Batteries

[Josh Negrin]

Scott, the AL package only includes two redvolts and a charger. To get to 10 redvolts you'd have to order 2 of the redvolt 4 packs, which comes to $1500, and another charger is $125 bringing you to $1625.

 

[Scott C]

Sorry Josh, you're correct about that. Math is not my friend today.

Scott, the AL package only includes two redvolts and a charger. To get to 10 redvolts you'd have to order 2 of the redvolt 4 packs, which comes to $1500, and another charger is $125 bringing you to $1625.

 

[Josh Negrin]

I like what you're suggesting, Scott. $515 for another power pack (adding two more Red Volts to the two in the package, and another charger) plus another 4 pack of red volts (bringing the total # of Red Volts to 8 which is close to 4 hours of recording) and the total cost to $1265.

I like that. I like that it also helps me build up my Red Volt collection for when the 2 and 4 redvolt modules come out.

I may also look into buying this: http://www.adorama.com/BOLA148.html (suggested by Noah Yuan-Vogel earlier) because for $195 having a (possible) 3 hour extra battery (without having to mount it to the camera) seems like my proverbial ass is covered, power-wise.

We do plan on renting out our Scarlet package, but before we do that, my d.p. and I will be doing a short together with what we have to make sure that it's totally feasible to achieve with what we plan on renting. We're going to set aside four days to shoot an action-comedy.

BTW: here's what we achieved with 2 Days, no budget, a couple of 5d's, and a kick-ass composer: http://vimeo.com/29033920. You can definitely see the short-comings of the 5D, and I can't help to think what this movie would have looked like on the RED.

 

[Werner Jauch]

I have one of the portable automobile battery "jump start" units at home. Not sure but I think that and a cheap 110 volt invertor (which I also have somewhere in the garage)should provide mains power for many hours. I plan to try this next spring when ,at one location, I will be away from mains for several hours, but will need to only minimally change camera position.
A quick internet seach shows this: http://www.walmart.com/ip/Schumacher-Portable-Power-Unit/13005734
as similar to my idea but already supplying 110V

 

[Prince Bagdasarian]

I like what you're suggesting, Scott. $515 for another power pack (adding two more Red Volts to the two in the package, and another charger) plus another 4 pack of red volts (bringing the total # of Red Volts to 8 which is close to 4 hours of recording) and the total cost to $1265.

I like that. I like that it also helps me build up my Red Volt collection for when the 2 and 4 redvolt modules come out.

I may also look into buying this: http://www.adorama.com/BOLA148.html (suggested by Noah Yuan-Vogel earlier) because for $195 having a (possible) 3 hour extra battery (without having to mount it to the camera) seems like my proverbial ass is covered, power-wise.

We do plan on renting out our Scarlet package, but before we do that, my d.p. and I will be doing a short together with what we have to make sure that it's totally feasible to achieve with what we plan on renting. We're going to set aside four days to shoot an action-comedy.

BTW: here's what we achieved with 2 Days, no budget, a couple of 5d's, and a kick-ass composer: http://vimeo.com/29033920. You can definitely see the short-comings of the 5D, and I can't help to think what this movie would have looked like on the RED.

Excellent work on the short Josh. Also, composer is "kick-ass" indeed.

For your set up, keep in mind the need to recharge redvolt batteries constantly -- unlike V mount batteries (AB, Bricks, etc). If you have the luxury of recharging during or between your shoots (approx 2 hrs per redvolt), I say go for it. Remember, you can remove items from your package without losing your place in line.

 

[Josh Negrin]

Excellent work on the short Josh. Also, composer is "kick-ass" indeed.

For your set up, keep in mind the need to recharge redvolt batteries constantly -- unlike V mount batteries (AB, Bricks, etc). If you have the luxury of recharging during or between your shoots (approx 2 hrs per redvolt), I say go for it. Remember, you can remove items from your package without losing your place in line.

Thanks man! Composer also does the t.v. show "Fringe" and I can see us working together for a long time.

As for charging, I've heard the Red Volt's do take two hours to charge, is there something I can buy that charges it via the cigarette port in my car?

Also, I noticed the AC Adaptor is in fact on the AL package now, either it wasn't there before... or I just plain missed it, but either way, it's there now.

 

[Noah Yuan-Vogel]

very valid point. R1 is easily 2-3 times hungrier then the Epic, and therefore Scarlet, so yes
if you're strapped in the field, just bring this instead of a put-put generator

Are you sure? I was under the impression R1 pulls about 70-90w and epic is 60-70w, and from first reports Scarlet sounds to be about 50-60w. This of course all depends on what you have hooked up. A lot of this difference could possibly be accounted for simply by differences between the common evf+7"lcd+reddrive R1 setup and the Epic usually only having 5"lcd+SSD.

