Portable power? at DVinfo.net

Evan Bourcier · September 9th, 2012, 05:52 PM

Hey, quick question. I was wondering if you guys have any options you would recommend for making LED panels portable, preferably on a budget.

Thanks,
Evan

Jim Schuchmann · September 10th, 2012, 06:25 AM

The obvious answer is batteries, but without knowing how big the Led panels are and what type of power connection they have, it is difficult to answer your question. Do you expect to move these panels around constantly or are they going to be set in place? Details.

Brian Brown · September 10th, 2012, 07:34 PM

Assuming low-draw lighting like LEDs, I use a battery-pack/ sine-wave inverter system made for AC-powered strobe lights by Paul C. Buff: Paul C. Buff - Vagabond Portable Power I've powered LED lights, laptops, and a day-long timelapse with my GoPro. The manufacturer doesn't warranty its use for anything other than their strobes, so... YMMV, caveat emptor, and all of that. But it's been a fantastic little unit for my needs.

Nate Haustein · September 10th, 2012, 08:21 PM

UPS battery back-up units for computer systems. They're basically a big, cheap, NI-CAD battery with a bunch of AC outlets. If you know what your lights draw and do a little math you can figure out the run time of different models and if it will be adequate. I bought one for about $30 and it runs my camera and laptop from a backpack all day long. All you need to do is open it up and rip out the small alarm that goes off when plugged in devices are running off the battery.

There are specialized solutions that may be more elegant, but this one is pretty darn cheap.

Greg Miller · September 12th, 2012, 07:48 AM

Every UPS unit I've ever owned has had lead-acid gel cells. That's actually better than NiCd cells, because NiCd cells develop "memory" problems after a while and would not work well in a UPS situation.

The typical few-hundred-watt rated UPS systems, designed for PC backup power, often have a 12V battery with around 7 to 10 amp-hour capacity. That gives you (in theory) 84 to 120 watt-hours of power.

If you want more capacity than that, another option would be to buy a larger 12V battery, and use a separate automotive inverter. Inverters in the few-hundred-watts range are relatively inexpensive. A standard car battery would work, but the wet-cell technology is not necessarily the safest or best... at the very least get a battery that is fully sealed (no removeable vent caps). A better choice would be a "deep cycle" battery designed for use in marine applications. These will perform better in a deep discharge situation such as running a load (e.g. LEDs) for long hours. You can easily come up with capacity of a few hundred amp-hours, which provides much more running time than a typical PC-size UPS.

Bob Hart · September 12th, 2012, 01:25 PM

I have two carry-around automotive jumpstart batteries I use for camera power and lights. They are cheaper than buying the same type of internal battery they use alone.

I added a 4-pin XLR panel socket below the cigarette lighter socket connectors. You may find there is an alarm which goes off on some of the newer ones.

The recharge time on these is slow as the supplied charger is usually a small plugpack.

Nino Giannotti · September 17th, 2012, 05:34 AM

I've been using for some of my LEDs the Paul Buff Vagabond Power Mini Paul C. Buff - Vagabond Portable Power
It's a small compact pure sine wave Lithium power supply. With a spare battery it costs about $350. That's the equivalent of one V mount battery but I can power two or more lights.

I never have to keep my LED lights on for very long time but when I first tested the Vagabond Mini I plugged-int two Socoland 12x12 lights and after an hour I still had 25% of power left, that's with one battery.

Kevin Spahr · September 18th, 2012, 10:16 AM

A number of the UPS systems use two 12 volt batteries in series which results in 24 volt - so watch connecting an extra 12 volt battery without checking your unit with a volt meter.

(I replace batteries in lots of these units for customers.)

Nate Haustein · September 18th, 2012, 06:04 PM

Thanks for the word of caution, Kevin. I'll check mine out before hooking up anything too expensive!

Pedanes Bol · September 20th, 2012, 07:00 PM

I recently purchased this. It is plastic but seems to be very functional. The light is very bright. Works with some Sony camcorder batteries (which I already have) as well as AA batteries. A lot of good reviews.

http://www.amazon.com/NEEWER®-Dimmable-Digital-Camcorder-Panasonic/dp/B004TJ6JH6/ref=pd_cp_p_0
I also ordered this one:

Amazon.com: Professional Super 6pcs LED Lights with Hand Grip Video Light: Camera & Photo

Seems like great portable light sources for great price.

Nicholas de Kock · September 22nd, 2012, 04:31 PM

Look at "Tekkeon" power solutions. Love their stuff, powers almost anything.

Noah Yuan-Vogel · September 23rd, 2012, 05:02 PM

Really depends on the LED units. Most efficient option is to avoid AC-DC and DC-AC conversions since you'll lose a lot of power to inefficient inverters/adapters. The great thing about most LEDs is that they take DC and have regulators built in, so you can power straight from DC cells. I have had a lot of luck with 12V li-ion batteries from ebay. They are about 1/10th the price of that paul buff unit and most v-mount options.

