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3rd party batteries on GH2?
  • starstuffstarstuff
    Seeing as the original Panasonic battery pack is pretty expensive I was looking for alternatives.
    I see many Ebay sellers having 1800mAh batteries for this camera.

    One is around $20, sellers claims is build 1:1 copying the original, 1800mAh, 7.2v and overload protection.
    He sells a load of these and on various forums I couldn't find any negative feedback on 3rd party batteries so far.

    What do you say? Do any of you have 3rd party batteries in use and what are your experiences with those?
  • 5 Replies sorted by
  • chrimsbroomechrimsbroome
    Personally, I would never buy another Panasonic battery since its only 1200mha, lasts about 120 mins if ya lucky.

    You need the DC coupler (Panasonic) and a 8.4volt battery pack, they come in 2000mha upward to 5000mha. have got two battery packs and one should last 8 hours (4300mha) and the other 9 / half hours (5000mha).

    Lastly you do need a DC to Tamiya cable (up to 2 metres), I would get it professionally made because like some have got the polarity the wrong way round and poof, bye bye GH2 there goes the fuse.

    Its far, far, far better and cost effective than Panasonics rip off batterys.

  • davhardavhar
    A couple of months back this was a big issue on this sight. Check out the files. Basically it came down to one of our regular contributors is something of an expert/professional in the area of building lithium ion batteries and his warnings were very stern. Don't mess with cheap chinese batteries. They don't have the safety protocols, etc., and can overheat/explode and all sorts of nasty things that you don't want to experience. Up to you but be warned. And you'll have no idea as to when they die. And for the difference of fifty bucks or so… Hm.
  • tvpglabstvpglabs
    To me it's worth it to have the native ones so that I can see the battery bar and know how much power is left. With the third party batteries, you can't tell how much juice is left, which could leave you in a bad spot with a paying gig.
  • nomadnomad
    Seconded. The 20$ batteries work, but you need to test them and keep an eye on the clock – the camera stops suddenly without any warning.
  • DirkVoorhoeveDirkVoorhoeve

    see this topic for more discussion on third party grips: http://www.personal-view.com/talks/discussion/74/gh2-third-party-batteries

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