Battery for ac90

[Phil Gadd]

Anyone recommend a spare battery for the Panasonic AC90

I know Panasonic supply the CGA-D54 but there are many on ebay at a quarter of the cost (I realise you get what you pay for at times)

But can anyone suggest a suffice alternative?

[Steve Varnell]

I got 3 of these http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/538348-REG/Pearstone_CGR_D28_Lithium_Ion_Battery_7_4V_.html from B&H and after 2 (oddly) were DOA all work just fine. The AG-AC90 draws so little power it seems these batteries all last a long time. I have not done enough shooting to be precise but around 4 hours. I have read the knock off batteries do not recharge as many cycles as the OEM batteries, but at the price difference it doesn't bother me.

[Chris Harding]

Hi Phil

With all my Panasonics I always had a mixture of genuine and generic batteries and the genuine article will always last longer and if the camera says there is 10 minutes left, there IS 10 minutes left ... I found the generics will die quicker and never trust the time remaining..I had batteries last year that say I had 50 minutes left and 5 minutes later the camera turned off!!!

Always use genuine for important shots but still keep some generics as backups .. they work fine just not as long and toss them out after 12 months...you can afford to!! The cheapie ones are just as good as the more expensive ones so you might as well find the best deal on eBay. I used to buy from a lady seller in the UK and she shipped to me in Australia!!

Chris

[Phil Gadd]

great thanks guys

i will check out ebay now

[Mike Beckett]

Hmmm... I have a downer on third-party batteries. The only thing they have going for them is price. My second battery from Panasonic costs about £180!

I learned my lesson with my Panasonic HMC41 which came with a third party battery (and that was IDX, fer goodness' sake!). It didn't quite fit the same as the Panasonic battery, and if you touched it there was a chance the power would drop and you'd lose footage.

As Chris says, if it's important, use the manufacturer's battery rather trust a Tesco Value one.

[Chris Harding]

Hi Mike

Funny you mention that cos my 2 batteries I got from the UK were perfect in the camera BUT they would only charge in the charger with a thin piece of cardboard under the battery so the fancy moulding on the sides was obviously not suited to the charger but the camera was more lenient!!

My Sony's have 3 genuine batteries and by pure coincidence my lights run on F750 batteries (generic) ..these work OK in the camera but again the Sony charger will only trickle charge them as they are not genuine InfoLithium!!

My all means grab a few generics for $30 as backups but don't use them on non-repeatable shoots!!

Chris

[Peter Riding]

I can't speak for the AC90 as its too new in the UK but I have had good results with Amazon UK seller Express Pro. Their generic batteries for the TM900 have taken multiple recharges. They also last almost as long as the real ones plus the remaining capacity indicator is accurate. So I would buy from them and probably will once the AC90 becomes available again.

Veering off topic slightly I also got these Sony rechargers from Express Pro for my six aftermarket F970 batteries (which I use with my six Z96 video lights):

Ex-Pro® Sony NP-F330, NP-F530, NP-F550, NP-F570: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics

 

Ex-Pro® Sony NP-F330, NP-F530, NP-F550, NP-F570: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics

I got the actual batteries from LA Color Online - the proprietor is a DVinfo member so I felt he would be trustworthy :- )

They also work fine. Their longevity at full power is not as great as I had hoped for but they are still very decent - each will run a Z96 at full power for 4 hours; they may increase with several cycles - I've yet to find out.

Might be worth contacting him to see if he has suitable batteries for the AC90.

Pete

[Phil Gadd]

got my battery £13.99 from ebay, delivered in 2 days, great backup for sure :-)

[Mike Beckett]

Better make sure you're wearing rubber shoes, Phil! :)

[Phil Gadd]

Lol mike I never thought about the risks, ironically the panasonic battery lasted all day today :-)

[Peter Riding]

Phil, how are you getting on with your Ebay batteries? Do you have a link?

I decided to play it safe and bought a Powerlok via Creative Video:

https://www.creativevideo.co.uk/inde...erlok_cga-d54s

Not cheap at £79 including tax and delivery but should be reliable. Still half the price of the Panny one.

I've run it to full discharge twice so far and each time its given me just under 5.5 hours; thats just leaving the cam running, no extra demands on it. The charge remaining indicator seems to be accurate.

Pete

[Phil Gadd]

Hi Peter,

would you believe me if i told you you I have hardly needed it yet ha. Even after filming bits over 5 hours i still used the original battery.

I forgot to charge my main battery one day and used the spare and it was great.

[Mike Beckett]

The original Panasonic is now a snip at £152 at CVP.... (yikes)

I'm just too worried about using off-brand batteries. The battery is probably the most important accessory for a camcorder like this, one error and your footage is toast.

I don't know if my insistence on the "official" batteries is just me being careful or has any real merit, but I'm not prepared to take a risk. It's just a pity they have to cost so bloomin' much.

Two of the official batteries (VWVBG6EK) last me all day with the AC130, with some power to spare. Only problem so far was when I foolishly kept filming when the little red battery icon was flashing, and of course it went "poof" and lost a clip.

You stupid boy...

[Steve Wolla]

I had a "bargain brand" battery fail on me during a shoot. I do 3 cam shoots of concerts and theater, and that failure caused me to lose the center cam position for the first act of a play we were filming.
It was freshly charged, less than 6 months old, and went dead on me in 30 minutes.

On the other hand, I have never had any issues with the Panasonic brand batteries. If you shoot for a living....you need reliability first. That level of reliability is, in my experience, best achieved by using the Panasonic batteries.

[Phil Gadd]

Mike/Steve agree totally with what you are saying, mine was bought just in case i needed it (which I haven't really as the panasonic is ideal for my needs).. However if I start doing full day shoots then I would have to go down the more expensive root.