what are you guys doing for AC and DC power on this thing.
I was going to use a BC-2U and Swit EX-L96 batts , but then thought hey maybe I should just get a $50 power supply and one of Dolgin's chargers. Even the 2 unit charger wouldn't cost much more than the Sony and give me more and probably faster charging power. His 4 unit chargers would be of course be even faster battery readiness.

How fast is the Sony charger?

How many batteries are you guys finding you need to get through a day with the F3 ?

Lenny

The Sony charger is not fast. It takes about 3 - 4 hours to charge a BP-U60. One BP-U60 lasts about 2 hours, the swit is similar, so you really want 4 or 5 for a full day. I'm sorting out a V-Lock adapter as this will be better suited to powering both the camera and accessories like monitors and off board recorders.
Using the swits you will need a EX power to 4 pin XLR adapter cable.

I'm getting by without drama doing full days on 3 BP-U60s, and a BC-1 charger, as long as I put the first battery discharged on charge soon after it comes off the camera.

If I was away from AC power this setup would not work, of course. Or I literally had to stay rolling for 8 hours straight.

Also getting somewhat more than 2 hours on a battery.

For me (just me), I can't bring myself to tack on a VLock somewhere. 2+ hours on a battery is a beautiful thing, to keep this thing light and fast to work with. If I need accy power I'll figure something else out.

Guess my BP-U60's are getting a little old now, had them a couple of years.

The Sony charger is not fast. It takes about 3 - 4 hours to charge a BP-U60. One BP-U60 lasts about 2 hours, the swit is similar, so you really want 4 or 5 for a full day. I'm sorting out a V-Lock adapter as this will be better suited to powering both the camera and accessories like monitors and off board recorders.
Using the swits you will need a EX power to 4 pin XLR adapter cable.

Hey Alister,

Would you mind providing a link to a power cable like that? I've found one that would work using the D-Tap connector to XLR but I've not found one that would use the EX1 pigtail on the battery.

I don't have any Sony batteries. The camera doesn't come with any. I've got 10 Anton bauers though and that's how I've been powering the F3. It lasts quite a few hours on an Anton Bauer.

Alex Dolgin just started making a cable for EX charger or swit batts to 12pin .
Right now its 6" but I'm going to check for him if that is ideal
Off hand I'm thinking maybe shorter is better because if I use swit batts and the Sony charger I could keep the pigtail on all the time.
Wary of getting a separate 4pin 12V charger ibecause there might be a tendancy for the 12V pigtail adapter get lost on me when switching to batts. - That's an argument for staying with the Sony batts though. However I like the Dtap idea and have never liked the separate Anton Bauer route as it's always seemed heavy and unwieldy on the EX's. Maybe I should think that one through though, it is a clear solution.

Wasn't there a way to adapt the external dionix type batts to the EX battery connection?. Does that work with the F3? I don't want to have to use rails when handheld.

As you can see I'm thinking aloud here and going in circles. I'll iron it out.

What are you guys using for an AC adapter?
I could use the same kind of Marshall type 12V 5Amp adapter I use for my BTLH80. Around $50 -$80 I think

Suggestions welcome.

Aaron what size are your Anton Bauers and how are they attached?

Guess my BP-U60's are getting a little old now, had them a couple of years.

After 2 years, I have found, the batteries generally start to degrade whether they are NiCad or Lithium Ion. The degradation scale is also logarithmic, at least in my experience. My batteries from my EX3 are now 2.5 years old and are showing signs of deterioration.

I am a big fan of the SWIT batteries because the have the D-Tap connector on them. Very useful if you are a nanoFlash user or are powering an eye light. However the Sony batteries are good when you want to have a real handle on the amount of battery time remaining. If I have a big lens on the front, the Anton/V-locks on the back of a shoulder rig are essential for counterbalance. All different tools to get the job done.

Leonard,
There are a variety of styles of AntonBauer - 4pinXLR adapters. My favorite happens to be one with belt loops, some rubber padding and a 6' cable. It's pretty comfortable wearing it with Dionic90 or Hytron50 batteries, but can become tiresome with the weight of a Hytron140.
I originally got several of these adapters in various styles to power 1x1 sized LED lights (from FloLight, with 4pin XLR inputs) for portable use, but have used them to power a wide variety of monitors and cameras when necessary. The adapter also has a PowerTap plug.
For most purposes I'd still go with an on-board BPU60, but since I'll typically have some A-B batteries with me anyhow, these can provide additional (or with a Hytron140 much longer run time) power when needed.

