All "7V" category Li-Ion batteries discharge down to about 6.5V; fully charged 8.4V. This is inherent to Li-Ion chemistry, has nothing to do with the label on the battery. 7.2V - 7.4V is where the battery spends most of its time discharging in the camera, so one can call it a 7.2V battery or 7.4V battery, it is just labeling. There is no such a thing as "surge" when it comes to the battery performance. The only way a battery can damage a camera is if it catches fire due to internal defects. This can happen to any Li-Ion battery including brand names like Sony - just watch the news, or google "Dell battery recall"
HTH

thanks Alex, that gives me peace of mind.... actually these OEMs turned out to be great, i think i just keep them.....

OEM = original equipment manufacturer; i.e. Canon. They will be fine.

But if you are considering third parts (after market) batteries, most will work OK as well, if they are marketed as compatible with the Canon. Some after market will perform better than others, it is a bit of a roll of the dice.

As noted above, the 7.2 volt rating is the nominal battery voltage - the voltage of the battery starts out higher when fully charged and will decrease somewhat below 7.2 volts as the batter discharges. Actual voltage measured will depending on the state of charge, charge left, and load.

Just throwing in my 2 cents. I'd been on the fence regarding battery selection for my two new A1s. Was concerned about getting a third party battery instead of the genuine Canon, but was also concerned about the price of the Canons. I wanted the Canon BP970G for longest possible runtime. At $165-$175 each, that was going to eat into my budget for other accessories I needed. I discussed it with Brian at Zotz Digital (these guys are phenomenal by the way) and he convinced me to save the moolah and go with the Lenmar LIC970G for $100. I was a little skeptical after reading some of the posts regarding stuck batteries, but decided to take his advice.

I received the Lenmar batts and let me tell you they're perfect. They fit like a glove into the battery compartment. They slide in just right, and pop out perfectly. No snags, hangups, sticking, anything. They're perfect. I'm so glad I took Brian's advice and saved the 150 bucks.

So, to anyone looking to buy the perfect battery for your A1 - I highly recommend the Lenmar LIC970G. The "G" designation is important! Oh, they also come with a 3 year warranty. The Canon is only 1 year.

Peace out

Dave

Confirm
 

I confirm everything Dave says! I own a LIC970G and works flawlessy.

I have the same positive experience with the Lenmar 970G!

I have had great experience with non-Canon batteries in my GL2 and now I use those same batteries in my XH-A1.

I purchased two BP970G's with the A1 but have 5 non-Canon batteries and have used them quite a bit as well.

I bought the Hahnel 970 equivalent, fits perfectly.

Weren't a lot of Canon batteries once made by Hahnel?

No fires yet.

Impact batteries rule. Buy those!

A1 battery Power
 

just wondering if anyone knows of any real world hourly ratings on the A1 Batteries?

LCD Closed,
LCD open
Auto focus
Manual Focus
Standby.... that kinda thing..

anyone ??

There is a huge chart in the operator's manual which cross-references four different batteries with LCD vs. EVF, HD vs. SD, maximum times vs. typical times. It's too complex to post it here, but all you have to do is download the PDF copy of the XH series operator's manual from Canon. In the North American version, this chart is on page 17. Hope this helps -- Canon AU download link:

http://www.canon.com.au/products/dig...1_support.aspx

cheers mate

thing is i always find that manufacturers are a lil bias when it comes to this, hoping while i read through this that someone might have an opinion as well..

In my experience their times given for the "typical" column are pretty accurate in terms of real-world use.

OEM Compatible batteries
 

Hi:

I know, stick with the original is always recommended. But, I find that original battery for the XH-A1 ranges above 200 euros, and OEM compatibles around 60 euros. Does anyone have any experience (bad?) using such batteries?

On a daily basis I don't need an extra battery, but as I am planning a trip where access to recharging batteries may be days a way I was considering an extra battery. More precisely, I am going 3 weeks to Costa Rica and some tours may end up being 2-3 days. I don't know how much recording I will get to do during a day, so I am thinking of bringing a spare, just in case.

