GL2 & XM2 Battery / Batteries

Terry Arnold · July 31st, 2006, 06:13 PM

Hope I'm not contributing to the switch. I recently bought a 4000ma from Frys, and it just would not hold a charge. After a lot of arguing, they finally swapped out for a new one. No telling what the did with the one I returned. I'm currently looking for a 6000ma+, thinking about the one that Adorama advertises as their house brand.

Kenneth Tong · August 6th, 2006, 07:47 PM

Mark's comment makes me remember my experience of my purchase of 2 3rd party batteries for my Sony Hi-8 years ago. One battery has double life time but the other one was not so good. It's like gamble.

John Ekis · September 19th, 2006, 03:01 AM

I bought 2 "generic" BP-945's made by Impact from B&H--saved about $80 all together--and that's all I've ever needed. I use my camera primarily for weddings and other events with the LCD screen open 95% of the time, and canon lights that use the battery and have never had an issue. I still have the spare battery that came with the camera but have never had to use it. And I'm talking about shooting all day-- up to 12 hours, with almost 5-6 hours of footage.

Nathaniel McInnes · September 19th, 2006, 09:25 AM

Ive been using off brand canon batterys for a while now and i have found no problem with them.

Jarrod Whaley · October 3rd, 2006, 12:47 AM

They're so cheap that you can't go wrong. If you buy one and it craps out a month later, so what... it's $20 for another. That said, I've had one of my cheap knock-off 945's for three years. I've used and recharged it 100's of times, and I've never had a single problem with it. OK, so when charging on my older CA-910 you have to jam some paper under the battery to get the contacts to touch down on the charger in order to get a charge, but so what? That might even be the charger for all I know, and it doesn't bother me in the slightest when I think about how much I saved on the battery.

Gregg Sullivan · March 17th, 2007, 04:58 AM

The two constants I have heard of third parties manufacturer's batteries are:

1) The milliamp capacity ratings are estimates. There is very high variation on the actual capacity because quality control is one of the areas where third party companies save money. The BP-945 equivalent battery advertised as a 5500 mAmp battery could be as much as 6500 mAmp or as low as 3300, you just don't know for sure and usually have no guarantee.

2) Many name brand batteries have "intelligent" circuitry in the battery used to better communicate it's actual remaining energy level to the camera, and hence, the operator.

Of course, I got two off-brand batteries for my Canon GL2 when I got it, and they work just fine, but you have to watch out for junk out there.

I agree with the Amazon idea. They monitor their third party sellers pretty well to rule out junk dealers (third party dealerships, that is, not as much for used/personal sellers).

Alan Craig · March 17th, 2007, 06:53 AM

To answer your Question any Third party battery made for your XM2 should fit your camera and do no damage what so ever I have had an XM2 for 4 years have always used third party batteries and had no problems I won't pay canons exorbitant prices.

Regards Alan

Don Palomaki · March 17th, 2007, 07:02 AM

OEM = Original Equipment Manufacturer. That would be Canon and mean batteries sold with the Canon nameplate, no matter who makes them for Canon.

Third party batteries would have a differnt brand name on them (e.g., Lenmar, Sunpak, and generic or no names) and are sometime labeled as OEM-equivalent. They should work OK without damaging gear. But as noted in the old posts in this thread, your results may be somewhat different than with Canon batteries. Also, some OEM batteris may include automation features (e,g., remaining charge or runtime indicators) not found in third party batteries.

You pays your money and takes you choices.

Alan Craig · March 17th, 2007, 09:06 AM

Don thanks for correction I was always led to believe that the O stood for other.

Best regards Alan

Alex Dolgin · March 17th, 2007, 06:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gregg Sullivan

The two constants I have heard of third parties manufacturer's batteries are:

1) The milliamp capacity ratings are estimates. There is very high variation on the actual capacity because quality control is one of the areas where third party companies save money. The BP-945 equivalent battery advertised as a 5500 mAmp battery could be as much as 6500 mAmp or as low as 3300, you just don't know for sure and usually have no guarantee.

You are partially right :-) they are off, but always in one direction. They usually 50%-75% of what their label claims. There are only a few good cell vendors out there: Sanyo, Panasonic, Sony. They actually deliver what the spec. calls for, and they use them for their own battery packs. Everything else is made in China, with little quality control, low price being the only goal.
The reason they can get away with this is it is hard for an average user to evaluate a battery. Reports like "it lasts long" are not very scientific...

Gregg Sullivan · March 22nd, 2007, 12:56 AM

Has anyone had any luck/experience with the Anton Bauer ElipZ 10k Under Camera Mounted Battery Kit for the GL1/2? It looks like a great replacement for the standard battery changing woes if you want to limit camera downtime on day shoot.

