DIY Auxilliary Power for the Black Magic Cinema Camera

The place for questions about shooting with Blackmagic Cameras.
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ChrisBarcellos

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DIY Auxilliary Power for the Black Magic Cinema Camera

PostWed Apr 17, 2013 11:07 pm

This video explains how I made a do it yourself power adapter for the Black Magic Cinema Camera.

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Gilly

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Re: DIY Auxilliary Power for the Black Magic Cinema Camera

PostWed Apr 17, 2013 11:38 pm

Chris,

Another potential supply for possible power solutions is batterysource.com
They stock so many battery types, it's insane.

or possibly one of these hi tech motorcycle batteries that are small and light.
http://www.shoraipower.com/specs.html
The smaller ones are about the size of a pack of cigarettes and weigh about a pound.
Special charger is needed since it is not a standard battery and must be monitored and charged with a purpose built smart charger.
"Gilly"
Bill Gilbride
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ChrisBarcellos

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Re: DIY Auxilliary Power for the Black Magic Cinema Camera

PostThu Apr 18, 2013 2:19 am

Yeah, I keep eyeing my electric lawn mower as I walk by it in the gargage. I'm thinking I could just pull it out of the body and take it with me on a long shoot situation. Not good for portability but should care plenty of power.
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Peter J. DeCrescenzo

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Re: DIY Auxilliary Power for the Black Magic Cinema Camera

PostThu Apr 18, 2013 2:23 am

YMMV!

I'm reminded of this recent post by Frank Glencairn:
viewtopic.php?p=45318&sid=05945b8f161f1f8375f7f960bc423e81#p45318

Cheers.


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Jason Hinkle

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Re: DIY Auxilliary Power for the Black Magic Cinema Camera

PostThu Apr 18, 2013 3:24 am

Creative solution! I always thought that a cool battery mount could be made to support power tool batteries.

Another option - I had a few of these laying around that I use with a super-16 camera:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1 ... ttery.html

I happened to have an old cigarette lighter cable meant for charging a GPS or phone or something which luckily had the same plug as the BMCC. It would be simple to wire up a cable though. The battery is kinda heavy but I usually throw the strap over my shoulder or hang it from a tripod leg.

Not sure how long it will power the camera but it would run my film camera half a day or more.
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ChrisBarcellos

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Re: DIY Auxilliary Power for the Black Magic Cinema Camera

PostThu Apr 18, 2013 6:08 am

Peter J. DeCrescenzo wrote:YMMV!

I'm reminded of this recent post by Frank Glencairn:
viewtopic.php?p=45318&sid=05945b8f161f1f8375f7f960bc423e81#p45318

Cheers.
-


I saw that. This post was not meant for you hot shot production dudes who have plenty of cash to burn. There is a segment of us out here who do film work for the love of it and that dont have much to fund our needs. I aint ashamed! Are you?
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sean mclennan

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Re: DIY Auxilliary Power for the Black Magic Cinema Camera

PostSat Apr 20, 2013 1:57 am

Looking for a cheap-er solution than a dedicated Vlock or Gold mount battery?

http://www.paulcbuff.com/vm120.php

Image

This is designed for photographers...but it would work fine for powering the BM. 14.8v/8.8Ah lithium battery, complete with 120 connections. Two in fact. Clamp it to your tripod and use the power cord that came with your camera. Done. 6 hours recording time. Heck I think the tripod clamp might even fit on a 15mm rail!!

$240 for 130WH battery pack...it's a pretty good alternative if you ask me.

I applaud you Chris for your ingenuity, I would worry about two things with your setup. Battery and connector piece coming undone..and what any potential clients might think of my Frankenstein battery. Can't beat that price tho!!
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ChrisBarcellos

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Re: DIY Auxilliary Power for the Black Magic Cinema Camera

PostSat Apr 20, 2013 3:13 am

I do like that idea. Might run a lap top for a bit too. Right now I take some auto store battery bricks with a convertor for similar results, but this one looks protty good to me.
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jordanbaseman

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DIY Auxilliary Power for the Black Magic POCKETCinema Camera

PostFri Dec 27, 2013 9:26 am

hi
i am looking for a battery for the pocket cinema camera - will these solutions work with this machine?
thanks!
jordan
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Mac Jaeger

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Re: DIY Auxilliary Power for the Black Magic Cinema Camera

PostFri Dec 27, 2013 9:45 pm

All 12V solutions that work for the CC2k5 will also work for the Pocket cam, but you need different plugs for the cameras.

Solutions like the Vagabond 120V AC ? I don't get why anyone would want to first create 120V AC from energy stored in a lower Voltage DC battery, only to plug in a transformator that will reverse the process and generate 12V DC from the AC... The double conversion will always be less efficient than just using a 12V battery pack, while more expensive. V-Mount is the professional solution, and priced accordingly. But any 12V battery concept will do just fine.
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jordanbaseman

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Re: DIY Auxilliary Power for the Black Magic Cinema Camera

PostSat Dec 28, 2013 9:56 am

thanks!
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robster4444

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Re: DIY Auxilliary Power for the Black Magic Cinema Camera

PostFri May 16, 2014 2:32 pm

Hi Everyone

The issue of extra power to increase the run time of a Blackmagic camera has now been neatly solved i used this..no problems.

Hawkwoods BST-K1 you can find it on their website hawkwoods.com

Peace

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