Hey Alister,

Would you mind providing a link to a power cable like that? I've found one that would work using the D-Tap connector to XLR but I've not found one that would use the EX1 pigtail on the battery.

I've got a couple of these; (second product down)
Product Listing Power Sources (http://www.king-cart.com/cgi-bin/cart.cgi?store=nanoflashdotnet&product=Power+Sources&exact_match=exact)

plug your Swit pigtail cable in and keep the D-Tap connector open for powering things like Nano Flash or monitors.

Perfect Bruce, Thanks!

Im using an IDX battery plate with a regulated 12V d-tap as well as one unregulated d-tap. From there I'm running a d-tap to XLR cable to my F3 and Aja KI Pro Mini.

I also got a Switronix GPTS V-Mount Hot Swap Adapter so that I can connect two V-lock batteries at the same time. This allows me to switch batteries without needing to power down my entire system. I also provides another d-tap so I could hook up my monitor to the set-up as well.

Aaron what size are your Anton Bauers and how are they attached?

Dionic-90 is the size. I have a Anton Bauer plate that simply has a 6 inch pigtail and a 4-pin XLR that plugs right into the F3. The plate itself has a big slab of velcro on the bottom that I installed myself. It's very sturdy. It also has a D-tap on the plate that I power my lightpanels mini light with. Works pretty well.

Jeff Cree at Burbank Band Pro mentioned the camera will draw around 18-20 V once dual link and S Log becomes engaged - a lot more than what the Sony charger putting out 12V is capable of. Does anyone know what maximum voltage the camera will take before frying? Like plugging in a 24V for instance?

That seems odd to me. Usually, when a device needs more power, it draws more current (amps), not volts.

Dear Friends,

The wattage is expected to increase a little when more features are turned on in the F3, and one is using them.

The voltage is dependent on the power source and its ability to supply the power required. The voltage will never increase (from normal power sources) if the camera needs more power.

I hope this helps.

Jeff Cree at Burbank Band Pro mentioned the camera will draw around 18-20 V once dual link and S Log becomes engaged - a lot more than what the Sony charger putting out 12V is capable of. Does anyone know what maximum voltage the camera will take before frying? Like plugging in a 24V for instance?

I think there's a confusion (or typo) here...
Camera will be drawing 18-24 Watts (at ~12 volts) with everything on (maybe even a little more assuming that we've all convinced Sony to allow us to have HDMI and HD-SDI and Dual Link all turned on simultaneously in a future firmware release.

From the Manual---

Power requirements
DC 12 V (11.0 V to 17.0 V)
Power consumption
Approx. 18 W (Typical) (HD-SDI Dual-
Link Off, VF On, LCD monitor Off)
Max. 24 W (Typical) (HD-SDI Dual-
Link On, VF On, LCD monitor On)

Thus connecting to a 24v power source would be a BAD IDEA!

I know that Junior at EC Professional had verified that the camera would run off the BC2 charger/power supply, but at this point he probably wouldn't have had Dual Link on, so I'm guessing he was at the lower end of the power spectrum.

Here is a compact power supply from Switronix that should deliver a constant 50 to 60W.

https://secure.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?Ntt=SWSPU4&N=0&InitialSearch=yes

Thierry.

Thierry,
I just bought that power same Switronix power supply at B&H.

Also at B&H is an identical charger sold by Bescor, for around $30-$50 more.
So, don't spend more thinking you're getting a better one.

Has anyone tried an Anton Bauer Tandem power supply/charger with an A-B to 4-pin adapter?
Seems like a reasonable option since it auto-switches to battery power (if you put a brick battery on it) if you lose AC power. It's output is listed at 16.4v and 4.25A. Plus it charges the brick when not powering the camera. I've just never put a 4-pin adapter on it, so wondering if anyone else has...

I have the Switronix on my "things to get" list as well. No sense in messing around with something critical to operation just to save a few bucks.

Dave, Sorry for the typo and confusion. I meant watts, not volts. I too am running off the BC-U1 charger/supplier by soldering a Canon 4 pin as suggested by Junior, and measured output from Pin 1 & 4 at 12.1 volts, while the DC out at the charge end of the unit (flipping switch to charge) measured 14.4 volts. It's not the prettiest thing having the charger dangling around but I thought I'd play with it for awhile and see if it'll work when we can turn dual link and all that other good stuff on.

I use a Anton Bauer battery charger on my lite panels 1x1 for 12 volts DC out. No reason it can not function powering the camera as well with a D-tap and XLR power plug.