A Few Questions About Nanoflash Power Usage

[Steve Kalle]

What is the minimum voltage the nanoFlash requires? I ask because my 88whr Swit batteries drop down to 1 bar fairly quickly (out of 4 bars) and then stay there for a couple hours when powering an EX3 + nano. So, I use the voltage readout from the nano and my EX3 to determine how much juice is left because the voltage slowly drops about .01 volts per 2 mins. Last night, I ran it down to where the nanoFlash reported 13.98v while the EX3 said 14.7v.

Also, what is the watt-hour usage when recording and do the HDMI and/or SDI outputs draw any extra power when connected to a display? If so, what is their power draw?

Thanks

[Dan Keaton]

Dear Steve,

The maximum power draw of the nanoFlash is 5.8 watts.

The power draw in Power Standby mode is approximately 0.1 watts.

While we publish the power range from 6.5 to 19.5 volts, the nanoFlash can go lower and still work, to at least 5.5 volts.

For a 7.2 to 7.4 Volt Lithium-Ion battery (two cells in series), once the battery gets to 6 volts it will start draining very quickly. Thus, replace the battery when it gets to 6 volts.

A fully charged 7.2 to 7.4 volt battery will provde about 8.3 volts or higher (immediately after being removed from the charger). It will quickly go down to around 8 volts. Then go down to below 8 volts.
But, then the voltage will slowly go down to close to 6.5 or so volts.

Thus, most of the power in the battery will be provided from around 6.5 volts to 8 volts (or so).

Of course, one can easily check this out, for you own batteries using the voltage meter built into the nanoFlash.

Also, please note that below a certain voltage the battery will cut-off suddenly.

The voltage levels for a 4-cell (series) batttery will be different. These are the 14.4 volt batteries. These can be 16 volts or higher immediately off the charger.


While we calibrate our voltage level meter when we manufacturer the nanoFlash, I can't guarranty that the voltage readings are 100% accurate, but they are repeatable.

From your comments where you were powering the EX3 (for some time I assume), it does not seem right to me that that EX3 reported 14.7 volt while the nanoFlash read 13.98 volts.

If you had been powering the nanoFlash and camera for some time, the 14.4 volt battery should be in the 13 to 14 volt range, and not at 14.7 volts. If the battery was recently off the charger, then 14.7 volts may be correct.

To make this very simple:

If one watches our voltage level meter, the voltage will drop slowly (except at the very begining) then once it starts dropping faster it is time to replace the battery.

[Steve Kalle]

Thanks Dan.

I was using a Swit S-8082S v-mount battery (88whr) to power the EX3 and nano and I used the IDX v-mount adapter specifically designed for the EX3 (can't find a model # on it).

Does the nanoFlash draw any more power when a SDI and/or HDMI cable is connected to the display output?

[Dan Keaton]

Dear Steve,

I will ask our engineers.