Canon XH batteries / battery thread

Henry Cho · April 5th, 2007, 11:04 AM

fwiw, anton bauer warrantees their dionic bricks (li-ion) for less time than their nimh and nicad lineup. haven't used dionics, but user reports seem to indicate the battery will eventually fail after a couple of years. their big advantage, however, is their light weight. on the other hand, i know people who have been using the same propac bricks (nicad) for a decade.

soap box note: nicad batteries are the worst for the environment, and proper disposal of all batteries should be observed. radio shack, for one, will take old batteries. and rathbone, and other companies, will recell/recycle them.

getting back to the xha1, if anyone is interested in using an anton bauer power solution with this camera, or any other camera that uses canon bp-style batteries, switronix makes a cable with a 7.2v canon battery mount on one end and a 12v powertap connector on the other.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...ughType=search

you just need to cut off a little plastic nub on the connector housing with an x-acto knife or razor for it to fit on any standard ab gold plate. cable lengths are available in 20" and 48". i'm currently running the xha1, marshall lcd, ab light, and, occassionally, the redrock m2 off a single ab brick.

Erik Norgaard · April 8th, 2007, 05:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Doug Graham

Li-Ion batteries are also said to suffer from a gradual decrease in total capacity over time, about 10% per year, irrespective of usage. However, I only have this from one source and haven't confirmed it.

This is true, and documented - you can check wikipedia. The capacity loss depends on how the battery is stored and if it is fully or partially charged. It appears to minimize the capacity loss, battery should be stored cold and dry, some 10C is ideal, and charged to 40% capacity. Then annual loss will be 2%. The necessity to charge the battery partially is to avoid deep discharge.

Cheers, Erik

Don Palomaki · April 8th, 2007, 06:04 AM

[Quite]As I understand, this does not change the capacity of the battery but rather the reported capacity, such that you don't experience batteries run out prematurely[/Quote]

I've seen this feature in documentation for some NiMH-powered devices. The remaining run time display system (e.g., on a laptop computer) required an occasional deep discharge cycle with the installed battery to recalibrate the displayed remaining time system to the condition of that a batttery.

Jonathan Gentry · April 14th, 2007, 09:55 PM

The standard BP-950G that comes with the A1/G1 has 5 metal contacts on the end.

I bought my A1 with an optional battery and upon further inspection the battery says it replaces the BP-945. It's a 6000mah battery. The concern I have is that the battery has only two contacts vs. 5 on the battery that came with the camera. The three in the middle labeled T,B and G on the standard battery are missing but the two longer contacts on the ends are there. The camera works fine with the battery but I was wondering what the three middle contacts do...

I only paid $75.00 for the 6000mah battery so this seems to be a cheap alternative. Just making sure it's acceptable.

Thanks,

-Jonathan Gentry

Jonathan Gentry · April 14th, 2007, 10:17 PM

I found a few posts about the difference in the number of contacts on these batteries (2 vs. 5) but no answer as to what the middle three contacts do. It looks like others are using the 2 contact batteries with no problems so I won't worry too much.

If anyone finds out what the three contacts in the middle do let me know.

Thanks!

-Jonathan

Deke Ryland · April 17th, 2007, 01:40 PM

Hey guys... Usually I remove the battery pack from the camera when I stow it away out of use, but this past time I left the battery in the camera for a couple days without use.

Yesterday when I took the camera out of the bag, I noticed the battery was completely dead when I tried to turn the camera on. And this is the big 3.5+ hr BP-950 Battery pack. The odd thing is, the battery had a near full charge when I stowed it away. I did not leave the camera on when it was stowed away.

Does anyone know if this is normal... and if not, what could have caused this? It seems odd that the battery discharged itself like that. Thanks for any thoughts.

Bill Pryor · April 17th, 2007, 03:53 PM

I left mine in for several days and it didn't seem to discharge very much at all, if any. Might be a problem there.

Richard Hunter · April 17th, 2007, 04:05 PM

Mine doesn't discharge noticeably, so I don't think it is normal.

Richard

Simon Dean · April 17th, 2007, 05:20 PM

Left it in for a couple of weeks with no noticeable discharge - and that's on the smaller one that comes with it.

