larger battery for Leaf back??

[jps]

Hello

I have been using an AFI 11-10 for the last week - it produces absolutely gorgeous images - couldnt be happier with it! The only one small gripe is that it is a bit power hungry. Does anyone know if there is a larger capacity battery that will fit the back? I figure it just needs to fit the mount - I dont mind if it is physically larger and hangs down a bit .

Cheers JOHN

 

[archivue]

i don't know about yours... but my aptus 22 is fully compatible with Samsung SB-L160 and L320 batteries... you can find Hahnel compatible stuff (Hahnel provides batteries for leaf...).

 

[Tim Ernst]

Larger batts are available (at least in the USA) but I find they don't stay attached to the back as well and sometimes you can bump them and they will come loose and may fall off, so pay attention to them. All of these batteries are so cheap compared to others (Phase One) that I decided to just buy more of the normal batteries instead of messing with the fat ones.

I agree with the image quality - recently switched from Phase to Leaf and shooting is indeed a great pleasure - the ergonomics of Leaf backs are really nice too. Looking forward to the AP2 12 in a few weeks.

 

[jps]

Thanks for the info - will check the L320. Yes Im also looking forward to the 12 back!

cheers JOHN

 

[BradleyGibson]

I've also purchased some high capacity (2200mah) SB-L160 compatible batteries.

Sadly, despite looking identical, they don't quite fit properly in the AFi camera, on the back, or in the charger (they're a bit too wide)--they're unusable, so I have to return them.

If anyone's found a good source for high capacity (note, some SB-L160 batteries are a little as 1850mah, and the Leaf batteries are 2350mah), reasonably priced batteries *that actually fit*, I'd appreciate your letting me know.

Thanks,
-Brad

 

[Schmiddi]

I also had the problem, that two China-batteries (sold as compatible to Leaf) were a little bit bigger and therefore didn't fit. Using sandpaper I took away some tenth of a millimeter - now they fit to charger and back. For body more work would be needed, maybe later
Andreas

 

[yaya]

There are 2 potential issues here: physical fit and capacity;
As people have suggested, some batteries won't fit or be too loose or too tight. We often find that batteries that have a "2,200 mAh" label on them carry less than 2,000 and so on.

Saying that, I recently bought two large 3,700 mAh batteries on-line and they seem to work well (the invoice says 3,700 and the label says 4,400...).

For the AFi of course you need to find batteries that will physically fit into the grip

Yair

 

[chrismuc]

There is an even bigger capacity model with 5500 mAh available.
But 61mm high and 340g heavy:-(
(so I am not sure if it would fit)
http://www.g-batteries.de/product_info.php/products_id/410/language/en

 

[GrahamWelland]

In theory that 5500mah battery should work with the Aptus assuming that it has the same Samsung mount as it just hangs below. However, if you're shooting off of a tripod then you'd probably need the Mamiya tripod adapter N2 to provide clearance. I remember that I used to have to use this with my old Kodak 645M to allow full tilt of the camera on a head.

I think I'd rather go for a pocket full of the regular batteries myself.

 

[archivue]

i'm using the small ones... i prefer to have 4 small batteries (3 inside the jacket to keep them warm in the winter... ) and one on the back.... the ergonomic is better.

I'm using Hähnel HL-160S Samsung type 7,4V 2000mAh with great success... not in the cheap side, but safe !

 

[Tim Ernst]

I agree with using several small ones as already noted, but just FYI here is the one that I got - 4100mAH for $22 - http://www.lithium-batteries.net/camcorder/samsung/sb-l320-battery.html

It does fit the Leaf back just fine (although slightly loose as noted, mostly because it just sticks so far out from the back); a tripod spacer was not needed for my setup (Alpa SWA). The camera would not sit level on a table due to the big battery unless the back was turned sideways. I just sent my loaner unit back to Optechs Digital or I would take a closer look for you.

 

[jps]

Thanks everyone for the information. I wonder what number of shots/life you are getting from a standard battery? Im getting about 150 with a bit of chimping to look at histogram-a very nice feature of the back! - this is with the 10 back- it will be interesting to see how many I get when my 12 arrives.

JOHN

 

[archivue]

I wonder what number of shots/life you are getting from a standard battery?
it varies a lot... temperature, long exposure...

 

[BradleyGibson]

The back I have (Leaf AFi-II 10) is hungry, so I too wanted to buy reasonably priced replacement batteries with high capacity. I bought a number of batteries marked 2200mAh, but like others, found they were too large to fit in the camera or on the back properly. The batteries wouldn't even charge properly. Total junk.

I did some more searching and found another battery which seems to work fine. (I wanted the single-sized battery so it would fit in the AFi's handle or directly on the back). Seems to work fine, so I wanted to let other users know that there are options available.

Battery: Maximal Power 7.4v 2500mAh (!)

Lowest price I could find is $11 per (!) here on eBay. Batteries came in full retail packaging and are working great.

 

[SergeiR]

Battery: Maximal Power 7.4v 2500mAh (!)

Lowest price I could find is $11 per (!) here on eBay. Batteries came in full retail packaging and are working great.

That particular battery is one of spares i got and its pretty bad - loosing power just by sitting on shelf and depleting very fast in comparition to originals. I got double one from duralast which seems to hold charge much better . And i needed it, b.c one of my originals just dropped stone dead.

Its not just amount of shots - its constant running of fan and such that gets you with Leafs.

With doble bat i get 3-4 hours of shoot now, and rarely need to pull out spares.

 

[jps]

The back I have (Leaf AFi-II 10) is hungry, so I too wanted to buy reasonably priced replacement batteries with high capacity. I bought a number of batteries marked 2200mAh, but like others, found they were too large to fit in the camera or on the back properly. The batteries wouldn't even charge properly. Total junk.

I did some more searching and found another battery which seems to work fine. (I wanted the single-sized battery so it would fit in the AFi's handle or directly on the back). Seems to work fine, so I wanted to let other users know that there are options available.

Battery: Maximal Power 7.4v 2500mAh (!)

Lowest price I could find is $11 per (!) here on eBay. Batteries came in full retail packaging and are working great.

I also have the 10 back - it does eat batteries- it will interesting to see how the 12 back goes!! I have noticed that the fan runs louder when Im using it on a tech camera vs the AFI camera. The larger battery seems the go for the tech camera.
Cheers JOHN

 

[archivue]

The larger battery seems the go for the tech camera...

not shure... if you are using a kapture group sliding back, in portrait mode, the big battery touch the rmfx...

 

[archivue]

http://www.duracelldirect.co.uk/camcorder/samsung/oem-pno/sb-l160.html

duracell... any user report ?

 

[BradleyGibson]

Sergei,

Sorry to hear that! Well, I'll run mine through a few charge/discharge cycles and report back any issues I find regarding capacity and loss of charge.

 

[SergeiR]

Sergei,

Sorry to hear that! Well, I'll run mine through a few charge/discharge cycles and report back any issues I find regarding capacity and loss of charge.

I had mine for about 8 months now (got it from Amazon). I didnt toss it away, it still good for a bit of time , when extra charge is desperately needed, but its just nowhere as good as original. May be its just me, of course. After all - one of my original batts just quit working one day at all. Wont charge, wont discharge. And no it wasnt fully discharged when it happened, it just quit in middle of things as i was shooting in Moscow this summer. Not sure what happened.

That Duralast beasty 320 thing is thick and looks odd, but oh well