GH2 GH2 Power - specs, tests, DIY

For those interested, I have tested and now use the Tekkeon MP3450i R2 battery with my GH2. It is a high-capacity lithium polymer battery, the best battery tech available.

tekkeon1.jpg

It allows a whole myriad of different voltage settings (via dip switches on the bottom). Just set it for 9V (the 8.4v setting gives a battery can't be used message after a couple of minutes) and you'll get a good 10+ hours of use. It comes with 5 tips, one which mates with the GH2 adapter perfectly.

They also sell a second battery without all of the connections so you can double up on the power:

tekkeon3.jpg

The extra battery is cheaper than the first, and includes the brackets to connect the two (the front bracket bridges the two together). Here's how it looks:




tekkeon2.jpg

There is even a third party 15mm rail mounting solution made by CPM Film Tools:

tekkeon4.jpg

All in all, an incredible setup!
 
I would love to see photos of your rig; I would figure the extra batt. would be overkill? The 15mm rail mounting system is more elegant than leaving the Tekkeon on the floor : )

chris
 
You can order our Power Plate adapter through B&H now. While they did not put much information in the description, please look up on our own website here. (Our adapter converts any common DV battery voltage to what GH2 needs to power up)
 
How long does this battery work with GH2? I mean not set but just one battery? Can you plug in Lilliput monitor in the same time?
 
The test I ran on a single Tekkeon ran for over 10 hours. To clarify, that was 10+ hours of actual recording time in 720p AVCHD, with the LCD on the whole time. I imagine if you used the small viewfinder instead you would get a longer recording time.

You can use the battery to power one device at a time. Would love it if Tekkeon made a battery that could power multiple devices at the same time.

adolgin: the power plate adapter looks cool, and definitely looks like a good option for someone with a lot of old DV batteries. Thing I like about the Tekkeon is that it is a lithium polymer battery. Li-poly batteries tend to be lighter and last longer than any other type of battery. Still, if you have lots of DV batteries around, then the plate adapter is probably more cost effective.
 
Thanks for reply. I am thinking about GH2 right now because of price 1199. I want to sell my 60D setup so i have been making research about GH2 accessories and I know the biggest problem is with the batteries. But 10 hours is still enough for me :) I don't record more that 5-6 hours of material. Thanks again.
 
Keylight, the Tekkeons are popular due to their smart design, and overall quality - you are not only one who likes them a lot. But I need to clarify a common misconception when it comes to Li-Poly batteries. They have a great advantage of being easily shaped to fit custom products, making them so popular with the cell phone designers and such. But they do not have any inherent advantages over cylindrical or prizmatic cells that are used in the DV batteries. In fact if you compare apples and apples, and calculate WH/g for each (just do a math for Tekkeon - 50WH/433g =.115) while the Panasonic DV battery would be 39Wh/235g = .165. You can probably explain some of the difference in volumetric efficiency by the fact that the Tekkeons have a case that adds weight, still... they are not better or lighter. In fact, any full size DV battery is about 1/2 the weight of the Tekkeon, and will power the camera for about the same time.
 
adolgin said:
Keylight, the Tekkeons are popular due to their smart design, and overall quality - you are not only one who likes them a lot. But I need to clarify a common misconception when it comes to Li-Poly batteries. They have a great advantage of being easily shaped to fit custom products, making them so popular with the cell phone designers and such. But they do not have any inherent advantages over cylindrical or prizmatic cells that are used in the DV batteries. In fact if you compare apples and apples, and calculate WH/g for each (just do a math for Tekkeon - 50WH/433g =.115) while the Panasonic DV battery would be 39Wh/235g = .165. You can probably explain some of the difference in volumetric efficiency by the fact that the Tekkeons have a case that adds weight, still... they are not better or lighter. In fact, any full size DV battery is about 1/2 the weight of the Tekkeon, and will power the camera for about the same time.
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Interesting. A few minor corrections to your figures. The Tekkeon I have in front of me weighed in at 436g and is rated at 58Wh, or .133 Wh/g.

I took a look at various DV batteries. They all output at 7.2V or 7.4V, but the GH2 requires more than that, doesn't it? Anything below 8.4 using the DMW-DCC8 and you'll get the battery can't be used message.... So are you pulling more than the rated output from the battery (didn't think that was possible), or tricking the GH2 into thinking it is getting what it expects?

Cheers!
 
Hmm, neither :-) We have a voltage converter/regulator circuit designed to fit inside the plate. So the output voltage is not the same as coming out of the battery, but is set to the level that GH2 is happy with. Also, we provide a second unregulated output (when ordered) so the same DV battery powers both a camera and a monitor, or any other accessory that uses ~7.2V.
 
It just so happens, that I put my Tekkeon mp3450 on for sale in here.
It doesn´t have the dip switches but you press the main button until the right voltage is selected, then you lock it, and THEN you connect it to whatever device.

//shameless plug
 
So no one has found a good buck&boost DC regulator chip yet that can output the voltage we need with a sensible input range at a sensible efficiency and needs only few external components?
(Like something you could integrate into a battery pack.)
 
keylight said:
---------------------------------------------------------------------
UPDATE #2: I now use the incredible Tekkeon MP3450i R2.
Over 10 hours on a charge. More details in Post #201.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
UPDATE: In Post #152 guyburns put together a
GREAT summary of what we know as of 5/25/2011.
---------------------------------------------------------------------

​







There's a lot of information in various places on powering the GH2. I thought it might be useful to put links in one place. Hopefully this will help others in the future.