Ivan Barbarich · April 17th, 2007, 06:09 PM

Hi,
As a digital still camera tech, this fault is quite common, with regards to faulty power pcb..Dark current (power off battery drain) is way beyond manufacturers specs...So this would not be normal for a camera, in terms of correct operation.

This MAY be the case with your camera...Dont mean to scare you.

Don Palomaki · April 17th, 2007, 06:28 PM

Might depend in part on the charge state of the internal back-up battery. If it is discharged it will draw power from the removeable battery to fully charge it, but that should be the main draw when the camcorder is otherwise turned off.

Deke Ryland · April 17th, 2007, 07:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ivan Barbarich

Hi,
As a digital still camera tech, this fault is quite common, with regards to faulty power pcb..Dark current (power off battery drain) is way beyond manufacturers specs...So this would not be normal for a camera, in terms of correct operation.

This MAY be the case with your camera...Dont mean to scare you.

Hey guys... thanks for the thoughts. Ivan, any suggestions on what I should do? What if it doesn't persist as a problem? If it does persist, should I be worried and should I take it somewhere for a checkup? Thanks.

Ivan Barbarich · April 17th, 2007, 07:56 PM

Deke,

What we do ( NOT SUGGESTING TO DO THIS! ) to diagnose the fault, is hook it up to a powersupply with amp meter (directly to batt contacts)..and check that its drawing a particular amount of current, something like 300 uAmps when turned OFF...Cameras usually go off the scale when faulty, drain batts very quickly.

IF, it is the case with your camera, meaning you can reproduce the fault, I would definatly send it in to be checked....First off I would try another battery...It could be the battery/Charger.

I just want to make it clear..The above comments relate to digital STILL cameras...and may not be relavant to your camera.

Don Palomaki · April 18th, 2007, 04:34 PM

Funny. A Lenmar LIC941 I bought in 2001 fits, but some I bought in 2004/2005 stick and need the gaffer tape trick to pull them out. Bummer.

The 2001 battery is questionable, and headed fopr the recycle bin, as are some smaller batteries dating to 1999.

Trish Kerr · April 21st, 2007, 01:08 PM

I was reading up the other day on the LOCK / STANDBY feature. I was wondering if when in LOCK (the switch that holds the settings you were at but powers down the camera) if technically the camera is still 'on' and drawing battery life. I used the lever yesterday and later wondered if I'd left it on LOCK and if it was drawing juice while packed away.

I couldn't find battery info in the manual in reference to the lever.

Trish

April 8th, 2007, 06:04 AM	#168
Don Palomaki Wrangler Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Northern VA Posts: 4,487	[Quite]As I understand, this does not change the capacity of the battery but rather the reported capacity, such that you don't experience batteries run out prematurely[/Quote] I've seen this feature in documentation for some NiMH-powered devices. The remaining run time display system (e.g., on a laptop computer) required an occasional deep discharge cycle with the installed battery to recalibrate the displayed remaining time system to the condition of that a batttery. __________________ dpalomaki@dspalomaki.com

April 14th, 2007, 09:55 PM	#169
Jonathan Gentry Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 183	Battery Question The standard BP-950G that comes with the A1/G1 has 5 metal contacts on the end. I bought my A1 with an optional battery and upon further inspection the battery says it replaces the BP-945. It's a 6000mah battery. The concern I have is that the battery has only two contacts vs. 5 on the battery that came with the camera. The three in the middle labeled T,B and G on the standard battery are missing but the two longer contacts on the ends are there. The camera works fine with the battery but I was wondering what the three middle contacts do... I only paid $75.00 for the 6000mah battery so this seems to be a cheap alternative. Just making sure it's acceptable. Thanks, -Jonathan Gentry

April 17th, 2007, 01:40 PM	#171
Deke Ryland Major Player Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Washington, USA Posts: 213	Battery Discharging When Off??? Hey guys... Usually I remove the battery pack from the camera when I stow it away out of use, but this past time I left the battery in the camera for a couple days without use. Yesterday when I took the camera out of the bag, I noticed the battery was completely dead when I tried to turn the camera on. And this is the big 3.5+ hr BP-950 Battery pack. The odd thing is, the battery had a near full charge when I stowed it away. I did not leave the camera on when it was stowed away. Does anyone know if this is normal... and if not, what could have caused this? It seems odd that the battery discharged itself like that. Thanks for any thoughts.

