Canon XH batteries / battery thread

Don Palomaki · September 6th, 2007, 06:38 AM

I've had acceptable results using Lenmar branded batteries (in the US) with various models of Canon camcorders.

I suspect that the major differences among batteries visible to end users would be uniformity of cell characteristics and quality control, which means some makes/production runs may have a higher failure rate than others. Which names plates are better is anyone's guess.

I suspect that the actual battery cell manufacture takes place in a relatively small number of plants, and these basic cells are than packaged by a variety of companies under different names and with some different features in the internal electronics.

Andre Theelen · September 8th, 2007, 01:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Erik Norgaard

I know, stick with the original is always recommended. But, I find that original battery for the XH-A1 ranges above 200 euros, and OEM compatibles around 60 euros. Does anyone have any experience (bad?) using such batteries?

Hi Erik,

I bought a Lenmar LIC970G high capacity battery last week as a second battery for my XH-A1. I paid 64 euros while the official Canon battery was 269 euros. A pretty easy choice, don't you think?

Even if the life expectancy of the Lenmar is less than the Canon, I can buy a lot of Lenmars for the price of 1 Canon. So I would say, go for it.

As for charging your batteries while on the road, think about buying a small 12V/220V inverter which can be used with the 12V outlet in a car. I used that while I was traveling in Australia a couple of years ago and it worked perfectly.

Best regards, Andre.

Gert Kracht · September 9th, 2007, 05:32 PM

Hi Erik,

I agree with Andre. I myself got an extra original Canon battery. I also looked around for a OEM battery, but almost every battery I found was not good. Either some contacts at the bottom were missing or the construction of the battery was looking bad.

One time they tried to sell me a battery which allready was falling apart. Next to that the contacts were looking weird. So after a month I decided to buy an original because I had to have one before we went to London.

A few weeks later I saw the Lenmar and that battery looks very nice compared with others. It also slides in to the A1 like the original battery.
Ofcourse there is a small risk when using battery's from other branches. But hey, look around on the internet and you will see that most of the big names in laptops have recalled all their batteries because they were afraid of big problems with those stuff.

I only can advice to be very carefull with your battery's. Don't drop them and when you have to switch: do it slowly...one wrong move and original or not, it could go wrong in many ways.

My next battery will be a Lenmar by the way.

Mickey Mackwan · September 9th, 2007, 06:04 PM

hi erik i bought this battery from ebay (za182 Battery For Canon BP-970G BP970G GL-1 GL-2 XH-A1) and am using it now it came within a week after the payment was cleared just look on ebay this was from honk kong and it works alright.....

Loren Simons · September 29th, 2007, 11:51 AM

Does anyone know if they are developing a battery that can go outside the camera. I know the little door in the back can come off, and i was thinking they could somehow use the current batter sytle as a conducter and lead to a bigger battery on the outside.

Chris Hurd · September 29th, 2007, 12:24 PM

Already done...

See www.antonbauer.com -- note the photo on the splash page there.

Go to http://www.antonbauer.com/elipz.htm for more specific info.

Doug Davis · October 1st, 2007, 02:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mickey Mackwan

hi erik i bought this battery from ebay (za182 Battery For Canon BP-970G BP970G GL-1 GL-2 XH-A1) and am using it now it came within a week after the payment was cleared just look on ebay this was from honk kong and it works alright.....

Mickey-

That is a 7000mAh 7.4V battery and I found another one on ebay that's a 7200mAh 7.4V battery and I am curious how large the battery you got is. Is it taking up the entire space inside the A1? or does it have a little more room?

Eric Weiss · October 1st, 2007, 02:26 PM

You are truly better off with the Canon batts.

The OEM's that I have tried do not last as long or hold a charge as long.
The contacts on an Impact that I bought acutally rusted. I use that one now on my OC light...which lasts about an hour.

I've also found some OEMS do not "blink" in the canon charger.

I have Canon batts over five years old still operating like new.

Raymond Toussaint · October 1st, 2007, 05:56 PM

Bought a bat on the internet OEM, it works ok, it fits ok and costs 1/5...

Don Palomaki · October 1st, 2007, 07:48 PM

Be aware that OEM = Original Equipment Manufacturer; i.e., Canon. Thus an OEM battery is a Canon battery. The non-Canon would be more correctly referred to as third party or after-market batteries which should be OEM-compatible, but not OEM.

Wonder who makes the battery cells for Canon?

Jason Lowe · October 2nd, 2007, 07:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Don Palomaki

Be aware that OEM = Original Equipment Manufacturer; i.e., Canon. Thus an OEM battery is a Canon battery. The non-Canon would be more correctly referred to as third party or after-market batteries which should be OEM-compatible, but not OEM.

I'm betting that the term "OEM" takes a lot of abuse on eBay.

I bought some refurbished Sony batteries, and have had great success with them. I don't think Canon sells refurbs though.

Jim Martin · October 2nd, 2007, 11:54 AM

Just a quick reminder, most of the knockoffs get stuck in the A1/G1. Yesterday, a client came in with a battery that melted when he charged it using the cig adapter in the car......it was not a Canon battery. We have clients that are still using their batteries they got with their XL-1 and XL-1s.

Jim Martin
Birns & Sawyer Inc
"there are places to go cheep and places not to go cheep"

quote from someone somewhere

Glenn French · October 2nd, 2007, 12:47 PM

My Impact BP970 has worked flawlessly in my XH-A1 for six months now.

Bryan Gilchrist · October 5th, 2007, 11:32 PM

I found OEM batteries for the XH-A1 at youbatt.com priced at $36 for the 950 and $56 for the 970.

I was just curious to see if anyone has ever bought from them?

