After being in a 1/3" camera for most of my life, and now that I have moved up in the camera world, the cost of buying a "Brick" vs. a small camcorder battery is shocking. My budget is now tight and I dread having to spend big bucks on power. has anyone ever used off-brand batteries, such as these?

http://www.batteries4broadcast.com/battery2_sm_pop.htm

There is just such a discussion going on at the moment on the CML. There's some interesting stuff about batteries!

Anton Bauer is a good make, but expensive. But I have to say that I do prefer their batteries due to their size (Dionic 90's).

Swit are also very good, and affordable.

Off brand stuff, well, do you want to take the chance with such a camera? There are some that are apparently good, but I have no idea which ones.

I own some batteries (and a charger) from Kevin (Batteries4Broadcast) for my HD100. They've been trucking along since Christmas without a problem. Battery life is consistent with how they're rated.

If I'm concerned about anything with the package, it's the charger. It's a bit lightweight, but I think it's ok for personal gear (as opposed to rental stock).

Thanks for the info guys, as always you're the best!

I'm using swit ni-mh 156W/h bricks. Last between 3-4 hours of typical usage (3 Disks) each. A little on the heavy side but that helps balance the camera and I find I get less fatigue using these than lighter Li-on cells where I end up proping up the front heavy lens all the time. Cheap too.

I have big concerns over the longevity of Lithium cells. There are expensive to buy and they don't seem to last particularly well, certainly not as many cycles as Nicads or Ni-Mh.