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Red BRICK powering a Scarlet-X ?

George D.

George D.

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In some Scarlet/Epic camera configurations on this forum I have seen a Red Brick Battery being used to power the camera.

Will the Scarlet-X last longer powered via a Brick than the batteries that fit inside the Side Handle? How long, in comparison, if shooting 4K HD ?

Can you have both types of batteries hooked up at the same time?

Will the Red Brick Battery Cable for the Red-One also work on the Scarlet-X ?

Thanks.

.
 
I was under the impression that Epic comes with a power adapter cable that allows it to use RED1 power options, so hopefully this will also be the case with Scarlet. There has been some talk that Scarlet will have less power draw than Epic, which would be expected given its lower powered hardware. I've heard as little as 20min for REDVOLT battery life in Epic, that seems nearly unusable since you'd practically have to cnange batteries every take to avoid losing power during a take, no?
 
Well, I suppose it depends how long your takes are. Even a 1 minute take is generally on the long side on the narrative side. Plus there are battery modules for the Red Volts (coming) that will allow for continuous power with hot swap capabilities.

If you had to go so light as to power through the single battery in the handle, the 12 or so second bootup time of the Epic makes it doable.

The battery cable adapter is not a "comes with" but a $190 option. Just so people won't be saying, where's my cable. You have to order it.
 
Yes you can have the Side handle with redvolt in and a Red brick attached to the epic at the same time and you can hot swap out the brick when it goes and it will go to pulling power form the redvolt till you put a new brick on. I like that set up.
 
If you go with RedBricks from the Ground up ... the Ceapest Setup would be:

$550 Charger
$290 Belt V-Mount
$900 for 2 Bricks

This would cost $1740 and power the Scarlet for around 3 Hours
In these 3 Hours you can recarge one Brick. Total Power on the
RedBrick Solution: 4.5 Hours

For the $1740 you could also get 9 Redvolts. Their Power would last for 3.75 Hours
In these 3.75 Hours you get 2 Redvolts recharged ... so the Redvolt-Solution
would sustain Power for 4.5 Hours

ergo: Same Running Times.

The Brick would be a nice Counterweight for handheld Rigs
The Redvolt has a small and therefore portable recharger

Any other considerations that would make one Solution stand out?
 
I'm getting much more than 120 minutes on my epic from the brick. I can continuously power the epic for 2 hours on a brick half the size of the red brick.
 
Sascha Rossier said:
If you go with RedBricks from the Ground up ... the Ceapest Setup would be:

$550 Charger
$290 Belt V-Mount
$900 for 2 Bricks

This would cost $1740 and power the Scarlet for around 3 Hours
In these 3 Hours you can recarge one Brick. Total Power on the
RedBrick Solution: 4.5 Hours

For the $1740 you could also get 9 Redvolts. Their Power would last for 3.75 Hours
In these 3.75 Hours you get 2 Redvolts recharged ... so the Redvolt-Solution
would sustain Power for 4.5 Hours

ergo: Same Running Times.

The Brick would be a nice Counterweight for handheld Rigs
The Redvolt has a small and therefore portable recharger

Any other considerations that would make one Solution stand out?
Click to expand...

You are missing some things in your REDVOLT list:

$1k side handle
$250 2x travel chargers

That leaves $500 for batteries, which is only enough for 2 REDVOLT batteries: 1 Hr run time and you have to change batteries every 20-30 min.

140wh REDBRICKS cost $3.21/Wh
30wh REDVOLTS cost $6.67/Wh

It is also worth noting that the V-mount option opens up the possibility of a wide variety of 3rd party batteries that cost anywhere from $1.5-3/Wh and make much better investments and rental items as they work with a wide variety of cameras and other equipment, unlike REDVOLTs.

Also your calculations seem to imply different camera power consumption for each battery system. Your calculations assume 93W draw for REDBRICKs and 72W for REDVOLT, whereas if anything it would be the other way around since in my understanding, for most battery technologies, actual capacity decreases as current draw increases and more so for lower capacity cells. Also, one might assume you'd need to be changing out batteries when they have x minutes of capacity left, so that x minutes of run time will get wasted every 20-30 min on REDVOLTS but only every 2hrs on REDBRICKs.
 
Erm ... handle is included in Scarlet Package ... and one Travel-Charger will be enough ... but anyway ... it was a quick and dirty calculation considering the RED Solutions ... RED Solutions aren't the cheapest normally ;-)

So yay ... you're right: Thats why I ordered 3 Global Media Pro 160wh Batteries and Charger for around $1100. Plus a Switronix RED battery plate, and a red cable to hook up the r1 connection to the Scarlet power connector, thats another $340 (courtesy of Reduser Zac C) ... can't get any cheaper than this!
 
All you guys have been most helpful. Thank you.

What I'm going to do is use our Red Charger and 4 Red Bricks with the adapter cable, and 1 RedVolt Travel Charger with 4 RedVolt Batteries. That ought to take care of any eventuality in the field while doing documentaries.

.
 
Sascha Rossier said:
Erm ... handle is included in Scarlet Package ... and one Travel-Charger will be enough ... but anyway ... it was a quick and dirty calculation considering the RED Solutions ... RED Solutions aren't the cheapest normally ;-)
Click to expand...

