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Gear / Technical Help => Remote Power => Topic started by: tedyun on April 30, 2009, 09:13:44 AM

Title: Using a Wal-Mart battery to power a 8.4V camcorder
Post by: tedyun on April 30, 2009, 09:13:44 AM
I was wondering about using the WalMart Universal DVD battery that I picked up from this thread:

http://taperssection.com/index.php/topic,117631.0.html

My camcorder, Canon HF100, requires 8.4V of power, and I have an adaptaplug that fits it. Can I attach the 9V battery to the camcorder for power?

My impression from reading various threads here is that it would be OK...

TIA!
Title: Re: Using a Wal-Mart battery to power a 8.4V camcorder
Post by: twatts (pants are so over-rated...) on April 30, 2009, 10:29:35 AM
Yes, the extra voltage will be let off as heat...  I wouldn't go much past 9v...

Terry

Title: Re: Using a Wal-Mart battery to power a 8.4V camcorder
Post by: aleal5687 on February 05, 2011, 04:55:49 PM
Bumping an old thread



Just picked up a canon hf30 (8.4v) and found this post. The offical canon batteries are expensive but I wanted something in the meantime to get me through a day of shooting. I have a 7day film contest  coming up and want a battery that can last all day.

Just want to make sure I will not damage my camera.

Title: Re: Using a Wal-Mart battery to power a 8.4V camcorder
Post by: stevetoney on February 07, 2011, 05:18:58 PM
Bumping an old thread

Just picked up a canon hf30 (8.4v) and found this post. The offical canon batteries are expensive but I wanted something in the meantime to get me through a day of shooting. I have a 7day film contest  coming up and want a battery that can last all day.

Just want to make sure I will not damage my camera.

I wasn't able to find the power consumption on your camera so I don't know how long you can power your camera with a Tekkeon, but that's where I'd start.  These batteries are known to provide good capacity in a small package and the variable voltage setting makes it a useful battery for other uses.  As mentioned earlier in this thread, the extra voltage might result in a little bit of heat, but I doubt it would be significant.  Just stay cognizant of whether or not your camera heats up with use and don't let it get hot. 
Title: Re: Using a Wal-Mart battery to power a 8.4V camcorder
Post by: kingkita on February 08, 2011, 09:01:55 AM
Bumping an old thread

Just picked up a canon hf30 (8.4v) and found this post. The offical canon batteries are expensive but I wanted something in the meantime to get me through a day of shooting. I have a 7day film contest  coming up and want a battery that can last all day.

Just want to make sure I will not damage my camera.

I wasn't able to find the power consumption on your camera so I don't know how long you can power your camera with a Tekkeon, but that's where I'd start.  These batteries are known to provide good capacity in a small package and the variable voltage setting makes it a useful battery for other uses.  As mentioned earlier in this thread, the extra voltage might result in a little bit of heat, but I doubt it would be significant.  Just stay cognizant of whether or not your camera heats up with use and don't let it get hot. 

I can verify that the walmart dvd batteries will run a hv30/and hv40 and so will the tekkeons without a issue. For many hours.

Title: Re: Using a Wal-Mart battery to power a 8.4V camcorder
Post by: tedyun on February 11, 2011, 05:44:51 PM
I have tried the 9v DVD batteries, but not extensively. I have since found these batteries:

http://www.neximaging.com/product.asp?id=42684&ADTR=9

I think these are branded as "PowerPal," "Powerbank" or other names. They have a selectable switch to output 5, 6 or 8.4v, so I have been using these when I need more juice. I would think that the 9v batteries would be fine, but I was pretty paranoid about plugging it in like that. Plus, I found a good deal on the Powerbanks.

The times I've run the videocam, the setup I have is third party high capacity battery for the camcorder, and a couple of the Powerbanks.  Having the camcorder battery allows me to swap the battery packs.

I've found that the Powerbank can go for 1.5 h and drop to 3/4 capacity, according to the meter. So between the Powerbank and the camcorder battery, I've never had a problem.

I bought the third party battery off eBay, and it was pretty cheap $20 if I remember correctly. The drawbacks is that you can't charge it when attached to the camera, and there is no indicator to how much juice is left.