Canon XL1 & XL1S Batteries / Battery Options

Keith Loh · July 19th, 2002, 12:42 PM

Quick question: Can I use the AC adaptor at the same time as the battery is being charged?

Keith Loh · July 19th, 2002, 12:43 PM

Never mind. I'm a dumb ass. The battery will not be charged as long as I have the adaptor plugged into the charger part.

Chris Hurd · July 20th, 2002, 12:12 AM

And that stinks, doesn't it. Wouldn't it be great if the AC adapter charged a battery and powered the camera at the same time?

Keith Loh · July 20th, 2002, 10:08 AM

<<<-- Originally posted by Chris Hurd : And that stinks, doesn't it. Wouldn't it be great if the AC adapter charged a battery and powered the camera at the same time? -->>>

Indeed. I can understand this *slowing* the charging of the battery but ...

I guess if I do this often enough I will either need more batteries or another AC adaptor. That's pretty far down on my list.

Andrew Leigh · July 20th, 2002, 12:10 PM

Hi,

I WOULD NOT TRY it but I would bet that it would work....for a short while.

What disables the charging circuit is the plug on the charger when you plug in the camcorders adaptor. It appears to merely switch the available power from the battery to the camcorder. To disable this switch (like when you plug in earphones and the speaker switches off) I bet would leave both circuits running simultaneously. The problem would be that I would not think that the circuit was designed to deliver the amount of current required for both operations. It would have been so easy to have it do so at the design stage. If the use of the camcorder is intermittent and the load on the unit is minimal it may well work????

Don't try, these things get pricey.

Cheers
Andrew

Jeff Donald · July 20th, 2002, 02:22 PM

I was searching for an extra battery charger about 6 months ago and came across the Lenmar Mach1 http://www.lenmar.com/Video/Chargers/msc1.asp The $99 in the ad is list if you buy it direct. I paid around $40.00 (on-line) and another $10 for the adapter to do the XL1 batteries. It also comes with a car adapter and adapters to do many different batteries. It works great. Charging times seem quicker than the standard Canon charger and after 6 months use my batteries seem fine.

Jeff

Nathan Gifford · July 20th, 2002, 03:54 PM

There's a lot more to charging Lith batteries these days. Part of the reason for this is so that the charging circuit can monitor the recharge process.

Both Lemar and Maha make universal chargers. The Maha, comes as 12 volt charger and then uses adapters for wall power. This allows you to go put your battery in the car or wall power...your choice.

I haven't looked for this model specifically, but they have advertised them as universal, so I am assuming that includes the XL-1 packs.

Nathan Gifford

blugill69 · August 30th, 2002, 03:55 PM

I have a Starvision 7 inch LCD monitor for my XL1s but have no portable powerpack for it. I am trying to find 12V battery packs but am having little luck.
Anyone have a link to what I need?
I've tried all over town.

Jeff Donald · August 30th, 2002, 04:34 PM

I know of two good quality belts, NRG Research http://www.nrgresearch.com/cat.html and Bescor http://www.bescor.com/menu_battery.htm Zotz Digital probably carries one or the other http://www.zotzdigital.com/ Give them a try they help sponsor the site.

Jeff

B. Moore · August 30th, 2002, 04:49 PM

It might help to know where your located!

Bruce

blugill69 · August 30th, 2002, 08:25 PM

Oklahoma.
Thanks fo rthe links! Will investigate!

Marcus Farrar · September 13th, 2002, 07:37 AM

Greetings

I have an adapter that allows you to use the regular XL1 batteries to power your monitor. It works great and keeps me from having one other wire hanging from my XL1. You can find more info on the Watchdog.

Here is the link to the site.
http://www.nebtek.com/5inch/NEB50Xl%20page.html

I used velcro to attach the unit to the monitor. It works perfect. It is kind of nice only having to have one type of battery, and chargers.

Andrew Petrie · September 15th, 2002, 07:03 AM

What are the specs on it? I've found some good prices on car TFTs, it's probably a more cost-effective solution to the more expensive camera-mounted TFTs available, the only draw back would be the lack of a shoe-mount, and the power source (spliced wires).

