Which battery option?

[Christopher Barrett]

There are so many ways to power the Epic that I'm having difficulty deciding which path to take.

I often just use AC power and then use my side handle if I need to go handheld, jib or dolly.

I have 4 RedVolts now. I also have a couple bricks and charger with my R1.

I'm looking to kit everything out to be able to run all day on battery.

That means getting either 2 more R1 Power Packs and some sort of Quickback for the Epic or 5 more RedVolt 4 Packs and the Quad Module... and 2 or 3 more chargers.

It's be a couple grand cheaper to go with bricks. That route seems to also have a smaller form factor and would maybe be less weight on camera.

Opinions?

Thanks!
CB

 

[Tehben Dean]

I like the idea of 2-3 hours on a brick. Could probably run all day with about 4 and never have to recharge. if the XL's are 90wh though then that could be attractive, especially if you aren't running a side handle. No cables hanging around, but currently no D-tap either....

(haven't used either on EPIC yet

 

[Rob Castiglione]

My plan is two or three smaller redvolts for the side handle and wait for the larger XL redvolts as my main powering source. My reason is to finally dispense with loose cables and take full advantage of the modularity of the camera. I think though a fuller picture will emerge when we have to incorporate the i/o module. I am not sure how that is going to work with powering the Epic.

 

[kylebainter]

There are so many ways to power the Epic that I'm having difficulty deciding which path to take.

I often just use AC power and then use my side handle if I need to go handheld, jib or dolly.

I have 4 RedVolts now. I also have a couple bricks and charger with my R1.

I'm looking to kit everything out to be able to run all day on battery.

That means getting either 2 more R1 Power Packs and some sort of Quickback for the Epic or 5 more RedVolt 4 Packs and the Quad Module... and 2 or 3 more chargers.

It's be a couple grand cheaper to go with bricks. That route seems to also have a smaller form factor and would maybe be less weight on camera.

Opinions?

Thanks!
CB

I personally love Anton Bauer. I like how I can put the plate in different configs on the camera, or my recent setup on a battery belt to be very mobile. I also have 8 redvolts so just in case I need to, I can run off side handle for a while. Nice thing about the AB's is that you can run monitors and other accessories from their p-tap....

 

[Demetri Zuev]

I've just increased the number of my Redvolts to 12 and I think that it'll be enough for now.

Maybe I'll get one more 4-pack in the future, but 5 of them is an overkill, IMO. After all, you can recharge them while you shooting and with the Quad charger that's going to be a lot faster.

The only thing I'm missing in my "perfect power option" picture for now is Dual Battery Module.

 

[Ryan De Franco]

Wooden Camera quickplate instantly pops off the back of the camera, soon they will have a plate to put the battery on the back of your shoulder mount, battery belt, etc, wherever you'd like to mount it.

AB batteries never get loose and the grey color and lean profile of Beillen--the european brand-name for globalmediapro--matches the scarlet perfectly. Red bricks have done me well for almost 4 years but the leaner size of AB-lock and affordability of a recognizable name like Beillen made me switch. They give you a free charger if you spend over $1,000 on batteries, which is almost hard to do, given they're half the price of Anton Bauer.

www.beillen.tv

 

[Mark Toia]

Horses for courses I say...

V locks on big rigs... You can't go wrong... and they help balance the camera out on tripods.

Small fast, run and gun hand held jobs, RED VOLTS are the go.. (mind you I just shoot a 1.2 million dollar TVC with 8 RED VOLTS per day for 4 days...) Only because I had
a lot to shoot for each day (sometimes without permits) where size and speed did matter...
Less that 20seconds to de-power, swap out and restart again... did not really upset my day to much.

I wish though the RED-VOLTS would give me an hour, then I'd probably only use 4 a day. Seceret to REDVOLTS, is when the camera is not really in use, just turn it off. ))

I've also been known to hang a V LOCK off my belt or in a bum bag and still have the light portability, Which i think is a good idea too...

 

[Christopher Barrett]

Ryan, do you get a percentage reading from the Beillens on camera?

 

[James Brundige]

I'm testing a few v-mounts, will report in a couple days. I really like the Wooden Camera quick plate, with an ET shuttle mount (a little triangle that holds either REDmote, or, as it turns out, the quick plate.

I keep the shuttle plate on rods, so I can balance the rig and keep the REDmote attached. But for travel or smaller set up, lose the rods, pull the REDmote and replace it with battery mount - 30 second operation.

Waited as long as I could for the quad module, but that won't work anyway without a rack of chargers (until the quad charger arrives). So I'm trying Swit and Switronix batts. My old Sonys have gotten a little tired.

 

[Wim Verbeek]

Àny thoughts about which plate/adapter for V-lock batteries can be used to attach to 19mm rods? Also considering to carry the V-Lock adapter/battery on a belt. Swit + Globalmedia have my attention.

 

[Jon Nash]

Im a big fan of V locks for powering external devices such as follow focus on my Steadicam rig and or my new pix 240 monitor / recorder . Im really keen to see what Switronix has to offer with its new V lock battery which also has a USB port that seems ideal for charging up the redmote. I'm going to try a couple out as I'm in the market for new batteries and I'll report back here.

 

[Wim Verbeek]

James, exactly what i am trying to configure, cause I ordered Redmote too.
Any thoughts about which plate/adapter for V-lock batteries can be used to attach to 19mm rods? Also considering to carry the V-Lock adapter/battery on a belt. Swit adapter + Globalmedia have my attention.

Do I need an ET shuttle mount? Can't find it at woodencamera..
Thx.

 

[Harrison Diamond]

The Shuttle Mount is available from ViewFactor.

 

[roryhinds]

Anton Bauer seems a better option than V Lock.
Better locking system to avoid the battery knocking off. Which happened too many times on my Redone with Red Bricks.

 

[Justin R Goff]

James, exactly what i am trying to configure, cause I ordered Redmote too.
Any thoughts about which plate/adapter for V-lock batteries can be used to attach to 19mm rods? Also considering to carry the V-Lock adapter/battery on a belt. Swit adapter + Globalmedia have my attention.

Do I need an ET shuttle mount? Can't find it at woodencamera..
Thx.

Hey Wim,

Just wanted to list a solution that have available, we've just recently released our ActionProducts SwivelMounts (for our ShoulderMount, 15mm Rods, and 19mm Rods) which allow the mounting of our battery module.

19mm SwivelMount for BatteryModule

The 19mm swivel allows to connect the ActionProducts BatteryModule and the SwapPack to standard 19mm Rods. One knob adjustment with 360° rotation.

• Can mount to the BatteryModule (BatteryModule and Rods not included)
• Provides 360 adjustment
• 19mm Rod setup
• 7075 "Aircraft" aluminum - milled! Anodized

Can mount to either the "Electra" or "Proteus" Available with V-Mount or Anton / Bauer (others to come ...) External mounting options: - 15mm and 19mm rod mounts (with swivel) - Swivel for the razor shoulder-mount etc. 7075 "Aircraft" aluminum - milled! Anodized.

[TD="class: content"] ActionProducts EPIC Battery Module

[/TD]
[TD="width: 20"][/TD]
[TD="width: 180"]
[/TD]

 

[Wim Verbeek]

Hi Justin,
Yeah, this SwivelMount is exactly what i am looking for. Would be nice if it attaches to a V-Lock batterymodule with a longer cable, so I can use this module on a belt also (for more portability run-and-gun situations - I don't like extensioncables- ). Already looked at Globalmediapro and Switronix. I'll have a look at AntonBaauer options...
THX!