Third party batteries can be first rate. I have a 5500mAh Lenmar battery that has give a year of good service so far, and an Empire one that I have used for five years. In fact, these seem to hold a charge longer than the Canon product.

The lenmar batteries are as good or better than the canon batteries...at less that half the price. I've heard the same about the Power line as well.

Barry

Yes, I have had a Power2000 battery (Equiv of the BP945) for about 20 months now and it works a treat and cost me about half the price of a Canon one.

Aaron

cheapo batteries???
 

OK. So I have gathered that the Lenmar and the Power2000 are both reliable alternatives to the overpriced Canon batteries. But I see many "no-name" OEM batteries being sold as BP-945 replacements on many of these bargain battery sites. Are these total crap or great deals? Anyone tried them? 6000mah sounds pretty good!

I know the old rule says you get what you pay for. But I'd like to know if these are for real or a scam? Anyone risked the $17.95 or the $38.95 for 2 and been surprised? Or burned?

I've bought 2 945 type batteries and have had no trouble at all from them. Each cost me $34 on Ebay.

Marty

This is the hard part...what bob says is probably true...so when I tell you that I bought a couple of "no-name" batteries and after the second or third charge they simply wouldn't hold a charge...they'd go through the normal charge cycle...you'd put them in the camera and 10 minutes later they we're completely discharged...this is also true. If you are able to find a cheap, no-name reliable battery then great...and let us all know. From experience, enough of us have tried the lenmar and power2000 brands to know that we can trust and recommend them, and they are a bargain compared to the canon brand. (I've since determined that the no-name batteries I bought that are collecting dust next to my charger station weren't much of a bargain at all).

Barry

Are there 3rd part batteries with LED?
 

Howdy,

I'm looking at the Power2000 and the Lenmar comparables to the Canon BP945, I don't see any other options that would also include an LED showing the battery charge meter? Anyone know of this?

I also need a good, fast car charger -- thoughts on if the Power2000, Lenmar, or any others would be better or worse?

Thanks,
Ramsey

actually, what you are looking for is a batt. with an lcd screen that can show the charge status.
you can find some, but for this very precise model , i do not know.

I'm not sure if this is what you're asking for or not, but I recently got the Anton/Baure Dionic 90's and they have a small LCD screen which displays the battery's status.

Matt

Canon batteries
 

Just curious to know, how long have you managed to operate with your Canon batteries?

The reason to ask is that I bought five additional BP-930 batteries 1997 when got the XL1 (which had one battery in the package). I labelled the batteries and have circulated them carefully, and if I have not used the batteries for a week, I've always run them empty and then put them into a plastic bag into a refrigerator. And still, after seven years and hundreds of filmed tapes all batteries are enough alive to power filming a 60 minute tape with the dual battery holder. (Alone the batteries run empty within 10-15 minutes.)

Now, I wonder whether storing the batteries in the refrigerator have had some real effect, and thus, it would be interesting to hear how long you've been able to operate with your Canon batteries.

(The idea to store batteries on cold came after reading about lithium batteries from a booklet published by a Canadian charger manufacturer saying Lithium batteries are like foodstuffs; Use them or not, they are ruined with time. There is no real wisdom behind the trick. It's just an intuitive thought that all chemical processes should slow down in cool conditions. Thus, neither guarantee whether storing batteries in a refrigerator has been, in fact, a dummy move!)

Forgive me if this is an ignorant question but.....if alone the batteries only last 10-15 minutes, how in the world can you shoot a 60 minute tape using the dual battery kit? I mean.....simple math says that you should only get 30 minutes out of it in the dual config. This just doesn't add up as the extra power has to come from somewhere....and the dual kit does not do any type of recharge or conditioning...

just wondering.....cause if the dual charger could actually double the effective time of a good battery......woah!

<<<-- if alone the batteries only last 10-15 minutes, how in the world can you shoot a 60 minute tape using the dual battery kit? -->>>

It's because all batteries have a so called internal impedance/resistance. With the dual battery holder the current the camcorder takes from each battery is 50%, but as the internal power loss within the battery is porportional to the square of the current, this is what makes the difference.

In simple words, when using the batteries some power is always lost in heating them internally. Connecting batteries in parallel minimizes such losses, and as a result two batteries in parallel yield power to the camcorder (much) longer than two batteries sequentially.

Thats very interesting. It contradicts however what a Canon Rep told me directly. HE said that there is no benefit to the CH-910 other than the ability to charge 2 batteries at the same time and the ability to switch one battery when it goes dead while the other battery continues to power the XL2. I shouldn't expect double the time because 2 batteries are connected....maybe even a little less than what you would expect from 2 batteries combined....hmmm.

IT sounds like you know a little about electronics and such....I have a degree in it myself and was considering just making a rig of my own to house 2 batteries in parallel. Not because the CH-910 doesn;t work but because I don't care for the size and proportions of it.

If I rigged up 2 in parallel would it work? Or is it necessary for the electronic circuit in the CH-910 for the camera to see them as one battery?

Just theorizing. Anyone?

Through normal use and neglect, lithium ion type batteries have only ever lasted me about 3 years. In their 4th and 5th year they still work but lose power very quickly..

I wonder what would happen if we put 4 batteries in parallel? Would the inverse square law mean we would get 240 minutes?

;)

<<<-- I wonder what would happen if we put 4 batteries in parallel? Would the inverse square law mean we would get 240 minutes? -->>>

No, this is not the case, for the square law is about losses. I mean, the energy available to run the camcorder is "Energy of the battery - energy losses in the battery". Now, you realize soon that when the losses get small enough, decreasing them even more have no significant effect.

Marty, Can't find easily the manual of the dual battery holder, but feel rather confident to say, I bought it because the specs says that takes power simultaneously from both batteries. Besides, that's also what the experience strongly suggets. So, wonder whether the Canon rep really knew what he was talking about.