Redvolt recell

[Christopher Lowden]

I am looking to recell my 2 redvolt batteries that seem to no longer able to charge past 75%. I hate throwing away and so I was wondering if anyone knows if there is a low cost supplier able to recell them, preferably in Europe?
thanks for any replies.

 

[Bob Gundu]

Here's an option.
http://www.reduser.net/forum/showth...-speculation&p=1466565&viewfull=1#post1466565

 

[Christopher Lowden]

Sounds crazy to me but then again I am no battery specialist. I will give it a try and keep you informed.
Many thanks

 

[Christopher Lowden]

48 hours later: After having completely uncharged 2 redvolt batteries (numerous restarts of the camera so that the camera does not start at all) and placed them in closed plastic bags with as little air as possible in them. The batteries spent 12 hours in a freezer on the top shelf (keep batteries well away from ice). I defrosted at air temp for 10 hours and recharged them. One battery had gone from 60 to 80%, the other stayed at 60%. Repeated the process and the battery that was at 80% went to 95%, the other one started foaming white powder but after cleaning and charging the battery continues to function at 60%.
Conclusion is that I am not sure if this freezing really woks. Try it if you have nothing to lose.
Also, don't waste your time trying to open the battery. The battery is sealed and a metal plate is very well stuck on it for the red branding. The metal breaks very easily.
I hope this helps someone

 

[Suresh Kara]

i honestly wish i never wrote that because i seem to be the only one it worked for.
It did work for me 100%, excuse the pun

 

[Christopher Lowden]

Don't feel bad. I hâve a net gain of 30%. What annoys me is that red does not have a recycling solution. Not only are the batteries expensive, they don't last very long from all I can gather. Contrary to many I find the redvolts very useful indeed.

 

[Elsie N]

Don't feel bad. I hâve a net gain of 30%. What annoys me is that red does not have a recycling solution. Not only are the batteries expensive, they don't last very long from all I can gather. Contrary to many I find the redvolts very useful indeed.

I'm no battery expert (else I would be working for Elon Musk about now '-) but I would like to see them take a different approach on Redvolt type batteries.

That is, make them a battery PACK with say, four Li AA batteries inside a case that we could insert and remove at will. This would make it easier to fly with batteries and would make the battery purchase last longer.

They could put a tit on their own proprietary AA battery for all I care, so they could keep revenue flow from the accessory. But they would benefit from a lot less targeted disgust when a battery won't fully charge.

Time to think like Elon... do something different.

 

[Terry VerHaar]

I also tried the freezer thing and didn't see any real change; both Revolts and XLs. Would also love for RVs to be a little more reliable.

 

[Christopher Lowden]

Below is the reply I got from red:

Due to the nature of the batteries materials unfortunately we are unable to repair or recell them.

If they are not performing to specification we will be able to evaluate them and replace if necessary.

 

[Christopher Lowden]

Concerning putting lithium AAs as a replacement for RVs, the AAs need to be far more powerful than anything I have seen.
The real issue for me is that red cameras are extremely power consumptive. They generate far more heat than any camera I can think of. Compared tio a C300, the epic is hugely power inefficient. For me red's power consumption is its greatest flaw. I understand that red want to keep their place in the market by upping the resolution but at some point there is only so much res you need. A more power efficient camera would be a big plus. That said , the Alexa is very poor too but I don't remember it running as hot as my epic. Are their any spec on power consumption for the weapon?

 

[Christopher Lowden]

Below is the details for the redvolt after sales service from red:

"Due to the nature of the batteries materials unfortunately we are unable to repair or recell them.

If they are not performing to specification we will be able to evaluate them and replace if necessary."

 

[Maik Müller]

Concerning putting lithium AAs as a replacement for RVs, the AAs need to be far more powerful than anything I have seen.
The real issue for me is that red cameras are extremely power consumptive. They generate far more heat than any camera I can think of. Compared tio a C300, the epic is hugely power inefficient. For me red's power consumption is its greatest flaw. I understand that red want to keep their place in the market by upping the resolution but at some point there is only so much res you need. A more power efficient camera would be a big plus. That said , the Alexa is very poor too but I don't remember it running as hot as my epic. Are their any spec on power consumption for the weapon?

