Batteries for XL2

Nick Royer · February 17th, 2008, 12:21 AM

Does the Canon Bp-970 work on the XL2? I have the 930 and 945 now and I'm going to buy a GL2 as a second camera, so are the batteries all interchangeable between the two?

Chris Hurd · February 17th, 2008, 01:14 PM

Batteries are fully interchangeable, and backward and forward compatible, among the Canon XL, XH and GL series camcorders.

Guy Godwin · June 2nd, 2008, 08:43 AM

Has anyone tried the Ikan IBC-945? It is listed as a replacement to the BP-945.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...t_Battery.html

Jason Vick · February 28th, 2009, 08:27 PM

Folks,

I'd greatly appreciate your advice on this.

Just bought a BP-970, 7.4 v, 8000 mAh Lithium battery. This is a battery with the largest power capacity in the market.

Is it safe to use it with my Canon XL2?

Do you folks use this kind of battery on your Canon XL2?

Thanks much!

Jason

Marco Leavitt · March 1st, 2009, 01:00 AM

No worries. I have used Power 2000 (and Lenmar) batteries for years and they are great. There is no reason to buy Canon batteries. However, if you ever have to ship the camera to Canon for servicing make sure you only send Canon batteries with it or it will void your warranty.

Steve Barazza · October 29th, 2009, 07:02 PM

Hello out there!
the battery for my XL2 was working fine. Has a full charge and all of a sudden it wont make contact with the camera. Ive tried the other two batteries and they work fine. Tried reconnecting several times with same result...any thoughts?

Michael Nistler · October 30th, 2009, 03:15 AM

Steve,

Perhaps if you posted a pix of the connector and contacts, that would help us. Or give us a more detailed explanation of the problem "it won't connect..." Does the battery latch into position or wobbles lose? Is the battery seated firmly? When you connect the battery to the charger, does the charge or fully charged light come on?

If I had to guess at the primary places of failure, I'd say the battery case was damaged (dropped/cracked) or the metal polarity pins are bent/damaged. Once I had a pin that wasn't fully seated in the battery housing - I used a small jewler's screwdriver to carefully insert it back in the retaining slot; it's been fine ever since.

Sadly, I'm in the process of selling my beloved XL-2s and gear. As you know, these are great cameras with beautiful lens and offer excellent audio recording. I could go on and on but then I'd never be able to part with them!

Good luck, Michael

Steve Barazza · October 30th, 2009, 02:25 PM

Hi Michael,
Everything seems to be physically ok with the battery. No cracks no damage and to the contacts. There is slop when the battery is latched into place. It's not tight like the other battery which works fine. Is there anything I can do to tighten it up? I tried to push it in tighter with my hand and it still would not make sufficient contact. It seems to be hanging a little lower than the other battery as well. Can I make any adjustments?

Thanks

Michael Nistler · October 31st, 2009, 01:47 AM

Steve,

Hmm, it sounds like there is a problem between the metalic battery terminals and the connectors on the camera housing. This connection should be the friction point that allows the housing to lock in place.

We're under the impression that using the connector from the power supply to the camera makes a good connection. If so, then we can assume the two sets of spring loaded pin-head shaped prongs inside the camera body are doing their job.

If so, that only leaves the battery. And if the battery doesn't mate with the camera body, then it shouldn't mate with the battery charger either, right? And your other battery connects fine to both the camera and the battery charger, correct?

So this leaves only the questionable battery. In that case, there's something amiss with the metalic battery terminals - those two silver-colored vertical strip connectors. Give them a close visual inspection and I'd guess one of the pins is bent, broken, etc.

Good luck! Michael

Peter Sheridan · July 18th, 2010, 10:29 AM

Hello all, I have BP-930 standard battery with my camera and am thinking of buying a 945 (I dont really want to mount any batteries at the rear) Will I need a different charger than the standard one supplied with the 930? Also has anyone had any NON Canon batteries that they can reccommend..............Pete.

Piotr Zubik · July 18th, 2010, 03:55 PM

Hi,

You don't need a different charger to charge 945 batteries. The stock one will do. I have used Non-Canon batteries and, generally, not experienced any problems other than that one of them almost died for no reason - it will last about 20-30min before fully discharged. Therefore, I bought another one and it's good, lasts longer better than my other no-name batteries, though I haven't used it a lot yet.

