off brand XHA1 batteries

[BARYE]

has anyone experience (good or bad) with non Canon batteries ??

I've seen a few advertised (here (http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-Canon-BP-970G-BP-970-BP970G-BP970-Camcorder-Battery_W0QQitemZ300070651957QQihZ020QQcategoryZ43 434QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem) and here (http://cgi.ebay.com/BP-970G-BP-970-BP970G-BP970-Battery-8000mAh-for-Canon_W0QQitemZ280032971688QQihZ018QQcategoryZ4343 4QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItem)for example) for almost a third of the Canon's cost.

Canon seems to have a big mark up on their batts -- Sony's 970 batteries are much cheaper.

Has anyone ever tried the off brands ??

interested in learning if they work reliably, if their dimensional tolerances are slack -- thereby making it a chore to extract them from the Canon's battery anus, if they fail prematurely, or if anyones heard of them exploding etc etc ??

[Drew Ott]

I've heard positive things about them, but I haven't used them. Some say they last much shorter than they are supposed to, but have never used them. Those who have used them say they work the same.

[sparkle_and_fade]

adam wilt tried a non-canon battery in his review and had a hell of a time removing it

www.dv.com

i'd stick with canon, switching batteries needs to be almost seamless

[bewillia]

i use an impact battery with my a1 with no issues. just shot a four hour gig and came home and previewed footage for an hour before running out of juice. then i popped it out and charged it. no problems.

[SamKam]

Have used a Power200 for several weeks without issue. Loads in and out of the camera easily and lasts for at least 5.5 hours.

[t-h-e-w-h-o]

i always have used impact batts. They work wonders

[Rush]

The best off-brand Canon batteries I ever used were Lenmar.

[Alan Craig]

I bought two Canon BP945 equivalant batteries from SABAHOCEANIC.COM Three years ago and have had no problems with them and if my memory serves me right I think I paid £65.00 for the two. They were shipped from quala lumpa. when I got my a1 I found that they were a tight fit but got around that ptoblem by putting some coarse grade sand paper in an orbital palm sander and sanding down the two long sides and also the top and two radius,s it now goes in and out with no problem whatsoever so if you have got the bottle to do it I am sure you will be pleased with the result. just be careful and patient and sand a bit off at a time also check out sabaoceanic.com website if your in the market for new batteries. their code for canon BP945 Batteries is canon BP941 and cost $48.42 USD each a lot cheaper than Canon

Hope this is of help regards Alan

[dcrin3]

i have a canon battery(came with a1) and an Impact bp970(bought separately) and it fits perfectly like it was meant to be. no getting stuck issues like others mention

the canon battery lasts along long long time. I shot the whole day with it once. The impact battery literally lasts centuries between charges. :) i shot one day and it was still kicking the following day at half full!

[BARYE]

I bought a power2000 acd-731 (a generic 970 equivalent, self rated at: 7.4v 8000mAh) for about $80 with shipping from ebay. No problems with sticking, and it lasts a long while. I still wish Canon had hung the battery off the XHA1's back instead of using its anus.

[dcrin3]

i guess thats something unique about the A1s. they stand out with that inside compactment battery holder.

[Chris Santucci]

has anyone experience (good or bad) with non Canon batteries ??

I've seen a few advertised (here (http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-Canon-BP-970G-BP-970-BP970G-BP970-Camcorder-Battery_W0QQitemZ300070651957QQihZ020QQcategoryZ43 434QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem) and here (http://cgi.ebay.com/BP-970G-BP-970-BP970G-BP970-Battery-8000mAh-for-Canon_W0QQitemZ280032971688QQihZ018QQcategoryZ4343 4QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItem)for example) for almost a third of the Canon's cost.

Canon seems to have a big mark up on their batts -- Sony's 970 batteries are much cheaper.

Has anyone ever tried the off brands ??

interested in learning if they work reliably, if their dimensional tolerances are slack -- thereby making it a chore to extract them from the Canon's battery anus, if they fail prematurely, or if anyones heard of them exploding etc etc ?? Yes. I bought 3 of the old style (and much cheaper) BP-945 batteries for my A1 from the most reputable place I could find who had them the cheapest:

http://www.accessorygenie.com/

They work fine. Really, all camcorder batteries are using cells that generally come from the same factories. It's not rocket science. I NEVER bought Canon batteries and lived with an XL-1 for 5+ years with these aftermarket types of batteries and they always worked fine.