Micro Studio Camera external battery supply ?

Hello

I'm looking for a way to power Blackmagic Micro Studio Camera from an external V-Mount Battery with D-Tap output. I'm wondering if the best course of action is :
- use a D-Tap to dummy LP-E6 (but I like the idea of keeping a small LP-E6 battery on camera, as a "buffer" if anything goes wrong with the external power supply)
- use a D-Tap to DC-Jack in the provided Extension Câble
- find/build a custom D-Tap to Extension Port
Does anyone have any experience, some cable references or any kind of input to help ?

Thanks

Another solution is to get Dmitry Shijan's angle expansion box module, which includes a 5.5x2.1mm (5.5x2.5mm compatible) 12V DC power input socket; you can plug to that using a cable from your V-mount battery. I have one of these and it's great:

https://lavky.com/handmade/home-and-hob ... t=HU476123

An average V-Mount these days is capable of about 150 watts continuous output. In addition to the obvious, here are a couple of things that may help you out and keep you from cooking anything.

First, the battery plate on the Micro isn't the same as the Canon so only a select few dummies fit properly. You need to make sure it has 2 slots and the battery release tab. The BM plate is the female of the battery, most LP-e6 dummies have 1 slot and no battery release tab. Here is what the correct dummy should look like.

Lanparte.jpg (38.09 KiB) Viewed 8156 times

The other thing to be aware of is that with access to all that current the connector type is more important. If the connector specifies 2.1mm, like Shijan's expansion box, then use a 2.1mm connector. Avoid non sprung connectors like these....

Philmore.jpg (12.75 KiB) Viewed 8156 times

....and instead use these.

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With the non sprung connector I can repeatably make a fireball shoot out of the camera, there is no way that connector is rated for the current provided.

Good Luck

I use Dmitry’s Battery solution for the Micro Studio Camera, with his DB breakout box. It works great, all plug and play, he includes the required cables, you only need to source the batteries, which are readily available. A 14.5 VDC V lock camera battery is overkill on the Micro camera, and the small barrel connectors are not rated for their output. Why burden the camera with such a large battery? Dmitry’s Batter setup is better suited, and you get several hours of run time. The total cost for Dmitry’s setup, inc,using batteries is less than a V Lock or Gold Mount setup.
Cheers

Seppia, you can find more details and tech specs there:

Angle Breakout Expansion Box Module:
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=56186

Offset ARRI Type Rosette Mount Module:
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=65011

Angle HDMI Clamp with Ugreen Angle HDMI Adapter Module:
viewtopic.php?f=14&t=55124

14.8V 18650 Battery Enclosure Module:
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=71520

See also:

BMMCC/BMMSC Rigs Collection:
https://bmmccrigs.tumblr.com

BMMCC/BMMSC S.Bus, PWM, LANC controllers database:
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=59874

Hello all, and thanks a lot for all the useful links, I'm seriously considering Dmitry Shijan's expansion box

A 14.5 VDC V lock camera battery is overkill on the Micro camera, and the small barrel connectors are not rated for their output. Why burden the camera with such a large battery? Dmitry’s Batter setup is better suited, and you get several hours of run time. The total cost for Dmitry’s setup, inc,using batteries is less than a V Lock or Gold Mount setup.

Good question, I should have started by explaining more :
1/ the set will include 5 Blackmagic Micro Studio cameras (set to 1080i50) in a HD multi-camera HD (with Atomos Shogun 7 as multi-HD SDI recorder)
2/ we already own a few V-Mount batteries (from other bigger cameras) with D-tap output, and I thought I'd better use those that we already have (one battery should be able to power 2 Micro Studio cameras ?) than buy -again- a lot of small one-purpose batteries and chargers.

one battery should be able to power 2 Micro Studio cameras ?

