Sale today @ B&H on micro v mount batteries

ahalpert said:
2 98wh batteries + dual charger for $450.

Looks like a good deal to me?

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod...ols_rdfskt1_2x_micro_series_98wh_v_mount.html
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Seems fine if you like V Mount.

Most US based battery users are GOLD mount. (For inter-operability) and your gear obviously needs to support that.

Rest of the world is more typically V MOUNT.

I find V MOUNT's can usually be made to fly through the air by giving them a hard tap from the bottom of the battery.

GOLD mount seems to be more secure.

JB
 
John Brawley said:
I find V MOUNT's can usually be made to fly through the air by giving them a hard tap from the bottom of the battery.

GOLD mount seems to be more secure.

JB
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This is true and perhaps part of the reason v mount gear is a bit cheaper across the board. (Which is the reason I originally bought v-mounts, sadly)
 
While V-mounts have been around since the late 90's or so(Sony & IDX), I didn't notice V-mounts really taking hold until the in-rush of "Cheap Chinese Gear" after the "DSLR Revolution". And they're still the minority in the "TV" world. They are definitely not as secure or have as reliable of a connection as Gold Mounts.

And I often wonder when I see people talking about/asking about "V-mounts", if it's not from younger/newer people to the industry and they're using it in the generic sense for brick batteries. Like how people used to say Xerox and Kleenex when they were just referring to copiers/copying and face tissue.
 
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V-mount's popularity skyrocketed after the first URSA Mini 4K, and then continued with the 4.6K sensor.

That deal is okay but only because of the dual-charger.
 
Run&Gun said:
While V-mounts have been around since the late 90's or so(Sony & IDX), I didn't notice V-mounts really taking hold until the in-rush of "Cheap Chinese Gear" after the "DSLR Revolution". And they're still the minority in the "TV" world. They are definitely not as secure or have as reliable of a connection as Gold Mounts.

And I often wonder when I see people talking about/asking about "V-mounts", if it's not from younger/newer people to the industry and they're using it in the generic sense for brick batteries. Like how people used to say Xerox and Kleenex when they were just referring to copiers/copying and face tissue.
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Yeah, I think I recall people often saying "Sony V-lock", as they were most often only Sony Brand cameras for a while. It is pretty obvious that Vitec and Anton Bauer were much more tight fisted about keeping control over their mount, that many 3rd part companies flocked to V-mount.

In China, Sony Brand was far more popular than the very expensive American Gold Mount, so that is likely another reason so many of the new wave cheaper film and video gear coming out of China was predominantly catered towards the cheaper and more familiar V-lock.

But that is just how I saw it. I really have done no research on it. I just recall people saying "Sony VCT" and "Sony V-lock", and for a while it was really only Sony gear that was likely to have a "V" locking device mechanism associated with it. Did they make the NP1 style mount? I kind of liked the weather proofing potential, haha.

The only confidence inspiring V-locks I saw were Sony brand batteries on Sony brand cameras. Everything else I was afraid to even breathe on them and cause a shut down.
 
We have zero problems with IDX branded batteries on IDX branded mounts. Thousands of mount/unmount cycles on the plates now, never had one fall off or glitch power. I've also used the AB batteries and am familiar with how solid they mount, but in my opinion neither is more secure than the other. Also keep in mind that I'm doing this with students, if there is a weak link, they will find it numerous times.

And yes I do thump them once in a while to see if things are worn out and need to be replaced. I think a lot of the issues might be about quality of the clone, maybe the AB mount makes the clones work more easily.
 
Greg_E said:
We have zero problems with IDX branded batteries on IDX branded mounts. Thousands of mount/unmount cycles on the plates now, never had one fall off or glitch power. I've also used the AB batteries and am familiar with how solid they mount, but in my opinion neither is more secure than the other. Also keep in mind that I'm doing this with students, if there is a weak link, they will find it numerous times.

And yes I do thump them once in a while to see if things are worn out and need to be replaced. I think a lot of the issues might be about quality of the clone, maybe the AB mount makes the clones work more easily.
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IDX was/is one of the better affordable options. That likely why they became such a common sight. As cameras got lighter and smaller, the stackable IDX batteries came in handy for counterbalance.

However, they were not as solid as my experience with Sony on Sony. And not as confidence inspiring as Gold Mont. They were good enough though. And with care, they'd never be an issue. Was the following onset of increasingly random V-mount style batteries that were scary. One of the worst offenders were the Red V-lock batteries.