Martin Catt · July 18th, 2010, 07:00 PM

I've had my XL2 for almost four years now. I still have ALL my Canon-brand batteries (four, all BP945's) and they work pretty much as well as they did new. Of the four after-market batteries I bought, two wouldn't hold enough charge to run the camera 30 minutes within 6 months, while one failed outright. That was when I decided that while expensive, the genuine Canon batteries were worth the extra money.

I bought a pair of Lenmar-brand chargers, mainly because they could run off a car's lighter socket for charging on the road. They appear to work just fine, but I use them only when I have to. I prefer using the Canon charger when time permits.

Martin

Robert Muncie · July 19th, 2010, 06:20 PM

I have three of the Lenmar long life batteries and get several hours off each one. Cost wise, looking at 70 bucks so affordable as well

Peter Sheridan · September 9th, 2010, 11:17 AM

Hello All, on reading the instructions for my XL2 regarding battery installation/removal on page 11 it states
"Remove the battery pack after use" Does this mean remove battery everytime after using the camera?
Or is it ok to leave the battery in place............Thanks Pete.

Edward Carlson · September 9th, 2010, 12:06 PM

It's mainly so you don't draw power from your battery when the camera is turned off. The camera draws a little bit of power even when it's off. Also you don't want to accidently bump the on switch and drain your battery. Frequent deep cycling of Li-ion batteries is detrimental to them. I leave mine on sometimes, but usually take it off if I know I'm not going to be using the camera for a while.

February 17th, 2008, 12:21 AM	#181
Nick Royer Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Omaha, Nebraska Posts: 133	Canon Batteries for XL2 Does the Canon Bp-970 work on the XL2? I have the 930 and 945 now and I'm going to buy a GL2 as a second camera, so are the batteries all interchangeable between the two? __________________ Sincerely, Nick Royer

February 17th, 2008, 01:14 PM	#182
Chris Hurd Obstreperous Rex Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: San Marcos, TX Posts: 27,366 Images: 513	Batteries are fully interchangeable, and backward and forward compatible, among the Canon XL, XH and GL series camcorders. __________________ CH Search DV Info Net \| 20 years of DVi \| ...Tuesday is Soylent Green Day!

February 28th, 2009, 08:27 PM	#184
Jason Vick Tourist Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Vero Beach, Florida Posts: 1	Power 2000 8000mAh Lithium-Ion Battery Folks, I'd greatly appreciate your advice on this. Just bought a BP-970, 7.4 v, 8000 mAh Lithium battery. This is a battery with the largest power capacity in the market. Is it safe to use it with my Canon XL2? Do you folks use this kind of battery on your Canon XL2? Thanks much! Jason

October 29th, 2009, 07:02 PM	#186
Steve Barazza New Boot Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Sherman Oaks CA Posts: 10	Battery Will not connect Hello out there! the battery for my XL2 was working fine. Has a full charge and all of a sudden it wont make contact with the camera. Ive tried the other two batteries and they work fine. Tried reconnecting several times with same result...any thoughts?

October 30th, 2009, 02:25 PM	#188
Steve Barazza New Boot Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Sherman Oaks CA Posts: 10	Battery Won't connect Hi Michael, Everything seems to be physically ok with the battery. No cracks no damage and to the contacts. There is slop when the battery is latched into place. It's not tight like the other battery which works fine. Is there anything I can do to tighten it up? I tried to push it in tighter with my hand and it still would not make sufficient contact. It seems to be hanging a little lower than the other battery as well. Can I make any adjustments? Thanks

June 2nd, 2008, 08:43 AM	#183
Guy Godwin Major Player Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Florence, KY Posts: 345	Has anyone tried the Ikan IBC-945? It is listed as a replacement to the BP-945. http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...t_Battery.html

March 1st, 2009, 01:00 AM	#185
Marco Leavitt Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Albany, NY 12210 Posts: 2,652	No worries. I have used Power 2000 (and Lenmar) batteries for years and they are great. There is no reason to buy Canon batteries. However, if you ever have to ship the camera to Canon for servicing make sure you only send Canon batteries with it or it will void your warranty.