 

[Nick Pasquariello]

Also, I noticed the AC Adaptor is in fact on the AL package now, either it wasn't there before... or I just plain missed it, but either way, it's there now.

It was always there. I'm fairly certain that the adapter comes with every Brain. So if you're, say, inside a house, you may not need batteries at all. So long as no one trips on the cable. Because I mean come on really no one has EVER done that . . .

 

[Scott C]

Great work Josh!

That belt looks interesting-- it says XLR power; how would that be connected to the camera exactly?

I like what you're suggesting, Scott. $515 for another power pack (adding two more Red Volts to the two in the package, and another charger) plus another 4 pack of red volts (bringing the total # of Red Volts to 8 which is close to 4 hours of recording) and the total cost to $1265.

I like that. I like that it also helps me build up my Red Volt collection for when the 2 and 4 redvolt modules come out.

I may also look into buying this: http://www.adorama.com/BOLA148.html (suggested by Noah Yuan-Vogel earlier) because for $195 having a (possible) 3 hour extra battery (without having to mount it to the camera) seems like my proverbial ass is covered, power-wise.

We do plan on renting out our Scarlet package, but before we do that, my d.p. and I will be doing a short together with what we have to make sure that it's totally feasible to achieve with what we plan on renting. We're going to set aside four days to shoot an action-comedy.

BTW: here's what we achieved with 2 Days, no budget, a couple of 5d's, and a kick-ass composer: http://vimeo.com/29033920. You can definitely see the short-comings of the 5D, and I can't help to think what this movie would have looked like on the RED.

 

[Noah Yuan-Vogel]

Great work Josh!

That belt looks interesting-- it says XLR power; how would that be connected to the camera exactly?

Keep in mind that belt is still only about the same capacity as a RED BRICK and 4x as heavy, personally not sure it makes that much sense. It would connect directly with the $130 RED xlr power cable.

 

[Patrick Tresch]

Battery attachement from action products:

http://actionproducts.ch/shop/index.php?cPath=3&osCsid=2a89640f947a0fc766ca0469d4c63331

Patrick

 

[Josh Negrin]

Keep in mind that belt is still only about the same capacity as a RED BRICK and 4x as heavy, personally not sure it makes that much sense. It would connect directly with the $130 RED xlr power cable.

Ah, well, having to spend an extra $130 on a cable to connect to this battery belt, makes it a less attractive buy for me. Does it not come with a cable that's compatible with the RED?

 

[Noah Yuan-Vogel]

I have one of the portable automobile battery "jump start" units at home. Not sure but I think that and a cheap 110 volt invertor (which I also have somewhere in the garage)should provide mains power for many hours. I plan to try this next spring when ,at one location, I will be away from mains for several hours, but will need to only minimally change camera position.
A quick internet seach shows this: http://www.walmart.com/ip/Schumacher-Portable-Power-Unit/13005734
as similar to my idea but already supplying 110V

Even that 12v 22ah (~264Wh) battery once you consider the efficiency of dc-ac inverter and then ac-dc adapter probably only gives you effectively 150wh and you still need to be tethered to a 20lb box.

If someone wanted to, they could buy one of these packs with very high a very high capacity for its weight: http://www.ebay.com/itm/1-Sanyo-18650-Li-ion-battery-packs-14-8V-12500mAh-4S5P-/320615990773 and a cheap dc 2.1mm to 4pin xlr cable and have a battery with 50% more capacity than a RED BRICK that weighs less and costs about 1/3 as much. Or you could get 2 (3 if you have longgg days) of them, put them in a bag/backpack or velcro them to your camera, put them in parallel with a $5 2.1mm DC splitter cable (ive done this before on my monitor), and run all day and never have to change batteries for <$300.

REDVOLT = $6.5/Wh 54Wh/lb
RED BRICK = $3.2/Wh 61Wh/lb
SLA battery belt = $1.5/Wh 13.2Wh/lb
Ebay Li-ion cells = $0.76/Wh 84Wh/lb

 

[Noah Yuan-Vogel]

Ah, well, having to spend an extra $130 on a cable to connect to this battery belt, makes it a less attractive buy for me. Does it not come with a cable that's compatible with the RED?

Well that is the least expensive power cable you can get for Scarlet...

The battery belt really isnt that great as far as weight or price for the capacity. Li-ion is really so much better.

 

[Josh Negrin]

ok, so will this cable work for that: http://www.markertek.com/Cables/Vid...es/Delvcam-Monitor-Systems/DELV-2MM4X-6.xhtml

also, how would you suggest mounting them to the camera, and also how does one charge this?

 

[Noah Yuan-Vogel]

actually that cable wont work, its quite tough to find 2.1mm DC to XLR Female plugs, most of them are XLR male because they are used to go from XLR power source to a camera.

