Elipz Needed?
 

The run time for the Elipz is estimated to be 7.5 hours. I have found the battery run time figures to be sometimes exaggerated for a real world situation.
I have also read reports from the field of 5 hour run time for the stock XH-A1 battery.

"In total, the battery lasted an incredible 5 hours, 42 minutes, and 22 seconds."
http://www.dvguru.com/2006/11/21/cam...s-canon-xh-a1/

I am getting mine tomorrow so I will be able to test that myself.
If the actual run time is even anything over two hours with the stock battery, I wil buy two of the larger BP-970 batteries for around $80 each and have plenty of battery time for a normal days work (for me). That's a lot cheaper solution than the Elipz and without the bulk.

So has anyone put their hands on the Elipz? I thought I saw a 7.5 hour run time listed for a bigger Canon battery also...

Seems to be a lot of hype but no users, I was curious too but at this point, I can live without.

E-lips
 

I saw it at NAB last year and got really jazzed; until I looked it up online and saw the price and that the adapter was optional.
I don't really think you need to swing that extra weight with the reported battery times of the stock XH-A1 batteries.

I also have a clarification:
I did NOT mean a OEM Canon BP-970 for $80, I'm looking at clones (compatibles). I'll post if I find one that fits well. I'll also do a runtime test.

I just did a shoot this morning, with a freshly charged BP-970. The cam was switched on the whole time, and I rolled altogether 58 minutes of tape before the "change battery" warning came on at 4.5 hours of running. I was using the LCD panel a bit more than half the time. I'm very happy with this battery performance.

Richard

AFAIK, the large Hama batery fits in the XH-A1 compartment. The one sold in the UK by Keene does not. It is a millimetre or 2 too wide, and though it can be removed, it's not fun!

A1 950G battery question
 

Hi

I have an A1 and I have had problems with the factory supplied cell
950 losing contact with the contacts. If I put in the larger cell this
is not an issue. Has anyone else had this problem?

Thanks

Chuck

Hi Chuck. So far I've not seen any problem with the battery contacts. Hope it's an isolated case that you can get fixed.

Richard

XH-A1 Battery Problem?
 

I just got my XH-A1 last week and haven't ordered a backup battery yet.
I charged the stock (comes with the camera) battery and got over 3 hours (not an exact measurment, I ran 3.5 tapes through it), a lot of it with the LCD screen open.
The "replace battery" indicator came on so I went to AC and put the battery on the charger and left it overnight.
This morning the indicator light on the charger was a steady non-blinking light, meaning the battery was fully charged.
I went on a hike to shoot some outdoor footage and the camera started flashing the change battery light after only 10 seconds. It ran about 30 seconds before the cam shut off.
I now have it on the charger and it's blinking about 1 per second, the "0" charge rate.
Has anyone had a BAD battery from the factory?

If you continue to have trouble with it, either return the battery to your dealer or send it to Canon USA factory service. I'm sure they'll replace it for you.

I had a bad NP1 battery years ago from Sony. It happens.

Battery Gremlin
 

Thanks for the response.
The battery is a Canon BP-950G.
I put it back on the charger and within a couple of hours (guessing) it showed a steady light again. I put it in the camera and have turned it off and on for a few minutes several times in the last few hours and it looks fine. It's still showing a full charge on the batt meter.
At this point I'm willing to blame a Gremlin. It's weird. I just hope it doesn't happen again. OR maybe I should hope it happens again quick so I can get a new one from Canon.?????

I've had this happen twice, 2 different batteries & I believe it's a charger issue. I've gotten in the habit of sliding all batteries to be charged a second time when using that charger before I leave it on to complete the charge cycle. Ever since then there's been no problems. Could be nothing. Could be a contact issue & that second sliding might be cleaning crud I can't see on the contacts? Who knows?

I have Lenmar fast charger as well & is a bit faster & haven't had the above issues.

Bill

Has anyone ordered the BP-970G battery yet? The big one.

Any chance you know someone with another charger, so that you can test it in theirs? Maybe your dealer? Also, cleaning the contacts with a pencil eraser sometimes helps. Still, think you just happened to get a bad battery.

a
 

Unless the charger was changed from the GL1, GL2, and XL-1s chargers, I don't believe you can charge at the same time you are running a camcorder off of the same charger.

Bill in Ohio

Did you put the battery in the camera the night before your hike? I have accidentally left camcoreders on VCR in a bag overnight which drains the battery. Then I go to shoot... OOPs.

