Panasonic DVX / DVC Battery topics

[Barry Green]

Different brands don't matter, as long as you're getting what you're expecting (I think it was Jarred Land who did a test and found that a lot of aftermarket batteries were actually shortchanging the customer, not providing the actual capacity being advertised).

DVXUSER.COM sells the best deal in aftermarket batteries, I think it's 3100 mah for $35 brand new. Those batteries should last around three hours.

For the VW-VBD55, I got mine off ebay from a seller named "shimwass". I think I paid $80 or so, and recently I saw he/she auctioned off some more for $90. Those are brand-new. $169 isn't bad, but I'd see if shimwass had any more before springing for the B&H deal.

[Humby Valdes]

I got one from DVXuser.com and it's great. I used it for 3 hours and the thing is still kickin! Best of all it's 35 bucks.

Only issue I found is that if I leave the battery on the camera while I store it for a few days I sometime have to unclip the battery then back on for it to work... But it's no big deal.

I'm fixin on getting another one.

Here's the URL:
http://www.dvxuser.com/articles/battery/

[Johnny Cheung]

<<<-- Originally posted by Humby Valdes : I got one from DVXuser.com and it's great. I used it for 3 hours and the thing is still kickin! Best of all it's 35 bucks.

Only issue I found is that if I leave the battery on the camera while I store it for a few days I sometime have to unclip the battery then back on for it to work... But it's no big deal.

I'm fixin on getting another one.

Here's the URL:
http://www.dvxuser.com/articles/battery/ -->>>

That looks really attractive, and it is really cheap... but are they reliable? I mean, i know nothing about dvxuser.com, and obviously, it is not a store, and it's not like ebay where you can see user's comment...

and what about the power2000 ones? i think they have quite some models..

[Barry Green]

I've got two of the Power2000 batteries, from B&H. At $69 they're almost twice as much as the DVXUSER.COM batteries, for about 15% more capacity.

If I had to do over again I would probably get the dvxuser batteries. With that said, I'm reasonably pleased with the power2000's. They work fine.

[Humby Valdes]

Johnny
Aside from the storage issue, the battery works just as well as any rechargble battery I have owned.

As for dvxuser.com Its a great resource... Just like dvinfo.net

[Johnny Cheung]

Thanks for everyone's response.

One more question, is VW-VBD55 the japanese version of CGR-D54, coz I was just wondering why there are two model numbers for one battery... and even if so, it doesn't matter, right?

[Jarred Land]

Hey.. I run DVXuser.com, and the batteries so far have been very well recieved and held up very well.

I also had 100% control of the design of the cells, and being a heavy user of the DVX100 I had a good idea what Mah ratio would be the best, and had an eye on keeping the weight of the battery inline to keep perfect camera balance... this can be seen with the huge battery from panasonic it lasts very long, but it is very long and impedes somewhat in user control and weight distribution, but its one of those things where you need to decide where to make a tradeoff. The 5400mah Panasonic battery lasts about 5 hours, at a cost of between $170-200. Our battery lasts just over 3 hours and costs $35.

It is much easier to cycle between 2 x 3 hour batteries than one 5 hour battery, as you can create a constant chain of use/charging with 2 batteries, rather than shooting for 5 hours than needing to stop to charge again. (unless of course if you buy 2 x 5 hour batteries)

We also have the 6 month warranty.


I tested them as well as I could when I had them manufactured, by bringing 6 of them to power a Full feature with 2 dvx100 cameras. The batteries constantly where charged, each one went through at least 2 charge cycles each day for an entire month, as well as the Physical demands of being tossed around and dropped and everything else that happens during a multiple location shoot.


Although we dont have a feedback thing, we have an open forum where people can post thier experiences with the batteries if they have any problems... I consider this vastly supperior to any feedback one sentance blurb.

You need to be careful about some of the no name batteries, the manufacture told me that you can "cheat" mah ratings by testing the cells at higher temperatures etc, so the best way to test life is to do a real world test (like what I did)

Sorry for my little self-cheerleading session, I just thought a little more info might help. And thanks Humby for the kind words!

[Johnny Cheung]

so jarred, is it the same shippin rate for 1-5 batteries?
thnx.

[Jarred Land]

Yes, 5 batteries max... it's only a couple more dollars if you want to order more though.

