Blackmagic Forum

I've had my Switronix Powerbase Pro-x 70's for ten years now and I think they're finally on their way out.

There's a vast range of options now available and I'd love to hear peoples experiences with their external battery choices. I'm looking for v-mount, but I use a D-Tap for getting power out the battery to the camera.

My budget is low, but I've seen the IDX I-Micro 98 with charger for £600 which sits in my budget. Anyone out there using those or similar??

Any help appreciated thanks.

I'm myself absolutely going to make make myself instantly unpopular here, but I went completely budget and tried these:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/356067073015 ... R9KwxbybZQ

Took a chance as the seller had an offer on and I was picking them up for about £25 each, figured if they were naff I'd just use them for other things like charging my phone.

Well - they won't beat something you spend three figures on I'm sure but they ARE and have been absolutely flawless. If a standard battery gets me 20-30 mins of use, these get me hours. So I ended up buying a few and they can last me all day.

I even went as far as 3d printing myself a little carrier. Not as swish as professionals, but it does a bloody good job and I have no longevity issues at all.

I do plan to buy more and use the money saved on media etc. The hard part was finding a usb to two-pin adapter (which i did find on amazon after a lot of hunting) as you cant charge through usb c and I wanted to retain it for external storage anyway. With these plugged in they will also support the internal battery, so when the anker pack has run out I've still found myself with 20-30 mins to go.

This 'peasant' approach to power will probably horrify most professionals on here, but I am amazed how cheaply I've been able to effectively eliminate carrying a stack batteries even for 'full days out'

I think this will be too unprofessional for yourself perhaps, but I'm currently feeling wow I cant argue with results.

I found that Anker stuff not too bad when I was using them for my org. BMPCC.

Yeah, I do appreciate OP probably wants something a bit more 'pro' but I absolutely have to say, these units have knocked me sideways with how long they last when supporting my BMP4k in anger vs how much they cost.

I'm not sure how long they'll actually last in terms of charge cycles but at £25 or so it's almost irrelevent, I'm using the 10,000mah variant but i notice from my link above they've changed it slightly to 20,000mah for what looks like a similar fitment package. Tempting...

Anyway thought I'd post it because if you literally want to shoot some film without carting tonnes of batteries around and you can't go fully pro kit, it's not actually that insane of an idea, if anyone comes across this thread and wants to try it I can share my 3d printed designs (though I will occaisonally be tweaking them).

Thanks for the suggestion. That certainly looks like a good budget option, never even thought of an approach like that. And nice job creating a 3d printed holder for it!

It is interesting to see that you are able to use PD to deliver to an input that expects 12 volts.

Are you able to put a meter inline to see what voltage is being used?

As Uli stated above, I too used Anker as a power source for the OG BMPCC but those had a 9 or 12 volt selectable output.

Good find.

Presonus wrote:The hard part was finding a usb to two-pin adapter (which i did find on amazon after a lot of hunting)

Can you post the link for the USB-C to two pin adapter?

Course I can, it took some finding these aren't exactly shouted about, but they work:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Andoer-Blackma ... 42J23GUAJA

The camera does treat it as an AC source, so it's oblivious to the fact its a power bank supplying the DC rather than the normal AC-DC wall wart power cord, but it does leave you a USB port free for storage devices


In terms of voltage, it seems it depends on negotiation and connection, but the standard BMP4k walwart puts out 12v which is catered for in the Anker Nano spec:

Output (anker Nano):

USB-C Cable: 30W Max (5V⎓3A / 9V⎓3A / 10V⎓2.25A / 12V⎓2.5A / 15V⎓2A / 20V⎓1.5A）
USB-C: 30W Max (5V⎓3A / 9V⎓3A / 10V⎓2.25A / 12V⎓2.5A / 15V⎓2A / 20V⎓1.5A)

Thank you

You are a prince amongst men.

For USA purposes.

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Andoer+USB-C ... nb_sb_noss

I have to admit that after all the years needing to know what the operating voltage of a device is/was to now working with power sources that are PD, is somewhat confusing.

Is it perhaps part of the Nerds taking over the world?

I have an old V-lock battery holder with a broken clamp, I just screw the holder in the top BMPC hole, a v-tap wire to the BMPC and a 50 wh v-lock battery.
Works perfecty since 3 years. I just added a cage last week.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006 ... pt=glo2deu

I use this one since some months, and it has proven to be good. Its output is restricted to one D-Tap or one USB C, but this one output delivers a lot of power. I can also use this battery in my trinity-like rig, using a D-Tap splitter, to power Dji RS3 Pro, Pocket 4k, and 3000nit-monitor. Especially in this rig it is good to have a battery like this. Power for hours, devices don't need to be switched off between takes.

This battery has also proven to be very useful for other purposes. It can also be charged with high watt USB C, which makes it a fully usable battery for solar systems, especially for modern solar panels that can output lots of watt during sunshine phases. The display is hardly to see. One needs a shade and a loupe. That's a downside of this battery.

It is also the only battery I have that can charge my iPad Pro 2024 while using the iPad in bright sunlight. Older consumer-type powerbanks can charge this iPad when switched off; when on, the iPad is only maintained. Which is good already, but when I need to charge this iPad, I use the Palo V-Mount battery. It's also the central battery for field editing/grading, with iPad, USB hub, external SSD's. Works flawlessly.

Some companies show that pro gear doesn't have to cost a lot of money. I'm thinking about getting another one, since the price has dropped even more. I used to pay about $90 when I got mine.

I came across this cable.
It does the handshake between an USB-C PD source and device that work with 12volts that are not smart.

"Blind Spot - Power Pipe Version 2-12 Volt Trigger Cable - USBC to 12V - Create a 12 Volt Battery, 12 Volt USB Outlet Using PD USBC Power Banks - Turn Your Power Bank into a 12 Volt Power Supply"

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B4S ... s_li_ss_tl


(@10:54)



Now the quest is finding an adapter to 2 pin.

Ok, guys, you wanted the nerdy stuff... here I go

DIY project, short feature list:
- Nato-Rail on the bottom
- free standing with extra feet
- one 1/4 thread in big foot for addtional mounting point
- VMount on the back
- 2x USB-A power for external devices (e.g follow focus system)
- power control to avoid low voltage
- Voltage indicator
- power-out with XT60 plug (after low voltage control)
- ON/OFF switch (for low voltage control and XT60 and USB)
- power-out and charge-in with barrel jack (before low voltage control, so always on)
- 6Ah (76Wh) LiFePO4 battery with internal BMS
Runtime with ext. Monitor, Hollyland HDMI TX, recording to T7 SSD --> 2 HOURS plus a bit
Overall weight: 834g

I use the SmallRig Mini V-Mount. Fit's your requirements perfectly. On the P4K, you'll get about 1 hr of operation per 25Wh.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/ ... mount.html