F35 Beginners: How do I power it?

JMtheDP

JMtheDP

Veteran
Hello all,

I am distilling information gleaned from my own experiences and those of others into some beginners threads. Hopefully anyone else getting in on the F35 bandwagon will not have to trawl through the beastly 180+page post that most of us have been living in.

Anyway, the first post is on the subject of power, which if you're used to cameras with built-in batteries will seem like a bit of a headscratcher.

The first and most important thing to remember is that the F35 was designed to replace full-size 35mm cameras so usually the solutions for those will apply (not literally, don't hook up an ARRI battery!)

35mm cameras are used to having a block battery to power them. The power input on the side of the camera is a LEMO 8-pin power socket and is designed to take BOTH 12v and 24v power. The 12v bit powers the camera and any 12v accessories, the 24v bit will be passed through to power any 24v accessories.

The original official battery for the camera was the ANTON BAUER CINE VCLX-CA. It provides both 12v and 24v and is designed for this camera. It also works with the F23, F65 and Panavision Genesis. However, they are sodding expensive and a lot of people don't like carrying a block around. HAWKWOODS in the UK also make a block with the appropriate power output. It is roughly £1300 plus VAT for a 680wh unit. Fairly good value compared with some V-Locks (eg. a 130wh IDX is £400).

The official method of powering the camera from an ONBOARD battery is to put a battery adapter plate on the back of the INTERFACE BOX and plug into the XLR input on the bottom of the interface box. This will only work if the interface box is on the camera's rear mount. It will not provide power if on the top mount. It will also not power accessories.

Please be warned that the camera draws 58w on its own, so with a finder you're looking at nearly 70w. You will need good, strong batteries.

There are people who can make battery plates with LEMO cables on them so you can bypass the interface box. Another good method is to use a battery belt to power the camera, keeping weight off the shoulder for handheld.
 
Sony sells a battery plate which fits perfectly on the back of the IF box. Personally I use that and some cheap chinese v-lock batteries with separate p-taps. Works a charm. The bad thing about the setup is that it adds weight to an already heavy camera, so the "battery belt"-solution is better for your back. It does help balance the camera on your shoulder, though.
 
In addition one can AC power the camera via an AC adapter. Something like this unit, but Sony also makes one that is quite a bit more expensive (though probably significantly more trustworthy as well).

This works well if you're in a studio situation or on location someplace where you have access to power outlets. Just be sure you secure & properly mark your stingers (extension cords in layman terms) or you run the risk of somebody tripping over the cord and toppling your camera to the floor.
 
I have the Sony AC adapter. It's quite big (the one I got, at least), as it also has the possibility of passing through image and sound. You can't mount it on the camera, but you can place it on the ground next to it.
 
Abel has the 8 pin lemo plates to Anton Bauer gold mount at a good price. I would recommend this over the interface box because it allows to you avoid this part altogether if you want, and also the side aux ports that offer 12v power will not work without the camera being powered by the 8 pin.
 
AbelCine also has the Universal Juicebox AC power supply, which I helped design and is built exclusively for them by Frezzi. It can power, well, EVERYTHING. It has 600w of available power, 300w each of 24v and 12v (actually 28.8v & 14.4v). It also has 2x XLR-3 for 24v, 3x XLR-4 for 12v and one Lemo-8 to feed directly to cameras such as the F35. The beast was originally designed to handle complete 3D rigs for Phantom 65, F65, ALEXA and other hugely power hungry cameras and their accessories. It may seem overkill but it is actualy the best deal for a power supply with a built in Lemo-8 connector. This is useful because if yu ever need to rent or otherwise use block batteries they will use the same cable.
 
I'm thinking of starting to utilize the battery's d-tap output for powering the hyperdeck and a monitor. Do you know the power draw of the camera?
 
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The camera BODY draws 58w. Any viewfinder etc... you have to add to that figure.

I would be very careful about powering a lot from one battery, unless it is specifically designed for high draw.
 