Matt

I did the same thing when I first got the A1, thought I turned it off but switched it to VCR mode instead.

I've been leaving the battery in the camera, and there doesn't seem to be any drain (assume it's off) as there are with bigger cameras I have.

And speaking of batteries, I assume there's an internal battery somewhere to store all the settings, but I don't recall reading about it in the manual, and I haven't seen a little battery compartment anyplace.

yeah I got the big one...no probs so far I'm guessing can go over 5 hours with that thing.

Described on page 14. Built-in, and recharges automatically.

The shutdown of your camcorder could also be a false reaction caused by humidity, but if the problem occurs again, send your camera and battery to Factory Service. Some internal defects may be tricky, resulting with inconsistent and difficult to reproduce symptoms. It doesn't take much, just one loose connection or solder point.

Battery
 

No. I left it in the charger overnight, Used the AC adapter all morning and then, just before the hike, I put the "charged" battery in the cam.
When I got home and put it on the charger again, it read "0" , 1 blink per second.
I have the battery from that second charge in the camera right now, dubbing a tape straight to DVD and it is working fine.
I've ordered the BP-970 clone from BestBatt.com for $68 along with the $19.50 AC/Car charger. I'll report on how they work.

I got a similar clone for about the same price (the Power2000 bp970 clone, 8000Ah)

Seems to work fine, though its only done a couple of cycles...

Battery question
 

Will my BP941H batteries from my old XL1 be ok for use in my XH-A1? No mention of them in the manual. Connections look the same?

Correction...they are slightly different, see picture link below.

I checked out a battery from a friend's XL1, and it worked fine in my XH A1. He's getting an A1 and wanted to be sure the half dozen batteries he has would work.

Thats weird?

I just did what I should have done first, and placed them side by side.

Although physically, the same size, the Canon has extra terminals in the centre.

The supplied Canon BP-950G is rated at 7.4V 5200mAh whereas the BP941H is rated at 7.2V 4350mAh.

Link below shows them end to end.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y15...ugga/batts.jpg

So...I was thinking it was a no-go but...then saw your post?

Looking at the charger, it does not use the extra three terminals only the outisde + and - ones, which are a match on both batteries.

Looking inside the camera, there are definetely extra contacts for the three extra terminals. These are marked T B and D.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y15...a/XH-A1015.jpg

Can anybody expand on this?

This guy's batteries look just like mine. What you have must be something different.

I tried the "Big Boy" BP941H in and the camera worked.

Then came the heartstopping moment!

Opened the battery cover, flicked the battery release and.....the battery never budged.....ARGH!!!!!!!!!

Cold sweat time.....dont panic....dont panic!!!!!!

Had to hold the camera upside down and give it one solid shake and phew...it slipped out.

These "Big Boys" that fill the compartment look like they may all suffer the same problem. Anyone else brave enough to confirm this?

Are you saying your friends batteries have the three extra connections?

The BP-945's on E-Bay all look identical to the BP-941 I already have i.e. only two connections so....what gives?

I'm not sure what batteries he has, but they don't stick and they work. I'm guessing what you may have is one of the older ones, or a non-Cannon battery. There's been a thread ongoing here about how the non-Cannon batteries are just a bit bigger and will stick and you have to use some double sticky tape or something to get them out.

The large batteries work fine on mine and they don't stick either.

Are they Canon batteries?

No, they are Lenmark

Edward,

The charger always goes back to one blink...

Strange... I have 2 Lenmar LIC941 6000mAh batteries & both need the gaffer tape pull tab fix, otherwise they are sticky :-\

Which model are you using Pat?

Bill

Just be sure that that clone is an easy fit in the A1's compartment. I've not seen that brand mentioned before. Some clones (not all) are a millimetre or so too wide or too tall, and so don't pop out when you release the catch...!

Thanks, Chris. I must have missed pg. 14. I'm sure I read it but obviously I didn't "read" it.

It's page 16 in the manual I downloaded. I haven't checked about the one that came with the camera.

I was referencing the PDF download. My hardcopy is still sealed in plastic.

I also have the Power 2000 BP-945 Replacement and it works great without any problems. Goes in cleanly and comes out just like it should. :)

For the HV-10 I have the larger capacity Power2000 battery which looses power momentarily at the slightest bump. :-\ Go figure.