Hi folks, hope you can find the time to help an absolute noob!
My partner and i recently got our hands on 2 Panasonic SVHS 625 broadcast quality video cameras which have neither batteries nor manuals, and can't find anywhere on the net that stocks them.
Do any of you know where we could get some, or maybe know someone who has some spares they'd be willing to part with?
Thanks.

Hi,
You don't say what Model No your S-VHS Camcorders are, but it doesn't really matter because they all used 6volt sealed lead acid batteries. The originals or 'pattern replacements are virtually impossible to get now, but their is an easy
solution.

Go to your nearest motorcycle dealer and get a small sealed scooter or lightweight motorcycle sealed 6 volt Battery. Find a suitable sized zipped pouch or suitable bag, fit some belt loops on the back. Then order a minature two pin plug and socket, NOTE- it must not be reversable, one pin should be larger than the other,so polarity cannot be reversed.

You should be able to connect the other end of your supply voltage lead with a compatible plug into the external socket used for putting in the original battery charger.

If you have no Panasonic Battery charger, buy a very small battery charger that has both 12v and 6v tappings. These can be bought at most car or motor cycle
accessory shops. Hopes this gives you a solution to your problem.

Regards Brian

Thanks Brian, that sounds do-able! Don't know if i made it clear in my original post though, they're not camcorders, they're proper shoulder mounted video cameras like a news team uses. Would it still be possible to do what you said with them? We've got the original chargers, basically we have everything that should be with them except batteries and manuals.

Hi Creosote
It could still be a 'Goer', since you still have the original battery charger the first thing to do is to check underneath to see what the OUTPUT voltage is,plus the OUTPUT rated current.

If the original batteries were 6Volt then the charger output could be up to 10Volts, if the original batteries were 12Volt which it could be on an ENG camera,
then the Output voltage on the charger could be 18 or 20 volts.

If you give me this info I can probably help you further, by the way, does the battery clip upright on the back? or slide into a concealed horizontal pocket?

It would also help if you give me the Model No of the Cam so I can check my Panasonic old brochures.
Brian (Snobbie45)

Cheers Brian, haven't got around to trying any of that yet, been very busy, but will let you know if we have any success!
The model no. is AG-455B

Hi Creosote,
Your in luck regarding replacement batteries for your AG-455 unit.

This SVHS shoulder mounted full size camcorder was the Commercial Model of the

domestic SVHS NV-MS4. The 12V Lead Acid Battery which is exactly the same for

both models is still available from - Keen Electronics, Little Eaton,Derbyshire

Tel. 0870 990 9000

The Battery order code is- LA 220 2000MA ( this is original Panasonic Battery)

Current cost is £29.00 for 1 or £56.00 For 2. When you order they will send you

a fully comprehensive illustrated catalogue of a full range of Camcorder

Eqipment and Accessories.

Best regards, Brian

Ah that's awesome mate, cheers! Let's just hope the things actually work once we've got them! Any chance you could recomend a decent video card or interface for transferring the footage onto our pc for editing? I don't think there's any kind of video input on it anywhere.

Hi Creosote,

You need something like a Pinnacle AV/DC PCI card which is fitted

In a spare PCI slot inside your Computer, it comes with an exterior box called

a 'Break-out Box 'which has composite and S-video inputs and outputs.

If you dont have a spare PCI slot, then you can get USB versions which just plug

in obviously to a USB socket. There are a number of different types of AV

converter boxes available. If you want to edit any video taken on your S-VHS

Cam then you will also need an editing program, I would imagine you would

probably want to 'Burn' it to a DVD so get a program that can offer this. You

could try downloading 'Microsoft MovieMaker' which is free, however first you

must get some form of 'AV input converter' to get your video in to the Computer.

Hope this makes sense to you, if you have any further queries, put up another

post.

Best regards Brian

Cool, that's not too daunting, cheers for all your help!