Final, cheap battery solution (European users)

Guys,

I'm still trying to find an external battery for my blackmagic. I know IKAN has a nice plate that would permit me to use my canon 5d's batteries, but the IKAN reseller here in Italy just decided not to sell Ikan's anymore.

Can you direct me to some kind of cheap, easy solution? I'm talking to European USErs because I'd prefer to buy things from europe, in order to avoid taxes i would pay by buying from USA.

Thanks!

Sorry I can't help you here. I was thinking about that cheap solution as well, but considering that these things, if I recall correctly, can only mount two e.g. Canon batteries at once - and coming from a 7D - and the BMC eating more power than a DSLR, you'll have to carry around a sh*tload of those Canon batteries with you. So that was a nogo for me.

And the switronix pb70 is for sure a very comfy solution but quite pricey - so I'm looking for manageable alternativers as well.

The Ikan for Sony BP-U should work really well. It's a 14.4v battery and you can find them on ebay for around $80 (oem) which is cheap compared to v mount.

Someone at the bmcuser-forum* had some good experiences with these ones as a cheap interim-solution, should have a fitting plug as well

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005NGKR54

I ordered one to take it with me to Oz to welcome my BMC there, so I can't give you any hint how it performs before the end of April.

*EDIT: here's the according post by randyman: http://www.bmcuser.com/showthread.php?3 ... #post51877

I would love to know how the Anker works...this seems like it could be pretty promising and extremely cheap.

Just be aware when ordering, that there is a similiar cheaper model which doesn't output 9/12 V (that's the one on amazon.de).

I use the iksn. Adapter works but the sony battery npf is another story. Its a real pain to charge. I eould like to test other batteries instead of this one. I cant tell how much charge it has. And charging is sooo long.

This one has a 16v mode which might be better. If the BMCC runs on 12-30v, I would be worried about running a 12v battery (hence the 14.4v and 14.8v external battery packs that are offered). Also, if I am not mistaken, being over the voltage, it will actually charge the internal battery of the camera while running it.

http://www.amazon.com/20000mAh-Multi-vo ... UTF8&psc=1

Jartanyon,

thanks for that link! I though the same a bout the 12V output but consideri ng the cheap price and the good experiences with the BMC a user on the bmcuser-forum had (see my link above) I'll give it a try.

Hi lads.
Im looking for feedback on the anker battery solution....
Has anyone powered the bm with it yet?
Please let us know how you get on... and what capacity battery you are using.
Thanks

Sorry I'm not a European User... but... I have the Anker Astro 3 (bought off ebay - Search for: Anker Astro3 External Battery Pack 10000mAh 5V 9V 12V 2A iPad3 iPhone Galaxy Tab) it at least doubles the run time of the camera. The Anker can put out 9v or 12v comes with a charger and the main power cable fits the BMCC socket. The PB70 is rated at 14.5volts the Anker is slightly under that at 12volts, I do also think the PB70 is of higher Amperage too, hence the reason it lasts longer.

A rough guess:

The Anker will at least Double the run time
The PB70 will Quadruple.... so take that into consideration when thinking about price.

So the PB70 is 3/4 times the power.

I have noticed the Anker gets very warm and drains quickly which also shows that it only just copes with powering the BMCC. I was concerned that the power might be weak? Meaning the BMCC loses its power whilst sitting turned off. But I came home today after topping it up with the Anker last night and the BMCC is still showing 100% which is promising. I have noted my BMCC, when turned on, drains down to 50% within half an hour so its a power hungry beast!

In the long term the PB70 seems to be the current best option. Would I get two Ankers? Not sure, I might end up ponying up for the Switronix. But I'm hoping another company comes out with a cheaper alternative who knows maybe NAB might have some goodies in store.

For me the Anker was a cheap, quick solution, for you guys in TAX land it could be throwing money away. At least with the PB70 it will hold its value for resale and will definitely power your BMCC for a shoot.

I can't see where it says 12V? In specification I see
http://www.amazon.de/10-000mAh-Ladeger% ... stro+20000
Ausgang: 2x USB 5V / 3A (@3A insgesamt max) --> (Output) 2x USB 5V @ maximum of 3A
Wish this would be available in Germany http://www.ianker.com/product/79AN20L-SA

I can't see where it says 12V? In specification I see
http://www.amazon.de/10-000mAh-Ladeger% ... stro+20000
Ausgang: 2x USB 5V / 3A (@3A insgesamt max) --> (Output) 2x USB 5V @ maximum of 3A
Wish this would be available in Germany http://www.ianker.com/product/79AN20L-SA

Thats because your link is the Anker Astro3E not the Anker Astro3.

