FS7: FX9 Powering options

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truelife

Well-known member
I've been excited about receiving my FX9. As an FS7 user, I think it's a natural upgrade with a rich feature set. However, I'm concerned by all the early assessments by Doug Jensen, Alister Chapman, Philip Bloom and others that have mentioned the power-hungry nature of the camera. Up til now on my FS7 I've enjoyed the SWIT batteries with D-Tap. They're quite easy on the body and wallet and they last forever, unless I need to power accessories. I'd initially thought I'd make a lateral changeover to the CORE 98wh batts to power the FX9 but it seems I might need a bunch of 'em.

The Newshooter team has posted a number of very interesting mini V-lock batts that are both tiny and look to be able to power smaller LEDs. I do more run and gun work with smaller crews and need to be fairly mobile so I was looking for folks' opinions on the evolution of V-locks. Can they be trusted? Anyone in the US use V-locks on their FS7?

I think the cost is very different between mini V-locks and AB batteries but the cost difference is nominal between Core and Swit batts for the FS cameras and the mini V locks. They even have tiny 4 bank chargers for the V-locks that look pretty nifty. I just want to make sure I can travel relatively light and not have to carry a giant heavy Pelican just for batteries.

Thoughts welcome.
 
I have the mini V locks and they work fine, but so do my 96WH Swits . There's no difference at all. The advantage of V locks is you can use them to power lights & accessories more easily and you can put bigger batteries on if you want them.. You'll need an adapter to run the V locks. That about sums it up.
 
LennyLevy said:
I have the mini V locks and they work fine, but so do my 96WH Swits . There's no difference at all. The advantage of V locks is you can use them to power lights & accessories more easily and you can put bigger batteries on if you want them.. You'll need an adapter to run the V locks. That about sums it up.
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Do you find the run time is comparable between the V-locks and the Swits?
 
truelife said:
However, I'm concerned by all the early assessments by Doug Jensen, Alister Chapman, Philip Bloom and others that have mentioned the power-hungry nature of the camera.
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Just to be clear, I just reported what the camera's manual said the power consumption was. I didn't characterize the camera as being power hungry. In fact, I'm, surprised it isn't higher given all the processing going on for a FF 6K sensor.
 
One problem is the DC input is 19v.. so the usual suspect V mount plates to DC wont work.. but dummy battery would .. but Im sure they will be made soon enough .. its not if you can trust V mounts ..thats just the mount and is the universally used mount .. only the US really useless AB.. its more a concern of who is making the battery.. but any showing at Interbee in Japan should be good I would think.... AB also make V mount batts.. any of the well known brands will be safe.. Sony are also due to release larger capacity small size batts that fit directly.. but they dont have any D tap annoyingly .. I wouldn't class 35W as power hungry .. try an Amira !.. its more that the fs7 was very un power thirsty ..the fx9 is not much more than an f5..
 
LennyLevy said:
Unless I'm mistaken, 98WH is 98WH is 98WH it really doesn't matter what type of connector you use.
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Personally I prefer V mount to AB .. and you have alot more options .. of if you need a rental anywhere in the world .. its probably going to be V mount ..
 
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Donny 123 said:
... I wouldn't class 35W as power hungry .. try an Amira !.. its more that the fs7 was very un power thirsty ..the fx9 is not much more than an f5..
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Yeah. Our old Betacams were 25-35 watts with our old 5.5lb NiCad batts topping out at 65Wh. I guess it’s all about perspective...
 
Donny 123 said:
Personally I prefer V mount to AB .. and you have alot more options .. of if you need a rental anywhere in the world .. its probably going to be V mount ..
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It’s kind of a personal call on what mount you use, but Gold Mount is more robust than V-lock. When have you ever seen a Gold Mount battery just fall off or someone have to seat and re-seat a GM batt several times before it makes good contact? Spending my career mostly on the “TV” side it’s mostly GM, still. V-lock has been around since the 90’s and Sony actually came up with it, but it doesn’t seem like it really took hold to the levels that you see now, until after RED chose it as their default mount. Every “real” Panasonic camera and portable field monitor going back to at least the original VariCam came from the factory with genuine A/B Gold Mount plates installed. The only GM plate I’ve ever had an issue with is the GM-to-V-lock plate for my F55 and it’s the V-lock side that’s the issue. And it’s probably the receiver side on the camera. All I know is that if my 55 won’t fire up, I just pull the plate off the cameras v-lock and re-seat it(sometimes multiple times) and then it will fire.
 