To be fair, the power-consumption isn't just about resolution. While this and fps are playing their parts, the most heat is generated by that crazy chipset doing the encoding to REDRAW, which is a way superior codec than what the C300 uses. It's Wavelet-based REDRAW vs. 8bit Long-GOP-MPEG2.

Saying the EPIC is hugely power inefficient isn't right if you look at the whole picture. It is not one of RED's strengths but you get something great in return if you accept the shorter battery-time and heat. Compare the formfactor + runtime + quality of internally recorded raw files to film-cameras, that puts things into a different perspective too.

Anyway, i hope we will see some significant improvements coming with Weapon and maybe some new REDVOLTs too.

 

[Christopher Lowden]

You are right. Technically, Red is the most adventurous and advanced of the mainstream production camera. And there lies the problem. The "industry" is conservative and production avoids taking risks. Therefore Arri have a very expensive product that reassures production. It has even managed to convince much of the industry that it is more technically advanced. On the other side is canon, sony etc who also have a very pragmatic approach with efficient systems that make nice looking pictures but are technically inferior. And Red sits in the middle, the dreamers choice, trying to dance between the 2, very different, markets. .Lately, I feel Red has moved away from the conservative production market and gone for the sexy, dynamic "shoot your extreme sport" in 6K market. Personally, I would find it very tedious to have to change batteries every 20mins whilst doing this sort of thing. Stills photographers must find it tedious too.
But you are right, wavelet compression in real time with high frame rates is a real technical achievement that no one else is doing in such a small box. Sadly, I think the market prefers longer batteries and a 2K prores (where think they have 16stops of dynamic range) than 5K.

 

[Maik Müller]

Technically, Red is the most adventurous and advanced of the mainstream production camera. And there lies the problem. The "industry" is conservative and production avoids taking risks. Therefore Arri have a very expensive product that reassures production. It has even managed to convince much of the industry that it is more technically advanced.

ARRI owns the industry for a long time, it's hard for an underdog to fight such a goliath. But look at what RED has archived after just a few years of presence - i think it's astonishing.

On the other side is canon, sony etc who also have a very pragmatic approach with efficient systems that make nice looking pictures but are technically inferior. And Red sits in the middle, the dreamers choice, trying to dance between the 2, very different, markets.

I agree, except for the trying. They ARE dancing on different markets, from big Hollywood-productions to small independent and no-budget stuff. RED is everywhere. It's not just chosen by dreamers but for many RED was the reason to dream again. Lots of people had a jump-start because of RED.

RED is also one of the forces that made the camera-market push into new territories. We wouldn't have that many choices and lower prices if there wasn't RED pushing 4k and Scarlet into the market. Can you imagine what would have happened if that 3k-Scarlet came to life?

Lately, I feel Red has moved away from the conservative production market and gone for the sexy, dynamic "shoot your extreme sport" in 6K market.

I don't think that. RED is showing support for all markets and is listening to all their customers. What gets posted here by Jarred and co is just a matter of personal taste. Also keep in mind it's probably easier to get the allowance to publish such stuff here, it's mostly published to the web anyway, while the more conservative market is VERY conservative in any way.

It's probably not that easy to make a RED Collective portrait of P.J.

Personally, I would find it very tedious to have to change batteries every 20mins whilst doing this sort of thing. Stills photographers must find it tedious too.
But you are right, wavelet compression in real time with high frame rates is a real technical achievement that no one else is doing in such a small box.

Not that fair. A single REDVOLT is just one of the many options you have to power your RED. It's THAT one option to keep your 6kRAW-cinema-camera as small and light as possible, to put it into a more DSLR like form. That is doing a trick for many situations, but it shouldn't be considered as the standard-setup.

For me the Dual-Battery-module did the trick, 3 REDVOLTs are a good compromise and the camera is still usable in handheld-mode. The XL-module is probably the better option today, i'll soon upgrade to that one. And if i really need longer runtime, there is still that (underrated) QUAD-module. And then there are also many ways to use V-mounts and other batteries.

You don't HAVE to change batteries every 20mins, but you have the option to go small.

BTW, a freshly charged REDVOLT holds up for more than 30min in my Scarlet.

Sadly, I think the market prefers longer batteries and a 2K prores (where think they have 16stops of dynamic range) than 5K.

I don't think the whole market prefers that, but i see reasons why people would do. It's all about having options and choosing the right tool for your needs.