VX & PD series battery / batteries

Lucas Hall · July 17th, 2003, 10:12 PM

Is 6 hours the maximum the NP-F960 can hold on the PD150?
Thanks,
Lucas

Jun Galinato · July 17th, 2003, 10:18 PM

Nope. That depends on how you use your camcorder. If I use the LCD monitor it will drop to about 5 hours. I think the maximum is 8 to 9 hours with LCD close and in continous recording. So far I only use one battery for the whole wedding. I just use it alternately with my other battery.

Jeff Natalie · July 18th, 2003, 03:46 AM

I purchased 3 npf-750s from ptron. Very good to work with. Nice people. Call them directly and they will ship all of your order together, saving you some money. BTW, all three were $75ish total and work fine.

Boyd Ostroff · July 18th, 2003, 07:15 AM

<<<-- Originally posted by Lucas Hall : Is 6 hours the maximum the NP-F960 can hold on the PD150?-->>>

I have run for 6 hours using the LCD screen the whole time, and the battery still indicated it had several hours left. I have a VX-2000 however and the specs indicate it draws slightly less power. I think it is very dependent on how much you zoom the lens and how often you start, stop or rewind the tape.

Regardless, they are really impressive batteries!

Neil McLean · July 29th, 2003, 12:37 AM

I thought I would give you an update since it's two months to the day since the last post in this thread.

I recived two new genuine Sony batteries yesterday from eBay.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2939737800

and neither of them appear to work. I charged one of them up via a rapid charger and the other via the DVCAM and get the C:04:00 code, which refers to the battery pack not being InfoLithium.

Once again, I'm confident that the charger is okay as the NP-F330 battery pack that came with the camera works okay.

I have a wedding to shoot to Friday and would appreciate your thoughts on the above.

Many thanks,
Neil

Ralph Morris · July 29th, 2003, 10:00 PM

Neil,
The eBay page shows two different battery markings.

The one in the lower left is what my 960's look like (they have gold lettering on the vertical "infoLITHIUM L" printing.

You may want to try pushing the camcorder reset switch to see if that does anything.

If you have a way to place an electrical load on the new batteries after they have been on the charger, check to see if they still show 7.2 volts. Assuming the "new" batteries are really taking a charge, and you place a 15 ohm, 5 or 10 watt resistor across the round terminals marked + and - , you should still show the 7.2 volts across the resistor. This will give the approximate wattage of 5 watts used by the camera in normal operation. (I'm assuming you are reasonably adept at basic electricity).

I would also check to see that the contact on the camcorder battery compartment sticks out enough to make contact with the flat silver-colored contact marked "C" next to the minus terminal.

Also, make sure the new batteries have the ramp molded into the second center indentation from the top on the back of the battery. This operates the plastic switch in the camera's battery compartment.

If all else fails, I think you will have to use the Sony AC power adapter that came with your camera and rig a long extension cord, or cut the cord from the AC adapter to the camera and rig an 8.4 volt DC battery pack to feed power via the salvaged external adapter plug. (Again, basic electricity knowlege required).

Good Luck.

Bryan Beasleigh · July 30th, 2003, 01:10 AM

Did they come sealed in the bister pack? There is a source that sell batteries that have been stripped out of warranty returns.

Alan Christensen · December 30th, 2003, 07:40 PM

My new VX-2100 arrived today. Everything was as expected until I plugged one of my 3rd party NP-F960 equivalents into the cam and turned it on. The VX-2100 immediately sensed that it was not a Sony battery and popped up a message to that effect and then shut down. This means that the set of 3rd party batteries that I have been using very successfully with my VX-2000 will not work with the new camera. It upsets me that Sony has elected to force all VX-2100 users to use Sony batteries, especially given the very high prices that they charge for them. An equivalent 3rd party battery is 1/3 the cost of a Sony battery. Anyone know of any workarounds for this issue?

Mark Goodsell · January 1st, 2004, 10:08 AM

Ouch, that sucks! It's the first I've heard of this. Looks like Sony was busier than we thought when they redid the cam. I don't know of any work around, but FWIW, I bought my Sony NP-F960 off ebay for less than 1/2 price of new. It is original Sony and was brand new in an unopened blister package. I bought another battery from a seller there last yr that WAS opened (but appeared new) and has worked great for me so far.

Mark G

Law Tyler · January 1st, 2004, 11:06 AM

"brand new"? Half price?

Ha, ha, sounds like it came from my cousin Vinny. Must have fallen off the truck. :-)

P.s. Love it though. Keeps going and going and going. One less item to worry about during a busy shoot.

