I've been taping with the DVX for years and, as usual, I keep track of the level of remaining battery power on the LCD screen. But lately the DVX shuts off before any warning of a flashing battery signal. Yet once I put in a fresh battery everything is fine again. The battery ostensibly has a quarter to half power left, even if it's been used for a full hour or more (it's standard sized). I'm using a phantom powered mic, if that matters. I don't like being surprised by sudden DVX shutdown when taping, and am wondering why the battery indicator doesn't seem more accurate.

Thanks for any insight.

sorry to say it mate, but this happens with BOTH my DVX100's (100 and 100a)
Its not the battery, as i have 3 belt clip and 2 clip on 5400mh and it does it with ALL of them..

One thin i found is that to get a readin of battery life, u must turn it off, then then the cam back on. The cam will read teh battery and give u an accurate reading.
As for the continual read, this doesnt, and hasnt... ever... the only time i see battery life slowly dwindling is when i use th same battery in the MX500 and teh DS88 ... this then tells me that its not the batterys, as in this case each battery reads correctly while active on the MX500, on the DVX's though.. nothing.. its pretty useless IMO.. Ive bought this up a milion times and they act as if the problem doesnt exist... I even mentioned it here and many ppl said this wasnt a problem, however my 2 units, as well as several other units which ive actualy sold, DO have this problem...

Now though, i use the batterys in 5 hour stints, then changeover. Then swap back... Im lucky that i have so many of them, but not everyone has that luxury.

Thanks for your experience on this; I was really stumped. I figure if I need to have the DVX on for a long, long stretch I need to invest in more 4-5 hour batteries that will help the odds in no-surprises during a prolonged taping, whatever the battery indicator says.

I've noticed the same thing with my DVC80. I don't think I've ever seen the quarter-power icon! It displays either full or half power. Knowing the batteries' capacities takes some experimenting. Through experience, I've learned that one 2800 mAh and one 5400 mAh is all I need for a typical 7- to 8-hour wedding shoot using 70% viewfinder, 30% LCD; manual iris; 50/50 auto/manual focus; servo zoom; and Libec zoom controller.