...........Deleted

Anybody in germany tried this one?
http://www.amazon.de/XTPower-MP-10000-P ... ker+astro3

Maybe is your one gmf?

I think im going to order it now..

Seems to be okay from the specs .. Do you already have a camera? Please tell me as soon as you can if it works (after receiving the amazon package, of course )
PLEASE

Sure, tomorrow arrives and i will test it

Yes, i have the camera since 31 jan... but as you know, the wheater was not so much right to test it in a proper way... the sky was always in grayscale (well, good to check the range maybe..)

Anybody in germany tried this one?
http://www.amazon.de/XTPower-MP-10000-P ... ker+astro3

Maybe is your one gmf?

I think im going to order it now..

From the specs could be mine - I'm at work now so can't check. And I ordered it at amazon.co.uk as the German amazon didn't have one with 12V output at that time. But I'm still w/o my BMC, will touch her on April 16th.

soon man, just a few days, congrats

as i said, tomorrow will check it, then i should invent something to put it on the rig. Bauhaus time

So, german guys and expat guys in germany
today arrived this one: http://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B006N48 ... os_product
I just performed a quick test. I plugged the device with the fabrik charge, just using the standard cable, i dont need to adapt any other plug.
i had 75% battery on the camera and started to charge it till 100%
Then i was shooting a few (with the external battery), touching the menu etc etc, and the camera still showing 100% with the plug icon. So, after a 30 minutes test, i can tell you guys that it works.

Now i´m thinking how to attach the devide to the rig... cos its absolutly flat

Great! Thanks for confirming that it works.

If you read this in wednesday: any news already how long it lasts maybe?

soon man, just a few days, congrats

as i said, tomorrow will check it, then i should invent something to put it on the rig. Bauhaus time

thx, looking sooo forward to it

what I ordered to get the Anker onto the rig are these:

a crab clamp (search for Crab Clamp Tongs Pliers+1/4-3/8"Screw+Flash Hot Shoe Adapter for Canon Speedlite) which I will fix on a rod with a >1/4" Screw Rod Clamp Holder for Rod Support< or a Friction Articulating Magic Arm.

I will post a pic of my supercheap rig once I'm there.

[quote="Albert N. Romero"]So, german guys and expat guys in germany
today arrived this one: http://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B006N48 ... os_product
I just performed a quick test. I plugged the device with the fabrik charge, just using the standard cable, i dont need to adapt any other plug.
i had 75% battery on the camera and started to charge it till 100%
Then i was shooting a few (with the external battery), touching the menu etc etc, and the camera still showing 100% with the plug icon. So, after a 30 minutes test, i can tell you guys that it works.

Now i´m thinking how to attach the devide to the rig... cos its absolutly flat



GREAT!

Any news how long it lasts??? You're the man!

I was just goin' through german ebay and found this from the same company. this should even work better (also chance for using 16v) with more battery power --> lasts longer http://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B005N92 ... =1&s=ce-de

Hi guys,

I'm following the thread, too. Thanks to Albert for checking out the battery, I'm also looking forward to hear about the runtime you get with it. Of course it's not a professional solution, but if it's reliable and there is an elegant way to mount it, I don't see why not to go with it.

http://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B005N92WNG/ref=noref?ie=UTF8&psc=1&s=ce-de

Could be difficult to mount it to a rig. It's pretty big and three times as heavy.. Plus it's not even double the capacity, but almost double the price. I'd rather get two or more of the smaller ones, so you can charge one battery while working with the other one.

http://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B005N92WNG/ref=noref?ie=UTF8&psc=1&s=ce-de

Could be difficult to mount it to a rig. It's pretty big and three times as heavy.. Plus it's not even double the capacity, but almost double the price. I'd rather get two or more of the smaller ones, so you can charge one battery while working with the other one.[/quote]

Good point.. will reconsider this. Albert we deperately wait for your results

I was shooting today 45 minutes in prores but really i didn´t turn off the camera during 60 minutes.
The battery has 4 lights to show +/- the remaining charge (4x25%). When i connect the battery to the camera, the first light turned off inmediatly, 30-35 minutes after that (aprox), the second light turned off - I suppose when one light is turned off, means the battery is using that 25%.
The temperature after 60 min was optima, you can feel that is working, but its not even warm, maybe like a macbook when you use it just to write on this forum

Of course is very aprox. but i would like to believe that (doing calculations) the battery should give up to 2h.30m (well, maybe not so high if recording and playing with the menu all the time)

Comparing that with standard batteries of prosumer-proffesional videocameras (90 min) from sony etc etc, and some dslr, i want to believe that its a good deal.
Also you can charge it with the car´s lighter, good way when you need to charge it and send "the production assistant" to buy water at the same time- while you use the bmcc battery.

