EVA1: Anything to know about 12v D-Tap and frying accessories?

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filmguy123

Veteran
Haven't worked much with D-Tap yet. I picked up the CORE vb98 batteries for EVA1 with 12 d-tap out. Will this power smaller and lower power accessories as well? Anything I need to be aware of with camera, voltage, regulating the power, etc. in order to not harm equipment?

In the immediate term, I may want to use this port on the battery to also power a smallHD focus and avoid carrying sony batteries with me and on top of the camera, so was looking at a d-tap to sony NP battery dumby cable such as this:

CABLE:
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod...s_cpta7s_indipro_video_noise_free.html?sts=pi

CORE Battery:
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod...8wh_7_4v_13200mah_hdv_battery_4led_gauge.html

SmallHD Focus:
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1336174-REG/smallhd_mon_focus_5_touch_screen.html


Any downsides on that CORE battery (with 12V SMBUS D-Tap Powers Accessories) vs ones from IDX or SWIT that have:

USB (Type-A) power output for powering USB devices, smartphones, and tablets
7.2V X-Tap / or / 7.2V pole-tap DC output

I guess you miss the USB port, but the 12v CORE can still power everything the lower powered IDX/SWIT could power via the 7.2v tap ports - correct?

Thanks for the assistance!
 
I have the (almost) exact same setup.

Except I use this power cable from GyroVu.
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1299021-REG/gyrovu_gv_dtap_sl_d_tap_to_sony_l.html

SmallHD Focus works fine with the Core Battery and the EVA1.

Previously, I had an issue with this power cable from IndiPro https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1308747-REG/indipro_tools_pfs716_d_tap_to_dc_power.html it just stopped working when I plugged it on my bigger vlock battery. I returned it to B&H and got a replacement which I haven't tested yet. I read these types of cable tend to get fried, I posted about it a couple of months ago. I always have 2 at hand just in case something goes wrong.

As far as battery I'm very happy with these new CORE, I was about to pull the trigger with the SWIT. I ordered another CORE, great for small run and gun setup without requiring a big vlock battery.
 
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Awesome! Wait, do you not need a dummy battery for the FOCUS? I don't have it in hand right now but I didn't know it had a power port on it. If so a straight plug would be preferable I think.

Great to hear about the CORE! I'm an every ounce counts type of guy and they are twice the weight of the lower capacity 6000-6400mah batteries, but given that the capacity is double that's a fair trade off. I ordered 5 as well as a second dual charger which may be a bit excessive, but I prefer to never think about power and I am guessing if powering an accessory as well it may take 4 batteries to get through a longer 12-hour shoot day if you are constantly having the camera on and fiddling, shooting high FPS, outputting to RAW, etc.
 
filmguy123 said:
Awesome! Wait, do you not need a dummy battery for the FOCUS? I don't have it in hand right now but I didn't know it had a power port on it. If so a straight plug would be preferable I think.

Great to hear about the CORE! I'm an every ounce counts type of guy and they are twice the weight of the lower capacity 6000-6400mah batteries, but given that the capacity is double that's a fair trade off. I ordered 5 as well as a second dual charger which may be a bit excessive, but I prefer to never think about power and I am guessing if powering an accessory as well it may take 4 batteries to get through a longer 12-hour shoot day if you are constantly having the camera on and fiddling, shooting high FPS, outputting to RAW, etc.
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Sorry I meant to post this dummy battery cable from GyroVu https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1299021-REG/gyrovu_gv_dtap_sl_d_tap_to_sony_l.html (Edited my original post).

Not sure if the CORE can power Atomos Shogun Inferno though?
 
I believe it can but it will drain the snot out of the battery from what I hear, so not really worth it.

How long runtime do you get EVA1 + SmallHD Focus with the CORE battery?
 
filmguy123 said:
Awesome! Wait, do you not need a dummy battery for the FOCUS? I don't have it in hand right now but I didn't know it had a power port on it. If so a straight plug would be preferable I think.
Click to expand...

Depends on where it exits. I have an Alphatron VF(bought it for my C300 before the Gratical) and it can be powered with Sony batts or DC in underneath the VF. The DC in is a crappy design, because it's a straight cable exiting straight down. I switched to a dummy Sony batt with coiled cable to P-Tap/D-Tap. Much better ergo's/cable management.
 
