Its seems that 6xaa batteries (~20Whours) should last longer than the sony camcorder battery (10Whours). Any one tried this?
1028291
tried it for 4 hours with a sony battery, used 50% of the power, it was set to about 20% brightness
1362620
I have two of these vixia hf m41 camcorders and use them to make half hour to one hour local community tv programs. The original batteries only last me around an hour or so, and certainly do not last a two or three hour shoot, which are later edited down to half or one hour programs. You must have extra batteries. Get the larger capacity batteries, so you do not have to replace the short-lived batteries and have to stop videoing while you are replacing them. The longer lived batteries stick out from the back of the camcorder, but that is not a bad trade-off, in order to not lose valuable video footage. I have two of these vixia hf m41 camcorders and use them to make half hour to one hour local community tv programs. The original batteries only last me around an hour or so, and certainly do not last a two or three hour shoot, which are later edited down to half or one hour programs. You must have extra batteries. Get the larger capacity batteries, so you do not have to replace the short-lived batteries and have to stop videoing while you are replacing them. The longer lived batteries stick out from the back of the camcorder, but that is not a bad trade-off, in order to not lose valuable... » Read More I have two of these vixia hf m41 camcorders and use them to make half hour to one hour local community tv programs. The original batteries only last me around an hour or so, and certainly do not last a two or three hour shoot, which are later edited down to half or one hour programs. You must have extra batteries. Get the larger capacity batteries, so you do not have to replace the short-lived batteries and have to stop videoing while you are replacing them. The longer lived batteries stick out from the back of the camcorder, but that is not a bad trade-off, in order to not lose valuable video footage. « Show Less
527447
I am not sure whether you are referring to how long the batteries last or how much memory it has. Regarding the batteries, it depends on the batteries you have. The battery that comes with the camcorder lasts about 90 minutes. And that depends on how much you use the zoom or how long you have it on without actually recording. Using the zoom alot uses more battery. You can buy larger batteries on Amazon or at places like Best Buy that will last longer. You can buy batteries that will last as long 5 hours of record time or more. You can get batteries easily for under $50 (some as low as $15) on sale. But be careful, I bought a larger battery at a discount from an online dealer and had to have it replaced by them. I now have a battery that last almost 7 hours that I bought for $49. With regard to how much video you can record in the memory, that depends on the size SD chip you buy. I have a 32GB chip and it will hold about 8 hours of video recordings. I got that memory chip on sale for $20. And you can pop the SD chips in and out very quickly. So, the memory is virtually unlimited. Also, remember that how much you can record on an SD chip depends on whether you are recording in HD or not. The amount I am quoting is not at the highest definition but I find it to be plenty good for home videos. But in both cases, battery time or memory, it depends on what you have purchased. I have extra batteries and extra SD chips and they are both very small and light. I hope that helps.
1969614
I haven't used the camera much. I bought it for others to use, so I'm not an expert. But from what I've seen, my guess is that it will take a couple of hours of video. If the charge life is a concern, I suggest getting a second battery.
1098822
I have this same problem, I have bought the XR260V, but I found the battery is so weak with FV50, I can't imagine why the camcorder is packed with the lowest capacity one by the manufacture.
500038
It has been over a year since Ive been on a shoot, so I can't recall exactly. But here is a link to the comment page of the battery, hope it helps!- http://www.amazon.com/Sony-NP-QM91D-Lithium-Ion-DCR-DVD101-Camcorders/product-reviews/B00008NV1P/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints;=1
1371323
I haven't specifically used video that long, but with a couple of short (less than a minute vignettes each) with several hundred stills, 400+, and shooting off of the screen on the back and reviewing each shot as long as needed, I was able to do all that and the battery held up fine. That was over a couple of days even, and finally charged it when it got to about 5% after all that. Hope that helps.
