FS700/7Q in High Temps

brazzam

brazzam

Well-known member
So I had my FS700 and 7Q out in the 90º humid heat of the Southern US on Saturday and had an issue. I found that I could only power the O7Q on a Sony 970 battery for about 6 minutes before the low voltage alert would kick in - and that's with hiding the video image on the monitor to reduce screen usage. I tried this with two separate and fully charged 970s. After trying to shoot outside, I came back into the shade with the same batteries and they'd power the system fine. I was shooting both 4K and 4K2HD.

Has anyone had any issues powering the O7Q off Sony batteries in high heat?
 
Hey Alan,

I shot out in Malibu Canyon area this past Friday. Very hot, desert environment, 95 degrees + and I was using a knock off Sony 970 made by Watson. I was only using the 7Q as a monitor and I managed a 13 hour shoot on 1 battery for the 7Q. I wasn't using it to record though since the client only wanted AVCHD, only to monitor.

I did run around Los Angeles a few weeks ago, around 85 degrees, pretty hot, recording 4K2HD for an entire day and it worked fine.

I'm using the Westside AV bracket and Watson 970 Sony Knockoffs
 
Thanks for the info. I'll keep an eye on my unit then, and do some tests - seems something else is going on.

I thought the heat shouldn't be a problem... I am also using the Westside AV battery plate, but my cable has a splice in it as I needed a longer than 3' cable. I'll run some tests with my other battery plates/cables and see if I can isolate the issue.
 
Cable length could possibly be the issue. When I got an early Solid Camera sony battery plate, Carlos said that he simply coiled up the excess length inside the battery plate. My Odyssey7Q kept randomly shutting off after a few minutes. Carlos said he received reports of that happening to others and it was resolved by trimming down the cable length, apparently the lower voltage of the Sony batteries has an issue with the longer cable run? (I'm no electrician, don't look at me for the details!)
 
gene_can_sing said:
Hey Alan,

I shot out in Malibu Canyon area this past Friday. Very hot, desert environment, 95 degrees + and I was using a knock off Sony 970 made by Watson. I was only using the 7Q as a monitor and I managed a 13 hour shoot on 1 battery for the 7Q. I wasn't using it to record though since the client only wanted AVCHD, only to monitor.

I did run around Los Angeles a few weeks ago, around 85 degrees, pretty hot, recording 4K2HD for an entire day and it worked fine.

I'm using the Westside AV bracket and Watson 970 Sony Knockoffs
Click to expand...



Dang... I was in LA last week and shot for a whole day and I was facing temperature warnings on the O7Q all day that would prevent me from recording... it was kind of a bummer. I kept on having to bring it in the AC for a few minutes, which is super frustrating on a shoot....


I also have very spotty performance with my batteries, and nothing close to 13 hours! The best 970s I have give me like 3 hours max I'd say....
 
skatajkid said:
I also have very spotty performance with my batteries, and nothing close to 13 hours! The best 970s I have give me like 3 hours max I'd say....
Click to expand...

I did mention that I was using it as a monitor only and that's why it lasted 13 hours. But even when shooting 4K with the Watson 970 knock-offs, they last way long than official Sony. I'm able to get around 4 1/2 hours or so on 4K2HD. Not bad.

Skatakid, what was your setup, cables, batteries, etc??? I've had pretty good luck in heat, knock on wood.

I know Josh Becker filmed in Dominica and I would image that place is very hot and humid, and I don't think he had any heat warnings.
 
I suspect the battery mount with spliced cable may be the cause, but should you find that your other plate does the same please contact cdsupport to report the issue.
 
Still perplexed why you'd run two batteries, one for the O7Q and one for the FS700. It's de riguer for me to run a single AB/IDX 90 brick, mounted to the handgrip rosette. On my last shoot, in the direct sun for 8 hours, 95 degF, and not a single hiccup or problem. And the battery will go for two days, unless I use a whole lot of power zooming with the kit lens. I know it's a wee bit heavier, but, it can't be THAT much heavier than two watsons.
 
cuervo said:
Still perplexed why you'd run two batteries, one for the O7Q and one for the FS700. It's de riguer for me to run a single AB/IDX 90 brick, mounted to the handgrip rosette. On my last shoot, in the direct sun for 8 hours, 95 degF, and not a single hiccup or problem. And the battery will go for two days, unless I use a whole lot of power zooming with the kit lens. I know it's a wee bit heavier, but, it can't be THAT much heavier than two watsons.
Click to expand...

This is how I rig my 7Q and the reason why I need 2 batteries (old pic with different cable and a Small HD, but the same idea). The actually rigging parts adds maybe 2 lbs max to the camera and keeps the camera very light and nimble. I need it this light because I don't like the camera living on my shoulder and I shoot a lot of handheld. You get a very different look and feel to the footage when the camera doesn't live on the shoulder.