April 17th, 2007, 06:28 PM	#176
Don Palomaki Wrangler Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Northern VA Posts: 4,487	Might depend in part on the charge state of the internal back-up battery. If it is discharged it will draw power from the removeable battery to fully charge it, but that should be the main draw when the camcorder is otherwise turned off. __________________ dpalomaki@dspalomaki.com

April 18th, 2007, 04:34 PM	#179
Don Palomaki Wrangler Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Northern VA Posts: 4,487	Funny. A Lenmar LIC941 I bought in 2001 fits, but some I bought in 2004/2005 stick and need the gaffer tape trick to pull them out. Bummer. The 2001 battery is questionable, and headed fopr the recycle bin, as are some smaller batteries dating to 1999. __________________ dpalomaki@dspalomaki.com

April 5th, 2007, 11:04 AM	#166
Henry Cho Major Player Join Date: May 2005 Location: NYC Posts: 516	fwiw, anton bauer warrantees their dionic bricks (li-ion) for less time than their nimh and nicad lineup. haven't used dionics, but user reports seem to indicate the battery will eventually fail after a couple of years. their big advantage, however, is their light weight. on the other hand, i know people who have been using the same propac bricks (nicad) for a decade. soap box note: nicad batteries are the worst for the environment, and proper disposal of all batteries should be observed. radio shack, for one, will take old batteries. and rathbone, and other companies, will recell/recycle them. getting back to the xha1, if anyone is interested in using an anton bauer power solution with this camera, or any other camera that uses canon bp-style batteries, switronix makes a cable with a 7.2v canon battery mount on one end and a 12v powertap connector on the other. http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...ughType=search you just need to cut off a little plastic nub on the connector housing with an x-acto knife or razor for it to fit on any standard ab gold plate. cable lengths are available in 20" and 48". i'm currently running the xha1, marshall lcd, ab light, and, occassionally, the redrock m2 off a single ab brick.

April 14th, 2007, 10:17 PM	#170
Jonathan Gentry Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 183	I found a few posts about the difference in the number of contacts on these batteries (2 vs. 5) but no answer as to what the middle three contacts do. It looks like others are using the 2 contact batteries with no problems so I won't worry too much. If anyone finds out what the three contacts in the middle do let me know. Thanks! -Jonathan

April 17th, 2007, 03:53 PM	#172
Bill Pryor Contributor Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Kansas City, MO Posts: 4,449	I left mine in for several days and it didn't seem to discharge very much at all, if any. Might be a problem there.

April 17th, 2007, 04:05 PM	#173
Richard Hunter Trustee Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Lipa City Batangas, Philippines Posts: 1,110	Mine doesn't discharge noticeably, so I don't think it is normal. Richard

April 17th, 2007, 05:20 PM	#174
Simon Dean Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Coventry, UK Posts: 91	Left it in for a couple of weeks with no noticeable discharge - and that's on the smaller one that comes with it.

April 17th, 2007, 06:09 PM	#175
Ivan Barbarich Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 47	Hi, As a digital still camera tech, this fault is quite common, with regards to faulty power pcb..Dark current (power off battery drain) is way beyond manufacturers specs...So this would not be normal for a camera, in terms of correct operation. This MAY be the case with your camera...Dont mean to scare you.

April 17th, 2007, 07:56 PM	#178
Ivan Barbarich Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 47	Deke, What we do ( NOT SUGGESTING TO DO THIS! ) to diagnose the fault, is hook it up to a powersupply with amp meter (directly to batt contacts)..and check that its drawing a particular amount of current, something like 300 uAmps when turned OFF...Cameras usually go off the scale when faulty, drain batts very quickly. IF, it is the case with your camera, meaning you can reproduce the fault, I would definatly send it in to be checked....First off I would try another battery...It could be the battery/Charger. I just want to make it clear..The above comments relate to digital STILL cameras...and may not be relavant to your camera.

April 21st, 2007, 01:08 PM	#180
Trish Kerr Major Player Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Canada Posts: 294	I was reading up the other day on the LOCK / STANDBY feature. I was wondering if when in LOCK (the switch that holds the settings you were at but powers down the camera) if technically the camera is still 'on' and drawing battery life. I used the lever yesterday and later wondered if I'd left it on LOCK and if it was drawing juice while packed away. I couldn't find battery info in the manual in reference to the lever. Trish