If you already have v-mounts - use v-mounts. You can power multiple cameras from single large battery with DIY cable splitter.
It is recommended to power camera HDMI monitor (or HDMI transmitter) from separate battery to avoid HDMI chip damage due "ground loop" connection. Recently it was another sad story with damaged HDMI port viewtopic.php?f=2&t=110368&view=unread#unread

In ground looped connection you should never connect positive (+) DC power cable pin until you connect negative (-) pin.
Is not so easy to do in real life until you have dedicated switch on positive wire of DC cable, or specially designed DC connector which 100% always connects (-) pin before (+) pin.
My 18650 battery enclosure have on/off switch on (+) conector, so it always connect negative (-) pin first if you don't forget to turn power switch off.

It is recommended to power camera HDMI monitor (or HDMI transmitter) from separate battery to avoid HDMI chip damage due "ground loop" connection. Recently it was another sad story with damaged HDMI port viewtopic.php?f=2&t=110368&view=unread#unread

In ground looped connection you should never connect positive (+) DC power cable pin until you connect negative (-) pin.
Is not so easy to do in real life until you have dedicated switch on positive wire of DC cable, or specially designed DC connector which 100% always connects (-) pin before (+) pin.
My 18650 battery enclosure have on/off switch on (+) conector, so it always connect negative (-) pin first if you don't forget to turn power switch off.

Do you know is this is an issue also with SDI output ? Or only with HDMI ?

problem with both SDI and HDMI https://www.newsshooter.com/2020/02/15/ ... i-outputs/

Thanks again, if I get this correctly, it boils down to this :
- if possible avoid connecting camera and recorder to the same power supply
- if possible use shielded câbles (can't with D-Tap)
- always connect power before video, always disconnect video before power
- make sure the power connector always connects the - before the + (by using connectors where the plus is deeper/lower/farther/later reached than the minus)
Do I get this right ?

Thanks again, if I get this correctly, it boils down to this :
- if possible avoid connecting camera and recorder to the same power supply
- if possible use shielded câbles (can't with D-Tap)
- always connect power before video, always disconnect video before power
- make sure the power connector always connects the - before the + (by using connectors where the plus is deeper/lower/farther/later reached than the minus)
Do I get this right ?

All correct except shielded DC cables thing. I guess it is sort of marketing from Arri. In reality that "shield" is just additional (-) wire. The main thing - always connect the (-) before the (+). D_tap and barrel DC connectors/sockets are made very random and none of them provide solid (-) before the (+) connection.

Good advise Dmitry. This is where the issue is when trying hot plug power cables. Ground needs to get connected first to protect against ground fault issues.
Cheers

Hello (again)

Regarding the voltage of our D-Tap batteries, they are set to output 14.8 V and 14.4 V depending on the model.
The Blackmagic Micro Studio Camera external supply is 12V.
I'm assuming there is a kind of tolerance, but I can't find it on the Blackmagic support website or in the camera manual, and I'd like to avoid to fry the camera if I can

How do I know if it can handle (almost) up to 15 V without problems ?

Hello (again)

Regarding the voltage of our D-Tap batteries, they are set to output 14.8 V and 14.4 V depending on the model.
The Blackmagic Micro Studio Camera external supply is 12V.
I'm assuming there is a kind of tolerance, but I can't find it on the Blackmagic support website or in the camera manual, and I'd like to avoid to fry the camera if I can

How do I know if it can handle (almost) up to 15 V without problems ?

14.8 V or 14.4 is just a average marketing voltage mark for batteries. In reality voltage is variable and depends of battery discharging. 10V min., 14.8V normal, 16.8V max.
All professional gear usually designed to work in that range.

Dmitry’s Micor battery pack is around 14-16VDC fully charged, and works well with the Micro Camera, which takes 10-18VDC on its 12VDC connection.
A fully charged 14.5 V Mount battery can have 18+VDC at first, which drops as the battery is used. When the voltage drops below 11+/- VDC, time to replace the battery.

If over voltage seems an issue, you can add a 12VDC regulated DTap cable between the battery and camera, I did this with my Micro camera just for the extra protection.
Cheers

Hello (again)

Regarding the voltage of our D-Tap batteries, they are set to output 14.8 V and 14.4 V depending on the model.
The Blackmagic Micro Studio Camera external supply is 12V.
I'm assuming there is a kind of tolerance, but I can't find it on the Blackmagic support website or in the camera manual, and I'd like to avoid to fry the camera if I can

How do I know if it can handle (almost) up to 15 V without problems ?

