Product DescriptionFor the BP-808, BP-809, BP-809, and BP-819 Lithium-ion Batteries / Compatible with FS11, FS10, FS100, HF10, and HF100 Camcorders
Compact but Pricey (Rating: 5 out of 5) Works great - no trouble using it overseas in India, compact to store.
But price borders on gouging.
Compact and very handy works with both my Canon Batteries (Rating: 5 out of 5) Not really much to say except that it is worth spending the money on this device so that you do not have to lug the big AC Adapter around to charge you spare battery, plus it allows me to always be on up time because I would always have at least one battery charging.
Definitely a must buy.
Smart charger to protect your investment (Rating: 5 out of 5) The Confusion:
There seems to be some confusion why the charger is recommended when the videocam seems to originally come with one.
If you own a videocam like f.e. HF11, HF10, HF100 etc. or any other you will find included a POWER SUPPLY !! <-- read this ? ... let it sink in ...
Its true that the power supply can - while its connected through the videocamera - charge the battery, but that is NOT what its made for primarily.
To emphasize the difference once more
a) A power supply does not care if your battery is half full or empty it just connects it and keeps it connected even after it became already full. A power supply also doesnt care if the battery is charged slow or fast.
b) The charger has some intelligence built in. It does communicate with the battery and checks the battery status. It then (dis)charges it GENTLY to the maximum possible and keeps it at that state. It stops loading when the battery is full and indicates with the green light that charging has finished.
The result:
When using the power supply regularly the rechargeable battery will suffer an earlier death.
Regarding the charger itself:
- the charger gives each of your batteries a personalized treatment
- Its true that the packaging is helplessly oversized
- I found the charger to be comfortable AND robust enough for travelling
- NO messing with cables
- You can charge one battery meanhwile using the other on the go
- How this charger protects your camera:
You MUST plugin the power supply to the videocam in order to copy the video data to the PC/MAC. Those connection plugs usually break after warranty time. Thats another reason why the charger is recommended.
So, try to use the power supply not too often, or at least very gentle when pluggin it in/out to avoid disappointment or save your videos on the SD card.
Very practical, easy to use, and easy to carry. (Rating: 4 out of 5) The Charger is small that makes it easy to carry (close to the size of a credit card). I used it to charge one of the 2 batteries I have, the battery was fully charged in about 30 minutes. My only take on this charger, is that the place holder for the battery has no cover, that may expose contact pins to damage.
Game-changing technology (Rating: 5 out of 5) Until I learned of the CG-800 and its remarkable capabilities, I was using my $85 Canon batteries as disposables. I had a feeling something was wrong; could digital video really be this expensive?
Since receiving my CG-800, I've been using my batteries again and again. In fact, I've canceled my monthly "Subscribe & Save" Canon battery shipment. Truly marvelous stuff.