Check out AtBatt.com

They are cheap and come with a 2 year warranty. They ship same day and I had no problems.

I've had nothing but GOOD luck the Lenmar batteries. I had one drop a cell on me, while still under warranty, (2 years) they shipped me a new one before I got the old one shipped out, so far I'm happy with the product and service.
Don

I hava a NP-F730 that came with my VX9000, it will charge but only for a few minutes. When used in the camera it will show a full charge, but then will drain rather quickly, lasts about 20 minutes. Is this a dead cell or is there any way to rejuvanate this battery?

BTW, The only aftermarket battery that I've ever had luck on was the Duracell DR-5, they had a higher KWH rating than the sony counterpart but they slowly loss maximum capacity as time passes by.

battery sizes
 

I did a search but couldn't find a list of sony battery sizes and charge/use times for the pd150.

Anyone have info?

bob

I think the only way to go is the Sony NP-F960. It's amazing.... can't seem to run it down even after a long day. I have gone over 6 hours with the LCD screen on the whole time and it still showed plenty of reserve. Do a search here and you should find a number of postings, it has been discussed extensively in this forum.

VX2k and pd150 are the same on battery issues. See http://www.henrys.com/webapp/wcs/sto...s.com/manuals/ on page 11

All that information is located on page twelve of the owner's manual. If you do not have a PD150 manual, you can find a download at many sites.

Battery Powered Me66 Mic or Phantom Power?
 

Is it a total mistake to buy the Battery powered Me66 Shotgun mic over the phantom powered for the pd 150?

I do believe the battery powered version will also accept Phantom power. The phantom-only version is sometimes more expensive but why limit your options? Get the version that will accommodate both.

Check with someone who has a manual. I have the microphone but no manual and I don't actually remember the last time I phantom powered it instead of using the battery.

BTW, many microphones perform slightly better with phantom than with battery because of the higher voltage available with phantom power. Usually it is a broadening of the bandwidth.

I have the battery and phantom powered mic but still don't understand about them. Is the phantom power coming from the main Lithium battery - and so if I used the AA battery I would save power for the video camera?

My SGM2X uses LR44 (AAA) batteries, my PD150 has phantom power, can I take the battery off and turn on the phantom power? I haven't tried that yet...

The microphone uses so little power that you will not be able to detect the difference in run times.

Garret, I don't know about your unit. If it has XLR connectors, then phantom power should not bother it in any way. I'd look at the manual first.

It does have XLR connectors, but I was wondering if I can "free" the Lr44 and just use the power off the PD150.

PD150 Rechargeable Batteries
 

I am having big problems with my two additional batteries, in as much as neither of them appear to be charging up.

The battery that came with the 150 charges up okay via the charger and also the mains volatge power supply, but I can't get any of the other two batteries to charge up/respond.

The batteries and the DVCAM are less than a month old and both appeared to charge up a few weeks ago.

I recall the problem seemed to begin when I went to change out my first tape after it was full. I had to re-insert it a few times and in amongst all that, I accidently ejected the tape whilst the camera was on, though not recording. I am beginning to wonder if there is a reset I can perform to synchronise everything again.

Any help would really be appreciated as I only get about an hour with the battery that came with the 150.

Many, many thanks,
Neil

The stock battery will only give about an hour.
Ejecting the tape with the camera should have no bearing on the batteries, I do it all the time.
What kind of batteries did you buy, (the manufacturer) did you get a seperate charger for them, if not, are the batteries seated fully on the camera when you are charging them?
A little more info will help to clear up you power mystery.
Don

Hi Don,

Thanks for your reply.

I bought an additional two Digital Hi-Power 3500mAh Lithium-Ion battery packs and a SAKAR Rapid charger.

I'm convinced that the batteries are installed correctly, when I try and charge either of them up now with the charger, the red LED no longer comes on suggesting the batteries are charged. This is further replicated when I use the camera power supply to charge them.

After a minute or so, the small LCD screen indicates the battries are fully-charged, though it no longer displays the time. After switching the camera on with the mains still attached it powers up okay, then as soon as I switch off the mains supply, the camera dies on me.

Neil

HMMMM, not familiar with that particular brand of battery but, it sounds like it could be either you were really unlucky and got a couple of bad batteries (it's been known to happen) OR the charger is giving a false reading.

I think I would power the camera up with battery only just to see if it will and how long it will run. I'm guessing that the extra batteries you got should give at least 4 hours of run time. Open the LCD and do some zooming to see how much time you'll really get. In other words use the camera as if you were shooting a job and see what the battery is "saying". You might have to return the batteries and get new ones. I'm assuming there is some kind of warranty on the batteries?

The fact that the time isn't showing isn't a big deal, it doesn't on my 150's either until I do something with the camera, either zoom or start recording, then the amount of time left on the battery shows in the LCD.

Don B.

Hi Don,

I left the battery to charge for about three or four hours and it cuts out as soon as I switch off the mains supply.

Initially I switched on the camera with the mains power supply still on, then switch off the mains. As soon as I switch of the power supply the camera ceases to function and switches off immediately.

With the mains still connected, I tried to get the battery time on the LCD after panning and zooming for a minute but all to no avail.

Neil

Further to the above, I forgot to mention that the battery time is displayed as _ _ _ even when indicating a full charge on the display window and not the LCD.

Neil

The Sony battery that was supplied with the camera works. The two off brand batteries don't. That should tell you something right there.