Here's the links:
http://www.youbatt.com/Canon_BP_950G...p/ybbp950g.htm
http://www.youbatt.com/Canon_BP_950G...p/ybbp970g.htm

Edit:
I can't seem to find any information about them on resellerratings.com, or any complaints on the net for that matter.

Dan Wilder · October 7th, 2007, 04:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bryan Gilchrist

I found OEM batteries for the XH-A1 at youbatt.com priced at $36 for the 950 and $56 for the 970.

As Don pointed out, these are not really OEM batteries. The description actually says "100% OEM Compatible" which is not the same thing.

That's not to say they can't be a good value. I have an Impact-brand battery and have been very happy with it. Lasts for hours in the A1 and holds it's charge. However, my experience has been that the third-party batteries have a shorter lifespan (as in the number of recharge cycles) than true OEM batteries. So maybe, as with many things, you get what you pay for.

-Dan

September 6th, 2007, 06:38 AM	#256
Don Palomaki Wrangler Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Northern VA Posts: 4,487	I've had acceptable results using Lenmar branded batteries (in the US) with various models of Canon camcorders. I suspect that the major differences among batteries visible to end users would be uniformity of cell characteristics and quality control, which means some makes/production runs may have a higher failure rate than others. Which names plates are better is anyone's guess. I suspect that the actual battery cell manufacture takes place in a relatively small number of plants, and these basic cells are than packaged by a variety of companies under different names and with some different features in the internal electronics. __________________ dpalomaki@dspalomaki.com

September 9th, 2007, 05:32 PM	#258
Gert Kracht Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Ens, The Netherlands Posts: 198	Hi Erik, I agree with Andre. I myself got an extra original Canon battery. I also looked around for a OEM battery, but almost every battery I found was not good. Either some contacts at the bottom were missing or the construction of the battery was looking bad. One time they tried to sell me a battery which allready was falling apart. Next to that the contacts were looking weird. So after a month I decided to buy an original because I had to have one before we went to London. A few weeks later I saw the Lenmar and that battery looks very nice compared with others. It also slides in to the A1 like the original battery. Ofcourse there is a small risk when using battery's from other branches. But hey, look around on the internet and you will see that most of the big names in laptops have recalled all their batteries because they were afraid of big problems with those stuff. I only can advice to be very carefull with your battery's. Don't drop them and when you have to switch: do it slowly...one wrong move and original or not, it could go wrong in many ways. My next battery will be a Lenmar by the way. __________________ http://www.hdvinfo.nl The Dutch forum and website about HDV & Canon XH-A1

September 29th, 2007, 11:51 AM	#260
Loren Simons Major Player Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 288	Anton Bauer A1 Battery Does anyone know if they are developing a battery that can go outside the camera. I know the little door in the back can come off, and i was thinking they could somehow use the current batter sytle as a conducter and lead to a bigger battery on the outside. __________________ Loren Simons

September 29th, 2007, 12:24 PM	#261
Chris Hurd Obstreperous Rex Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: San Marcos, TX Posts: 27,366 Images: 513	Already done... See www.antonbauer.com -- note the photo on the splash page there. Go to http://www.antonbauer.com/elipz.htm for more specific info. __________________ CH Search DV Info Net \| 20 years of DVi \| ...Tuesday is Soylent Green Day!

October 1st, 2007, 07:48 PM	#265
Don Palomaki Wrangler Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Northern VA Posts: 4,487	Be aware that OEM = Original Equipment Manufacturer; i.e., Canon. Thus an OEM battery is a Canon battery. The non-Canon would be more correctly referred to as third party or after-market batteries which should be OEM-compatible, but not OEM. Wonder who makes the battery cells for Canon? __________________ dpalomaki@dspalomaki.com

September 9th, 2007, 06:04 PM	#259
Mickey Mackwan Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: sydney Australia Posts: 60	hi erik i bought this battery from ebay (za182 Battery For Canon BP-970G BP970G GL-1 GL-2 XH-A1) and am using it now it came within a week after the payment was cleared just look on ebay this was from honk kong and it works alright.....

October 1st, 2007, 02:26 PM	#263
Eric Weiss Major Player Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Philly,PA Posts: 360	You are truly better off with the Canon batts. The OEM's that I have tried do not last as long or hold a charge as long. The contacts on an Impact that I bought acutally rusted. I use that one now on my OC light...which lasts about an hour. I've also found some OEMS do not "blink" in the canon charger. I have Canon batts over five years old still operating like new.

October 1st, 2007, 05:56 PM	#264
Raymond Toussaint Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 173	Bought a bat on the internet OEM, it works ok, it fits ok and costs 1/5...

October 2nd, 2007, 11:54 AM	#267
Jim Martin Major Player Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Burbank, CA 91502 Posts: 949	Just a quick reminder, most of the knockoffs get stuck in the A1/G1. Yesterday, a client came in with a battery that melted when he charged it using the cig adapter in the car......it was not a Canon battery. We have clients that are still using their batteries they got with their XL-1 and XL-1s. Jim Martin Birns & Sawyer Inc "there are places to go cheep and places not to go cheep" quote from someone somewhere

October 2nd, 2007, 12:47 PM	#268
Glenn French Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Arlington MA, USA Posts: 35	My Impact BP970 has worked flawlessly in my XH-A1 for six months now.

October 5th, 2007, 11:32 PM	#269
Bryan Gilchrist Major Player Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Florida Posts: 224	I found OEM batteries for the XH-A1 at youbatt.com priced at $36 for the 950 and $56 for the 970. I was just curious to see if anyone has ever bought from them? Here's the links: http://www.youbatt.com/Canon_BP_950G...p/ybbp950g.htm http://www.youbatt.com/Canon_BP_950G...p/ybbp970g.htm Edit: I can't seem to find any information about them on resellerratings.com, or any complaints on the net for that matter.