1090637
See my review here. This is a perfect replacement for the Sony battery. I have the HX9V which is nearly identical to the 5V, and it fits perfectly. It is EVER so slightly more snug in the charger than the original, but not noticeable at all in the camera. Battery life is longer than my original Sony battery, and unlike the original battery, it gives remaining battery life in minutes. I don't have my gear with me, but I believe the estimated time for photos is around 300+ minutes, which has seemed pretty accurate, though I haven't tested it. At this price, I HIGHLY recommend this product, and it's very well-made. I will certainly be ordering a few more for backup on long trips. See my review here. This is a perfect replacement for the Sony battery. I have the HX9V which is nearly identical to the 5V, and it fits perfectly. It is EVER so slightly more snug in the charger than the original, but not noticeable at all in the camera. Battery life is longer than my original Sony battery, and unlike the original battery, it gives remaining battery life in minutes. I don't have my gear with me, but I believe the estimated time for photos is around 300+ minutes, which has seemed pretty accurate, though I haven't tested it. At this price, I HIGHLY recommend this product,... » Read More See my review here. This is a perfect replacement for the Sony battery. I have the HX9V which is nearly identical to the 5V, and it fits perfectly. It is EVER so slightly more snug in the charger than the original, but not noticeable at all in the camera. Battery life is longer than my original Sony battery, and unlike the original battery, it gives remaining battery life in minutes. I don't have my gear with me, but I believe the estimated time for photos is around 300+ minutes, which has seemed pretty accurate, though I haven't tested it. At this price, I HIGHLY recommend this product, and it's very well-made. I will certainly be ordering a few more for backup on long trips. « Show Less
833187
I've used it when fully charged but never run it down completely. I have the Sony CX230 Handycam, which shows full charge for recording at 6 hrs 50 mins, that's a lot of recording time. The size and weight actually makes the camera feel more substantial. It's comfortable to hold and adds some balance when zooming in, not heavy or bulky. I use this battery as my main battery and keep the original FV30 as backup, which I haven't needed so far. The longest nonstop recording I've made so far is 30 mins, the battery still held almost 6 hours for recording. Playback obviously shows a different battery life, but it was still over 5 hours with the one charge. Hope this helps.
2058841
I've been using both batteries consistently since I've bought them. The readout on the screen will initially say over 9 hours but I record in 1080p and get 26 actual seconds for every minute it says I have. Both batteries in real world testing, about 4 hours 30 minutes of actual use.
232541
Unfortunately the design of this camera doesn't allow to put AA batteries instead of Lithium Ion Camera Battery For Sony (acumulator battery), which is included in the set. However I don't have any problems with it. Usually fully charged original acumulator battery is sufficient for one day shooting. My own acumulator battery is working well for more than couple of years since I bought this particular Sony camera.
958720
Sony makes a powerful long-lasting battery for this camera, the NP-FV100. It's the biggest they make for this camera and it is all I use and has plenty of storage and long charge life before needing to be recharged. It costs a bit, but is well worth it. I bought other batteries for this camera but the big one is all you need.
1228516
The camcorder you are referring to uses a NP-F550 battery (7.4Volt 1800 mah). They are available at this site: http://www.batteryheads.com/camcorder-batteries/camcorder-batteries-sony/sony-ccd-tr917-camcorder-battery-15-5-wh-1800-mah?gclid=CMPH0Inqjr4CFZNlOgodXR8Aag. Amazon has them too.
682626
I don't know. You would be better off with separate batterys that way the TV won't drag down the came ria battery. I have the Sony extra long life. 6 to 8 hrs.of use age. It's great.
2249951
I use the Sony NP-FV100 and get about 4hrs. I believe the stock battery is about 1-1/2hrsgreat camera
235041
I have used the BP-727 high capacity for both video and still pictures with my Canon HF camcorder on the same battery. My camcorder shows initially well over 200 minutes and I can film and take stills for that time. I don't use my BP-718 hardly at all any longer. I have two BP-727's and I get great performance and time out of this battery. It takes about 3 1/2 to 5 hours to charge with Canon's separate charger. I don't use the camcorder much to charge the batteries hardly at all now. I don't know if different camcorders/cameras require more battery power. I have used both BP-727s that I have and have found the same performance. One thing, I have only used the two batteries twice since I purchased them four weeks ago. However, we have been traveling out west and seeing many sights during that time. That said I believe I have had the camcorder in use for at least 14 hours and I have not found the batteries to diminish in power after recharging. Bottom line, I am extremely satisfied thus far. I hope this helps. Have a great weekend.
1781669
With a 64 gig memory card both batteries will give you 8 straight hours of recording time All depends on your memory card as well Hope this helps !!!