GH2 + Lanparte V-mount battery plate?

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david.rhsc

Member
I'm having trouble finding some of the threads on power solutions for the GH2. I know the batteries are rated 7.2, but the AC adapter is 8.4 (both the brick and the coupler are marked 8.4v). I can't recall though what folks were stepping down to from 12v V-lock batteries.

I'm considering getting one of these :

http://www.amazon.com/Lanparte-V-Mo...=UTF8&qid=1355171441&sr=8-7&keywords=lanparte

Which has a 7.2v out for canon cameras. Has anyone tried this plate with a GH2? I almost think I would be better off (since I don't expect to need that many voltage options or HDMI ports) just getting a v-lock plate from B&H building out my own.

Any and all thoughts/suggestions are welcome. In the very unlikely event someone from lanparte is around these boards, is there a version with 8.4v out?
 
I believe you need a minimum of 8.4V into the DC coupler for things to work and even a little bit less prevents things from working. So the safer bet is to aim for 9V instead. I've used a 9V AC-DC power adapter successfully into the DC coupler. There are a bunch of past threads about GH2 power issues, here's one of the longer ones:

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?245907-GH2-Power-specs-tests-DIY

In terms of how to step down from 12V to 9V, there are various options. Switronix makes a voltage regulator adapter for this very purpose: http://www.switronix.com/products?p...age=flypage.tpl&product_id=152&category_id=39
The power tap end would plug directly into the Lanparte V-Mount rig you mentioned. The downside is that it's kind of pricey.

If you're comfortable soldering, you could make a similar adapter yourself using something like this:
http://www.amazon.com/Universal-Portable-DVD-Dc-Adapter/dp/B000BNNKJE

It's basically a variable voltage regulator that goes from 12V input and has a switch to set the output voltage, one of the options being 9V.
You'd just need to cut off the car charger end and solder on a P-Tap or DC power connecter then plug it into the 12V output on the V-Mount rig.

Even cheaper would be to just buy a voltage regulator part directly, although that would be more involved.

There are also some non-V-Mount battery options that have 9V output, for example, I think a lot of people have had success with:
http://www.tekkeon.com/products-mypowerall.html
(some others are probably mentioned in the other threads). Course you have to figure out how to mount it, and it may not work out so well for you if you have a bunch of V-Mount batteries already.
 
Thanks Dave. I'll give that longer thread a read through later today. I'm pretty set on going with a v-lock plate, as I want something that will outlive the GH2 body. After a bit of digging around, I may forgo the Lanparte plate and just get an IDX P-V2 either bare bones like this one:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/IDX-P-V2-En...203?pt=Batteries_Chargers&hash=item564fd07dc3

Or one with a 4-pin XLR out for power, like this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Cinema-Oxid...541?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a7c913a15

And the Dolgin converter that I found via other threads on this site:

http://dolgin.net/zen_dolgin/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=18&products_id=113

One can infer from their website that they would be willing to make me a short 4-pin female to 2.1mm cable for those purposes. 4-pin female to <lemo, or whatever I need for the next camera body> should be fairly inconsequential to find. I'll have to look more closely and see if they are going over 8.4 to compensate as you are describing.

From there it's a piece of cheese plate and some assorted hardware to make my own. That way I'm avoiding all the messy internal electronics for things I don't need like the extra low voltage outs or extra HDMI ports (evf/AC monitor already have the pass-through). I am fairly comfortable soldering, but I am willing to spend a little extra coin to get parts that I can trust to run without failure. Not sure I am *that* comfortable with my own soldering. Emergency fixes to the electric Bolex in college are one thing, failures on set where people are ostensibly paying for my gear is another thing entirely. ;)
 
G'day David,

I work with the LanParte equipment and have a very good relationship with all of the guys over there, so I might be able to help clear up a few things for you;

First of all I'll say that it's difficult to find affordable adapters for cameras which aren't the 5D, 60D or 7D on ANY of the fixed-voltage power supply units.
Manufacturers are partly to blame with their OEM protections, with cable vendors not being completely innocent with their $140 eye-gouging price points for what is (essentially) a $2 piece of work.

1.) The naming of the 7.2v on the pinch is a bit misleading (and comes down to a mix of mistranslation and colloquialism in the camera industry.)
The pinch *actually* outputs closer to 8.1v, with the 7.2v naming being derived from the nominal voltage of most DSLR batteries (easiest to think of it as the "average" voltage)

2.) I recommend Dave's approach of using a D-Tap to convert it to work with the GH2.
Unfortunately the Panny cameras tend to be extremely picky to differences in voltage so I would worry that 9V might not be enough head-room to get it to the exact spec you need.
Obviously the D-tap/P-tap bypasses this issue altogether.

Whilst I would recommend the Dolgin solution in a second, do keep in mind that they're difficult to mount, not having any standard 15mm connections, and you will likely need an accessory like the Single Rod Clamp (+$39) as well as their mounting kit (+$50) in order to get it sitting nicely on your rig.

--

If you're still interested in the LPT solution send me a PM as we actually have the kits available new (Power Pinch + 4 DC cables + AC wall adapter + AC cable) for $192 including shipping via DHL for dvxusers.