They are included for full price... :P It is important to recognize that just because the $14k kit includes them, that doesn't mean you need them or that you are saving any money by buying their kit. Personally I'm not sure I'm that interested in their REDVOLTS, side-handle, or touchscreen given the pricepoints and given the camera can be used without them and instead with batteries and LCDs that are higher spec'ed and lower priced and work with a broader range of other equipment. I'd rather save the $4k and spend it on batteries that will last all day and on some media or maybe even an external recorder and some lenses. Oh yeah and a redmote.
 
Sascha Rossier said:
Erm ... handle is included in Scarlet Package ... and one Travel-Charger will be enough ... but anyway ... it was a quick and dirty calculation considering the RED Solutions ... RED Solutions aren't the cheapest normally ;-)

So yay ... you're right: Thats why I ordered 3 Global Media Pro 160wh Batteries and Charger for around $1100. Plus a Switronix RED battery plate, and a red cable to hook up the r1 connection to the Scarlet power connector, thats another $340 (courtesy of Reduser Zac C) ... can't get any cheaper than this!
Click to expand...


So wait... how exactly will you be mounting your Switronix RED battery plate to your Scarlet without another plate?
 
Scarlet warrrenty and mix'n match power options?

Scarlet warrrenty and mix'n match power options?

Sascha Rossier said:
Erm ... handle is included in Scarlet Package ... and one Travel-Charger will be enough ... but anyway ... it was a quick and dirty calculation considering the RED Solutions ... RED Solutions aren't the cheapest normally ;-)

So yay ... you're right: Thats why I ordered 3 Global Media Pro 160wh Batteries and Charger for around $1100. Plus a Switronix RED battery plate, and a red cable to hook up the r1 connection to the Scarlet power connector, thats another $340 (courtesy of Reduser Zac C) ... can't get any cheaper than this!
Click to expand...


Good thread...

Does anyone know if RED gets “sqwiffy” or difficult about using 3rd party HW and components?

For example if you use other manufacturer’s battery packs and something goes wrong with your Scarlet, does your warranty go up in smoke because you used non-red power/battery packs etc.?

Just wondered if that (in principal) is an important consideration when pulling together a “package” of one’s own mix and match design.

Any answers to this would be greatly appreciated…

Cheers,

Eric
 
Eric Lange said:
Good thread...

Does anyone know if RED gets “sqwiffy” or difficult about using 3rd party HW and components?

For example if you use other manufacturer’s battery packs and something goes wrong with your Scarlet, does your warranty go up in smoke because you used non-red power/battery packs etc.?

Just wondered if that (in principal) is an important consideration when pulling together a “package” of one’s own mix and match design.

Any answers to this would be greatly appreciated…

Cheers,

Eric
Click to expand...

Good point! VERY good point.

I'd like to know that myself.

.
 
Eric Lange said:
Good thread...

Does anyone know if RED gets “sqwiffy” or difficult about using 3rd party HW and components?

For example if you use other manufacturer’s battery packs and something goes wrong with your Scarlet, does your warranty go up in smoke because you used non-red power/battery packs etc.?

Just wondered if that (in principal) is an important consideration when pulling together a “package” of one’s own mix and match design.

Any answers to this would be greatly appreciated…

Cheers,

Eric
Click to expand...

Well we don't have all the money in the world but were just going all RED equipment. Not only for warranty purposes, but also for functionality, and useability. Yes RED stuff is expensive, but it's also the best, and covered under warranties. I'm not throwing tens of thousands of dollars at my camera package, and expect everything to go alright when I put a third party battery package, or SSD's, or whatever stuff is out there. What happens if the battery spikes and burns up a board in my SCARLET? When I try to redeem my warranty, they are going to want to know what battery pack I was using... No way, I'm playing it safe with all RED equipment. Yes it does cost more, but there is a reason...
 
That’s my thinking also… it might be a “false economy” if you get stiffed for $6K repair bill. Just wondered if there was genuinely any latitude there?

The RED media makes a lot of sense as there is probably nothing else out there that is properly matched to the camera.

E

I’m not expecting massive failures but from time to time these “instruments” have been known to go on the blink and I am trying to avoid giving RED any excuse to void my warranty. Should probably read the fine print VERY carefully.
 
Eric Lange said:
Good thread...

Does anyone know if RED gets “sqwiffy” or difficult about using 3rd party HW and components?

For example if you use other manufacturer’s battery packs and something goes wrong with your Scarlet, does your warranty go up in smoke because you used non-red power/battery packs etc.?

Just wondered if that (in principal) is an important consideration when pulling together a “package” of one’s own mix and match design.

Any answers to this would be greatly appreciated…

Cheers,

Eric
Click to expand...

I am sure they are careful about what they condone, and it may be the case that if they can prove your 3rd party battery was what blew out your Scarlet's power system they might not cover it, but far too many people out there are using 3rd party battery systems for it to be much of a warranty issue, and RED sells EPIC/Scarlet-to-XLR power cables and other power cables so it will not void your warranty. I imagine in most cases, they cannot even tell how you've been powering your camera when you send it in for warranty service.
 
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