The 12v P-Tap on the CoreSWX battery is rated for a 2amp draw. That means 24watts at 12v. Just check the specs on whatever devices you plan to use. Note that this is much less than P-Taps on large V-mount or Gold-mount batteries, which typically allow 7amp draw.
 
filmguy123 said:
I believe it can but it will drain the snot out of the battery from what I hear, so not really worth it.

How long runtime do you get EVA1 + SmallHD Focus with the CORE battery?
Click to expand...

Sorry I haven't done such test.

On a side note. I just compared my SmallHD Focus with my older SmallHD DP7 OLED. Big differences in colour, even though the SmallHD Focus has a "calibration" option, the DP7 screen looked a lot closer to what the LCD on the EVA1 looks like. Focus looks like it adds more contrast and saturation on top of the onboard REC709 LUT. I can't seem to match them up. I think I would stick to my DP7 OLED for accuracy.
 
Retrospective said:
On a side note. I just compared my SmallHD Focus with my older SmallHD DP7 OLED. Big differences in colour, even though the SmallHD Focus has a "calibration" option, the DP7 screen looked a lot closer to what the LCD on the EVA1 looks like. Focus looks like it adds more contrast and saturation on top of the onboard REC709 LUT. I can't seem to match them up. I think I would stick to my DP7 OLED for accuracy.
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I'd highly recommend doing a screen color comparison with a real calibrated monitor, and then trying to adjust your SmallHDs to match that. I certainly don't trust the LCD on my EVA1 for anything having to do with color.
 
OnSet said:
I'd highly recommend doing a screen color comparison with a real calibrated monitor, and then trying to adjust your SmallHDs to match that. I certainly don't trust the LCD on my EVA1 for anything having to do with color.
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Of course! I just dont have access to one right now. :(
 
Are there any general use, quality D-Tap Cables y'all recommend?

D-tap straight to DC that can be used to power SmallHD, Atomos, or other devices straight from their DC input port? Or that work with the majority of devices?
 
I like the ones I've gotten from Mediablackout.net
They may be a little slow on getting stuff out the door, but the regulated power adapters I've gotten from them really seem to last.
 
Depends on the accessory...

You need to pay attention to the acceptable range of voltage for accessories. Some are designed to accept wide ranges in voltage (such as those from Convergent-Design) and others not so much. If a 12v accessory specifies only working with 11v - 14v power, the voltage output from the p-tap on a fully charged brick will be a lot higher than that. So if you plug in a directly wired cable you're getting whatever the battery is putting out. You might be surprised just how high the voltages can be. If you get a 12v regulated power cable, it's going to limit that 14.4 or 15.6 or 16.8 volts coming down the line to a proper 12volts. It's also going to have electronics doing that, so it's going to cost more. I know the SmallHD monitor that I have wants 7.4 volts - so coming off p-tap that means there's some step-down electronics.
 
watch out, because some cables look exactly the same, but the connectors(what pin is what) may be wired differently for different devices. Had a friend try to use the same cable(D-tap to Hirose) for his Nano Flash and his smallHD monitor. I think he used the smallHD power cable on the Nano and fried it. Had to send it in for repair.
 
Run&Gun said:
watch out, because some cables look exactly the same, but the connectors(what pin is what) may be wired differently for different devices. Had a friend try to use the same cable(D-tap to Hirose) for his Nano Flash and his smallHD monitor. I think he used the smallHD power cable on the Nano and fried it. Had to send it in for repair.
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The NanoFlash power cable used the same power connector as many of the Sound Devices mixers -- and yes, the two manufacturers wired them with opposite polarities. I never mixed mine up - but when I saw the problem I immediately started P-Touch labeling every power cable I had.
 
I can confirm that the shogun inferno powers as a monitor but will cut out or die when used in recording powered off the Core or IDX batteries on their external power ports. Core is rated for 24w Shogun draws up to 30w.

Mitch Gross said:
The 12v P-Tap on the CoreSWX battery is rated for a 2amp draw. That means 24watts at 12v. Just check the specs on whatever devices you plan to use. Note that this is much less than P-Taps on large V-mount or Gold-mount batteries, which typically allow 7amp draw.
Click to expand...
 
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So, this is concerning. How do you know whether to trust a cable that you purchase, then? Like the 2 I linked above?

Or should I only get cables with 12v regulation?
 
filmguy123 said:
So, this is concerning. How do you know whether to trust a cable that you purchase, then? Like the 2 I linked above?

Or should I only get cables with 12v regulation?
Click to expand...

Check the operating specs for your equipment to get an idea of the voltage range that each piece will accept. And if buying cheap cables, definitely verify proper polarity before plugging in...
 
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