Yeah there's a similar discussion in many RedUser threads on the topic, but to me it seems like AB are more expensive and unlikely to create mini versions. The weight and form factor make this new crop of mini-V mounts look appealing as both camera and possible lighting batts.
 
truelife said:
Yeah there's a similar discussion in many RedUser threads on the topic, but to me it seems like AB are more expensive and unlikely to create mini versions. The weight and form factor make this new crop of mini-V mounts look appealing as both camera and possible lighting batts.
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Other brands(like Core) that make both GM and V usually sell the same batts for the same price in either mount. But as to actual Anton Bauer batts being more expensive, then yes, but I switched over to buying Core maybe five years ago. Not that Core’s are inexpensive, either, but I’m not concerned with buying the least expensive battery, I’m concerned with buying the most reliable. You’re probably right about never seeing a GM “mini”, the mount design won’t really allow it(at least not to that extreme) as it’s spread out over a much larger area, which is one of the reasons it’s much more robust than V-lock.
 
Run&Gun said:
I switched over to buying Core maybe five years ago. Not that Core’s are inexpensive, either, but I’m not concerned with buying the least expensive battery, I’m concerned with buying the most reliable.
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So you've found Core to be reliable in that regard? Their BPU-style batts look nice, but the reviews are a bit all over the place...
 
truelife said:
They even have tiny 4 bank chargers for the V-locks that look pretty nifty. I just want to make sure I can travel relatively light and not have to carry a giant heavy Pelican just for batteries.

Thoughts welcome.
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It is wiser to buy 2 dual charges than to buy a quad charger.
 
truelife said:
Donny- you're saying that the current V-mount plates for the FS7 would not be compatible with the FX9?
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AFAIK yes.. they dont put out enough power .. 19V.. there will have to be new V mount plates made .. which Im sure there will be .. V mount plate to dummy battery will work as usual .. but not direct to DC plug..
 
truelife said:
So you've found Core to be reliable in that regard? Their BPU-style batts look nice, but the reviews are a bit all over the place...
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I had an issue with the first run of the HyperCore Primes when they were still Switronix(firmware issue), but since that was straightened out, they've been solid for me. I have three A/B's still in service. The other 12 of my Gold Mount batteries are Switronix/CoreSWX.
 
I did some test with my stash of BPU batteries as that is mostly the way i power my Fs7 and will be as well w my Fx9. First, i thought i read (or saw) somewhere that the BPU 30's would not work in the FX9. That DOES NOT seem to be the case, they work just fine...not a lot of battery time but they do work. Second, the Fx9 powers up EXTREMELY fast...like flip the switch and its on and ready to go fast. Its impressive.

Keep in mind with the numbers below this is certainly not scientific nor can i speak to the life of the batteries that i have. They are all probably in the three to four year range and have been used a lot and in this case I randomly grabbed one of each (fully charged) off the charger...except for the Shape BPU65 which wasn't fully charged...so your mileage may very on any or all.

BPU 30 FX9 58m Fs7 107m

BPU 35 FX9 78m Fs7 151m (ships w Fx9)

BPU 60 FX9 118m Fs7 209m

BPU 90 FX9 187m Fs7 364m

Shape BPU 65 FX9 203m Fs7 276m

Based on the numbers above i ordered another of the Shape 65's as i'm partial to the size/weight of the 60/65s, i'll get the most juice from it and it's roughly half the cost of the Sony BPU60 and i have no idea what the new Sony BPU65 will cost...or when it will be available.

And in terms of the new batteries from Sony, it would be nice if they changed the color scheme slightly. The new BPU35 battery is IDENTICAL in color shape and size to the BPU30...if they just changed the blue stripe to a different color they'd be in business.

Anyway...fwiw.
 
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I've never gone the V-Lock route. Always BPU. IMO the primary benefit would be throwing more weight toward the back of the camera to counter balance heavier lenses on the front.

My Kastar batteries worked fine as did my Swit 93s. I haven't pulled the BP-U35 out of the box yet. I was just searching Google yesterday for a BP-U battery comparison chart but couldn't locate one. thirdyearff - your post is very timely for me. I'd like to add a 98wh battery or two so I don't have to pack as many in my bag.
 
theraptor56, exactly what were the model names of the Swit and Kastar batteries you used with the FX9? I just realized none of mine will work and the camera is arriving today. I need to get something fast from Amazon if possible.
 
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