In the title, you say "Impact". I assume this is the brand name of the battery? What makes me ask, is that I've noticed that my generic batteries will cause the GL-2's battery indicator to show about half capacity after only a couple minutes worth of usage. I get the expected amount of use time from the batteries, but the meter isn't right. Maybe that's what you're seeing?

well...
 

that's exactly what happens... so I guess it doesn't effect the battery performance, just the indicator, ah? so how do you know when the battery is going to be exhausted ? (it stays on the half-full indicator until it gets really half-full, or does the indicator has no meaning at all?)

quite annoying I must admit ... makes you feel that technology ain't that perfect yet ;)

thanks for the answer.
alon

The battery indicator is probably based on battery terminal voltage, which depends in part on the internal resistance of the battery as well as the charge state.

Experience is the best approach. Do some tests and watch what happens to the display as you run the camcorder, and watch when the camcoder shuts down on low battery. Can't expect Canon to have matched their display to correspond to third party battery characteristics.

Good evening,

I have three canon catteries and three jobber batteries. All of them in fact show fine on the in camera meter. Go figure???

Basic Battery Question.. Obies?
 

Hi, quick question.. I'm looking into getting extra batteries for my GL2.. the one the came with is.. just doesn't cut it. It's brand new, but after being fully charged, and filming for five minutes, the batter is down to 3/4th full.. and I don't get it. I need to be able to film for a least 2-3 hours, without having to worry about my battery dying in the middle of something important.

So.. are there particular batteries that are reliable? (I'd like model numbers to if possible)

I also would like to know.. if the charger that I have will work with any battery I buy, or will I have to buy a new charger? I have the Canon ca 920 battery/power adapater, and my battery is a 915.

Any help is greatly appreciated

BP-945's. You can get generic ones for $20 on Ebay, and yes, they work just as well as the Canon-branded ones do. At about one-fifth the price of the "official" batteries, you really can't go wrong.

but will i need to buy a new charger for that battery, or will it fit my canon charger?

You can use the standard canon charger you already have for the BP945 battery also.

Being doing this for 5 years with the BP945s. No problem.

When I first started out, there was ENOUGH power/time in the slim/supplied battery to allow me to do a quick "top-up" of my 945 and get going again. Now I have 2 XM2s and four BP945s - but with the extra camera I got that extra charger unit too.

Grazie

I agree. I've gotten 4 this way so far. The standard charger works well. I have a second charger for whenever I need to charge 2 batteries at once, or I need a charger at the studio as well as in the field.

Mark

The reason I asked about the charger, was because I was looking at a canon gl2 battery on ebay.. Dont' remember the model number, but it was a B "9$$" .. and it said 'works with a b 9$$ and 9$$ charger".. so I assumed that meant that the battery would only work with that particular charger..

But I assume if it fits on my camera, it should fit on my charger, right?

Technically i have two batteries right now, but they both are lower B ... numbers.. so I assume that means.. earlier models? or less powerful? I haven't used the second battery yet, but it came with the "package" of gl2 stuff i bought on ebay, and most of the accessories they gave me where.. not what they made them out to be, so I assume it's no good..

Ok, since we are on the subject of batteries, and this is a bit off subject, but of course the GL2 didn't come with an on board light.. they sell a gl-2 light, but it runs off of the battery of the camera.. But I think they sell lights that come with some type of battery pack that you stick in your pocket?
What type of camera light do you have? I don't want one that eats my battery, unless it's not that bad...

thanks :)

As long as it is a Canon BP9xx battery, it will work fine with the charger you already have.
Lower numbers (ex BP915 compared to BP945) means less capacity.
Other batteries like the BP500 series will NOT work with your camera.
I recommend you get at least one BP945 battery.
(There has been some non Canon batteries, equally or more powerful, than the BP945, mentioned in earlier threads some time ago. But I can't remember the names right now)

Lights:
The VL-3 light that draws power from the onboard camera battery is a 3watt light. It is okay up to about 7-10ft from the camera, but not as the only light source.
The VL-10 is a 10watt light that would need a separate battery. (BP9xx series, same as the GL2) This light can in some cases be too bright, and ex. blow out the forehead of people.
I have used both these lights, but only have the VL-10 right now.
With this light, I use the battery that came included with my XM2, and I use the BP945 for the camera.

I've had success over a number of years with Lenmar LIC941 batteries with both GL and XL series.

Don, how is this battery (capacity) compared to the Canon BP945?
The 945 is 4500mAh.

Lenmar rates it at 6000 mAh, no doubt a best-conditions rating.

I've never done a definitive comparison test, but subjectively it has lasts at least as long as the Canon BP945, if not longer, on a full charge. But I rarely shoot more than a tape's worth in a single session, and if I do change tape, I usually change to a fresh battery at the same time.