The marketing says 12-30v. 30v seems high but there's a lot of line loss with low voltage DC, for long distances (Studio Camera) it makes sense to have higher input tolerance.

Good Luck

Thanks for all your answers, hopefully I won't fry anything

I'm just surprised not to find mention of this tolerance or maximal voltage anywhere in the Blackmagic manual or support of the Blackmagic Micro Studio Camera. All I found in the manual is page 18 "Power input to the camera is also used to power the lens. Beware of applying excessive voltages if you’re using your own power supply to avoid damage to the lens." Other than that, only 12 Volts is mentioned everywhere I found.

Has any of you another official documentation that I missed and I could read ?
Or is it just left to anyone's best guess and rough estimation ?

The volatage requirements for the Micro cameras were posted here by BMD when the Micro camera came out, and this subject was discussed at some length here. BMD did add the 12-20 VDC power requirement specification on the Tech Specs for the Micro Cinema Camera, but not the Studio Camera version. However, they probably share the same DC/DC power converter board, and would have the same power specification.
Cheers

I'm going to park this here, please don't let it interrupt the flow of speculation . I thought it was 12-20v as well, I don't think this 4 pin XLR breakout ever happened.

Good Luck

30v.png (71.17 KiB) Viewed 7563 times

OK Howard, no speculation here, this is for running long power breakout cables doe a remote camera, or in a live event coverage. Good info, where did you find this? I could only find the power specification for the Micro Cinema Camera, which is 12-20 VDC.
Cheers

The only documentation I could find is the ad copy.

Good Luck

OK, thanks. Not an issue for me, I use one of Dmitry’s battery packs, works well within the conservative 12-20 VDC range, so good to go.
Cheers

If Dmitry defects to Z Cam all is lost, I have 4 expansion boxes, should probably pick up a couple more.

Good Luck

Yes, I have two of them also. Stay safe Howard.
Cheers

Hello all

Little update on my topic : I ended up not using V-Lock D-Tap batteries, for fear of frying the Blackmagic Micro Studio Camera and also because it would require building (or buying) custom-mad cables preferably with a voltage regulator.

But I did bought a few Expansion Boxes from Dmitry Shijan (through his Lavky shopping seller page).
Without further ado, here are a few pictures :

Screws and tools provided :-)

IMG_3193.JPG (141.36 KiB) Viewed 6939 times

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IMG_3437.jpeg (86.31 KiB) Viewed 6939 times

Obviously, the much more compact design of the Expansion Box (compared to the Blackmagic supplied breakout cable) makes it very handy for shooting on location. Since the inner barrel diameter of the input power socket can accommodate 2,1mm power plugs, I can use those coaxial/power cables for SDI video output and for power input : https://www.conrad.com/p/rg-5920-bnc-sf-current-vhs-cable-extension-1x-dc-55-mm-socket-bnc-plug-1x-dc-55-mm-plug-bnc-plug-2000-m-bl-1296196

Expansion Box is made of solid metal, it fits perfectly on the side on the camera, and once properly screwed it really feels attached to it. Actually on one of the pictures, you can see I'm actually holding the box to lift up the camera (absolutely not recommended )

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Don't do this at home ;-)

IMG_3448.jpeg (97.43 KiB) Viewed 6936 times

If Dmitry defects to Z Cam all is lost, I have 4 expansion boxes, should probably pick up a couple more.

Good Luck

Don't worry, i will not move to Z-Cam as well as to Pocket4k/6K
It may sound crazy, but few weeks ago i ordered new batch of CNC machined enclosures parts. Sales are slow as usual, but same time rather stable. I guess Expansion Boxes will be always in stock for next 1-2 years.

Seppia, thanks for feedback! So is it works well with 20 meters cable and the original power supply? As you remember in out conversation i was afraid of possible voltage drop problems due 20m cable length. I still suggest to insert voltage meter somehow between camera and power supply with 20m cable and measure voltage during camera operation.

So glad I found this thread. I just bought 3 Micro Studio Cams and was curious about external power. Just ordered Dimitry's expansion box and right angle HDMI connector for each of them.

