FS7: V-MOUNT Battery Question for fs7

M

moups

New member
hi there,
maybe it will be a noob question....if so , i apologized.
I have search in all forums but with no success

So, what is the needed specs of a v-mount battery for the FS7 (voltage / mah / W/h ) ?
Is it possible to connect directly the battery to DC in with a cable like that
( http://www.smallrig.com/SMALLRIG-D-Tap-to-DC-Power-Cable-For-Sony-PXW-fs5-And-Sony-PXW-FS7-Camcorder-1818.html
or did i need to buy a specific plate?

coming from the world of the fs700 and his long life battery , i am new into the V-mount solution .

thanks
 
Yes you can use that cable if you like. A plate makes things nicer and tidier but in reality you could use that and secure the battery however you like. Or you could use one of the Hawk Woods/Zacuto Gripper batteries that connects via 15" rails instead of a battery plate.

The FS7 has a very small draw compared to larger S35mm digital cameras. A Sony-BPU 60Wh battery will last 3-4hrs for me in the configuration I use (including about 2hrs of shooting).

2 x 90Wh V-Mounts last me all day shooting, including having a monitor and other bits attached. They are quite lightweight as well which is good. I use them with the Hawk Woods FS7 v-mount adapter that has 4 x D-Tap outputs on top, as well as a built in FS7 power cable. £210 well spent in my opinion.

I also have larger 160Wh batteries if it is going to be static or studio shooting.
 
V locks are all 14.4 v which works for the FS7 power input. (apart from a few 26v ones for very big cameras)

Mainly they sit on plates which feed power out through a Dtap plug

You need to acheive two things..

powering the camera.. yes the lead you linked will do the job

putting the battery somewhere.

For that you will need a plate which can either..

-be an FS7 specific item which bolts on the back of the camera
-mount on rods or something else

Most likely the most tidy solution is to mount direct to the back of the camera with an FS7 specific plate.
You may want to keep the battery/plate seperate from the camera to simplify using the FS7 in a more 'stripped down' mode.

You want to get a plate that has more than one Dtap out.. this would enable you to run other gack off the same battery.. monitor, focus motor, small light, gopro, phone charger whatever.

You could also consider the XDCA from sony which adds both a Dtap, timecode input and some codec options to the basic camera and a raw output for a recorder like the oddessy 7q.

The XDCA is not too popular an item as the Prores is 1080 only, the quality of the raw output is debatable, and it adds significant mass (and flex) the the camera.

While we are talking flex your fs7 plus Vlock will need a half decent tripod to support it properly.

Personally I use a Hawkwoods plate attached to the camera.
 
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Hi guys, thanks you so much for the great explanations, i appreciate

So, i was thinking attaching the battery on the back on the camera with the cheap and simple small rig solution and then power directly to the cam. I was a bit worried about voltage and tension but now i am more confident.The lanparte plate is a solution too, i can fix it on my rig rods for handled & tripod shots and "deliver" it easily for gimbal mount.

Anyway , i have now to consider the hawkwood plate ( maybe need more dtap for accessoires as you said ) or savng money for the xdcc unit.

Again thanks for your replies.
 
Yep if you need to strip the camera fast to put it on a gimbal then using an (on the rods) plate may be better than attachment to the camera

Personally id buy another camera for your gimbal! (bmc micro is my choice)

Being 'geeky' having 'on the rods' vlock will allow lower mounting and more stable shoulder work, and more balance options and most likely flex on your sticks less.. but to me the simplicity of the hawkwoods plate beats those considerations. On the rods will also work with your next camera.
 
morgan_moore said:
You could also consider the XDCA from sony which adds both a Dtap, timecode input and some codec options to the basic camera and a raw output for a recorder like the oddessy 7q.

The XDCA is not too popular an item as the Prores is 1080 only, the quality of the raw output is debatable, and it adds significant mass (and flex) the the camera.
Click to expand...

Just for accuracy: The XDCA does not provide D-tap. It connects directly to the cameras and requires no further cable to power - just stick a batt on there.

Lots of broadcast people like the XDCA as it adds both gen-lock and timecode sync. If those aren't important to you, it's just a big paperweight.
 
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