I found it here: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...ist&sku=437763 and think it might be thhe answer to long day shooting.

This and a FireStore FS-4 Pro with 100 GB drive, and you never need to shut the camera off again!

Graham Bernard · March 22nd, 2007, 01:49 AM

Yup, I got this in one of my mags I get . .

Hmmm .. . ?

#1 - What wattage? I didn't/don't read a definitive reference to the amount of watts available? It says 75 watt hour. Is that 10 watts for 7.5 hours? I'm also presuming it is 10k as in kelvins?

#2 - Is the shoe mount needing to be in the HOT shoe? I don;t see a trailing wire? If so then that kinda defeats the object for me.

I really DO like the overall design - design IS important to me, but hopefully my 2 concerns above will be answered.

Graham Bernard

Scott Keyworth · March 22nd, 2007, 12:56 PM

The 10 K is for 10,500 mah. (7.2 volts X 10.5 ah = 75 watt hours) If you have a 10 watt camera it will run continously for over 7.5 hours.

If you are using the large OEM batteries that are 5400 mah and still run all day, then you should still get twice the run time of a fully charged ElipZ.

Or, be able to run the 10 watt camera and 10 watt Elightz for almost a full day. Personall usage will vary depending on shooting style and light use.

No it is not a "Hot Shoe" The shoe allows a quick release so the battery can be removed from the camera in a coule of seconds for easy breakdown/stowage.

The ElipZ 10K battery also has the exact hole configuration on the bottom of the battery so you can attach you tripod plate.

Gregg Sullivan · March 22nd, 2007, 10:57 PM

Is anyone using Anton Bauer products (this or other series battery) with their GL2? Are they worth the investment? How is performance vs. stock options and real world MTBF (Mean Time Between Failure)?

Alon Levi · April 26th, 2007, 05:54 AM

Hello,
i've just bought a brand new bp-945 (6000mAh) battery for my canon GL2... and i've a weird problem - although I have fully discharged and recharged the battery, the camcorder battery indicators says it's only half-full. what does it mean? is it not fully charged? is the indicator wrong ?

TIA,
Alon.

September 19th, 2006, 03:01 AM	#273
John Ekis New Boot Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Naperville, IL Posts: 13	Off Brand BP-945 I bought 2 "generic" BP-945's made by Impact from B&H--saved about $80 all together--and that's all I've ever needed. I use my camera primarily for weddings and other events with the LCD screen open 95% of the time, and canon lights that use the battery and have never had an issue. I still have the spare battery that came with the camera but have never had to use it. And I'm talking about shooting all day-- up to 12 hours, with almost 5-6 hours of footage.

October 3rd, 2006, 12:47 AM	#275
Jarrod Whaley Major Player Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: chattanooga, tn Posts: 721	They're so cheap that you can't go wrong. If you buy one and it craps out a month later, so what... it's $20 for another. That said, I've had one of my cheap knock-off 945's for three years. I've used and recharged it 100's of times, and I've never had a single problem with it. OK, so when charging on my older CA-910 you have to jam some paper under the battery to get the contacts to touch down on the charger in order to get a charge, but so what? That might even be the charger for all I know, and it doesn't bother me in the slightest when I think about how much I saved on the battery. __________________ -->jarrod whaley. www.oakstreetfilms.com

March 17th, 2007, 04:58 AM	#276
Gregg Sullivan New Boot Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 20	Off market batteries The two constants I have heard of third parties manufacturer's batteries are: 1) The milliamp capacity ratings are estimates. There is very high variation on the actual capacity because quality control is one of the areas where third party companies save money. The BP-945 equivalent battery advertised as a 5500 mAmp battery could be as much as 6500 mAmp or as low as 3300, you just don't know for sure and usually have no guarantee. 2) Many name brand batteries have "intelligent" circuitry in the battery used to better communicate it's actual remaining energy level to the camera, and hence, the operator. Of course, I got two off-brand batteries for my Canon GL2 when I got it, and they work just fine, but you have to watch out for junk out there. I agree with the Amazon idea. They monitor their third party sellers pretty well to rule out junk dealers (third party dealerships, that is, not as much for used/personal sellers).

March 17th, 2007, 06:53 AM	#277
Alan Craig Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Warrington England Posts: 143	To answer your Question any Third party battery made for your XM2 should fit your camera and do no damage what so ever I have had an XM2 for 4 years have always used third party batteries and had no problems I won't pay canons exorbitant prices. Regards Alan Last edited by Alan Craig; March 17th, 2007 at 09:12 AM.