Alsox2: you can power your SSD bay-reader on field

Also, i´m designing a cage for the batt., (thats the sketch) - im probably going to use aluminium and foam for the interior in some parts. I put the battery from top of the cage, so i´m going to put something to dont let it move if i want it horizontal.

the top

also, bottom part has a cheesy plate. To attach a screw to fix to the camera (as you can see in the photo with a hotshoe) and two small holes to put one of those http://www.aminimart.com/media/catalog/ ... /_/1_6.jpg

I was shooting today 45 minutes in prores but really i didn´t turn off the camera during 60 minutes.
The battery has 4 lights to show +/- the remaining charge (4x25%). When i connect the battery to the camera, the first light turned off inmediatly, 30-35 minutes after that (aprox), the second light turned off - I suppose when one light is turned off, means the battery is using that 25%.
The temperature after 60 min was optima, you can feel that is working, but its not even warm, maybe like a macbook when you use it just to write on this forum

Of course is very aprox. but i would like to believe that (doing calculations) the battery should give up to 2h.30m (well, maybe not so high if recording and playing with the menu all the time)

Comparing that with standard batteries of prosumer-proffesional videocameras (90 min) from sony etc etc, and some dslr, i want to believe that its a good deal.
Also you can charge it with the car´s lighter, good way when you need to charge it and send "the production assistant" to buy water at the same time- while you use the bmcc battery.

Alsox2: you can power your SSD bay-reader on field

Also, i´m designing a cage for the batt., (thats the sketch) - im probably going to use aluminium and foam for the interior in some parts. I put the battery from top of the cage, so i´m going to put something to dont let it move if i want it horizontal.

the top

also, bottom part has a cheesy plate. To attach a screw to fix to the camera (as you can see in the photo with a hotshoe) and two small holes to put one of those http://www.aminimart.com/media/catalog/ ... /_/1_6.jpg

so it is 2,5h + the 1,5h from the internal battery, right?
Do you feel it is charging BMCC'S internal battery fast or very slow (it has just about 2A output, right)?
Glad you made that test..
Is it possible that you first fully charge the battery (of BMC and External Battery) and leave with the BMCC in idle mode on till its completely empty? Due to your estimation it should be on for about 4h...

Thanks for your tests and sharing!

Thanks a lot for the info.... really helpfull...
Please let us know how long you get out it (when you get time to use it fully), and if you manage to improve the mounting options.
Good job.
Thanks again

Thanks for reporting back, Albert N. Romero, good news!

Hi again, here is a new test.
I left the camera fixed with the external battery, shooting in prores w my first **** ssd (kingston ssdnowv200+ -> dont buy it, buy a sandisk extreme) from 11.00 now (gt+1) It´s 13.00 and i decided to turn off the camera and the external battery cos i dont want to force more time the camera today.
I found that the external battery still has a led turned on (1 of the 4) after 2 hours, (so maybe can reach up to 3h.... who knows... taking a online calculator for batteries, it says that should work till 3,5hours -> i suppose it will be in stand by)
The camera stills showing a 100% battery charge. I think the bmcc battery only has 45-60 minutes shooting and 90 min stand by, so, i could say the minimal time that we can get in total (with both batteries) in a non-stop shooting, should be 3h.

I believe that i´m not gonna reach to the end of both batteries... never... (and i dont want to managae and edit more than 3h of video stuff.... 3hours of DNG´s, holly crap, no)

Wow, thanks, 3 hours sounds great.

Nice! more than three hours... just ordered one!

how long is the cable for plugging into the camera?
longer than 30cm.. just asking because of my shoulder rig?

I have mine now too.. but cant make any tests because camera isnt there yet..

Any new experience with the battery alberto?

I produced a cheap portable battery source with some inexpensive batteries from Harbor Freight, here in California.

Essentially, I use an 18 volt battery sold by the company to power their Drill Master power tools. Battery currently selling for $ 12.99. I bought two of the chargers at $4.99 each, one for actual charging, and one for gutting and converting to adapter to send power down a cord to the camera. I got the proper size plug at Radio Shack to accomplish the actual plugin.

I got about 1 hour and 15 minutes extra time from a single battery. I have since bought two more batteries, and will probably add another charger so I can be charging two at all times.

I haven't yet devised a specific way to rig it to the camera in hand held shoot, but I have some ideas that shouldn't be a major issue. On tripod, I will probably just devise hanger from one leg or center post.

Picture here gives you and idea of what I am talking about:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/914 ... C00333.JPG

Does anyone knows what is the Wh for the Anker Astro?
I need to know how many i can bring with me on a fly.

Hi, does anyone know of an extension cable for the power cable. a M 2 f version so I can mount the battery at the bottom of a steadycam or in a belt pack?