The cheapest I've seen specifically for cameras is from Varizoom, but I'm not too keen on lead acid batteries.

Has anyone gone this (car TV) route?

Travelreview · September 15th, 2002, 12:14 PM

Although several battery packs will work (ie Nebtek and others) they tend to be expensive. For a cheap solution try the Varizoom battery pack for their monitors (around $65 with charger). It looks and feels like an old Sony NP1 or a regular laptop battery and works well with starvision 5.6 and 7 inch TFT LCD screens. Almost any rechargable battery with 12volts and between 750 and 1200 milliamps will also work fine.
Ron
TravelReview@Hotmail.com

Ross Milligan · September 19th, 2002, 02:26 AM

Having listened to the advice posted to others on here (the search facility is really useful) I bought the Sennheiser ew100 wireless system and changed the 'on board' XL1 microphone with a Sennheiser MKE 300. I have just reviewed the footage of my first shoot and the improvement is significant - so thanks to everyone who has in the past recommended these mics.

I was shooting a long operation and the battery in the ew100 receiver went down after about five hours and needed to be changed. Interestingly the transmitter was OK, although the low battery light was flashing, which was fortunate as it was under the sterile gown of a surgeon :-) So I learned the lesson to replace the batteries for each shoot!

Anyway, my question is has anyone any idea how many hours the button battery on the MKE300 will last - or should I replace this after every days shooting?

Regards to all

Ross

July 19th, 2002, 12:42 PM	#106
Keith Loh Air China Pilot Join Date: May 2002 Location: Vancouver, B.C. Posts: 2,389	Using adaptor same time as charging battery? Quick question: Can I use the AC adaptor at the same time as the battery is being charged?

July 19th, 2002, 12:43 PM	#107
Keith Loh Air China Pilot Join Date: May 2002 Location: Vancouver, B.C. Posts: 2,389	I'm a dumbass Never mind. I'm a dumb ass. The battery will not be charged as long as I have the adaptor plugged into the charger part.

July 20th, 2002, 12:12 AM	#108
Chris Hurd Obstreperous Rex Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: San Marcos, TX Posts: 27,368 Images: 513	And that stinks, doesn't it. Wouldn't it be great if the AC adapter charged a battery and powered the camera at the same time? __________________ CH Search DV Info Net \| 20 years of DVi \| ...Tuesday is Soylent Green Day!

July 20th, 2002, 12:10 PM	#110
Andrew Leigh Major Player Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Johannesburg, South Africa Posts: 220	Hi, I WOULD NOT TRY it but I would bet that it would work....for a short while. What disables the charging circuit is the plug on the charger when you plug in the camcorders adaptor. It appears to merely switch the available power from the battery to the camcorder. To disable this switch (like when you plug in earphones and the speaker switches off) I bet would leave both circuits running simultaneously. The problem would be that I would not think that the circuit was designed to deliver the amount of current required for both operations. It would have been so easy to have it do so at the design stage. If the use of the camcorder is intermittent and the load on the unit is minimal it may well work???? Don't try, these things get pricey. Cheers Andrew __________________ PAL XL-1, DV Raptor, Premiere TOTAL AMATEUR - DOING IT FOR THE FUN

August 30th, 2002, 03:55 PM	#113
blugill69 New Boot Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 12	Battery Packs I have a Starvision 7 inch LCD monitor for my XL1s but have no portable powerpack for it. I am trying to find 12V battery packs but am having little luck. Anyone have a link to what I need? I've tried all over town.

July 20th, 2002, 10:08 AM	#109
Keith Loh Air China Pilot Join Date: May 2002 Location: Vancouver, B.C. Posts: 2,389	<<<-- Originally posted by Chris Hurd : And that stinks, doesn't it. Wouldn't it be great if the AC adapter charged a battery and powered the camera at the same time? -->>> Indeed. I can understand this slowing the charging of the battery but ... I guess if I do this often enough I will either need more batteries or another AC adaptor. That's pretty far down on my list.