Yang Wen · January 1st, 2004, 11:24 AM

Shady business practice Sony.. What audacity! To market a higher priced cam with such measely upgrades and now to force us to strictly use their brand of batteries. This should be cause for boycott.

Tom Hardwick · January 2nd, 2004, 09:32 AM

Cause for boycott? Not so in my book. The Sony info-lithiums are way better than anyone else's bog-standard lithiums, and the 'Info' extra circuitry could well have camera protection built in electronically. If Sony are going to guarantee their products (camera and charger) I think it's fair that the fuel supply to the engine should be under their control as well.

tom.

Yang Wen · January 2nd, 2004, 11:01 AM

<<<-- Originally posted by Tom Hardwick : Cause for boycott? and the 'Info' extra circuitry could well have camera protection built in electronically. -->>>

"could well have" ? That doesnt sound like a confident claim. You sure bought into the Sony marketing slogan very well(InfoLithium..chuckles) their marketing ppl oughta be happy. The fact is, battery technology is fairly trivial, when it comes to these low powered prosumer cam. You can pay the same price for that sony brand on your batteries, but don't for a sec think that everyone else should follow your path.

Dan Tolbertson · January 2nd, 2004, 11:13 AM

<<<-- don't for a sec think that everyone else should follow your path. -->>>

Sounds like you will be though....

Yang Wen · January 2nd, 2004, 11:27 AM

<<<-- Originally posted by Dan Tolbertson : <<<-- don't for a sec think that everyone else should follow your path. -->>>

Sounds like you will be though.... -->>>

What does that even mean? please put at least somesort of connotation into your post. Otherwise, don't even waste the energy. I've put out a legitimate complaint about not being able to use 3rd party batteries. Your comment is not on par with the level of discussion going on here. thank you sir.

July 17th, 2003, 10:18 PM	#77
Jun Galinato Major Player Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Auburn, Washington Posts: 231	Nope. That depends on how you use your camcorder. If I use the LCD monitor it will drop to about 5 hours. I think the maximum is 8 to 9 hours with LCD close and in continous recording. So far I only use one battery for the whole wedding. I just use it alternately with my other battery. __________________ Sony Z7U, Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 24-105 F4L, Canon 70-200 F2.8L, Canon 580 EXII, Zoom H2.

July 29th, 2003, 10:00 PM	#81
Ralph Morris Regular Crew Join Date: May 2003 Location: Chantilly, VA Posts: 57	Neil, The eBay page shows two different battery markings. The one in the lower left is what my 960's look like (they have gold lettering on the vertical "infoLITHIUM L" printing. You may want to try pushing the camcorder reset switch to see if that does anything. If you have a way to place an electrical load on the new batteries after they have been on the charger, check to see if they still show 7.2 volts. Assuming the "new" batteries are really taking a charge, and you place a 15 ohm, 5 or 10 watt resistor across the round terminals marked + and - , you should still show the 7.2 volts across the resistor. This will give the approximate wattage of 5 watts used by the camera in normal operation. (I'm assuming you are reasonably adept at basic electricity). I would also check to see that the contact on the camcorder battery compartment sticks out enough to make contact with the flat silver-colored contact marked "C" next to the minus terminal. Also, make sure the new batteries have the ramp molded into the second center indentation from the top on the back of the battery. This operates the plastic switch in the camera's battery compartment. If all else fails, I think you will have to use the Sony AC power adapter that came with your camera and rig a long extension cord, or cut the cord from the AC adapter to the camera and rig an 8.4 volt DC battery pack to feed power via the salvaged external adapter plug. (Again, basic electricity knowlege required). Good Luck. __________________ RalphM ----------------------------------------------- 8mm/S8/16mm film-to-video transfers "Before they are gone forever..."

December 30th, 2003, 07:40 PM	#83
Alan Christensen Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: California Posts: 139	Infolithium batteries only with VX-2100! My new VX-2100 arrived today. Everything was as expected until I plugged one of my 3rd party NP-F960 equivalents into the cam and turned it on. The VX-2100 immediately sensed that it was not a Sony battery and popped up a message to that effect and then shut down. This means that the set of 3rd party batteries that I have been using very successfully with my VX-2000 will not work with the new camera. It upsets me that Sony has elected to force all VX-2100 users to use Sony batteries, especially given the very high prices that they charge for them. An equivalent 3rd party battery is 1/3 the cost of a Sony battery. Anyone know of any workarounds for this issue?