March 17th, 2007, 07:02 AM	#278
Don Palomaki Wrangler Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Northern VA Posts: 4,488	OEM = Original Equipment Manufacturer. That would be Canon and mean batteries sold with the Canon nameplate, no matter who makes them for Canon. Third party batteries would have a differnt brand name on them (e.g., Lenmar, Sunpak, and generic or no names) and are sometime labeled as OEM-equivalent. They should work OK without damaging gear. But as noted in the old posts in this thread, your results may be somewhat different than with Canon batteries. Also, some OEM batteris may include automation features (e,g., remaining charge or runtime indicators) not found in third party batteries. You pays your money and takes you choices. __________________ dpalomaki@dspalomaki.com

July 31st, 2006, 06:13 PM	#271
Terry Arnold New Boot Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 20	Hope I'm not contributing to the switch. I recently bought a 4000ma from Frys, and it just would not hold a charge. After a lot of arguing, they finally swapped out for a new one. No telling what the did with the one I returned. I'm currently looking for a 6000ma+, thinking about the one that Adorama advertises as their house brand.

August 6th, 2006, 07:47 PM	#272
Kenneth Tong Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Hong Kong Posts: 71	Mark's comment makes me remember my experience of my purchase of 2 3rd party batteries for my Sony Hi-8 years ago. One battery has double life time but the other one was not so good. It's like gamble.

September 19th, 2006, 09:25 AM	#274
Nathaniel McInnes Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Taffs well, Wales Posts: 190	Ive been using off brand canon batterys for a while now and i have found no problem with them.

March 17th, 2007, 09:06 AM	#279
Alan Craig Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Warrington England Posts: 143	Don thanks for correction I was always led to believe that the O stood for other. Best regards Alan

March 22nd, 2007, 12:56 AM	#281
Gregg Sullivan New Boot Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 20	Luck with this Battery Kit? Has anyone had any luck/experience with the Anton Bauer ElipZ 10k Under Camera Mounted Battery Kit for the GL1/2? It looks like a great replacement for the standard battery changing woes if you want to limit camera downtime on day shoot. I found it here: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...ist&sku=437763 and think it might be thhe answer to long day shooting. This and a FireStore FS-4 Pro with 100 GB drive, and you never need to shut the camera off again! __________________ -Gregg

March 22nd, 2007, 01:49 AM	#282
Graham Bernard Old Boot Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: London UK Posts: 3,633	Yup, I got this in one of my mags I get . . Hmmm .. . ? #1 - What wattage? I didn't/don't read a definitive reference to the amount of watts available? It says 75 watt hour. Is that 10 watts for 7.5 hours? I'm also presuming it is 10k as in kelvins? #2 - Is the shoe mount needing to be in the HOT shoe? I don;t see a trailing wire? If so then that kinda defeats the object for me. I really DO like the overall design - design IS important to me, but hopefully my 2 concerns above will be answered. Graham Bernard

March 22nd, 2007, 12:56 PM	#283
Scott Keyworth Anton/Bauer Join Date: May 2006 Location: Shelton, CT Posts: 35	ElipZ 10K battery The 10 K is for 10,500 mah. (7.2 volts X 10.5 ah = 75 watt hours) If you have a 10 watt camera it will run continously for over 7.5 hours. If you are using the large OEM batteries that are 5400 mah and still run all day, then you should still get twice the run time of a fully charged ElipZ. Or, be able to run the 10 watt camera and 10 watt Elightz for almost a full day. Personall usage will vary depending on shooting style and light use. No it is not a "Hot Shoe" The shoe allows a quick release so the battery can be removed from the camera in a coule of seconds for easy breakdown/stowage. The ElipZ 10K battery also has the exact hole configuration on the bottom of the battery so you can attach you tripod plate.

March 22nd, 2007, 10:57 PM	#284
Gregg Sullivan New Boot Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 20	Anton Bauer & the GL2 Is anyone using Anton Bauer products (this or other series battery) with their GL2? Are they worth the investment? How is performance vs. stock options and real world MTBF (Mean Time Between Failure)? __________________ -Gregg

April 26th, 2007, 05:54 AM	#285
Alon Levi New Boot Join Date: Dec 2003 Posts: 24	Impact BP945 battery for GL2 Hello, i've just bought a brand new bp-945 (6000mAh) battery for my canon GL2... and i've a weird problem - although I have fully discharged and recharged the battery, the camcorder battery indicators says it's only half-full. what does it mean? is it not fully charged? is the indicator wrong ? TIA, Alon.