Battery Question

F

Finster

Well-known member
The battery that comes with the HMC150 - how long does it last before it needs to be recharged?

I want to buy this camera, but no one has the Panasonic VW-VBG6PPK battery in stock. :(
 
Bummer.

Oh well. B&H is "accepting orders" for the VW-VBG6PPK battery, so I guess I'll just have to make due with 90 minutes until that one arrives.

Thanks.

(If anyone knows where I can pick up the VW-VBG6PPK ***right now*** please let me know).
 
I'm in need of getting an extra battery before the weekend, does anyone know a store that has it in stock? the only one i could find is the one mention by MadHMC150 (but i don't have any idea how good it is)...

DEAR PANASONIC If you're reading please make extra batteries =)
 
LOL, I got a confirmation that it is shipped yesterday (Monday June 16). So ill let you know when I get it later this week.... They were out of stock so im not the only one buying.

The way I saw it its still around the same price as the stock battery. And its got a nifty little charge meter on the outside. Other then that, its a bonus if it last close to the 5800 mAh.
 
Just came in the mail today... It doesn't come charged, so I plopped it on the oem charger. All good so far.

It reads 5,000mAh - which is a little smaller then the panny 5,800mAh. Like I mentioned, the battery meter on the outside will be a nice feature when in the field.

Ill try it out tonight, but really wont be able to drain it till this weekend at a wedding.

Update: its been on the charger for 3+ hours now... Still not done.

Update 2: Charged - I messed around for over 30 minutes and it didn't take any off the battery bars... Seems like there is no numerical time for the battery remaining... This what we get with non-oems?
 
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I wonder if Pana will prohibit non-oem batteries in a future firmware update like they just did with Lumix.
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Is that in reference to the IDX battery?
I hope they don't, then again for what i read IDX has Panasonic's approval to manufacture those batteries!

Now that said, I'm not sure if the same is true about the Anton Bauer ELIPZ 10K Battery
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/627640-REG/Anton_Bauer__ELIPZ_10K_BATTERY_w_CHRGR.html

Are there any other aftermarket batteries for the HMC150?
 
I will be returning that batt to B&H if thats the case... So doubt B&H would sell them if they are not supported...
 
Superfresa66 said:
MadHMC150, I'm very interested in the performance of your new battery... I know you mention reporting back your findings, I look forward your answer! =)
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WORKS GREAT but......... there are a few things i noticed that are little quirky. The IDX lasted very close to a complete wedding. It was 4-11pm and I left it on freely so I didn't have to reboot. I covered all the important stuff and got extra footage. It died right before the last dance.

Problems:
No numerical time remaining indicator. Eh
The thing says its fully charged when even after you have used it for a few hours.
You wont really know how much time remaining you will have to work with, so I just carried the small oem around to be able to immediately switch.

I would still recommend the IDX batt for extremely long record times, Its a great alternative while waiting for the stupid rebate batt!
 
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From your report Mad it looks like IDX cleared the identification issue with Panasonic, so their battery is not being rejected by the camera. But they did not implement the "fuel gauge" functionality which would not be easy to do and costs money; they just went for a simplistic voltage based LED display. While visually it is appealing, it is prone to gross errors. Battery voltage depends on both state of charge and how heavy it is loaded. So the voltage based LEDs are never accurate.
 
I have the IDX battery. My complaint is actually the opposite observation of MadHMC150...mine goes down to just one light indicator (of three) after about a half hour of use and then stays there for a few hours.

Andy
 
Andy Turner said:
I have the IDX battery. My complaint is actually the opposite observation of MadHMC150...mine goes down to just one light indicator (of three) after about a half hour of use and then stays there for a few hours.

Andy
Click to expand...

And their lies the issue. Inconsistency in the battery meter. One says it stays full for hours, the other says it drops and LED almost immediately. The large Panny's are 5,800mah (230min) and the IDX's are 5,000mah (maybe 190-200min?).

I was forced to buy an IDX as well, but it will be the red headed step child back up battery once my Panny batt shows up. The pathetic little battery is for home use and little side projects.
 
Well, you cant really shoot much with the stock batt. I will end up throwing this IDX in my HMC70 more then the HMC150 once I get the rebate battery.

Either way, its about the same ratio (cost/batt life) as the oem so it works for me. If IDX thinks they are going to be a long term good competitor they must consider the 'remaining battery' indicator!
 
SO we just got a 2nd IDX Batt.... IT DOES READ THE NUMERICAL TIME REMAINING.

It read 250 Minutes after letting it warm up. It will be further tested Saturday.

Crappy the one I got doesn't. Thinking about returning... Anyone else get numbers for time remaining with the IDX?
 
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