I'm using a 10.2 Ah battery. Calculated that in theory the cam + monitor + hyperdeck would draw around 7 Ah. Do you think that's risky?
 
You also have to worry about placing too much draw through a single set of wires. There is little advantage to ganging the power to a bunch of devices once you hit the 70Watt range in my view. The Anton Bauer HCX batteries will not service much more amp hours than a DIONIC, so you are just as well to split up where the power is coming from for various devices on a high draw camera like the F35.

I've seen wiring looms cooked in steadicam sleds from running too much through them. Not worth the risk in my view.
 
Yes I concur with Andrew - the batteries' Ah rating does not necessarily mean it can sustain that load, it is just a measurement of capacity.

Your battery's manufacturer should state the specs but most 12v batteries have a limit around 6-7amps, with higher ones closer to 9/10 - but they are rarer!
 
I see, thanks! It's a 14.4 V battery though, I guess that makes a slight difference? I've read about steadicam cables frying before, but in this case: wouldn't the draw already be diversified by the use of the v-mount connector for the F35 and a direct d-tap from the battery for the accessories?
 
I saw a huge difference when I went to Dionic 90 up to new Dionic HCX's on my F35. I power everything through one battery and when I would hook up the dionics, they would drop from 14 to 12 very very quickly. The HCX is able to constantly go down. Also beware the camera can take an anton bauer below the safe level. My camera ran a few batteries down into the 10v and I had to send them in to be repaired.
 
For people powering camera, viewfinder, recorder and all from only 1 battery how you do this with chinese batteries? They all say max. is 5.5A and F35 alone is 5A?
Some are capable of 10A but limit is 5.5A for safety.
 
Ive been power everything from one battery since I bought it ~2 years ago, wasn't aware of the 5.5a limiting but I've never had issues, either with generic v-mounts or idx brand. My battery plate has 2x Taps which I use to power everything, 90wh lasts 80+ mins or so, but I'm mostly just using an atamos and the sony viewfinder, think those hardly draw 10w combined.
 
I would never exceed the AH rating of a battery. If something went wrong because of it, you would not be covered. And when Li-Ion batteries go wrong, they go wrong in a big way
 
What battery you use to power your camera, viewfinder and cinedeck James? Cinedeck is very hungry, no?

Seller says capacity is 10A, but for safety is 5.5A. If you use more than 5.5A battery life is just shorter. Didn't say is dangerous or anything.
 
Another option is to get some cheap Anton Bauer Hytron 140 or 120's on ebay and have them re-celled. (Ritter Battery is a good place)
If properly conditioned they last longer than lithium, and can be transported on a plane if you travel.
You will get a solid 140wh which easily handle up to 10 amps.
On an F35 you would probably get around 2 1/2 hours with a current draw of roughly 65w.
The only drawback on the Hytrons, is that they are a couple pounds heavier.
 
Who has used the 8 pin Lemo in the rear of the camera to go to a wall AC adapter? I've seen options for plugging in the 4 pin XLR to the wall via Sony and 3rd party adapters with 4 pin jacks, but it seems the 8 pin connection is rarer. Is it as simple as getting a $250 8 pin Lemo to 4 pin XLR cable?

And while we're talking power, who uses the 11 pin and 3 pin outputs on the camera body? I'm currently using d-taps from batteries and battery plates, but something in me wants to try to use the 11 pin for powering the Pix or the Aja 3GM. The Aja multiplexer, by the way, must have no more than 5v coming in, otherwise it'll fry. You have to get a voltage regulated d-tap adapter if you're not going to use their wall plug. Found that out the hard way!
 
SJX

Yes, the cinedeck is very hungry. I power the cinedeck either with its own V-Lock, or both from a large li-ion block battery with a 24v step up transformer. The battery can take a massive draw.

Hunter

I use both the 11-pin 12v and the 3-pin 24v at the minute. I use the 11-pin for my wireless transmitter, 24 for the cinedeck.
 
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