After that I really don't need the spare battery any time soon, so a cheap battery that will do for the trip seems to be an attractive option. Question is if any such battery will do?

Thanks, Erik

I am using citi tek batteries them seem to be doing fine cost around £80.00.

I've had acceptable results using Lenmar branded batteries (in the US) with various models of Canon camcorders.

I suspect that the major differences among batteries visible to end users would be uniformity of cell characteristics and quality control, which means some makes/production runs may have a higher failure rate than others. Which names plates are better is anyone's guess.

I suspect that the actual battery cell manufacture takes place in a relatively small number of plants, and these basic cells are than packaged by a variety of companies under different names and with some different features in the internal electronics.

Hi Erik,

I bought a Lenmar LIC970G high capacity battery last week as a second battery for my XH-A1. I paid 64 euros while the official Canon battery was 269 euros. A pretty easy choice, don't you think?

Even if the life expectancy of the Lenmar is less than the Canon, I can buy a lot of Lenmars for the price of 1 Canon. So I would say, go for it.

As for charging your batteries while on the road, think about buying a small 12V/220V inverter which can be used with the 12V outlet in a car. I used that while I was traveling in Australia a couple of years ago and it worked perfectly.

Best regards, Andre.

Hi Erik,

I agree with Andre. I myself got an extra original Canon battery. I also looked around for a OEM battery, but almost every battery I found was not good. Either some contacts at the bottom were missing or the construction of the battery was looking bad.

One time they tried to sell me a battery which allready was falling apart. Next to that the contacts were looking weird. So after a month I decided to buy an original because I had to have one before we went to London.

A few weeks later I saw the Lenmar and that battery looks very nice compared with others. It also slides in to the A1 like the original battery.
Ofcourse there is a small risk when using battery's from other branches. But hey, look around on the internet and you will see that most of the big names in laptops have recalled all their batteries because they were afraid of big problems with those stuff.

I only can advice to be very carefull with your battery's. Don't drop them and when you have to switch: do it slowly...one wrong move and original or not, it could go wrong in many ways.

My next battery will be a Lenmar by the way.

hi erik i bought this battery from ebay (za182 Battery For Canon BP-970G BP970G GL-1 GL-2 XH-A1) and am using it now it came within a week after the payment was cleared just look on ebay this was from honk kong and it works alright.....

Anton Bauer A1 Battery
 

Does anyone know if they are developing a battery that can go outside the camera. I know the little door in the back can come off, and i was thinking they could somehow use the current batter sytle as a conducter and lead to a bigger battery on the outside.

Already done...

See www.antonbauer.com -- note the photo on the splash page there.

Go to http://www.antonbauer.com/elipz.htm for more specific info.

Mickey-

That is a 7000mAh 7.4V battery and I found another one on ebay that's a 7200mAh 7.4V battery and I am curious how large the battery you got is. Is it taking up the entire space inside the A1? or does it have a little more room?

You are truly better off with the Canon batts.

The OEM's that I have tried do not last as long or hold a charge as long.
The contacts on an Impact that I bought acutally rusted. I use that one now on my OC light...which lasts about an hour.

I've also found some OEMS do not "blink" in the canon charger.

I have Canon batts over five years old still operating like new.

Bought a bat on the internet OEM, it works ok, it fits ok and costs 1/5...

Be aware that OEM = Original Equipment Manufacturer; i.e., Canon. Thus an OEM battery is a Canon battery. The non-Canon would be more correctly referred to as third party or after-market batteries which should be OEM-compatible, but not OEM.

Wonder who makes the battery cells for Canon?

I'm betting that the term "OEM" takes a lot of abuse on eBay.

I bought some refurbished Sony batteries, and have had great success with them. I don't think Canon sells refurbs though.

Just a quick reminder, most of the knockoffs get stuck in the A1/G1. Yesterday, a client came in with a battery that melted when he charged it using the cig adapter in the car......it was not a Canon battery. We have clients that are still using their batteries they got with their XL-1 and XL-1s.

