Gh2 battery a joke

seanmcleod said:
Sorry if this is a dumb question as I haven't had my hands on a GH2 yet, but does it take a different battery than the GH1? The three I have for my GH1 won't work in the GH2?
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Definitely not a dumb question, Sean -- but the answer does reflect a dumb decision by Panasonic. The GH2 does indeed take a different (and incompatible) battery -- DMC-BLC12 instead of the GH1's DMC-BLB13. And the new battery is 1200maH, 50 maH less than the older model. Like I said - dumb. Or maybe smart -- the pitiful battery life of the BLC12 has already forced me to buy another battery. But if that's their strategy, it is not going to work for them in the long term.

The Chinese are already selling knock-offs on alibaba: http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/401020051/CAMERA_BATTERY_FOR_DMW_BLC12.html
 
brunerww;2228221 The Chinese are already selling knock-offs on alibaba: [url said:
http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/401020051/CAMERA_BATTERY_FOR_DMW_BLC12.html[/url]
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Contact them and suggest to open Alibaba-Express listing item with 3 pieces lot plus PayPal and Visa options.
They'll sell 100-200 batteries at an instant.
 
Vitaliy Kiselev said:
Contact them and suggest to open Alibaba-Express listing item with 3 pieces lot plus PayPal and Visa options.
They'll sell 100-200 batteries at an instant.
Click to expand...

Sorry, but 650mAh on those knockoffs?

Need two of the knockoffs to replace one oem battery


FYI, Battery Buyers

Kenmore Camera shows battery in stock.
http://www.kenmorecamera.com/p-12702-panasonic-blc12-battery-fgh2.aspx

Bought a camera from them, and they were nice, and noticed they have the battery in stock.
 
Okay, so I wouldn't have guessed having OIS turned on could make such a huge difference in how long a battery charge lasts. But I just got over two hours of continuous recording on a single charge with the same battery I had been getting around an hour with previously. The difference is I was previously using the 100-300 with OIS turned on much of the time, and for the two hour results I'd switched to the 35-100. Was also using ETC with the 100-300 so I don't know whether that can also drain juice faster.

I rarely used the OIS on the 14-140 with the GH1 as it was normally on a tripod. But I used it a lot with the 100-300 on the GH2 when on a tripod because I was almost always using ETC; thinking that helped steady things. So maybe that's why I noticed the huge difference between the GH1 and GH2 batteries.

Bottom line is I'm not dissatisfied with 2+ hours when using a lens without OIS (or ETC turned on).

But this doesn't make me feel any differently about the piss poor availability of the battery and AC adapter (not to mention one didn't come in the box).
 
sxm said:
Sorry, but 650mAh on those knockoffs?
Need two of the knockoffs to replace one oem battery
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I just think that they'll make it real 1200 if you wish, for extra $1-$2 :-)
This is wholesale seller aimed at local online and offline businesses who like to make maximum profit.
 
Vitaliy Kiselev said:
I just think that they'll make it real 1200 if you wish, for extra $1-$2 :-)
This is wholesale seller aimed at local online and offline businesses who like to make maximum profit.
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very true

and hope they got a workaround for Panasonic's propriety battery code?

edit: ask and you shall receive.. haha
http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/365844046/Replacement_Camera_battery_for_Panasonic_DMW.html
http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/405696722/Camera_battery_for_Panasonic_DMW_BLC12.html
 
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it's probably just the same battery in a different case. sounds like when they put more horsepower into the Gh2, they failed to upgrade the battery (if you can actually get more power density into that small of a battery).

Anyone know if these are smart batteries? The GH1 batteries have 2 terminals for either SMbus or thermistor monitoring but I only have a single battery and I'm not going to open it to find out.
 
I'm not sure if any of you guys have been talking with the suppliers on alibaba, I have, and it seems they are willing to produce a run of higher capacity batteries. This is going to happen shortly after Chinese New Year, they will contact me when they have the new stock ready.

As we know the current ones they are producing are 650mAh.

I suggested 1250mAh to give them a slight edge over the Panasonic originals.
 
adolgin said:
Guys, you can get the Panasonic DC DMW-DCC8 coupler together with our battery adapter/ plate
For this configuration we would use a similar plate to one on the picture, except it will be a Panasonic HVX200/DVX100 style (could also be a Canon or Sony NP970). As a result, you would get about 4-6 times longer run time than with the stock battery. The GH2 battery is 1200mah. The other ones are least 5600mah - 7200mah. Sure, the adapter will not fit in the battery compartment, you will have to put it in the pouch, or attach to the tripod etc.
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Make an adapter that will fit and you will find profit.
 
ianmere said:
I'm not sure if any of you guys have been talking with the suppliers on alibaba, I have, and it seems they are willing to produce a run of higher capacity batteries. This is going to happen shortly after Chinese New Year, they will contact me when they have the new stock ready.

As we know the current ones they are producing are 650mAh.

I suggested 1250mAh to give them a slight edge over the Panasonic originals.
Click to expand...


Let us know when they contact you!
 
If the Switronix cable for the GH1 coupler is any indication, 9.2v works for the GH1 which also supposedly uses 7.2v batteries, so maybe this is a good option?

http://cgi.ebay.com/DC-5V-9V-12V-Po...212?pt=Batteries_Chargers&hash=item415258e2ec

I have a similar battery for my HDMI monitor, and I wonder if the 9v and 12v outputs work simultaneously since you could mount this ~78WH battery on your rig and power a monitor and camera together for 6hrs if the specs are right. I have a DC splitter I use on my similar battery that puts batteries like this in parallel so you could mount two and run a whole rig all day assuming a ~5w camera and ~10w monitor. Not bad for <$100... Or you could run your camera all day on one battery.

BTW anyone tested the actual voltage on GH2 native batteries? Seems odd that the DC coupler doesnt work with 7.2v batteries when the GH2 takes 7.2v batteries itself. Perhaps it is rated more conservatively than most batteries. All Li-ions drop voltage as they discharge, so maybe 7.2V is the very bottom of its operating range. Maybe this makes ~9v a good nominal operating voltage? I'd want to check GH2 and ebay batteries with a voltmeter first, though. I'll do this if I ever get my GH2...
 
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I'm sure you guys understand this but be careful with some batteries as you can get a small amount of vltage over load. I have no idea what the tolerance is on the GH1 and GH2 but you could damage something. I think the more stable RC li-po batteries are a better idea.
 
I have had about 2-3 hour with my GH2 battery. I haven't noticed that the GH2 battery life was significantly shorter than my GH1. I have been shooting two cameras either side-by-side or swapping cameras most of the time.
 
The higher voltage makes a difference in a few ways. The lower the voltage the more current is drawn which means more heat. I'll check the voltage on the GH2 battery and post its fully charged voltage versus its discharged voltage. It should be around 1 volt.
 
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