If someone wanted an external power option and didnt want to take a chance on a chinese battery, they could look at something like this too: http://www.batteryspace.com/Portabl...4.8V-20Ah-output-15-24V-2Rx2C-end-to-end.aspx

Comes with a bag to throw over your shoulder and regulators and converters and chargers to power lights, and anything else when you arent using it on the camera. A bit more power than two REDBRICKS for a lower price than one and includes chargers and adapters and the battery weighs about the same as 1.5 redbricks. Also cigarette to XLR power cables are very cheap and easier to find than 2.5mm to XLR female. http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/328854-REG/Smith_Victor_401990_4_Pin_XLR_to_Cigarette.html

 

[Alex Baev]

Are you sure? I was under the impression R1 pulls about 70-90w and epic is 60-70w, and from first reports Scarlet sounds to be about 50-60w. This of course all depends on what you have hooked up. A lot of this difference could possibly be accounted for simply by differences between the common evf+7"lcd+reddrive R1 setup and the Epic usually only having 5"lcd+SSD.

That was my unscientific impression from 2 days of working with an Epic (Touch LCD + SSD module). 8hr shoot days on less then 2 Red Bricks.
I've worked with R1 since the very August 2007, mainly with Red Drive + Red 5.6 LCD configurations, and i was amazed with relative power consumption.
Yes, your estimates for brain pulls from R1 vs Epic are probably correct, after you factor LCD and media choices.
That's partly why i'm still searching to find how much the Red Touch LCD draws. It's not on the site, and i know that Red 5.6" and Red 7" draw 4.6W and 2.8W respectively

We're probably getting a little sidetracked with all the alternative power sources. Keep in mind that we could probably find a way to make it gas-powered, but it doesn't serve the point

And the point is that we have several aspects to consider:
- it needs to be compact & light
- cost-effective
- last an average day
- versatile
- look the part (unfortunately)

Therefore, i'm myself leaning towards the pack Josh suggested earlier:
- Side handle with 2 RedVolts and Red travel or quad charger (if it's not much bigger or more $ when it comes out) - i want sidehandle anyway, so 2 Redvolts is minimum to make it useful
- VF Brook plate
- 2 Globalstore V-bricks - come as 160-190-230WH varieties, but keep in mind that Red Bricks are 140WH and already last plenty
- dual V-mount charger like this http://www.globalmediapro.com/dp/A00UX3/Globalmediapro-SCA2S-2-channel-Charger-AC-Adaptor/ - cheaper and lighter then the one Josh suggested

 

[Noah Yuan-Vogel]

I ordered 2 of these which are about the cheapest pro mount option I've seen anywhere, I'll let people know how it goes. I figure if I'm going to go 3rd party might as well go all the way, and globalmediapro being in NZ and wire-transfer-only and with quite a few bad reviews, I figured at least ordering from China on ebay (where nearly all batteries are made anyway) would be half the price and I'd have paypal buyer protection.

$255+free sh for 150w v-mount battery with charger
http://www.ebay.com/itm/170725239096

also ordered this plate, just need to find/make a 2.5mm to XLR female or 2.5mm to 1b cable, 5v will power my wireless HD transmitter, 12v for my tvlogic lcd, comes with rail mount, quite a deal
http://www.ebay.com/itm/110765677587

anyone know whether ordering batteries internationally to the US is an issue for import/customs? never had any issues with various bits and pieces i've ordered from india/china before.

 

[Alex Baev]

Interesting battery, comes with a free small charger, may be worth to consider. The chinese characters on the back help look the part

I have a deposit down on brain and side handle. Everything else will be decided the day i know Scarlet ships. But i do feel strongly about a compact and elegant V-mount battery solution for most situations. You just done't want to always think about power as you shoot

 

[Prince Bagdasarian]

I ordered 2 of these which are about the cheapest pro mount option I've seen anywhere, I'll let people know how it goes. I figure if I'm going to go 3rd party might as well go all the way, and globalmediapro being in NZ and wire-transfer-only and with quite a few bad reviews, I figured at least ordering from China on ebay (where nearly all batteries are made anyway) would be half the price and I'd have paypal buyer protection.

$255+free sh for 150w v-mount battery with charger
http://www.ebay.com/itm/170725239096


also ordered this plate, just need to find/make a 2.5mm to XLR female or 2.5mm to 1b cable, 5v will power my wireless HD transmitter, 12v for my tvlogic lcd, comes with rail mount, quite a deal
http://www.ebay.com/itm/110765677587

anyone know whether ordering batteries internationally to the US is an issue for import/customs? never had any issues with various bits and pieces i've ordered from india/china before.

Noah, definitely let us know how those batteries work out for you. I'm adding it to the watch list now. Thanks.