Power Options for Long Run and Gunning

[Michael Shu]

Hey all,

We're about to sign on for a Taiwanese event shoot that's about 10 hours long, two shooters and we're considering having one of the shooters be on red scarlet. It's a rave festival that's HUGE so we won't be super accessible to home base a lot nor have ACs or DIT. So, question is how to keep the rig as bare bones and lightweight as possible while having better power options than the red volts?

I know Stillmotion experimented with a battery pack slung into a shoot sac and wanted to get people's thoughts on alternative methods of powering the rig like this.We do have a view factor VL IDX adapter with my 4 batteries and charger, but since I'm traveling with minimal crew, lugging the thing around plus making the rig heavier is not ideal.

Anybody have some thoughts or suggestions? Or is the easiest way for lightweight continuous power just to have like 20 red volts in a chewbacca style bandolier and a crapload of chargers sitting in a room somewhere tripping the power breaker?

thanks for any help!

 

[Gavin Greenwalt]

Pound for pound and cubic inch for cubic inch not much beats a 190wh IDX battery.

 

[Michael Shu]

Totally agree, those IDX batteries give me 1.5 hours of runtime on the mentioned VF IDX mount on the back. Though for handholding it throws the balance off a lot and we will be doing a load of that. Plus it adds some unwanted weight. Any suggestions for a lightweight minimalistic run/gun solution?

 

[Brad Webb]

Quad battery module and crap load of redvolts. Although I'm not sure if that weighs any less.

 

[Michael Shu]

Hahah, would probably weight a whole lot more and whack me in the face as I dodge festival goers. Any off-camera portable powering options around?

 

[Alex Rawet]

Would this fit the bill? Takes the weight off the rig...

http://www.red.com/store/products/battery-belt-clip-dsmc

 

[Jeffrey T. Morgan]

+1 on the belt clip solution. I am looking pretty hard at this, especially if the upcoming power management update is less than perfect.

 

[Michael Shu]

Great find! Can't find any word on if it works with other VL batteries such as my IDXs. Anybody have any experience with these?

 

[Ruff]

A battery belt. Lentequip make excellent ones.

 

[Bill Sepaniak]

You might want to take a look at NRG. They make battery belts and battery vests. Years ago I used their battery belt with my betacam rig. Worked great.

See: http://www.nrgresearch.com/

You would probably need an XLR to Lemo cable.



____________________________________
Scarlet X # 1859 “Bettie Page”
“… preparing to ‘whip’ the competition …”

Zeiss Lenses:

CY 21/2.8
ZF 28/2.0
CY 35-70/3.4
CY 50/1.4
ZF100/2.0

Nikon Lenses:
G 14-24/2.8
G 24-70/2.8
D 80-200/2.8

Tokina Lenses:

11-16/2.8

 

[Michael Shu]

Wow, NRG may be a little overkill for what we'll be needing it for. I didn't see anything related to the off camera power for the red on Lentequip's website. Am I missing it?

 

[Michael Zeleny]

I tried the Quad battery module with XL REDvolts, as an alternative to RED Bricks mounted on the backpack quickplate, with hot swapping enabled by a backup REDvolt in the sidehandle. I prefer the latter solution for weight and balance. I am experimenting with the DSMC battery clip, but my run and gun application is handicapped by tethering the camera to my body. A six-pack of RED Bricks should take you through a 10-hour shooting session. In the light of previously voiced warranty and compatibility concerns, I would be reluctant to use aftermarket power accessories.