First, there's a DIY DC Adapter (DMW-DCC8). The original idea is from Tyampel. Another nice variation is from g.l., who also had some useful tips.

View attachment 33099

UPDATE: And now we know what the inside of a Panasonic DMW-DCC8 looks like. Full post here

View attachment 34638

View attachment 34639

Then, there is the DIY DC Power Source. I made one of these and then ran it for 8 hours non-stop: Video Here

View attachment 33102

I used an 8.4v 4500mAh 7camera lensNi-MH flat battery for test.

Below is a photo showing the bottom of the Panasonic AC Adapter (DMW-AC8PP). I metered the adapter and it runs at 8.79v. When I connect the Adapter to the camera via my DIY DC adapter, the voltage drops to 8.70. The Amperage is 740mA, even though the adapter says the output is 1.2A. See posts later in this tread for a discussion....


View attachment 33005

I've scanned the manual, but the site isn't allowing me to upload. Anyone know if there's a pdf file size limit (it's approximately 1.2MB)?


Last Edit changes: Added update to the top. Removed some quotes from later in this thread, as the link in the update summarizes everything best.
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Wow, so cool, it's a good idea, i think that you must like thinking and action man.
 
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MarcusWolschon said:
So no one has found a good buck&boost DC regulator chip yet that can output the voltage we need with a sensible input range at a sensible efficiency and needs only few external components?
(Like something you could integrate into a battery pack.)
Click to expand...

I use a TI PTN78060W to power two bodies from cheap 12V 4800mah Hong Kong batteries - only needs an external resistor to set the desired output voltage (with a trimmer you get a very flexible PSU), has a 'soft start' feature (output voltage is only enabled when the input stabilises and is ramped up), overheat protection etc. Not cheap (check Ebay) but works great, I used it in a plastic project case with no ventilation or heatsinking required.

For a single body you might also get away with the smaller PTN78000W.

12V batteries work best for me as I also want to power a 12V LCD preview monitor. If you don't need that you can also get the same type of batteries with 9V outputs, prolly the simplest way to power a GH2.
 
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Matthew P said:
What about something like this along with a higher voltage battery? It says that it outputs 9v when being fed 12-24v, so if you used a 16v RC car battery, it would supply a steady 9v from fully charged to dry, right?

This could be even more flexible.
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The 1st one seems excellent on a 1st glance, cheap, sealed & good efficiency too. But it does seem to need 12V minimum, so if you're running it with a 12V battery that drops below 12V as it runs out, you may waste some useful time. For higher voltage batteries that's not an issue.

The 2nd only needs 1.5V higher in than the output, but doesn't mention efficiency.
 
Might order one to experiment with.

g.l said:
But it does seem to need 12V minimum, so if you're running it with a 12V battery that drops below 12V as it runs out, you may waste some useful time.
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What if one was to use two of these in a series to double the voltage? You'd end up with a 16.8v battery (still 5000mAh?) with the capability to be completely drained by the GH2, correct?
 
Matthew P said:
What if one was to use two of these in a series to double the voltage? You'd end up with a 16.8v battery (still 5000mAh?) with the capability to be completely drained by the GH2, correct?
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I guess so, but they seem pretty expensive for what you get, especially if you also need to buy a charger. Those Hong Kong Li-on batteries are pretty cheap on Ebay, and they come with a charger & in various mah configs. Plus there are the 9V versions that you can use directly with the body.
 
I thought about using a conventional 7.2V battery grip or external 5V (because every external cellphone battery can give you 5V and they are usually not limited to 500mA).
Powering from higher voltage is easy.
 
What is the Tekkeon's amps? How is its value compared to other batteries? I was going to buy 14.6v Capacity: 5000mAh for $29.

---------------------------

So I took a look at the battery on ebay:

This Rechargeable battery is a 12V 9v 5v Li-ion Battery and it is specially designed for powering the system device which use 12V 9v 5v DC power. You can use this battery to power our powerful wireless transmitter, CCTV camera and so on . Suitable for your need .
Dimension: 12 x 7 x 2.5CM
12V Dc: 6500ma
9V Dc:8500ma
5V Dc:15000ma
AC Adapter included 110VAC-240VAC to 12VDC $41

http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Portable-12V-9V-5V-Li-ion-Rechargeable-Battery-Pack-/330531102264?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4cf5305e38

Not a bad price with charger. Anyone use one yet? 8500ma @ 9v sounds like a long run time.

Do you think it outputs all 3 voltages at once? I could use 5, 9, and 12 volt!!!

found a youtube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLJD0AKnO4U&feature=related

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g.l said:
I guess so, but they seem pretty expensive for what you get, especially if you also need to buy a charger. Those Hong Kong Li-on batteries are pretty cheap on Ebay, and they come with a charger & in various mah configs. Plus there are the 9V versions that you can use directly with the body.
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The problem with those cheap ebay ones is the questionable reliability, and likelihood of fire etc. I wouldn't touch them with a barge pole, personally, especially if it's going to be connected to a £740 camera!

Chinese manufacturers often overstate the actual mAh anyway, so it's often a false economy (or at least, less of the bargain that it seems).
 
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