Buying batteries for the GH1

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dan_aka_jack

Well-known member
I have heard some rumours that Panasonic have a habit of rendering 3rd party batteries useless with firmware updates.

Has anyone experienced this? e.g. have you bought a cheap battery from eBay for your GH1 only to find that the latest firmware has prevented the use of the battery?
 
I do not use the update and live happy with my €-9-batteries from China :-)

In some weeks Chinese have cracked Pana-update :-))))
 
And it's not like Panasonic is hiding it. If you want your GH1 to turn into dust then yes, don't upgrade to the latest firmware and use your 5$ batteries.
 
That's fine now, but what about in 2 months from now when they come out with a firmware update that fixes things you'd like fixed?
 
So the rumour is true? Panasonic does disable the use of 3rd party batteries with firmware updates?

Does the GH1 have an input for an external power source? Perhaps it could be powered from a battery belt or something?
 
It comes with a battery shaped adapter that is used in the cam's battery slot and attaches to the battery charger with a cord. The chargers output to the camera is 9.3V - 1.2A so if there are a battery pack that can be set to this I guess it's just a matter of matching the right plug.
 
Mike@AF said:
It comes with an AC adapter. Is there battery packs or belts that give you a normal AC outlet?
Click to expand...

Not that I know of. You could probably hack one together using an off-the-shelf inverter. But I'd feel a little nervous about having 110/230volts anywhere near my body!

Martti Ekstrand said:
It comes with a battery shaped adapter that is used in the cam's battery slot and attaches to the battery charger with a cord. The chargers output to the camera is 9.3V - 1.2A so if there are a battery pack that can be set to this I guess it's just a matter of matching the right plug.
Click to expand...

Cool. Maybe it would be possible to power it with a set of normal 9v batteries in parallel. Or perhaps it could be powered by a 7.4 Lithium Polymer battery pack (but those packs need a bit of looking after. LiPoly hates to be deep-discharged. Plus LiPoly can produce a HUGE current in a short circuit). I'm starting to think I should stop being such a cheap skate and just buy a second Panasonic battery! I was planning to buy more than one spare battery for long shoots but I have heard that the Panasonic batteries charge very quickly so perhaps it would be possible to shoot continuously all day long by alternating 2 batteries between the camera and the mains charger.
 
Having to use Panasonic batteries is a bit of a pain, especially as the performance of the battery supplied, whilst okay isn't exactly stellar. Battery belt could be a good option if it can be matched up.
 
Has anyone tried a battery belt on the GH1?
I have an extended overseas trip to hike the Inca Trail in Peru that will take me away from power for at least 3 days. I am not ready to buy 5 or 6 or more Pani batteries.

I think it would be pretty simple to make an adapter plug from the GH1's adapter that goes in the GH1 battery slot and has a plug.

I don't know too much about battery belts. Can someone point me in the right direction?

Thanks
 
Hi guys,

I'm interested in a battery pack solution as well. I wasn't able to record for very long on a single battery.. it seemed like maybe 10-15 mins max (LCD live view on)?

Is it just a matter of wiring 9V batteries in parallel and then having them go to the right adapter plug? I can't imagine it requiring anymore components other than that.

I found something similar where one guy hacks a battery pack to externally power his H4N:

http://www.bradlinder.net/2007/07/building-external-battery-pack-for.html
 
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Something must be wrong with your battery. My stock battery lasts way longer than 10-15min with LCD on.
 
Working 3rd party battery

Working 3rd party battery

I just picked up a couple batteries from one of my favorite Ebay dealers. The dealer name is "itrimming" (not a plug, just happy when I find a good Ebay source). Great store for various pieces parts for iphones, ipods, AV, etc. Never a problem, super fast FREE shipping on just about everything. The battery is listed below. I also picked up a 12v accessory plug charger. Both seem to work very well so far. The GH-1 recognizes this battery. Not sure if the battery power meter works properly, as I haven't run it long enough yet.

GH-1 battery:
http://cgi.ebay.com/BATTERY-DMW-BLB...tem&pt=Batteries_Chargers&hash=item2ead93b07e
 
Thats a smokin deal on batteries. I ordered one as a backup...


Barry_V said:
I just picked up a couple batteries from one of my favorite Ebay dealers. The dealer name is "itrimming" (not a plug, just happy when I find a good Ebay source). Great store for various pieces parts for iphones, ipods, AV, etc. Never a problem, super fast FREE shipping on just about everything. The battery is listed below. I also picked up a 12v accessory plug charger. Both seem to work very well so far. The GH-1 recognizes this battery. Not sure if the battery power meter works properly, as I haven't run it long enough yet.

GH-1 battery:
http://cgi.ebay.com/BATTERY-DMW-BLB...tem&pt=Batteries_Chargers&hash=item2ead93b07e
Click to expand...
 
with testers battery patch, now you can use these off brand battery and they worked great, i picked one up with a charger (Plus car charger) for $18 ..they work like the normal battery
 
Do all off-brand batteries have the ability to correctly register how full they are during 1) camera use via the battery meter, 2) when charging?
 
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