Return them and buy Sony replacement batteries. If you can't chalk it up to experience. JMHO

Hi Bryan,

I'm seriously thinking about trying to swap them out for Sony batteries.

Cheers,
Neil

Yeah, I agree.
after reading what you just posted about the batteries, time to make them go bye bye and get some Sony's.

It makes no sense sometimes. We spend thousands on a camera and try and save pennies on the accessories. I'm the same way :)

Yeah, Neal, return those stiffs and get a refund. Then, buy just one Sony 960 battery, and skip the charger for the time being. Most people can't fully discharge that one battery in a day's worth of shooting.

After time, if you need a second battery, you may also want to get the Sony video light HVL-20DW2, and the beauty is, it uses the same batteries. Then I would suggest getting the slightly smaller 730 battery to power the light, or, as a backup to the camera. By then you will know if you really need the charger. I find I don't.

In my expereience, some "knock-off" brands fail to make proper contact with either the charger and/or the camera.


Get new batteries from SONY and you should not have a problem.

get a sony 960 here brand new only £37

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2931156444&category=23780

and get your HVL-20DW2 here
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2931343959&category=23780


stick a wide diffuser from a flashgun over it- kills the spot

Hi Neil,

Sure sound as if they are duds. I ended up getting three NPF-750's for mine instead of one large NPF-960. My reasoning was that the 960 would go all day ok fine but then you have to charge it, if you forgot, you ended up with one big flat battery the next day which is not much use to man nor beast.

With the three 750's(Plus the baby 330) I've got a reasonable chance of having a 'live' one ;) even if things start turning to custard cause I forgot to charge 'em.......

Wayne's right - follow the Sony instructions and buy genuine Sony Info-lithiums and you won't go far wrong. When I found there was no seperate charger with my TRV900 and VX2k I felt Sony were being mean and I'd have to buy one, but no. The 750 or the 960 go for *hours* and battery charge is now the least of my worries.

tom.

Just Curious Battery Slider
 

One of the forum members gave link to BBC Tutorials on VX2000--thankyou for this--many good tips for beginner like me (besides the wealth of info from this forum). The longer BBC tutorial says in section on "Battery Indications"- quote--"There is a little slider on the back of the battery with a little green stripe showing if the battery is charged." Not afraid to show my ignorance, I have looked on the various Sony LiIon batteries I have from TRV 9 and the one that came with Vx2000 and I don't see any "little slider on the back of the battery.." I have probably misinterpreted the BBC comment, but I am curious now about the elusive "slider."

Some had it. But not any of the new ones that I know of.

My NPF-530 and NPF-930 have it, my newer batteries do not.

The slider is on the end of the battery with the power connections.

Slider
 

Thanks Mike.

SONY VX2000/PD150 batteries
 

I just got a NPF960 style battery from Artie at
www.alartvideo.com (1-877-98-ALART) and it works
awesome unlike some other off-brands. It fits
perfectly into the camera. It even works with the
SONY 10/20 watt light as some off brands tend to work
only with the 10 watt lamp only.

It is being sold for only 65 dollars.

Thanks
Lou Bruno

You can buy brand new real Sony batteries of the same size on Ebay for that price. Many sell batteries which are in the original package and unopened. I bought mine there, I think I paid around $55. I've bought a lot of camcorder batteries from ebay sellers. A great bargain.

Sony NP-F960 battery
 

I see these batteries listing so cheap on Ebay with not many bidders. The poster says that these batteries are brandnew, but they're shipped in OE bulk package, and that they will be shipped in a plastic bag instead of the retail clam shell package. The battery might have minor scratches and is under warranty for one year. Should I trust this? Of of them is listed here:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2940218027&category=43447

If someone has positive/negative experience with these batteries, please share.

Thanks,
Lucas

I bought my 2 batteries at e-bay, both NPF-960. Yes, it is original Sony, has a little scratch but can hold 6 hours on my PD150. I once have received a DOA and the seller refunds me after returning it.

Jun

Is 6 hours the maximum the NP-F960 can hold on the PD150?
Thanks,
Lucas

Nope. That depends on how you use your camcorder. If I use the LCD monitor it will drop to about 5 hours. I think the maximum is 8 to 9 hours with LCD close and in continous recording. So far I only use one battery for the whole wedding. I just use it alternately with my other battery.

I purchased 3 npf-750s from ptron. Very good to work with. Nice people. Call them directly and they will ship all of your order together, saving you some money. BTW, all three were $75ish total and work fine.

<<<-- Originally posted by Lucas Hall : Is 6 hours the maximum the NP-F960 can hold on the PD150?-->>>

I have run for 6 hours using the LCD screen the whole time, and the battery still indicated it had several hours left. I have a VX-2000 however and the specs indicate it draws slightly less power. I think it is very dependent on how much you zoom the lens and how often you start, stop or rewind the tape.

Regardless, they are really impressive batteries!

I thought I would give you an update since it's two months to the day since the last post in this thread.

I recived two new genuine Sony batteries yesterday from eBay.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2939737800

and neither of them appear to work. I charged one of them up via a rapid charger and the other via the DVCAM and get the C:04:00 code, which refers to the battery pack not being InfoLithium.

Once again, I'm confident that the charger is okay as the NP-F330 battery pack that came with the camera works okay.

I have a wedding to shoot to Friday and would appreciate your thoughts on the above.

Many thanks,
Neil