the small battery that comes with the FX-1 does last about 21/2 to 3 hours.

I've used mine for about that much time. I think with the LCD running, it gives me a read out of over 170mins of battery time.

You know, until this post, I never fully thought about reading the battery display to see how many minutes are given fully charged.

So, a new question. How often have you used your Sony brand 970 batteries and when did you notice the battery going bad. Ex: 2 years of using it with a recharge once every week, etc...

Curious to see how many recharges my generic battery will do compared to the name brand.

Hi John:

The big batteries, the 960s - now replaced by Sony with a 970 and slightly more amps - will last a very long time. Four years included constant use, in decks, lights and cameras. Ultimately, they wear out, and will not take a charge. But they are strong and reliable, and at the end, the 960s that died owed me nothing.

Answering your specific question: I have never kept precise records. But ususally if they are down to anything below 200 minutes, I put 'em on the charger and don't wait until they run down. These are lithium batteries, and you should not wait until they are fully discharged. Because I recycle through four batteries, each battery is getting charged 2-3 times a month. Two of are using power for cameras and decks, and sometimes lights.

On a clamshell deck, run time is about 230 minutes. On a 20 watt Sony light, about 90 minutes. On a PD-150/170 many hours, over 400 minutes. The Z1 eats power, especially because I use the LCD constantly. There the meter runs probably in the neighborhood of 240 minutes or around four hours.

If I am shooting all day, I count on using two batteres. The smaller 570 run the camera fine, but you won't get any long times. I am conservative on these: on count on about 60-70 minutes of time.

I would be interested to hear what anybody else has experienced.

Jack

Well, the small battery that comes with the FX-1 does last about 21/2 to 3 hours.

I'm still finding that had to believe for some reason.... maybe my Z1 draws more power than your FX1?

Boyd, my 2 and 1/2 hour result with a 570 is on a Z1U. I'll use my 570 one last time and try to time it this time just for you (I used the word "time" 3 times in this sentence. heh).

That will be interesting to see. Again, my 4 to 5 hour number is based on continuous running with both viewfinder and LCD active. If I shoot for short periods and turn the camera off in between then I think the run time might be a lot longer. OTOH, I see that the B&H sells the 570 for about $50 and the 970 for about $100, so they would both cost about the same per hour :-)

On page 12 of the Z1 manual it lists estimated continuous HDV recording time with the LCD on and fully charged batteries as follows:

570: 105 min
770: 220 min
970: 335 min

Interestingly, they list slightly longer times when recording DVCAM/DV SP:

570: 110 min
770: 235 min
970: 355 min

But Sony seems to think the 970 lasts 3x as long as the 570, not 2x as you're claiming. Now personally I think that 335 minute rating for the 970 might be a little optimistic. But they aren't even claiming 2 hours time for the 570. They claim "typical times" of 185 minutes for the 970 and 55 minutes for the 570. Those might be more like "worst case" numbers however...

Another nice timely thread...

A third party eBay battery just died on me the other day. Fully charged, yet when I boot up my fx1 with the battery I get the error message "Use 'InfoLithium' Battery". It was a knockoff 970, and had worked perfectly for a few uses prior to yesterday.

I'm now attempting to get a replacement as they offer a 1 year warranty... might have just been this one that was defective.

The ebay store will replace it for me free of charge. In fact they are sending it to me before I send the defective battery back. Good communication, we'll see how this goes.

Just out of curiosity, I never hear anyone use power directly from the power cable. Is that a bad thing?

My old Hi 8 cam had a battery that lasted only 2 hours, so every chance I had, I used cable without the battery attached and let that charge just in case...

All I hear is people telling you to get lots of long lasting batteries. Is using power not as effective?

Please don't post links to products from non-sponsors. As far as running your camera on line power, you might want to read this thread...

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=44855

Does anyone know if the 970 battery and ACV-Q1050D dual charger will work with each other? On the charger's description, it doesn't list the 970 as being compatable but it does have other same-sized batteries. I'm pretty positive it will work but I just wanted to check and be sure.

Charger: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=419888&is=REG&addedTroughType=categoryNavigation
Battery: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=352125&is=REG&addedTroughType=search

I'm out of town until tomorrow and won't be able to check this until then, so thanks in advance!

I can't say for sure because I haven't used one, but it's made by Sony and says it's compatible with L series batteries. Since the 970 is relatively new, it might not be listed simply because the 960 used to be the top of the line.

Thanks for the quick reply, Boyd. I think I'll call Sony tomorrow.

..and there's been some reports of 3rd party batteries not functioning in the z1. Probably they were ebay offerings. Kurth

But not so with Hawk Woods' batteries.

http://www.hawkwoods.com/

They work, at half the price of Sonys, and come with a free charger. Have used my collection for 6 months with absolutely no problems. Especially useful in the on-camera light.

My only wish is for a little manual switch on these pattern batts that would signify they've been used.

You'll get less than a PD150's worth out of them, but a day's shoot is two batteries, max. Collect the chargers, great for charging 3 batts overnite! :-) Have thanked the car adaptor too - left the Z1 on VTR on batts by mistake? Charge the limp Sony battery on way to location - 40 mins of backup! :-)

HTH, M.