Yes, it would be great to have 1 battery power the unit for 2 days, but the rigging to support the large battery is substantial and would add a lot of weight to the camera. Plus, I can quickly change my configuration and balance it on a steadycam if needed.

I guess different people have different needs.

rig.jpg
 
I had a CD thin SDI cable running from camera to monitor and monitor on a WestSide AV Sony battery plate. Running Sony 550s and 970s on the O7Q. The batteries lasted ok, but like I said only like 2-3 hours for the big 970s. I was also doing all 4k2hd


I did have lots of overheating issues when I was in direct sunlight. The unit would peak at like 62°C and anything over 60°C shuts down recording for overheating. So that was a pain.
 
Imagine the film days, when Kodak motion picture film needs to stay below 50 degrees!

In direct sunlight, hot days, you should have an umbrella (opaque) over your rig.
 
cuervo said:
Still perplexed why you'd run two batteries, one for the O7Q and one for the FS700. It's de riguer for me to run a single AB/IDX 90 brick, mounted to the handgrip rosette. On my last shoot, in the direct sun for 8 hours, 95 degF, and not a single hiccup or problem. And the battery will go for two days, unless I use a whole lot of power zooming with the kit lens. I know it's a wee bit heavier, but, it can't be THAT much heavier than two watsons.
Click to expand...

For me, its the simple fact of $$$. I already had the 970s laying around, so a battery plate + a couple batteries was nothing compared to getting started with a IDX or AB setup. Trust me, I already have it priced out, but at the moment I just needed something to get my O7Q/FS700 system working. Not ideal, but it's what I can make work.
 
Mitch Gross said:
I suspect the battery mount with spliced cable may be the cause, but should you find that your other plate does the same please contact cdsupport to report the issue.
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Thanks, Mitch. If I truly thought it was an issue with my O7Q, I would have contacted support ASAP. I was just trying to see if anyone else had run into similar issues with heat and the batteries.

I agree that the long/spliced cable is the most likely issue, but it's the best I could do under short notice last week. I'm currently designing a new battery plate for the base of my glidecam that will shorten the cable length as well as still allow me to add counterbalance weights. Someday I'll upgrade to a better Glidecam/steadicam rig that will better accommodate my O7Q and batteries, but money is always a factor...
 
DC power will always lose voltage due to resistance in the power line. The longer the cable and the thinner the cable the greater the resistance. The Odyssey7Q accepts a wide range of voltage (6.5-34v) but these camcorder batteries are down near the bottom of the range. So a long cable run or a splice in the cable can easily cause enough resistance in the line that the batteries perform quite poorly.

Alan, based on the pictures of your Glidecam rig from Twitter, I would suggest mounting your battery plate on the back side of the base of your sled to help balance with the Odyssey on the front. If that proves an issue then try mounting the battery as close to the post as possible. You could attempt to put power for the camera at the base of the sled and then run a line up the post, but I would not suggest it at this voltage. Just stick a battery in the back of the camera.

And yes, if you have the money, your best bet is a larger 12v brick which you can use to power both the Odyssey and the camera via a converter. There are a number of manufacturers of these.
 
Mitch Gross said:
DC power will always lose voltage due to resistance in the power line. The longer the cable and the thinner the cable the greater the resistance. The Odyssey7Q accepts a wide range of voltage (6.5-34v) but these camcorder batteries are down near the bottom of the range. So a long cable run or a splice in the cable can easily cause enough resistance in the line that the batteries perform quite poorly.

Alan, based on the pictures of your Glidecam rig from Twitter, I would suggest mounting your battery plate on the back side of the base of your sled to help balance with the Odyssey on the front. If that proves an issue then try mounting the battery as close to the post as possible. You could attempt to put power for the camera at the base of the sled and then run a line up the post, but I would not suggest it at this voltage. Just stick a battery in the back of the camera.

And yes, if you have the money, your best bet is a larger 12v brick which you can use to power both the Odyssey and the camera via a converter. There are a number of manufacturers of these.
Click to expand...

Mitch, what you're suggesting (battery at the back of the sled base) is exactly my plan. What I'm dealing with now is just my "make it work for now" situation. Thanks for the input, as always!
 
Mitch Gross said:
best bet is a larger 12v brick which you can use to power both the Odyssey and the camera via a converter. There are a number of manufacturers of these.
Click to expand...

I'd really appreciate if one of you guys or Mitch could supply me a solution for this. Which parts would I need? I already own V-Mount 95W bebob batteries.

(Voltage always seemed a kind of natural enemy of mine lol)
 
Hi Alan-
Thanks for the feedback. We've made power reduction an engineering priority. We have already found 2.0 to 2.5W of power reduction in idle mode via some firmware changes. We've got a number of ideas to reduce the power during record, but these will take a but longer to implement.

Reducing power has a double advantage of lower operating temperature and longer battery life (and fewer issues with long battery cables). Look for improvements in the upcoming firmware updates.

Mike Schell
Convergent Design
 
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