Jim Martin
Birns & Sawyer Inc
"there are places to go cheep and places not to go cheep"

quote from someone somewhere

My Impact BP970 has worked flawlessly in my XH-A1 for six months now.

I found OEM batteries for the XH-A1 at youbatt.com priced at $36 for the 950 and $56 for the 970.

I was just curious to see if anyone has ever bought from them?

Here's the links:
http://www.youbatt.com/Canon_BP_950G...p/ybbp950g.htm
http://www.youbatt.com/Canon_BP_950G...p/ybbp970g.htm

Edit:
I can't seem to find any information about them on resellerratings.com, or any complaints on the net for that matter.

As Don pointed out, these are not really OEM batteries. The description actually says "100% OEM Compatible" which is not the same thing.

That's not to say they can't be a good value. I have an Impact-brand battery and have been very happy with it. Lasts for hours in the A1 and holds it's charge. However, my experience has been that the third-party batteries have a shorter lifespan (as in the number of recharge cycles) than true OEM batteries. So maybe, as with many things, you get what you pay for.

-Dan

http://stores.ebay.com/battery-source-INC

Good shipping (DHL) and cheap prices... From what I can tell they seem to be a reasonable amount of quality...

Found this on Amazon. Definitely not a good set of reviews: http://www.amazon.com/7-2-Volt-Li-Io...836601&sr=8-15

Can't understand why one can afford a $3000 over camera and yet is willing to risk it for a 50 dollar battery?

My guess is that you haven't seen a melted battary in a XHA1, well I can tell you it is not a pretty sight. I saw my friends one melted inside the XHA1 and I can tell you the repairs is going to cost you more then you think you ever save on a third party battery.

Even insurance doesn't cover it. So for the piece of mind, I bought the original canon battery. At least I can sleep at night when I charge the battery.

After reading those reviews, I should review the 2nd reviewer :)) I mean, drilling a hole in the battery to get it out? I wonder how long it took to come up with that brilliant idea? :-\

Bill

Another XHA1 question for battery and lights
 

Well I am just about ready to order the camera but wanted to know if the Impact batteries are any good or if I should stick with Canon batteries. Also what do you use for an on board light with this camera?

Thanks,

Kevin

A number of people have had issues with 3rd party batteries not fitting properly and having a little trouble getting the batteries out. Some have resorted to adding bits of gaffers tape to the battery to give you a tab to pull on. I personally use a Large Power 2000 3rd party battery and have no issues and it ejects just fine without issues.

Ok, I will stick with Canon brand then. Any thoughts on a on board light?

Thanks,

Kevin

On board light
 

Hi Kevin
I use an IDX X3 35watt output for 11 watts in. LED so nice and cool. nice and light as well.
No problems, distributed here in Aus with barn doors and filters. If you don't need a 100watt cook top I recommend it.

I have a mix of impacts and canon batteries. I think the impact lasts a bit longer between charges. Overall I'm very happy with the battery life with the A1. I did have an impact for my HV20 that died within 6 months- I think it's still under warranty though.

For a light I the Varizoom Swift S-2010 which can be purchased with the canon adaptor so you can use a standard Canon camera battery to run. The adaptor mounts on the camera handle. Light has a dimmer and 4 way barn door, filter, diffuser. Here's the B&H link but I don't see the canon adaptor, only the sony.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...Brand_Varizoom

Impact battery do lasts longer than the canon since it's a higher capacity bat, costs alot cheaper, and works like a charm (no issues whatsoever like the ones mentioned above). I got the Impact IMBP970 BP-970 Battery Pack - 7.2v, 7200mAh for $99.95 @ bhphotovideo.com.

If you are looking for the bang for the buck set of lights then go for the Anton Bauer ANUL26 UL2-6 Ultralight w/ ANULSB UL-SB SoftBox. I got these from the same place as well. As recommended from other threads, use this with 35w bulbs.