C200: SWIT Battery with D-Tap & USB Port

Bern Caughey

Bern Caughey

Veteran
Got a email from SWIT announcing their new products for NAB. What stood out was the LB-CA50 73Wh Battery for Canon which features a D-Tap, & a USB port.

“Compatible with Canon EOS-C300 MK2, EOS-C200
◆ Power by D-tap to DC cable
◆ Charge via D-tap socket
◆ 5V/1A USB-A type power output
◆ Multiple circuit protections”

There’s not a lot of information on the web, but a German retailer appears to list the D-Tap as outputting 14.3 V 3.5 A, which should be enough to run a Gratical, or some monitors.

https://www.videodata.de/shop/produ...6r/Akkus/Akkus-f-252r-Canon/Swit-LB-CA50.html

SWIT has similar batteries for Sony & they’re very popular with FS7, & FS5, owners. I have four of them & they’re great for times when I want to keep the camera package smaller, but the Gratical will run them down, so I’m often unplugging the D-Tap when not shooting. A year ago Zacuto said they were working on a power cable with a On/Off Switch, but haven’t released one so far.
 
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Fahnon said:
I'm not sure why someone downvoted this statement. $270 for the smaller battery is steep and reeks of OEM tax. If the Swit batteries are less expensive they'll be a no-brainer provided there are no hidden downsides...
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Ha, ha, downvoting.

Yep, agreed. $500.00 for a BP-A60 is plainly a ripoff. I bought one, use it, love it, just don't think it was a good value though. It's just small a 14.4V battery. I have MaxOak V-Mounts with 2-3 times the capacity that cost 1/3 the price.
 
Always thought Canon batteries for the 300, & 200, were 7.4V so was surprised the SWIT could put out 14.3V through the D-Tap. Now I wonder why it took SWIT so long to bring these batteries to market?
 
I thought SWIT made a mistake having the d-tap on the side then realised the battery will protrude out of the body and not sit flush.

Could these power a c200/smallhd 700 series monitor for a decent period?
 
Bern Caughey said:
Always thought Canon batteries for the 300, & 200, were 7.4V so was surprised the SWIT could put out 14.3V through the D-Tap. Now I wonder why it took SWIT so long to bring these batteries to market?
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It's confusing, the old batteries for the C100, C300, 500 were 7.4V, but the batteries for the 200 and 300 MKII are 14.4V and a heck of lot more expensive. The old ones were pretty reasonable, the new ones, not so much. I believe the C700 is only set up for AB Gold mount, if I recall?
 
puredrifting said:
Yep, agreed. $500.00 for a BP-A60 is plainly a ripoff.
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Not sure I'd call it a ripoff. An Anton Bauer Dionic lithium ion has the same watt hour capacity as BP-A60, and they are $100 more. Camera manufacturers and the staples of the cinema battery industry like AB have standards and QC they have to hold up to - those kinds of things cost money.

The two things I don't skimp on are batteries and media. Too much money is being spent in front of the camera to worry about a few $100 difference inside the dang thing.

That being said the concept of a D-TAP built into an in-camera battery is exciting! I haven't had much experience with SWIT as a manufacturer, anyone have any word on how they hold up?
 
The SWITs are widely popular with FS7 owners, & I’ve never heard of any complaints. Ordered four with my FS7 & never even tested the smaller OEM battery that came with my camera. Also have two of their Dual Chargers & they’ve been great too.

I use the D-Tap often to power a Gratical, but have only used the USB to charge up iPhones, & iPads, usually on long layovers.

It’s good to hear that Canon’s moved to 14.4 VDC. Thought it was a mistake on Panasonic’s part to go with 7.4V as the EVA-1 desperately needs an EVF.
 
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rob norton said:
Could these power a c200/smallhd 700 series monitor for a decent period?
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I have the same question. I'm tempted to replace Canon's LCD screen with the SmallHD 502 Bright if I could do so without adding any additional battery weight by powering of the d-tap.
 
Bern Caughey said:
Now I wonder why it took SWIT so long to bring these batteries to market?
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Apparently SWIT had planned to released when C300mk2 came out using 14.4V batts, but they decided not to as target market was too small. With C200 there's a wider market and commitment from Canon to the 14.4V batt standard. (Per prior discussion on this board. It's way back so hard to find.)
 
chris f said:
I have the same question. I'm tempted to replace Canon's LCD screen with the SmallHD 502 Bright if I could do so without adding any additional battery weight by powering of the d-tap.
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The LCD would be too handy to get rid of for normal shooting (for me) so I'm guessing you mean for gimbal operation? I'd like to add a 7 inch monitor soon, it'd be great to load up on batteries without needing a larger brick.
 
Well, wish the news were better, but SWIT (and others) could not crack the Canon code, so they came up with a solution that has no direct connection to the camera battery pins. Instead, they use a D-Tap and will be supplying a DTap to Lemo cable to power the camera through the Lemo DC jack. Also, they will be giving away a basic charger as the battery cannot be charged on any other charger except their own (no pins to connect to).
The battery is rated at 73W, less than the OEM BP-A60 90W.
While the battery powers a camera, there is no way to power an accessory at the same time as there is only one out - D Tap. :-(
Kudo for trying, I just do not see it as a good alternative to the OEM A60.
 
chris f said:
I have the same question. I'm tempted to replace Canon's LCD screen with the SmallHD 502 Bright if I could do so without adding any additional battery weight by powering of the d-tap.
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I power the F3 and a Black Magic Video assist. I get 2/3 hours. I imagine the c200 with Small HD would give you similar performance.
 
adolgin said:
Well, wish the news were better, but SWIT (and others) could not crack the Canon code, so they came up with a solution that has no direct connection to the camera battery pins. Instead, they use a D-Tap and will be supplying a DTap to Lemo cable to power the camera through the Lemo DC jack. Also, they will be giving away a basic charger as the battery cannot be charged on any other charger except their own (no pins to connect to).
The battery is rated at 73W, less than the OEM BP-A60 90W.
While the battery powers a camera, there is no way to power an accessory at the same time as there is only one out - D Tap. :-(
Kudo for trying, I just do not see it as a good alternative to the OEM A60.
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Really?!?!? Everything about this is a disappointment.

BTW, the Lemo connection on the C200 and C300 MKII is a mess. I paired a brand new Wooden Camera V-Mount adapter to plug into my brand new C200 to power it and the connection would lose power momentarily every time I would hoist the camera onto my shoulder. I then tried the same battery mount to Lemo connction on a rented C300 MKII with the same result. I've also read lots of complaints from other Canon users, that connection is not good. It feels okay with the connector locked in but something seems just slightly out of alignment or off spec with the connection. I would never trust my camera operating reliably with that Lemo connection. And the D-Tap for powering other accessories was the main reason there was any excitement about the new batteries anyway.
 
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That's a shame. They could have at least made that DC input a right angle one. I'd settle for that if it could power 1 accessory too.
 
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