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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

Redvolt XL Module now shipping

Did a test...

A redvolt XL will power the camera with a 5" touch LCD for about 90 minutes.
The REDVOLT XL Module can charge the battery as the camera is running off DC and it will take just over 3 hours to fully charge a dead battery.
 
I'll be shooting some of the current projects on EVF Oled only so that will yield great power management.

However, my favorite set up, which will be made out of the +1 Module, 9" and EVF Oled with XL Module, and I'll be pretty happy camper and getting even just about 40 minutes will be plenty good not to go back to use V-Lock's.
 
I'm sounding like a broken record here, I know, but have any european customers recieved an XL module yet? I ordered mine Sep 26 and heavn't heard diddeli squat. Only US deliveries? I know Red Europe had a holiday break, but I would love an estimated time frame. No respons yet from the Bomb dudes.
 
Received this today and love it :-)
Module + battery is 1178 grams together.

I also love the new boxes these ship in, got a very Apple feel to it.
 

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Thanks!
I beleive it was back in mid september. I'm sure you're Bomb Squad rep wil contact you soon :-)

Stefan Viklund said:
Congrats Hans Magnus!! What was your order date?
Click to expand...
 
Bob Gundu said:
Did a test...

A redvolt XL will power the camera with a 5" touch LCD for about 90 minutes.
The REDVOLT XL Module can charge the battery as the camera is running off DC and it will take just over 3 hours to fully charge a dead battery.
Click to expand...

Quadcharger is a must... I just got my charger, with 4 redvolts XLs. I am just waiting for the XL Module. Plus my 4 Redvolts, I was counting on having at least 6 hrs of battery without recharging... you just made my day :) Thanks RED!!!
 
Oh yes I have the quad charger and some travel chargers too. I was just doing the test for my own purposes.

Fernando Tufiño said:
Quadcharger is a must... I just got my charger, with 4 redvolts XLs. I am just waiting for the XL Module. Plus my 4 Redvolts, I was counting on having at least 6 hrs of battery without recharging... you just made my day :) Thanks RED!!!
Click to expand...
 
zak forrest said:
how long to charge an XL battery on a charger other than the module mounted to the camera itself? does it charge any faster ?
Click to expand...

On the Quad Charger it will charger faster. I'll have to check but it might be 90 min to charge.
UPDATE: yup... 80% charge 90 min. Full Charge 120min.

Not sure if you guys aware but RED has pretty good docs now on all the modules. Here's the one on power:
http://s3.amazonaws.com/red_3/downloads/manuals/DSMC Power Operation Guide V1.pdf
 
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Here is a cost/performance comparison of the Redvolt XL system compared to the V mount system. I've gone with a Global Media Pro battery as it can't be beaten for cost/performance/reliability. The Bebob charger and Viewfactor battery plate aren't the cheapest, but they are built tough. If you wanted to go cheaper you could go with the WC battery plate, GMP SCA2S charger + GMP Li95S-HW-R battery and come in at $663. But I cant vouch for the quality of the WC battery plate or GMP charger.

Apart from the faster recharge time and 0B Aux Power there isn't much benefit over the V mount system. But what really clinches it is the fact that you can walk into pretty much any quality camera rental/sales company in the world and they'll have V-mount batteries for sale/rent. Plus V mount batteries also power all sorts of hardware like LED lights, monitors, wireless transmitters, steadicam rigs etc. Add a D-Tap to USB and you can even charge your Iphone. The fact they are available in larger capacities is pretty huge too. And once they no longer hold their charge, they can be re-celled quite economically.

The weight difference isn't too much of an issue. But to put it into perspective, the 87g difference is 1/5th of the 453g difference between the standard Dragon Epic and Carbon Dragon Epic. And people are willing to pay a $21k premium for that.

The Redvolt XL module will charge the battery though. But removing the Quad battery charger and adding an DSMC AC Power Adaptor still puts the whole setup at $1,650...

cost_analysis.jpg
 
Nice breakdown Juan. I don't think many will do just the Redvolt approach. But many do just the Vlocks/Antons. I imagine those that have Redvolts also have the bricks too. When traveling light or going handheld, the revolts are your only choice. When I rent my gear, clients always prefer my Antons... so I keep both. As for costs, there are many people selling used batteries for each system making the cost comparisons tough again!
 
Yeah you are right! I should have mentioned that the standard Redvolts are brilliant. When used with the sidehandle you can't beat them for lightweight use. The Redvolt XLs on the other hand are pushing into and above V-Lock price/weight territory, but with few of the features.

If the Redvolt XL module allowed you to power the camera using two standard Redvolts, then it would be a lot more useful. Have a bunch of Redvolts for 30min each of lightweight use, double them up with the XL module for longer 60min runtime.
 
Juan Melara said:
Yeah you are right! I should have mentioned that the standard Redvolts are brilliant. When used with the sidehandle you can't beat them for lightweight use. The Redvolt XLs on the other hand are pushing into and above V-Lock price/weight territory, but with few of the features.

If the Redvolt XL module allowed you to power the camera using two standard Redvolts, then it would be a lot more useful. Have a bunch of Redvolts for 30min each of lightweight use, double them up with the XL module for longer 60min runtime.
Click to expand...

Sounds like the dual module is for you! 3 batteries with one in the handle too.
 
