Due to Panasonic discontinuing the batteries for the AC90 and IDX discontinuing their replacement battery I was looking for a battery solution for my AC90's. It turns out that there are three batteries in the IDX series... SL-VBD50, SLVBD65 and SL-VBD90 all with the same interface plate. The 50 is discontinued and the 65 and 90 are 5mm wider which is 2mm too wide for the AC90!!! Not sure if I am more pee'd off with Panasonic or IDX about this :-)
So I looked for a V-lock solution as it is closer to a universal system. Finally sorted one talking to Rob Holland and Neil Marfitt at IDX Europe and James Brown at ProAV in the UK As V-lock is likely to be as new to other AC90 users as it was to me: the following is a bit simple step by step (with pictures) as it is easy to get confused with the myriad of plates, converters and part numbers. This solution works for HVX200 / HPX250/ HPX 270 / AGAC90 / AGAC 8
To interface the V-lock batteries to the camera you need a V-lock mounting plate and a converter cable.
P-V257 V-Mount Plate with 2 x 2-pin D-Tap Outputs [1 x 12~16V DC, 1 x Regulated Switchable 5V / 7.3V DC]
NOTE It is the 7.3V regulated output that is important here.
PV257.jpg
C-PANCP2 DC Cable for use with Panasonic CGA-D type HVX200 / HPX250/ HPX 270 / AGAC90 / AGAC 8
That gives a V-lock interface plate and a cable from Battery to the AC90. The cable slots into the battery plate in the camera.
C-PANCP2.jpg
All this needs to be mounted on a rail system.
I used the Neweer Portable Film Maker System With Camera/Camcorder Mount Slider, Soft Rubber Shoulder Pad and Dual-hand Handgrip ( £50 on Amazon) though there are lots of other similar 15mm rail options. You could shorten the rails (they are in 2 halves) and remove the shoulder pad and other handles so you just have the rails and base plate. I put the quick release shoe on the base so it will all go on a tripod as is.
neweer.jpg
The IDX cheese-plate to fix the V-P257 to the rails is ridiculously expensive so I used the SHAPE CP33 at 2/3 the list price of the IDX one.
NOTE if you are in N America SHAPE do packages of the CP33 with IDX P-V plates as a bundle.
cp33.jpg
The batteries will need a charger so I used the VL-2X, which does any two V-lock batteries sequentially.
After that it is batteries. I got a couple of the CUE-D75 14.8V 73Wh* Typ77Wh V-Mount with D Tap O/P but the sky, or your wallet, is your limit with these. Some of the larger ones are going to power an AC90 for a week.
Due to the physical size of these batteries and the chemistry they are going to last longer than the small SL VBD50’s depending on how you care for your batteries.
This will mean that my AC90's will have a life way past the life of the original batteries and the SL VBD50’s
The Second DTAP on the V-P257 plate can power my light and or the 7inch monitor. You can get 1-4 DTAP extension socket cable on Amazon. So I can be mains free and only need one battery for the rig. Also only need to swap one battery and don’t need to keep an eye on three sets of levels. Having invested in a V-lock system it is going to make life a lot easier longer term.
I got the whole lot through https://www.proav.co.ukIf you are in the UK ask for James Brown and he can put a package together for you.
NOTE I have no connection with IDX or ProAV other than as a satisfied customer.
So I looked for a V-lock solution as it is closer to a universal system. Finally sorted one talking to Rob Holland and Neil Marfitt at IDX Europe and James Brown at ProAV in the UK As V-lock is likely to be as new to other AC90 users as it was to me: the following is a bit simple step by step (with pictures) as it is easy to get confused with the myriad of plates, converters and part numbers. This solution works for HVX200 / HPX250/ HPX 270 / AGAC90 / AGAC 8
To interface the V-lock batteries to the camera you need a V-lock mounting plate and a converter cable.
P-V257 V-Mount Plate with 2 x 2-pin D-Tap Outputs [1 x 12~16V DC, 1 x Regulated Switchable 5V / 7.3V DC]
NOTE It is the 7.3V regulated output that is important here.
PV257.jpg
C-PANCP2 DC Cable for use with Panasonic CGA-D type HVX200 / HPX250/ HPX 270 / AGAC90 / AGAC 8
That gives a V-lock interface plate and a cable from Battery to the AC90. The cable slots into the battery plate in the camera.
C-PANCP2.jpg
All this needs to be mounted on a rail system.
I used the Neweer Portable Film Maker System With Camera/Camcorder Mount Slider, Soft Rubber Shoulder Pad and Dual-hand Handgrip ( £50 on Amazon) though there are lots of other similar 15mm rail options. You could shorten the rails (they are in 2 halves) and remove the shoulder pad and other handles so you just have the rails and base plate. I put the quick release shoe on the base so it will all go on a tripod as is.
neweer.jpg
The IDX cheese-plate to fix the V-P257 to the rails is ridiculously expensive so I used the SHAPE CP33 at 2/3 the list price of the IDX one.
NOTE if you are in N America SHAPE do packages of the CP33 with IDX P-V plates as a bundle.
cp33.jpg
The batteries will need a charger so I used the VL-2X, which does any two V-lock batteries sequentially.
After that it is batteries. I got a couple of the CUE-D75 14.8V 73Wh* Typ77Wh V-Mount with D Tap O/P but the sky, or your wallet, is your limit with these. Some of the larger ones are going to power an AC90 for a week.
Due to the physical size of these batteries and the chemistry they are going to last longer than the small SL VBD50’s depending on how you care for your batteries.
This will mean that my AC90's will have a life way past the life of the original batteries and the SL VBD50’s
The Second DTAP on the V-P257 plate can power my light and or the 7inch monitor. You can get 1-4 DTAP extension socket cable on Amazon. So I can be mains free and only need one battery for the rig. Also only need to swap one battery and don’t need to keep an eye on three sets of levels. Having invested in a V-lock system it is going to make life a lot easier longer term.
I got the whole lot through https://www.proav.co.ukIf you are in the UK ask for James Brown and he can put a package together for you.
NOTE I have no connection with IDX or ProAV other than as a satisfied customer.
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