I still suggest to insert voltage meter somehow between camera and power supply with 20m cable and measure voltage during camera operation.

I have found this meter that may do the trick.

https://www.banggood.com/MUSTOOL-UD18-U ... rehouse=CN

It has 5.5 in and out up to 30 volts DC.

DC and USB meter.png (882 KiB) Viewed 6359 times

Seems it should work.
From manual tech specs are:
32V MAX
163W MAX
5.1A MAX

This should be more than enough to measure camera power consumption
If it works without independent external power supply you probably need to add correction due "Self-consumption current: <0.02A"

Hey there! This will most likely be my first post of many as I just acquired a BMMCC as an upgrade from our Panasonic g85. I couldn’t be more excited to use this camera and learn as much as I can about it!

Sorry to resurrect an old thread (hope that’s alright) but I got a little lost trying to follow the advice above. If I want to power an Atomos Shinobi and a DIY remote as well as the camera all from a v mount, can I just get an lp e6 dummy battery as long as I power on/off in the correct order?

Also, if someone could link to the correct lp e6 dummy battery that would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much!

I attached a couple pictures of my rig so far. I’m still fairly new to this but as you can see the expansion port is being used for the DIY one little remote. What would your camera power solution be based on the pictures and my setup so far?

Also, if someone could link to the correct lp e6 dummy battery that would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much!

It is near impossible to find proper LP-E6 dummy battery for BMMCC. Camera have additional extending part on the both sides that makes impossible to insert most of the battery plates that usually have slot only at only one side.
The simplest solution is to use any passive LP-E6 dummy battery and cut a hole in it using some hot metal stick, so it can fit into BMMCC slot.

Make sure you connect that dummy plate to to 8V output on your power splitter plate.

Beware of ground loop problem. There is a huge amount of reports on this forum from users (and me personally) who damage HDMI port on their BM cameras when power monitor and camera from same V-Mount splitter plate.

Make sure to follow this guide to avoid damage of the HDMI port when connect/disconnect DC power cables:
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=71520&start=150#p757795
Powering camera and monitor connected to camera HDMI port from the same battery always cause the "Ground Loop" problem and in some situations may permanently damage camera HDMI/SDI port. To avoid HDMI/SDI port damages it is recommended to follow safety guide provided by ARRI https://www.arri.com/en/learn-help/lear ... ion-196368

"Cameras and accessories with SDI/HDMI connections can be damaged when connecting power cables. If the BNC/HDMI cable is already connected and an unshielded power cable is plugged in, the plus pin can briefly make contact before the minus pin. The electrical circuit will then be closed through the BNC/HDMI. This can fry the SDI/HDMI board in the camera or accessory, even when they are powered down. To avoid this, follow our two safe cable connecting rules:

When connecting cables: FIRST connect power cables, THEN the BNC/HDMI.
When disconnecting: FIRST disconnect the BNC/HDMI, THEN power."
So the best is to use

Looking at your photos i see that remote some sort of power-in and can power camera directly to expansion slot. So you don't need to use any dummy batteries at all

Hi Dmytro

How are you?
Are you somewhere safe?

Cheers
Leon

Hi Dmytro

How are you?
Are you somewhere safe?

Cheers
Leon

Hi there! Sort of OK...

I’m so sorry that I’m just seeing this…it took me a while Dmytro but I figured out that is the case as well. Technical, or I guess electrical aspects of filmmaking always prove to be somewhat difficult for me to wrap my head around. Thanks so much for taking a look for me, it is very much appreciated!

I have two of Dmytor’s Micro camera battery Module kits, with battereis, and the charger available. This mounts to the Cannon battery mount on the back of the camera, and with the included cables, will power the camera via the OneLittle Remote power connection. This is what I did with my Micro, see my Micro camera accessories listing in Off Topic, or send me a PM for details.
Cheers

This is a link to forum thread about BMMCC 14.8V Battery Module that Denny Smith was talking about: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=71520&start=50#p511717
Last week few people asked me about this battery, so i forwarded them to Denny Smith's gear sale post. Hope it helps...