Juan Melara said:
Here is a cost/performance comparison of the Redvolt XL system compared to the V mount system. I've gone with a Global Media Pro battery as it can't be beaten for cost/performance/reliability. The Bebob charger and Viewfactor battery plate aren't the cheapest, but they are built tough. If you wanted to go cheaper you could go with the WC battery plate, GMP SCA2S charger + GMP Li95S-HW-R battery and come in at $663. But I cant vouch for the quality of the WC battery plate or GMP charger.

Apart from the faster recharge time and 0B Aux Power there isn't much benefit over the V mount system. But what really clinches it is the fact that you can walk into pretty much any quality camera rental/sales company in the world and they'll have V-mount batteries for sale/rent. Plus V mount batteries also power all sorts of hardware like LED lights, monitors, wireless transmitters, steadicam rigs etc. Add a D-Tap to USB and you can even charge your Iphone. The fact they are available in larger capacities is pretty huge too. And once they no longer hold their charge, they can be re-celled quite economically.

The weight difference isn't too much of an issue. But to put it into perspective, the 87g difference is 1/5th of the 453g difference between the standard Dragon Epic and Carbon Dragon Epic. And people are willing to pay a $21k premium for that.

The Redvolt XL module will charge the battery though. But removing the Quad battery charger and adding an DSMC AC Power Adaptor still puts the whole setup at $1,650...

cost_analysis.jpg
Click to expand...

It's a sexy investment.
 
I recognize there's a lot of good reasons to stay with bricks. But just to add a little perspective, I went REDVolts for the following reasons:

Standardized (Quad) Charger - If you're going to use a REDVolt in the side handle and another battery system you need two separate charging systems. The REDVolt travel charger is small and cheap, but if you have more than a few REDVolts that starts becoming less attractive.

No Cord - REDVolts are all internal. Look at a 90 watt brick mounted to a battery back, everything you see is inside a REDVolt XL. No cord to get in the way or get damaged, no need for a sidehandle and REDVolt kit to switch from AC to DC without powering down.

Warranty - Any problems caused by "improper power supplies" may be uncovered per the warranty terms. http://www.red.com/warranties

No RED Modules - Once you put a brick on the back of the camera, that's the end of the line for RED modules or the REDMote dock.

Accessory Mounting - With some of the REDVolt power modules, you can mount stuff on them and even get plates to turn the top and back into cheese plate.

Shoulder Rest - More than a few times I've just rested the bottom of a Quad Module right on my shoulder and picked up a shot.

Form factor - If you look at an Epic from the side with REDVolt power modules mounted, it's level from front to back. For cramped places like UW housings and backpacks, the fact that the camera rig is the same profile from end to end really makes things easier.

Travel - Chargers for bricks are generally big and heavy. With a REDVolt XL Module, I can accept slower charging of XL's and just bring a travel charger and the AC Adaptor (I already need) to charge both types of REDVolt. I'm really looking forward to ditching that 5 lb charger on flights.

One last thought. If you want the security to easily get batteries anywhere, buy a RED Quickplate module and keep it in your kit. If somehow you lose all your REDVolts on the other side of the world, go into your local rental house and pick up some bricks.

Cheers, Jeff
 
Jeff Whitehurst said:
I recognize there's a lot of good reasons to stay with bricks. But just to add a little perspective, I went REDVolts for the following reasons:

Standardized (Quad) Charger - If you're going to use a REDVolt in the side handle and another battery system you need two separate charging systems. The REDVolt travel charger is small and cheap, but if you have more than a few REDVolts that starts becoming less attractive.

No Cord - REDVolts are all internal. Look at a 90 watt brick mounted to a battery back, everything you see is inside a REDVolt XL. No cord to get in the way or get damaged, no need for a sidehandle and REDVolt kit to switch from AC to DC without powering down.

Warranty - Any problems caused by "improper power supplies" may be uncovered per the warranty terms. http://www.red.com/warranties

No RED Modules - Once you put a brick on the back of the camera, that's the end of the line for RED modules or the REDMote dock.

Accessory Mounting - With some of the REDVolt power modules, you can mount stuff on them and even get plates to turn the top and back into cheese plate.

Shoulder Rest - More than a few times I've just rested the bottom of a Quad Module right on my shoulder and picked up a shot.

Form factor - If you look at an Epic from the side with REDVolt power modules mounted, it's level from front to back. For cramped places like UW housings and backpacks, the fact that the camera rig is the same profile from end to end really makes things easier.

Travel - Chargers for bricks are generally big and heavy. With a REDVolt XL Module, I can accept slower charging of XL's and just bring a travel charger and the AC Adaptor (I already need) to charge both types of REDVolt. I'm really looking forward to ditching that 5 lb charger on flights.

One last thought. If you want the security to easily get batteries anywhere, buy a RED Quickplate module and keep it in your kit. If somehow you lose all your REDVolts on the other side of the world, go into your local rental house and pick up some bricks.

Cheers, Jeff
Click to expand...



But you forgot one thing, very important: Power distribution. The quad suck in that regard, not much to say about that. And it seams (have not done any testings my self) that XL seams a bit better but still not enough for every day use, more like a little sexy thing to have when running with the camera shooting on your own, but for rental and production purposes it's not enough, you need to be able to drag more power out the camera than that.

Any FF system simply need to be able to run from the camera battery, and to do so together with screens, wireless Video sync boxes etc.

I like these small batteries but I think for rental purposes and real production then they are simply to weak and does not have the needed lifetime. Camera crew will for sure complain, talk shit about RED and do that normal little routine that they always do... :)


But I think I will order this thing any way.
 
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