"So what I’m really asking here is for the no-bs evaluation of these batteries" - I'm presuming you feel that the BS you have read hasn't helped - yeah? Well . . . like I, if you read between the BS lines you will notice that there is a lot of experience amongst the BS. - At the risk of being tarred with this BS brush too, I will reiterate that:

1 - It depends upon how much you use the Cammy

2 - How often you switch off/on of the cammy

3 - How much zooming you use

4 - If you use the flip-out LCD screen Or not

What other "downers" are there on battery charge life? Others can chip in their experience.

Having said all the above, my solution has been to use the 945 and have the slim battery that came with cammy fully charged as a "back-up". This can be used if I need to charge the very fast charging times on the 945.

If you Washington filming is that important to you, you will need to invest in as many batteries as you think you will need - this is expensive, and very heavy to carry around.

As you say, "I've been all over the net trying to figure this out . . " - this must surely give a clue.

Kyle, you could download the Canon manual and look at their typical performance figures for batteries. IMHO it will only add to your confusion. I've used cammies for 15 years and mostly I judge what I need for the session - yeah? A pro friend of mine who films and edits wedding videos, has backup batteries PLUS a battery belt. I suppose there aint no subsitute to one's own experience . . . I believe that's what people have offered here - No BS - Just their hard won experience.

Peace and Love - Grazie ;-)

Actually, the GL2 manual states that the "typical" recording times for the BP-915, -930, and -945 are 0:55, 2:15, and 3:25. Max times are 1:35, 3:55, and 5:55.

I have 930s and get somewhere between 2 and 3 hours. I've never gotten less than 2. I do not expect to be on battery power for more than 4 hours total, and I am usually near an outlet.

If you are going to shoot for 8 hours, buy 2 -945s or equivalent and one -930 as a backup. Change the battery after 4 hours to avoid loosing power just as you're shooting something important. For each additional 4 hours of shooting, you'd need another -945.

You'll also need chargers to get them all recharged overnight. Canon says recharge time on the -945 is almost 4 hours, so for 2x945 + 1x930 you'd need nearly 10 hours of charger time if they are all are drained.

Graham,
I wasn't saying that the things that I've read on this site were bs, sorry if it came off that way, I was saying that all of these different sites that have different battery life times are not accurate or extremely over exaggerated. Thanks for the help

Kyle

My solution is to have at least 5 batteries. Go to
http://www.sabahoceanic.com/ - get 2 larger batteries and 2 standard size. Those, along with the battery that comes with the cam, will last you quite a while! Always have more than you need. Now, having said that, I wonder how many I'll need for a week on El Capitan in Yosemite with 3 Canon Optura 100 mc's ?

The Power 2000 batteries from B&H lasts well over 5hrs with LCD use......945 type battery...very recommended!

lenmar batteries
 

Has anybody had an experiance with lenmar batteries? (specifically the LIC-941 if possible)

Yes, I use the Lenmars and the Mach 1 charger (AC/DC, very handy). Very high quality.

Has anyone purchased this battery or similar???
 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2928408213&category=15072

I was curious about this battery because it's fairly cheap compared to the actual Canon battery.

Has anyone bought this exact battery?

Check out the thread "Cheap Batteries for XM2" that's been going around to find out what most people are buying at great prices.

Ben Lynn

Yea, saw that thread. That place does have great prices. I might just order one in advance before I even get the GL2.

Bob- I haven't tried those batteries, but I have bought some cheapies by Ambico... I think. They were about $30 each, and have been fairly reliable for the past 2 years. They do die down after an hour with the LCD going on the GL1, and seem to be showing a memory problem, but still work fine.

HELP! - 7.2v AND 7.4v Batteries???
 

I've just recieved my HL945 5550mAh supplementary battery. On the same manufacturers battery - Canon Type - the battery is rated at 7.2v, on the packaging of the supp batt it too says HL-945 7.2v 5550mAh -BUT, but, but . . . on the label on the underside of the supp batt it says 7.4v. Will this make any difference? The manufacturer of the batteries who supplies my supplier has informed him that this is a misprint label problem, and I'm not to worry.

The XM2 manual rates the cammy at 7.2 volt too. I've also read posts here on the "battery thread" that Aaron is using 7.4 volt supplementary batteries:

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?s=&threadid=5290&perpage=15&pagenumber=4

Any takers on this one?

HELP!

Grazie

You should be OK. A fully charged Li ion battery actually puts out about 8.3 volts for a while.

TNX Don!
 

Don! You're a star! - Thanks - So it peaks at 8.3volts? Now THAT I can understand. - It would have been nice if the manual made some reference to this - yeah? It would stop a NumbNutz like me from getting into a panic . . . . ;-)

Regards,

Grazie

Working!
 

Don, charged-up 7.4v - loaded it - powered up cammy - and NO cammy didn't blow-up!

TNX

Grazie