all day power for the c300/c100 for $26

[Darren Levine]

just thought i'd share that this battery i just tested at at least 5.5hours strait on/recording, and half the time with the lcd/vf backlights turned to high. if being more conservative should easily last 6 hours

www.amazon.com/dp/B0046V58Y2/?tag=dlevi-20


that combined with the battery that comes with it lasting 4+ hours. you're set for a full day of shooting with only a $26 extra investment.

this battery is a little longer, and sticks out a little further, but doesn't get in the way at at. it does give you the battery level via the 4 segments, but does not give you the minutes. good enough for me.

[Jim Martin]

Always be cautious about third party batteries, especially no-name ones (I haven't heard of that brand)...I could go into the various potential problems but that has been done many times before here. Bottom line, not a good idea to risk a $16,000 or $6500 camera (and warranty) with a cheap battery.

Jim Martin
Filmtools.com

[Darren Levine]

I'm just as cautious. if you look around you'll see quite a large amount of positive reviews of wasabi batteries on amazon and around the net. even here..

http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/canon-xa...batteries.html

[Michael Turano]

I just bought two of the smaller, BP-955 size Wasabi batteries.

Amazon.com: Wasabi Power Battery for Canon BP-950G, BP-955 and Canon EOS C300, EOS C300 PL, EOS C500, EOS C500 PL, GL2, XF100, XF105, XF300, XF305, XH A1S, XH G1S, XL H1A, XL H1S, XL2 (6500mAh): Blue Nook

 

Amazon.com: Wasabi Power Battery for Canon BP-950G, BP-955 and Canon EOS C300, EOS C300 PL, EOS C500, EOS C500 PL, GL2, XF100, XF105, XF300, XF305, XH A1S, XH G1S, XL H1A, XL H1S, XL2 (6500mAh): Blue Nook

For some reason the smaller batteries are slightly more expensive - $28. A friend and fellow C300 owner swears by these batts. He uses them for his 5D Mark II as well.

[Mark Dobson]

Well the price is great and they seem like OK batteries.

However the main drawback with 3rd party batteries is the lack of feedback to the viewfinder.

It's really helpful to know how much power you have left at any stage. If you have to change a battery in the middle of an interview it can change the mood and break the concentration of all involved.

For that reason alone I'm going carry on paying Canon for their batteries.

[Darren Levine]

like i mentioned, you get the 4 segment indicator, and with each segment being over an hour, it's not that difficult to plan ahead.

[Mark Dobson]

Hi Darren,

Sorry, I must have missed that point about the battery level being indicated by 4 segments. Does that display in the viewfinder and on the LCD screen?

And, as Jim Martin mentioned, does using one of these 3rd party batteries actually void the Canon warranty should anything go wrong?

With all C300s being under a year old these are important questions.

[Darren Levine]

see for yourself, managed to snap a photo of both screens(barely)

[Jim Martin]

Originally Posted by Mark Dobson

Hi Darren,

Sorry, I must have missed that point about the battery level being indicated by 4 segments. Does that display in the viewfinder and on the LCD screen?

And, as Jim Martin mentioned, does using one of these 3rd party batteries actually void the Canon warranty should anything go wrong?

With all C300s being under a year old these are important questions.

For quick clarification, if you had a power issue show up and you were using 3rd party batteries, there would be a good chance that Canon would not honor the warranty (service could tell if a power issue was caused by a bad battery)

Jim Martin
Filmtools.com

[Darren Levine]

do you know 100% that they can tell, and in what way?

and can you site a specific instance of a user frying a camera with a third party battery similar to this?

[Michael Turano]

I am surprised that using a 3rd party battery is an issue. I have used Sony and Panasonic broadcast equipment most of my career, but I've rarely used Sony or Panasonic batteries. Anton Bauer and IDX are both 3rd party battery manufacturers, and they are the most commonly used broadcast batts on the market. That said, Wasabi is a relatively unknown quantity, so there is some risk involved.

[Nigel Barker]

Is the little battery icon the normal way of displaying how much juice is left? On the C300 & XFnnn the battery indicator displays very accurately the number of minutes remaining.

[Darren Levine]

you do not get # of minutes with this batter, just the 4 segments as shown

[Nigel Barker]

Originally Posted by Darren Levine

you do not get # of minutes with this batter, just the 4 segments as shown

Yes but do you get minutes remaining displayed with the genuine batteries? It seems odd if there is an icon specifically for off-brand batteries.

[Darren Levine]

no actually, with genuine batteries it shows you both the segments and the minutes. kinda redundant yes. could be thought out for 3rd party, or perhaps a backup if they think the infochip could fail and still want you to have some indicator