In either case, make sure your desired solution comes with a proper fuse/safety system in case there are any spikes.
No manufacturer will guarantee against them, but you do want a design which will blow a fuse rather than your camera.
Cheaper is usually not better when it comes to power as even a small difference in price (~$50) can give you dramatic differences in quality, as can be seen by the $100 knock-offs of the LanParte unit (plastic + absolutely *horrible* board design).
 
Thanks for the clarifications Josh, is the "15v" thing similar? I'm really only familiar with ~14.4v batts. I don't know much about it, but the BMD camera seems to be 15v or something? Not to derail my own thread, but thinking in terms of long term investment in aks parts, I am curious about such things.

I think I have a decent plan for a plate solution that could accommodate the Dolgin, though overall I'd be spending the most money with that route. HA! Typical.

I read through the OP and some of the key posts in the epic GH2 power thread. Lots to absorb. Heh. :) Got to give it another view before I move forward. I think the real key is that I want something I that will outlive the GH2 body and/or work if I use a rental body for a project. The Cinema Oxide plate seems to be the most flexible in that respect. The converter solution is body specific, naturally, but the plate itself could power many cameras given the right 4-pin to <whatever> cable. Would love to hear additional ideas on how to design/power rigs that are camera body agnostic (for lack of a better term).
 
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Sorry to take so long to get back to you; I'll double check the 15v specs with the engineer on Monday afternoon.
14.4v is the typical so it might be the same thing; nominal voltage listings being quite misleading/confusing.

I'm working on some "camera agnostic" designs at the moment as it's incredibly frustrating to have to buy so many different cables.
I think I'll steal that term, if you don't mind!

UPDATE:
Took a while to get a hold of the engineer but I have the right answer:
Essentially the 15v outputs the full voltage of the battery.
Its nominal rating is actually 14.4v +/- 0.1-0.3v, but this will fluctuate based on how charged/discharged the battery is; starting at around 15v, stabilizing at 14.4v and then hovering around the 13v point once it's fully discharged.

Basically, the 15v out is the same as connecting directly to the battery; but instead of having a funky Sony/AB mount you get a generic DC plug.

Hope that helps!
 
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Greatly helpful, thanks for following up, Josh!

I did end up ordering the Cinema Oxide plate, since that seemed like the most future-proof option. Wooden Camera (http://www.woodencamera.com/) makes a "bolt-on" plate for the idx mount that looks pretty clean. I almost ordered their "battery slide," but elected against it since the single point of contact doesn't seem like the sturdiest hinge. Matching slide rails on both sides seems like it would be sturdier. For now I'm going to forgo trying to make something fancy and just using some L-bracket cheese plate I found at Cinema Gadgets to attach the plate to 15mm rails. Once the thing is done I'll try to remember to post a pic.

Thanks again for all the info. I'd like to go ahead and PM you (Josh) about some other lanparte gear though, likely after the new year.
 
Update:

The Cinema Oxide plate is great. Highly recommend these guys. They will make a cable of any desired length with your order and the quality is very high.

Wooden Camera bolt-on IDX mount, also very excellent. Very likely I will buy more parts from him as well.

I simply cannot recommend the Switronics product. It is getting returned shortly. The plug on the camera side is visibly smaller than the one on the actual GH2 AC adapter from Panasonic. I took a measurement after I noticed the difference visually. It appears to be 1/2-3/4 of a mm too small. This means that when you plug the Switronics box into the DCC-8 there is enough play in the connection for the whole thing to lose ground and the camera shuts off. In fact, when I first plugged it in the camera did not power up. Pretty embarrassing for this to happen at the rental house when I was prepping for the shoot. It was possible to get it powered on by fiddling with the connection, but any movement at all (even just panning on a tripod) caused the thing to lose ground. Furthermore, the d-tap end seems to be larger than an actual d-tap on the battery plate. This means forcing it in every time. I'm going to PM Mr. Dolgin here on the boards and get one of this boxes. I simply cannot tolerate any level of failure on a shoot.

My dual L-bracket plan didn't really work very well mainly because I didn't think it through fully. I was able to bolt the WC plate onto a pair of standard lightweight rail blocks for a temporary fix, but I am going to see about a more permanent and versatile mount very soon.

Again, anyone who's considering this, just stay away from the switronics. Not worth it.
 
david.rhsc said:
Again, anyone who's considering this, just stay away from the switronics. Not worth it.
Click to expand...

That's really disappointing to hear. Hope you'll let us know how it works out with the Dolgin. I'm looking for an Anton Bauer solution for the GH3, and the power specs appear to be similar. I've just tested my Tekkeon with the GH3 and the DCC12 coupler, and it works just as it did with the GH2.

Here's the new thread on GH3 power specs for future reference....
 
Nice, I'll keep track of that thread for sure.

In fairness, I bought some parts from RadioHack that I could have used to resolve the connection problem by replacing the connector on the switronics. I decided against it for a couple of reasons. The primary reason was potential failure of my hacked solution, the secondary one being re-sale value. Easier to sell an un-hack piece of gear with the kit when/if I choose to replace the GH2 than to sell it with something I spliced together.

I'd recommend an IDX solution over an AB gold mount, but there's some personal preference in that recommendation. The batteries are lighter and less costly. So are the chargers and plates. Anton Bauer is just tacking on extra cost for the name.
 
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