Canon XH A1´s 950 Batttery life

[Juan Parmenides]

Hi all,
In normal working conditions, filming, etc., What is the maximum working time from a full charge? Is worthwhile to get a bigger one?

Thanks.

[Nick Gordon]

Originally Posted by Juan Parmenides

Hi all,
In normal working conditions, filming, etc., What is the maximum working time from a full charge? Is worthwhile to get a bigger one?

Thanks.

I seem to get somewhere well over 4 hours from mine - I've never pushed it 'till it died.

I got a bigger one from Ebay (German dealer, so might be expensive if you're in the US), not so much because I needed more time on a battery (although it's nice to have) but mainly to have backup. Batteries sometimes decide to pass on to the next life at the most inconvenient times, so I always have a spare.

And of course, it was much cheaper than the Canon-branded battery

[Bill Grant]

Juan,
I have both,and rarely when using hte larger battery do I need to change it even through a full day of shooting.
Bill

[Tripp Woelfel]

I have both the Canon battery that came with it and the big battery from Impact. I've never fully drained the big battery. In a long day of shooting for me, yielding about 3 hours of recorded material, it generally reads about half full. This will be less if the ambient temperature is near or below freezing.

It has so much juice that I rarely use the Canon battery.

[Juan Parmenides]

Thanks for the replys,
Well, 3 or 4 hours of recording time is not bad, isn´t it?. A second battery unit for safety will be more than enough. Until now, my maximum recorded time has been less than an hour a day, so I recharge the battery at home and didn´t know how many time left.
Anyway, coming from the Canon HV20 / 30 series, with a maximum practical recording time of 70 - 80 minutes, the recording time from the Canon XH A1 seems to me very good, and I must say I am very happy with the camera.


Nick, I live in Tenerife, Canary Islands, European Comunity.

Thanks.

[Nick Gordon]

Originally Posted by Juan Parmenides

Nick, I live in Tenerife, Canary Islands, European Comunity.

Thanks.

In that case, you might be interested in the Ebay link to the one I bought:

POWER BATTERY f. CANON BP-970G 970 G BP970 on eBay, also For Canon, Batteries, Camcorder Accessories, Photography (end time 08-Oct-08 11:27:07 BST)

Cheers

Nick

[Taky Cheung]

I am also using some third party high capacity BP-970G batteries. They last over 4 hours per charge in continous recording mode with LCD on. I did full day weddings so I test them really well. Been using some of them over a year and they still last the charge.

I also use them with the Canon VL-10 light too.

I have this BP-970G batteries and charger for sale.

http://www.dvinfo.net//conf/showthread.php?t=121632

[Juan Parmenides]

Thanks, Nick, for the link. I´ll buy it.

[Chris Light]

the best thing you can do with ANY rechargable battery is drain it every time you use it. this is not a myth. ever wonder why your cell phone carries less and less of a charge over time? people always think that they get longer life by always charging when not in use are going to think they need to buy bigger and better batteries. not true. drain it anyway you can (while not losing footage or camera performance). just like an empty belly....batteries perform stronger and longer with a REAL full charge every time.

just my buck fifty.

Chris

[Juan Parmenides]

Chris, but how can I drain a BP 950 battery?, I have read that´s not a good idea to drain a battery full empty for maintenance.

Thanks

[Chris Light]

i've never read anything from a credible source that draining a battery will diminish battery performance. but i digress.

well, your battery has to be pretty low to affect performance, but i do not suggest using battery while capturing. usually after a long day of shooting, when my battery meter is low (battery icon has a hash mark through it, or it's nearing that point), i'll get home and i'll just turn it on (not in vcr mode...though it's most taxing on a battery, it's best not to move the heads if you dont have to)....but i will set it on my desk and pull out the lcd and leave it in manual mode until it shuts itself down.....then i'll turn it on again, and let it shut down.....now this too will get some things moving in the tape compartment, but i don't believe it's doing harm, because turning the cam on and off is part of normal use, and people do it more than they think, without negative consequences.....

mind you, i have never gotten to the point where the cam won't turn on, so i guess i have to ammend my last post, but i get the cam to a point where the battery indicator tells me the battery is low....that's a safe indicator that a new charge keep your battery healthy.

make sense?

sorry for the lengthy post...

-chris

[Nick Gordon]

Originally Posted by Chris Light

the best thing you can do with ANY rechargable battery is drain it every time you use it. this is not a myth. ever wonder why your cell phone carries less and less of a charge over time? people always think that they get longer life by always charging when not in use are going to think they need to buy bigger and better batteries. not true. drain it anyway you can (while not losing footage or camera performance). just like an empty belly....batteries perform stronger and longer with a REAL full charge every time.

just my buck fifty.

Chris

Sorry, but this is not really correct.

It depends on the type of battery. Nickel Cadmium (NiCad) and Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMh) should be frequently drained completely to keep their charge time up.

Lithium-Ion (LiIon) batteries (which we're talking about here) do *not* need this, and perform better if their charge is kept topped up.

This used to be a major topic of discussion back when mobile phones & PDAs were entering the mainstream, and always generates lots of confusion. It would be nice if the industry would provide clearer guidance.

[Colin McDonald]

Originally Posted by Chris Light

the best thing you can do with ANY rechargable battery is drain it every time you use it. this is not a myth. ever wonder why your cell phone carries less and less of a charge over time? people always think that they get longer life by always charging when not in use are going to think they need to buy bigger and better batteries. not true. drain it anyway you can (while not losing footage or camera performance). just like an empty belly....batteries perform stronger and longer with a REAL full charge every time.

Depending on the type of battery, there's only a certain number of charge/discharge cycles it will take. If you force it through unnecessary cycles, the battery life will be shortened. That's why AppleCare for example want to know the number of cycles on your laptop battery - they won't replace it after a certain number.

I have a Canon BP 970 G which I bought with the camera. 2 weeks ago I shot a whole wedding with it, on Thursday it still had enough power in it for an all day shoot. I charged it again on Thursday night - less battery wear. The 970 is a great battery and works well with the 950 supplied, but I don't fancy having to replace it unnecessarily at UK prices.

Battery Lifespan
A properly maintained Apple notebook battery is designed to retain up to 80% of its original capacity at 300 full charge and discharge cycles.

Apple - Batteries

[Juan Parmenides]

Colin, Nick, Crhis
First of all, thank for the replies. Well, in my Nikon cameras (D200 and D300) I never leave the batteries drain empty; after a work, the batteries still have charge inside (a little below medium), so, at home I recharge them again. No problems with my batteries or its capacity in number of photos taken.
I supposed the Canon XH A1 battery works in the same way, so my dudes to leave it full empty and yes, I can understand it coming from NICD batteries. Anyway, I have a computerized (right word?) multicharger and has a program to renew NiCd batteries but says it is not advisable to empty LiIon batteries.

Thanks.

[Chris Light]

Nick, point well made, and i should have thought of the differences in battery technology. thanks, and i'll always try to be more accurate...that's why i love this site!