FS7: What's your power solution for the FS7 and why?

K

kamieldoens

New member
Hi,

What's your power solution for the FS7 and why? BP batteries, V-locks, etc. And what mount do us use, power distribution boxes etc...

Cheers,

Kamiel
 
Hawkwoods Vlock rear...
http://www.hawkwoods.co.uk/Prods/Product/VL-FS7

Reason.
Vlocks, long lasting, have 'stock', rentable.

Multiple power outs can add..
-wireless transmitter
-focus motor
-gopro
-phone charge.

The one drawback of this plate is that one cannot access the power in to the camera easily. The other day I was down on Vlocks and wanted to switch to mains.. not trivial!

--

Oddly I try and run my monitors and accesories from BPU batteries, meaning my investment is in Vlock and BPU and should I ever want to strip the camera down I have plenty of BPUs (which also fit my EX1!)

BPU and VLock - both 12ish volts, both have level meters.. life is good without canon batts or older sony batts.

S
 
SWIT’s BPU batteries which have a D-Tap, & USB power ports. Also use SWIT’s Dual Chargers. The D-Tap requires a L-shaped adapter, & I mostly use it to power a Gratical Eye. The USB is usually used when traveling to charge phones, & tablets.

Also have Wooden Camera’s LWS Battery Slide with an IDX V-Mount Plate, & SWIT A/B>V-Mount adapter, so I can use either type of Brick.

I don’t usually travel with Brick batteries, & rent locally as needed. Often I just use the BPUs, but even when utilizing Bricks I leave a BPU in the camera as backup, & so I can Hot Swap the bricks.
 
Seems like investing in both is the way to go... Bp for compact and travel and also a v-mount plate for "bigger" jobs. OK thanks

asking because I'm just about to purchase an fs7 mkII package FYI :)
 
I use both. My stripped down lightweight set-up uses Sony BPU's (Bought before Swit's neat solution came out) and my heavier set-up uses V-locks mounted to the XDCA unit.
 
Re BP-U90s, I've been using cheapo Chinese copies from Amazon - I've experienced absolutely no difference in performance, compared to the OE Sony, over the last 2 years.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B014SJ90YA/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

You know when you sometimes reach for the OE original item because you trust it more? I don't have any of those qualms with these. YMMV - but I have 5 and never get through more than 2 in a day.

Ben.
 
3x SWIT BPU-93 1x SWIT BPU-63, custom Sony BPU-30 as ultimate backup but I never ran out of batteries during a day
 
I use gold mount AB batteries. I have the AB adapter that mounts into the stock battery area and then plugs into the back of the camera. This adapter gives two P-tap ports to power accessories. It's gotten a few negative reviews for mounting issues - none of which I have experienced.

I also run with the XDCA extension depending on the project, so I adapt from V-lock to gold mount. That adapter gives 3 P-tap ports as well.

With either set up, I can use my AB Tandem charger/mains power adapter on the camera if I'm in a fixed location with main power. I also have an AB dual charger with 4-pin XLR that I can use to power through the XDCA extension if I want to keep the back of the camera clean.

Personally, I like the weight balance of this set up, long battery life, and flexibility.

With that said - I already had some AB gear before jumping into the FS7, so it made sense to me to go that route. If I hadn't had that gear already, I may have gone a different route.
 
bengiles said:
Re BP-U90s, I've been using cheapo Chinese copies from Amazon - I've experienced absolutely no difference in performance, compared to the OE Sony, over the last 2 years.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B014SJ90YA/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

You know when you sometimes reach for the OE original item because you trust it more? I don't have any of those qualms with these. YMMV - but I have 5 and never get through more than 2 in a day.

Ben.
Click to expand...


I agree to an extent, I have the ex-pro batteries off Amazon and it lasts just as long as the Sony bp-u90 but the build quality is a little poorer as mine has started cracking around the mount. Saying that. Ex-pro have offered a replacement but I don’t know how to send a Li-on battery in the post.
 
bengiles said:
Re BP-U90s, I've been using cheapo Chinese copies from Amazon - I've experienced absolutely no difference in performance, compared to the OE Sony, over the last 2 years.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B014SJ90YA/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

You know when you sometimes reach for the OE original item because you trust it more? I don't have any of those qualms with these. YMMV - but I have 5 and never get through more than 2 in a day.

Ben.
Click to expand...

Funny you should say that. All Lithiums are basically Chinese. Only difference is how some companies like Anton, have a more sophisticated charging protocol. Does it actually add to the life of the battery? Can't say but as I have been using the gray colored Chinese batteries for more years than many on this list have been in the business, I can safely say, I haven't seen any difference. I use Beillen chargers on all my gold top style batteries. I use the gold top style because I always have. I want one one style battery that can power a multitude of devices like LED's, clamshell (who uses those anymore?) and my audio gear. My audio kit is a 688 with BDS distribution, which powers the mixer and my wirelesses and my Zaxcom audio hop. One style battery serves all my needs. I range from 90's to 190's and about every 3 or so years they go south so I send them to a local place ( for me it's Atlanta) called Synergistic Batteries where they recell them.
 
All Lithium battery pack uses 18650 battery. What set some apart, is the brand of battery they use.

"Panasonic, Sanyo, Sony, Samsung, and LG are the top level 18650 cell manufacturers"
 
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