V-mount vs Gold-mount

[Tom S]

When I first bought Anton Bauer batteries about 6-years ago, v-mount and gold-mount seemed about equal in usage, but now I see almost everything offered as v-mount. Has this become the more popular standard now?

 

[Phil Holland]

Depends on your zone really.

Globally V-Mount is more used.

However, in major markets Gold-Mount is pretty common. Comes down to what you prefer really. Some people fear V-Mounts popping off, they shouldn't do that in reality.

Whichever way you go, I strongly recommend grabbing an adapter plate for whatever isn't your main battery mount type so when that time comes you can just slap it on.

I use V-Mount, but I also shoot sort of everywhere.

 

[Peter Lyons Collister ASC]

I have to say that we just had this discussion today on the set. I personally have never liked V mount. Hate them in a soft way. Gold mount is so much more robust in my opinion and I see it used by feature ACs much more than V mount.
But I welcome other's opinions.

 

[Dan Kanes]

Harsh opinion: V in V mount stands for "Very much Sucks." the "eject" button of death, and the poor interface connector that are inherently part of the design of V mount are why so many Red One Cameras would randomly shut down during a take from getting ever so gently Jostled, thereby harming the reputation of reliability in the early days of Red.

See also "Why Won't My Red Brick Charge?"

 

[Michael Lindsay]

V-lock at its worst is a complete disaster BUT we have them (Pags) as everything (UK) seems to need them... We are very carefull about every battery and plate we buy and there are some shit plates for Red cameras that have caused us stress... If we went AB we would still need some Vlocks as well..

 

[Jake Wilganowski]

Gold mount all day aye-day

 

[Matthew J]

As a v-mount owner, I would saw gold mount is better. There are just far less connection issues with them as the battery to plate interface is just a better design. So if you are starting off fresh and aren't so concerned about needing to rent batteries, then gold mount is the better option.

 

[D Fuller]

If you buy quality, I think both are very good. But I think gold mount is a more robust design that survives bad manufacturing better than V-mount does, and is less prone to heat-caused distortion that can affect the contacts on V-mounts in high-draw setups (like Red cameras).

So go with the batteries that are most available where you are (so you can rent when you need to) but buy quality, high-amperage rated batteries, and you should have few regrets.

 

[Brendan H. Banks]

As someone a couple grand in V-mounts deep, I will be swapping over to Gold when my fleet of bricks needs re-celling. They're totally fine and I don't hate as much as other folks seem to, but I just don't see any reason not to go gold mount. Plus you can get a Gold/V sandwich plate and be off to the races. The other way around is far less secure...

 

[John M Taylor]

The V-lock receiver mechanism on the battery belt clip has a different design and provides a more secure connection to the V-lock mount clip on the battery than the V-lock receiver on any of the RED expander modules. A secure power connection to the battery helps ensure reliable operation of the camera.

 

[Guidofilippi]

A veteran Steadicam operator told me recently that if he goes "low mode" the V-mounts tend to disconnect as the V stays inverted and the battery slides down slightly, enough to fail intermittently...

 

[Marcus Friedlander]

I honestly see absolutey no reason to voluntarily use a V-mount battery over a Gold Mount battery on camera.

At the end of the day, The Gold Mount interface is mechanically more secure, and therefore more trustworthy. Full stop.

 

[Remington Chase]

You only have to have one V mount disconnect fail to never use them again. On pro shoots you will only see Gold mount.

 

[David Bourla]

V mount is a terrible design. Gold mount is rock solid.

 

[Nick Gardner]

The person who designed the V mount battery interface should be prosecuted. It's criminally stupid.

 

[Yuki Noguchi]

Gold mount is definitely more solid by design, but just to support some V-mount side, I have not popped my V-mount even I hit them pretty hard for long time. Red Bricks on Red One were the last V-mount I popped. They were terrible. I am curious what kind of V-mount batteries or plates people are using. AB batteries tend to be less efficient for the size and weight. V-mount is also cost effective in my opinion. D-tap seems to be very limited on AB mount more often than V-mount. But that locking mechanism will not come off for sure, so thats one good thing over V-mount. Other than that, I don't know what else AB mount is better than V-mount.

 

[Erich Roland]

The V mount is more broadcast-video oriented, and as many have said is not a reliable system. Anton Bauer (3 pin) is much better connection.

 

[David Bourla]

V mount is not a good design.

 

[Björn Benckert]

The new thing is B mount. So soon all this V and gold mount discussion is a thing of the past.

 

[John David James]

hmmm...... b-mount does sound interesting.