July 20th, 2002, 02:22 PM	#111
Jeff Donald Warden Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Clearwater, FL Posts: 8,287	I was searching for an extra battery charger about 6 months ago and came across the Lenmar Mach1 http://www.lenmar.com/Video/Chargers/msc1.asp The $99 in the ad is list if you buy it direct. I paid around $40.00 (on-line) and another $10 for the adapter to do the XL1 batteries. It also comes with a car adapter and adapters to do many different batteries. It works great. Charging times seem quicker than the standard Canon charger and after 6 months use my batteries seem fine. Jeff

July 20th, 2002, 03:54 PM	#112
Nathan Gifford Wrangler Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Tickfaw, LA Posts: 1,217	There's a lot more to charging Lith batteries these days. Part of the reason for this is so that the charging circuit can monitor the recharge process. Both Lemar and Maha make universal chargers. The Maha, comes as 12 volt charger and then uses adapters for wall power. This allows you to go put your battery in the car or wall power...your choice. I haven't looked for this model specifically, but they have advertised them as universal, so I am assuming that includes the XL-1 packs. Nathan Gifford

August 30th, 2002, 04:34 PM	#114
Jeff Donald Warden Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Clearwater, FL Posts: 8,287	I know of two good quality belts, NRG Research http://www.nrgresearch.com/cat.html and Bescor http://www.bescor.com/menu_battery.htm Zotz Digital probably carries one or the other http://www.zotzdigital.com/ Give them a try they help sponsor the site. Jeff

August 30th, 2002, 04:49 PM	#115
B. Moore Major Player Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Glendale, AZ Posts: 181	It might help to know where your located! Bruce

August 30th, 2002, 08:25 PM	#116
blugill69 New Boot Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 12	Oklahoma. Thanks fo rthe links! Will investigate!

September 13th, 2002, 07:37 AM	#117
Marcus Farrar Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Raleigh, NC USA Posts: 110	Greetings I have an adapter that allows you to use the regular XL1 batteries to power your monitor. It works great and keeps me from having one other wire hanging from my XL1. You can find more info on the Watchdog. Here is the link to the site. http://www.nebtek.com/5inch/NEB50Xl%20page.html I used velcro to attach the unit to the monitor. It works perfect. It is kind of nice only having to have one type of battery, and chargers. __________________ Marcus Farrar Production Director Katana Productions www.katanapro.com

September 15th, 2002, 07:03 AM	#118
Andrew Petrie Major Player Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: London, Ontario, Canada Posts: 484	About that TFT What are the specs on it? I've found some good prices on car TFTs, it's probably a more cost-effective solution to the more expensive camera-mounted TFTs available, the only draw back would be the lack of a shoe-mount, and the power source (spliced wires). The cheapest I've seen specifically for cameras is from Varizoom, but I'm not too keen on lead acid batteries. Has anyone gone this (car TV) route? __________________ Andrew \| Canon XL1s, ME66, Vinten Vision 3, GlideCam V16 (for sale!)

September 15th, 2002, 12:14 PM	#119
Travelreview New Boot Join Date: Sep 2002 Posts: 21	Although several battery packs will work (ie Nebtek and others) they tend to be expensive. For a cheap solution try the Varizoom battery pack for their monitors (around $65 with charger). It looks and feels like an old Sony NP1 or a regular laptop battery and works well with starvision 5.6 and 7 inch TFT LCD screens. Almost any rechargable battery with 12volts and between 750 and 1200 milliamps will also work fine. Ron TravelReview@Hotmail.com

September 19th, 2002, 02:26 AM	#120
Ross Milligan Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Scotland UK Posts: 63	Battery life? Having listened to the advice posted to others on here (the search facility is really useful) I bought the Sennheiser ew100 wireless system and changed the 'on board' XL1 microphone with a Sennheiser MKE 300. I have just reviewed the footage of my first shoot and the improvement is significant - so thanks to everyone who has in the past recommended these mics. I was shooting a long operation and the battery in the ew100 receiver went down after about five hours and needed to be changed. Interestingly the transmitter was OK, although the low battery light was flashing, which was fortunate as it was under the sterile gown of a surgeon :-) So I learned the lesson to replace the batteries for each shoot! Anyway, my question is has anyone any idea how many hours the button battery on the MKE300 will last - or should I replace this after every days shooting? Regards to all Ross