Canon XL1 & XL1S Batteries / Battery Options

[Ken Tanaka]

Dick,
I'm pretty sure that I've seen that Anton Bauer has a battery rig specially designed for the XL1/XL1S' 7.2v power requirement. Scan through B&H Photo's site.

Alternatively, a CH-910 dual battery adapter with two Power 2000 or Lenmar high-capacity batteries would probably keep you running for that amount of time.

[Alex Knappenberger]

I can recommend Power2000 batteries from B&H. I bought a medium sized power2000 battery from B&H for my little Panasonic, for just like $45, and they said it lasts about 3 hours, but I find it lasts about 4....

[Kevin Burnfield]

Second that Power2000 (which is also sold under a semi-different name-- but it escapes me at the moment and it's not on the battery)

I bought their BP-945 replacement one and it's been a champ so I bought two more of them.

The CH-910 is a neat thing to have too. Charge 2 bats at same time and use it as a duel battery power source for the camera. It will also mount onto the MA-100 and 200's as well.

Wow, I sound like I really know what I"m talking about... I been hanging out here too much. (G)

[Dick Steele]

I have looked at your suggestions, and appreciate you guys time. Perhaps, I should be a little more clear, I am always looking a few steps ahead on my tech purchases.

For instance, I am currently using an XL1S, yet I will be in the future moving into a larger cam that uses a brick system. For now, while I can justify the expense I would like to buy into a larger power system and charger for my present uses and then in the future be able to utilize the charger (fairly expensive) to charge and power my next purchased cams batteries. In the event that the batteries are not compatible with the next cam I still have my XL1S and the charger, the best of both worlds.

That said, I am looking for information and experience other folks here have had about utilizing brick batteries, whether Anton, optex systems, Frezzolini, Bescor, or any other system. I like the Anton system b/c it will work with my CNC machined 4 XLR sholder mount.

Cheers and Thank To All,

Dick Steele
3rd Coast Cinematics

[Rick Bravo]

We currently operate two XL-1S cameras and have outfitted both of them with Anton Bauer (AB) Gold Mount battery adapters and TrimPac batteries as well as AB Ultra-Light 2s.

Even though the batteries have just come off the charger, the eyepiece battery meter shows just half a charge. As soon as we turn the light on it goes to one quarter of a charge and approximately 30 seconds after recording begins, we get a "change battery" warning.

If we continue to shoot, the camera will shut itself off regardless of the full charge remaining in the battery. We remove the battery, wait a few seconds and reseat the battery and the problem repeats itself.

Has anyone come across this problem? Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

RB

[Jeff Donald]

What are the actual voltage of the batteries?

[Rick Bravo]

Both the ProPac Digitals and the Trimpacs are 14 volts. They are obviously stepped down using the Gold Mount and the battery plug in adapter connected to it.

[Jeff Donald]

It sounds to me like a problem with the step down adapter. Could be the charger, or just old batteries. How old are the batteries?

[Rick Bravo]

I spent close to an hour on the phone with John from Anton Bauer's customer service department. First let me tell you that he was great. He took the time to run through various scenarios that finaly led to a satisfactory conclusion to my problem!

Apparently the age (4 years) of the 14V bricks were a problem. Although the battery's "gas guage" said they were fully charged, there was enough of an apmerage drop, especially when engaging the lamp that the Canon read it as dead and shut the camera off. (Shouldn't have been using the 4 1/2 pound bricks anyway as they are too heavy for the shouder pad where it attaches to the camera.)

The TrimPacs were a completely different story. A fully charged TrimPac ran the camera in record mode with a 50watt bulb continuously burning in the UL-2 for 35 minutes straight. John thought it would go about 25 minutes...pretty close.

His estimate with a 25watt bulb is about 1 hour 20 minutes and in record mode without a light...an impressive 4 - 4 1/2 hours of straight record time.

The battery meter in the eyepiece will drop to 3/4 and then 1/2 relatively quickly but pretty much stayed at 1/2 for the duration. Just something to keep in mind when using this combination of equipment as it seems to be a quirk in the system.

Thanks for the quick response to this post and I hope this little "experiment" can help others that might come across this situation.

Stay safe, RB.

[Yi Fong Yu]

http://www.canondv.com/service/accessory_legal.html

[Rick Bravo]

I had seen that Canon disclaimer previously. It seems to me that Canon, and I can't say I blame them, is wanting to keep everything "Canon".

The only problem is that although their lithium-ion batteries are pretty reliable for straight ahead shooting, the on-board camera light that Canon sells for the XL series is amateurish at best. This is one of the reasons that we have had look at other options.

In my line of work, we are constantly being put into situations where alternate light sources are not practical or available. We are also thrust into places where the only equipment available for support is limited to what you can carry with you and not necessrily into very easy to get to places.

A good example of this would be when the S.S. Norway's boiler exploded while docked at the Port of Miami. I entered the ship approxiamtely 3 hours after the incident and for over 2 hours had to shoot in some very nasty conditions that included extreme humidity and temperatures of over 150 degrees farenheit. To describe the boiler room as a "black hole" would be an understatement!

While the camera functioned admirably, I was stuck using this "toy light" for the duration. This is one of the reasons we went with the Anton Bauer package to power both the camera and a professional camera light (Ultra-Light 2) to cover some very important scenes where we are not afforded second takes.

I have been using Anton Bauer batteries for over 20 years and have never seen or had one leak or explode. The disclaimer seems to be issued more to protect the warranty than anything else.

If Canon is really trying to target the professional shooter, I feel that they would be better served by "beefing up" some of their support equipment so people like us don't have to go to outside companies for solutions.

Thanks for the response and stay safe, RB.

[Jeff Donald]

The real problem is Canon protecting themselves from warranty claims caused by very cheap third part batteries. Some very poor quality batteries are available that could potentially damage the camera. I don't think their warning about batteries is meant to include Anton Bauer. But it would be hard to include AB and exclude other cheap brands.

The market would be too small for Canon to develop their own alternative to AB. Professionals will have to do what they've always done, risk voiding their warranties in pursuit of their profession.

[Stacy Schoolfield]

Odd, there is a fresh battery in the camera, or sometimes, I go direct from power...and there is still t hat strange red box with a slash through it in the viewfinder.
What's going on?
My power source no longer charges the batteries, I use another charger for that purpose, but...I would love to know how to get rid of the red warning box.
Thanks for any help,
Stacy

[Darrell Hinton]

I've never used an XL1 but I know on my DVX when there is no cassette in the camera theres is a red box with a line through it. Are you sure it isn't just a signal that there is no cassette in the camera?

[Stacy Schoolfield]

thanks for the quick reply, but yep there is a cassette in there when the odd light is on.