January 1st, 2004, 10:08 AM	#84
Mark Goodsell Major Player Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: WI Posts: 367	Ouch, that sucks! It's the first I've heard of this. Looks like Sony was busier than we thought when they redid the cam. I don't know of any work around, but FWIW, I bought my Sony NP-F960 off ebay for less than 1/2 price of new. It is original Sony and was brand new in an unopened blister package. I bought another battery from a seller there last yr that WAS opened (but appeared new) and has worked great for me so far. Mark G __________________ Mark Goodsell

January 2nd, 2004, 11:13 AM	#89
Dan Tolbertson Regular Crew Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Menifee, CA Posts: 126	<<<-- don't for a sec think that everyone else should follow your path. -->>> Sounds like you will be though.... __________________ Sony Fan Boy! Sony AX100, VG20, RX10, A6000, CX760 and a GoPro 4

July 17th, 2003, 10:12 PM	#76
Lucas Hall Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Boston, MA Posts: 45	Is 6 hours the maximum the NP-F960 can hold on the PD150? Thanks, Lucas

July 18th, 2003, 03:46 AM	#78
Jeff Natalie Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Erie PA Posts: 29	I purchased 3 npf-750s from ptron. Very good to work with. Nice people. Call them directly and they will ship all of your order together, saving you some money. BTW, all three were $75ish total and work fine.

July 18th, 2003, 07:15 AM	#79
Boyd Ostroff Wrangler Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Mays Landing, NJ Posts: 11,787	<<<-- Originally posted by Lucas Hall : Is 6 hours the maximum the NP-F960 can hold on the PD150?-->>> I have run for 6 hours using the LCD screen the whole time, and the battery still indicated it had several hours left. I have a VX-2000 however and the specs indicate it draws slightly less power. I think it is very dependent on how much you zoom the lens and how often you start, stop or rewind the tape. Regardless, they are really impressive batteries!

July 29th, 2003, 12:37 AM	#80
Neil McLean Regular Crew Join Date: May 2003 Location: U.K. Posts: 125	I thought I would give you an update since it's two months to the day since the last post in this thread. I recived two new genuine Sony batteries yesterday from eBay. http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2939737800 and neither of them appear to work. I charged one of them up via a rapid charger and the other via the DVCAM and get the C:04:00 code, which refers to the battery pack not being InfoLithium. Once again, I'm confident that the charger is okay as the NP-F330 battery pack that came with the camera works okay. I have a wedding to shoot to Friday and would appreciate your thoughts on the above. Many thanks, Neil

July 30th, 2003, 01:10 AM	#82
Bryan Beasleigh Trustee Join Date: May 2002 Location: Barrie, Ontario, Canada Posts: 1,922	Did they come sealed in the bister pack? There is a source that sell batteries that have been stripped out of warranty returns.

January 1st, 2004, 11:06 AM	#85
Law Tyler Major Player Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Plano, TX Posts: 204	"brand new"? Half price? Ha, ha, sounds like it came from my cousin Vinny. Must have fallen off the truck. :-) P.s. Love it though. Keeps going and going and going. One less item to worry about during a busy shoot.

January 1st, 2004, 11:24 AM	#86
Yang Wen Major Player Join Date: May 2003 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 991	Shady business practice Sony.. What audacity! To market a higher priced cam with such measely upgrades and now to force us to strictly use their brand of batteries. This should be cause for boycott.

January 2nd, 2004, 09:32 AM	#87
Tom Hardwick Inner Circle Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Billericay, England UK Posts: 4,711	Cause for boycott? Not so in my book. The Sony info-lithiums are way better than anyone else's bog-standard lithiums, and the 'Info' extra circuitry could well have camera protection built in electronically. If Sony are going to guarantee their products (camera and charger) I think it's fair that the fuel supply to the engine should be under their control as well. tom.

January 2nd, 2004, 11:01 AM	#88
Yang Wen Major Player Join Date: May 2003 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 991	<<<-- Originally posted by Tom Hardwick : Cause for boycott? and the 'Info' extra circuitry could well have camera protection built in electronically. -->>> "could well have" ? That doesnt sound like a confident claim. You sure bought into the Sony marketing slogan very well(InfoLithium..chuckles) their marketing ppl oughta be happy. The fact is, battery technology is fairly trivial, when it comes to these low powered prosumer cam. You can pay the same price for that sony brand on your batteries, but don't for a sec think that everyone else should follow your path.

January 2nd, 2004, 11:27 AM	#90
Yang Wen Major Player Join Date: May 2003 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 991	<<<-- Originally posted by Dan Tolbertson : <<<-- don't for a sec think that everyone else should follow your path. -->>> Sounds like you will be though.... -->>> What does that even mean? please put at least somesort of connotation into your post. Otherwise, don't even waste the energy. I've put out a legitimate complaint about not being able to use 3rd party batteries. Your comment is not on par with the level of discussion going on here. thank you sir.