The Bebob mount is a new one that is very interesting. It doesn't have that sort of AK-47 reliability of the Gold Mount, but they are incredibly solid. The tolerances look a little tight for dust or other issues, but they go onto the camera like a fused weld. Arri is supposedly switching to the Bebob mount as their default battery mount.

Anyone that pans their camera by the battery is likely a Gold Mount user. Many Gold Mount shooters use the brick as often as they might use the tripods pan handle. V-mount users do sometimes too, but the flex is unnerving. Only the Sony to Sony had that rigid locked in feeling.


I've have some bad Gold Mounts too. The Cine90's seemed to warp, and some of them don't lock in properly. For some reason I haven't run into a Cine150 with that issue and I use more Cine 150's. Maybe the 12amp draw was too much for the 90wh??? idk
 
Fro starters, use one of these for panning. Made by my former 1ST AC, now a Steadicam operator in his own right.
https://cruzhandle.com/

It used to be that the battery mount went by territory. These days it’s more fluid.

Speaking from 5 years for a large rental company and my own years of use...

V Mount can usually leave the camera with a solid thump from below.

JB
 
John Brawley said:
Fro starters, use one of these for panning. Made by my former 1ST AC, now a Steadicam operator in his own right.
https://cruzhandle.com/
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When I worked with V-mount, I had to stop myself from operating from the battery. ha! That cruz handle would have been nice to have.

It used to be that the battery mount went by territory. These days it’s more fluid.
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Yeah, in China and HK it was all Vmont. Had a HK DP friend shoot in USA with his own Alexa, and it was a V-mount. Which in the US, almost all Arri is GM.

Speaking from 5 years for a large rental company and my own years of use...

V Mount can usually leave the camera with a solid thump from below.

JB
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Had this happen a lot when I was AC'ing for a real meaty camera op. He was always backing up into C-stands and walls and that light tap or bump caused the camera to shut down. So any v-mount camera I used after than I wold first test the battery mount against bumps. And then I would also avoid bumping into anything ever.

Probably not worth the investment, but if you ever get a chance to try out the Bebob mount, there was something soothing about how Locked in they were. was like the battery was part of the camera.
 
I missed the memo when Bebob came out with that - thanks for sharing!

Looks like it's technically called B-mount and they developed it in partnership with Arri as a new higher-voltage standard. I'd be surprised if it weren't rock-solid considering that Arri was involved

But price-wise it looks like an 86Wh B-mount battery costs $535, more than the 2-battery and charger combo on sale above

But I agree v-mount is insecure
 
ahalpert said:
I missed the memo when Bebob came out with that - thanks for sharing!

Looks like it's technically called B-mount and they developed it in partnership with Arri as a new higher-voltage standard. I'd be surprised if it weren't rock-solid considering that Arri was involved

But price-wise it looks like an 86Wh B-mount battery costs $535, more than the 2-battery and charger combo on sale above

But I agree v-mount is insecure
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It's also a dual 14/28 volt battery system. CoreSWX has also been making a line of dual 14/28 volt batteries and they are more expensive than the standard 14v. versions.
 
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Also, Bebob has a micro series of batteries that are under $300 a piece. Their Cine Batteries have a higher max amoerage draw or whatever, in both their 14v and 28v batts.

But Bebob is currently the best innovator in battery design right now. Block Battery is interesting too. They have some flyer friendly designs. The Chinese brands have some wild things going on, but they feel more like catch-all innovations, and not industry specific.
 
Also, for what it's worth, for at least 15-20 years, Panasonic (full-size) cameras and portable field monitors have come from the factory with A/B Gold Mount battery plates pre-installed/built-in.
 
Run&Gun said:
Also, for what it's worth, for at least 15-20 years, Panasonic (full-size) cameras and portable field monitors have come from the factory with A/B Gold Mount battery plates pre-installed/built-in.
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Being an old Panasonic fanboy, i can directly link my appreciation for gold mount to my appreciation for Panasonic.
 
P.S. If you sort in the top-right (on the blue background) by "Biggest Savings" [% or $], you may come across some random pretty sweet finds.
 
NorBro said:
P.S. If you sort in the top-right (on the blue background) by "Biggest Savings" [% or $], you may come across some random pretty sweet finds.
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That's awesome. Thanks NorBro! Looks like all the 85% discounted stuff is low-rated crap though lol.

Time for my semi-annual self-control exercise in B&H impulse-buy prevention...
 
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