First thing to do!
 

Before you get into sending for repair and fancy testing, try this to make sure the battery has not gone bad.

1. Fully charge the battery that was in it and let it sit for a good period, off of the camera and test it again.

2. Try a different battery in the camcorder, and see if the problem is still there.

It may be that you just have a battery going or gone bad.

Mike

How many batteries?
 

Hey all,
I'm going to be using the XH-A1 at a wedding for the first time next weekend and I'm a bit concerned about something. I have the stock Canon battery and the Impact BP-970. I'm wondering if these two batteries, fully charged, will be enough to get through a full day of shooting. The wedding is outdoors and I doubt I will be able to plug the camera up or recharge either battery and I want to be reasonably sure that these two batteries will be enough. Any and all opinions will be appreciated :)

Thanks,
Doug Chambers

That's about ten hours of endurance, but I would add a third batt just to be on the safe side.

Don't worry, the batteries really do last for ages. I did a wedding 2 weeks ago and only switched from the stock supplied battery at the start of the evening reception. I reckon the larger BP945 would have seen me through the whole day easy.

If shooting for money, you can never have too many blank tapes or too many fresh charged batteries with you - you can only have too few. No one knows or cares if you have more than you needed, but the client gets mighty upset if you have one less battery or tape than you needed.

I would say plan on at least one good charged battery (e.g.., BP950) for each 1 hour tape you plan to shoot. You will not need that many if you use StandBy/Lock during long pauses in action at a typical wedding. Adjust this ratio as you gain expereince with your gear and shooting techinque.

Keep in mind, the more you shoot at a wedding, the more you have to sift through as you edit and the longer it takes to produce the end product.

Thanks for the advice. I just went ahead and ordered another BP-970. It hurt the wallet a little bit, but it will be sure to save me tons of worry. $130 is a decent price for peace of mind, isn't it?

Anton Bauer ElipZ 10k Under Camera Mounted Battery...?
 

Does anyone have this battery? I`m confused about its usage. It comes with the A1 package, but the description is it works specifically with the G1/2 Xl 2. If you mount it under the camera can you not use a tripod? Or can a quick release attach to the battery, but won`t that mess with balancing the camera since the weight will all be in one little point under the cam? Also once the battery is under the camera...how does the power get into the camera?



http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...=437763&is=REG

The battery has it's own tripod hole, so you can still use a tripod. The power gets to the camera by way of a dummy battery. In the picture from the link, it is the bottom right thing, beside the charger. As long as the A1 has the same battery as the GL/XL series, this setup should work.

Does this mean you have to shoot with the battery door open then? That seems like a broken part waiting to happen. I love my XH A1 but the battery design makes me scratch my head.

My guess is that a 970 battery is going to be more than enough and this one is a little overkill.

Actually, if you look a little closer at the battery door, you will see there is a slot for snaking a cable out. Also works with the AC adapter.

My bad - thanks for the heads up.

Still don't like the door thing though

Considering the price of that battery, I would invest in a few 970's.
Exchanging those batteries should not be a problem because you also have to exchange tapes. Except when you use a harddrive solution ofcourse.

My 950 battery runs for about 4-5 hours. More than enough for me.
I think a 970 will run for 6-7 hours. So with three of those you could almost run 24 hours.

Next to that: with two or three you also can reload the empty one in between.

I agree. With the battery that comes with the camera and a second 970, you can pretty much shoot all day. Buy a third battery and you're cool for about anything. That big Anton Bauer battery is probably about as heavy as the camera. I don't see any need for it.

Check that manual. That door comes off.

Huh? Say again? Where does it say that in the manual?

Bill