[Tony Chu]

I've used three different batteries on the DVX100 and the life on the package does not reflect the life that is displayed on the camera. I have a carry-on batttery that is suppose to last 9 hrs but it last only about an hour on the DVX100. Is this normal?

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Also, after white balancing and locking white balance, images will get dark or lighter depending how far I get to a subject. I never encountered this problem before with other cameras when white balance is set. What is going on here?

Thanks in advance.

[Tim Borek]

First, most new batteries do not charge at their maximum capacity until the fifth or sixth charge/discharge cycle.

Second, take advertised ratings with a grain of salt. Yes, ads are deceiving, and these ratings hardly ever reflect real-world use, such as LCD is used instead of viewfinder, servo zoom instead of manual zoom, and so on.

Third, avoid *most* generic brands of battery. You DO get what you pay for where batteries are concerned.

You can do many things to make your batteries last as long as possible:

* Fully charge them the day before (better yet, day off) shooting.
* Disable motorized functions on your camcorder (if possible), including servo zoom, auto focus.
* Keep the data displayed in your viewfinder/LCD to a minimum. For example, if you're showing timecode with a brand new tape inserted, you don't need to be told you have 57 minutes remaining when your timecode reads 0;03;00.00.
* Disable image stabilzation when you shoot from a tripod.
* Disable tally lights and beeps. (I find the beep helpful). In candid or documentary shooting, a tally light can cause your subjects to tense up in front of the camera. People behave more naturally if they're not aware that tape is rolling.
* Use the LCD only when necessary, or when your viewfinder eye gets fatigued. For example, when shooting from awkward angles that make using the viewfinder impractical or impossible. (When the situation allows, I use the LCD only to frame the shot and set exposure, but monitor the shooting only through the viewfinder. Still, sometimes you must give your eye a rest :)
* Avoid shooting under extreme temperature and humidity conditions. Batteries have their comfort zone. Consult your camera and/or battery manual for specifics.

Last but not least, ALWAYS bring a spare battery to the shooting location. There's no getting around the fact that digital camcorders require a lot of power for their size. I'm not saying you shouldn't use a camcorder's auto or motorized features, just be prepared for the result. It's often said that the best defense is a strong offense, and I think that saying applies fairly to camera batteries.

[Tim Borek]

<<<-- Originally posted by Tony Chu :

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Also, after white balancing and locking white balance, images will get dark or lighter depending how far I get to a subject. I never encountered this problem before with other cameras when white balance is set. What is going on here?
-->>>

Tony,

Some people refer to this fluctuation between dark and light exposure as the "breathing" of the iris. What's likely happening is you have your Iris control set to Auto. Press the Iris button again to set an F-number manually and then leave the dial alone. Pressing the Iris button -- at least on the DVC80 -- toggles the manual and auto iris modes, whose name appears in the viewfinder for a few seconds each time you press the Iris button.

I hope this solves your problem.

T.J. Borek

[Barry Green]

Panasonic makes their batteries compatible across their entire lineup of camcorders (excepting the GS series). So if you use the "9-hour" battery on a tiny palmcorder, it may very well last 9 hours. But with the huge and battery-hungry DVX100, of course it can't last that long.

As a general rule of thumb, the DVX gets about half the advertised battery life -- if it says "3 hours" on it, the DVX can make it last about an hour and a half.

Another way to look at it is by the milli-amphour ratings. The 1600 mah battery (that comes with the camera) is good for about 1.6 hours (1600 yields 1.6) and the 5400 mah CGR-D54 can drive the camera for about 5.4 hours. Those are rough approximations, but they're close enough to get an idea.

[Aaron Koolen]

I'm not too hot on my understanding of power but I think if you divide the mill amp hours by 2280 for the DVX you'll get the number of hours a batter will last.

I got this figure from

Watts = Volts x Amps

From the PDF brochure I just looked at (I don't own one), the DVX100e draws 18Watts and requires 7.9Volts (dc) - I'm not sure if just grabbing the DC voltage is correct. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

so

18Watts / 7.9Volts = 2.28Amps = 2280 milli amps.

Then take battery mAh (milli amp hours) and divide by mA and voila. So a 5400mAh battery will last

5400/2280 = 2.37 hours = ~ 2 hours 22mins.

S_it I hope I didn't get that all wrong!

Aaron

[Barry Green]

Yeah, there's something off in your math because the 5400 mah battery lasts somewhere near six hours on my camera.