October 30th, 2009, 03:15 AM	#187
Michael Nistler Major Player Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Petaluma, CA Posts: 456	Steve, Perhaps if you posted a pix of the connector and contacts, that would help us. Or give us a more detailed explanation of the problem "it won't connect..." Does the battery latch into position or wobbles lose? Is the battery seated firmly? When you connect the battery to the charger, does the charge or fully charged light come on? If I had to guess at the primary places of failure, I'd say the battery case was damaged (dropped/cracked) or the metal polarity pins are bent/damaged. Once I had a pin that wasn't fully seated in the battery housing - I used a small jewler's screwdriver to carefully insert it back in the retaining slot; it's been fine ever since. Sadly, I'm in the process of selling my beloved XL-2s and gear. As you know, these are great cameras with beautiful lens and offer excellent audio recording. I could go on and on but then I'd never be able to part with them! Good luck, Michael

October 31st, 2009, 01:47 AM	#189
Michael Nistler Major Player Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Petaluma, CA Posts: 456	Steve, Hmm, it sounds like there is a problem between the metalic battery terminals and the connectors on the camera housing. This connection should be the friction point that allows the housing to lock in place. We're under the impression that using the connector from the power supply to the camera makes a good connection. If so, then we can assume the two sets of spring loaded pin-head shaped prongs inside the camera body are doing their job. If so, that only leaves the battery. And if the battery doesn't mate with the camera body, then it shouldn't mate with the battery charger either, right? And your other battery connects fine to both the camera and the battery charger, correct? So this leaves only the questionable battery. In that case, there's something amiss with the metalic battery terminals - those two silver-colored vertical strip connectors. Give them a close visual inspection and I'd guess one of the pins is bent, broken, etc. Good luck! Michael

July 18th, 2010, 10:29 AM	#190
Peter Sheridan Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Nottingham United Kingdom Posts: 33	Batteries for the Xl2 Hello all, I have BP-930 standard battery with my camera and am thinking of buying a 945 (I dont really want to mount any batteries at the rear) Will I need a different charger than the standard one supplied with the 930? Also has anyone had any NON Canon batteries that they can reccommend..............Pete.

July 18th, 2010, 03:55 PM	#191
Piotr Zubik Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Miedzyrzec Podlaski, POLAND Posts: 30	Hi, You don't need a different charger to charge 945 batteries. The stock one will do. I have used Non-Canon batteries and, generally, not experienced any problems other than that one of them almost died for no reason - it will last about 20-30min before fully discharged. Therefore, I bought another one and it's good, lasts longer better than my other no-name batteries, though I haven't used it a lot yet.

July 18th, 2010, 07:00 PM	#192
Martin Catt Major Player Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: The Colony TX Posts: 327	I've had my XL2 for almost four years now. I still have ALL my Canon-brand batteries (four, all BP945's) and they work pretty much as well as they did new. Of the four after-market batteries I bought, two wouldn't hold enough charge to run the camera 30 minutes within 6 months, while one failed outright. That was when I decided that while expensive, the genuine Canon batteries were worth the extra money. I bought a pair of Lenmar-brand chargers, mainly because they could run off a car's lighter socket for charging on the road. They appear to work just fine, but I use them only when I have to. I prefer using the Canon charger when time permits. Martin __________________ Canon XF300, Canon 5DMkII, Canon XL2, Rolls MX422 mixer, Zoom H4N, AT899 lavs, AT2020's, Azden SGM 1X shotgun, Manfrotto 501 head on 351 tripod

July 19th, 2010, 06:20 PM	#193
Robert Muncie New Boot Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Indianapolis Posts: 23	I have three of the Lenmar long life batteries and get several hours off each one. Cost wise, looking at 70 bucks so affordable as well

September 9th, 2010, 11:17 AM	#194
Peter Sheridan Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Nottingham United Kingdom Posts: 33	Removal of battery? Hello All, on reading the instructions for my XL2 regarding battery installation/removal on page 11 it states "Remove the battery pack after use" Does this mean remove battery everytime after using the camera? Or is it ok to leave the battery in place............Thanks Pete.

September 9th, 2010, 12:06 PM	#195
Edward Carlson Major Player Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: North Hollywood, CA, United States Posts: 807	It's mainly so you don't draw power from your battery when the camera is turned off. The camera draws a little bit of power even when it's off. Also you don't want to accidently bump the on switch and drain your battery. Frequent deep cycling of Li-ion batteries is detrimental to them. I leave mine on sometimes, but usually take it off if I know I'm not going to be using the camera for a while.