Ah, so it's like something in the shape of the battery, and the cable runs out the side? I gotcha. Cool.

This is correct.

If you purchase the DMW-AC8, make sure you also purchase the DMW-DCC8. Someone on this forum already pointed this out, but I had purchased the AC8 via Japan, and it looked like on eBay that the AC8 includes everything, but it doesn't. The DCC8 is the portion that contains the cord going into the GH2 and the "battery" portion.

Batteries available. See 'Batteries for GH2' post

And since today I paid full retail ($70) for a battery, it follows that three hours later you can get them here Video Direct: Panasonic DMW-BLC12 Battery Pack for Panasonic Lumix DMW-GH2 for $45.

Ouch! Me too, what a Panasonic markup.

I'm so glad I've been following this post. It just saved me $40. Thanks guys! That said, $9.95 to ship a battery seems a bit steep to me, but after having this camera for a month without a spare battery, I'll take it.

Evan

I think Panasonic Parts is charging me $14.95 for shipping.

It's pretty typical for manufacturers to charge high prices for direct sales of their products and accessories. If they don't, their distributors and dealers would first shoot them and then dump them. That's a pretty fundamental law of the jungle. How would you feel if you were a dealer for a manufacturer and your customers were haranguing you by telling you they can buy a product for only $X from the manufacturer? Marketing 101 - Don't under price your dealers at retail for your products; it will kill you if you do.

For those that have got batteries, how long does a battery last when shooting video?

Usually about 90 minutes for me.

Same here. 90 minutes, sometimes more depending on how I shoot.

So against the advice of this thread, I shot two sessions in one day, on one battery. I have a couple of spare batteries on the way. Unlucky for me, Fedex tracking says they will arrive on Monday. Oh well.

Session #1
I shot a Save the Date Engagement video. This session was planned for weeks and was my priority for the day. The session lasted 3 hours and I was able to get about an hour and a half of footage off of my battery. Honestly, I never dipped below two bars, so the battery exceeded my expectations. The session ended at 1pm.

Session #2
At 2pm I had to be at a dance studio to shoot some dance lessons taught by a former world champion ballroom dancer. I had the battery charging in the car in between session, and once I got to the gig, I threw the charger on the wall and stated shooting with my Canon HV30 (B-Cam). Twenty minutes later, the little LED light turned off on the charger and I was back in business. I shot 3 lessons, 45 minutes each, on one charge. Again it exceeded my expectations. I left the HV30 on a tripod for the wide shot, and I threw the GH2 on a Merlin and flew it for three hours. The good news is, I now have a very in depth knowledge of how to fly the GH2 on a Merlin. The bad news is, my back is killing me.

I'm happy to say I pulled off the day, with fairly little stress. I was super anal about only using the LCD when I "needed" to. It's not a fun way to shoot, but it worked out in the end. I'll be very happy when the spare batteries come in. Shooting with only one is not fun.

I'm loving the GH2. It has been nothing but good times since I bought it. I have no regrets. I can't wait to buy another one and retire the HV30.

Take care
Evan

Though I have a spare, I shot for 2 hours straight on one battery today and still had a bar left. And the LCD was on the whole time.

These guys are currently out of stock. Anyone find an alternate discounted source with stock??