camcorder battery

[sdworthy]

I just purchased a new camcorder for my upcoming trip. The battery that came with it only records for 100 minutes when it is fully charged. For those of you who take ur camcorder in the parks what is the average amount of time you spend a day taping? Thanks.

 

[I'mNoPrince]

I always suggest getting another battery.

Even with the 100 mins you tend to do alot of replaying and all with the LCD on and that sucks the life right out of them.

Also try to make sure when you do tape something let it run out a bit. I always do at least 30 seconds even if nothing is really going . This makes Editing and making DVDs much easier then a bunch of very short clips.

 

[ransom]

On our last trip, I had one 2-hour battery and one 5-hour battery. There were a few days that I needed more power, so I decided to go with two 5-hour batteries for our next trip.

(Note that I didn't record 7+ hours of video each day...more like 1-2 hours. But as the previous poster said, all that time doing other things with it -- including just leaving it on so it's easier to take a shot whenever you want to -- really adds up.)

 

[Robo]

Ditto to the above.

And remember, the "100 minutes" is just a "specification"... your ACTUAL charged time using the battery will vary between uses.

And don't forget to put the battery on the charger first-thing when you come back to your room so that it will have time to fully charge before you go out again.

Bringing one or two extra batteries can save you, at times.

And don't forget to bring LOTS of tape or DVD's.

(If you bought a Hard Drive camera, that's a whole other issue.)

 

[MOmousefan]

I tape 6-7 hours total in a 5-7 trip. Most of the fun is re-living the trip at home.

 

[STEAMBOAT209]

I video each trip, and normally will have sufficient battery all thru the day with the battery that came with the camcorder. If I plan on shooting a parade, I will try to conserve battery life until I shoot the parade. Once returning to the resort for the evening, I would plug in to make sure of a full charge for the next day.

 

[webshark3]

I have a 2hr battery for my panasonic and a 6hr battery. I use a 60minute tape a day on average, and the two batteries give me about 3-4 hours of total usage (on/standby/record).

One test you can do before you leave: charge the battery, and let the camera record (change tapes if necessary) until the battery drains. Since recording is the biggest drain, this should give you the minimum amount of time you'll get from your specifc battery.

 

[Robert 31320]

Ditto to the above.

(If you bought a Hard Drive camera, that's a whole other issue.)

Please explain...I'm a camera dunce and have been considering our VHS camera with a hard drive model.