September 9th, 2012, 05:52 PM	#1
Evan Bourcier Major Player Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Mashpee, MA Posts: 251	Portable power? Hey, quick question. I was wondering if you guys have any options you would recommend for making LED panels portable, preferably on a budget. Thanks, Evan __________________ DSLR Photographer/Videographer from Massachusetts Portfolio at http://ebourcier.com

September 10th, 2012, 06:25 AM	#2
Jim Schuchmann Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: St. Louis, MO Posts: 123	Re: Portable power? The obvious answer is batteries, but without knowing how big the Led panels are and what type of power connection they have, it is difficult to answer your question. Do you expect to move these panels around constantly or are they going to be set in place? Details.

September 10th, 2012, 07:34 PM	#3
Brian Brown Major Player Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Estes Park, CO USA Posts: 426	Re: Portable power? Assuming low-draw lighting like LEDs, I use a battery-pack/ sine-wave inverter system made for AC-powered strobe lights by Paul C. Buff: Paul C. Buff - Vagabond Portable Power I've powered LED lights, laptops, and a day-long timelapse with my GoPro. The manufacturer doesn't warranty its use for anything other than their strobes, so... YMMV, caveat emptor, and all of that. But it's been a fantastic little unit for my needs.

September 10th, 2012, 08:21 PM	#4
Nate Haustein Trustee Join Date: May 2007 Location: Minneapolis, MN Posts: 1,313	Re: Portable power? UPS battery back-up units for computer systems. They're basically a big, cheap, NI-CAD battery with a bunch of AC outlets. If you know what your lights draw and do a little math you can figure out the run time of different models and if it will be adequate. I bought one for about $30 and it runs my camera and laptop from a backpack all day long. All you need to do is open it up and rip out the small alarm that goes off when plugged in devices are running off the battery. There are specialized solutions that may be more elegant, but this one is pretty darn cheap. __________________ Nate Haustein PXW-FX9 / FCPX www.flightcreativemedia.com

September 12th, 2012, 07:48 AM	#5
Greg Miller Trustee Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 1,791	Re: Portable power? Every UPS unit I've ever owned has had lead-acid gel cells. That's actually better than NiCd cells, because NiCd cells develop "memory" problems after a while and would not work well in a UPS situation. The typical few-hundred-watt rated UPS systems, designed for PC backup power, often have a 12V battery with around 7 to 10 amp-hour capacity. That gives you (in theory) 84 to 120 watt-hours of power. If you want more capacity than that, another option would be to buy a larger 12V battery, and use a separate automotive inverter. Inverters in the few-hundred-watts range are relatively inexpensive. A standard car battery would work, but the wet-cell technology is not necessarily the safest or best... at the very least get a battery that is fully sealed (no removeable vent caps). A better choice would be a "deep cycle" battery designed for use in marine applications. These will perform better in a deep discharge situation such as running a load (e.g. LEDs) for long hours. You can easily come up with capacity of a few hundred amp-hours, which provides much more running time than a typical PC-size UPS.

September 12th, 2012, 01:25 PM	#6
Bob Hart Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: PERTH. W.A. AUSTRALIA. Posts: 4,477	Re: Portable power? I have two carry-around automotive jumpstart batteries I use for camera power and lights. They are cheaper than buying the same type of internal battery they use alone. I added a 4-pin XLR panel socket below the cigarette lighter socket connectors. You may find there is an alarm which goes off on some of the newer ones. The recharge time on these is slow as the supplied charger is usually a small plugpack.

September 17th, 2012, 05:34 AM	#7
Nino Giannotti Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Tampa-Orlando, FL Posts: 124	Re: Portable power? I've been using for some of my LEDs the Paul Buff Vagabond Power Mini Paul C. Buff - Vagabond Portable Power It's a small compact pure sine wave Lithium power supply. With a spare battery it costs about $350. That's the equivalent of one V mount battery but I can power two or more lights. I never have to keep my LED lights on for very long time but when I first tested the Vagabond Mini I plugged-int two Socoland 12x12 lights and after an hour I still had 25% of power left, that's with one battery. __________________ NinoMedia Productions - EFPLighting.com Advanced Lighting and Gripping Workshops

September 18th, 2012, 10:16 AM	#8
Kevin Spahr Major Player Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Carlisle, PA Posts: 451	Re: Portable power? A number of the UPS systems use two 12 volt batteries in series which results in 24 volt - so watch connecting an extra 12 volt battery without checking your unit with a volt meter. (I replace batteries in lots of these units for customers.)

September 18th, 2012, 06:04 PM	#9
Nate Haustein Trustee Join Date: May 2007 Location: Minneapolis, MN Posts: 1,313	Re: Portable power? Thanks for the word of caution, Kevin. I'll check mine out before hooking up anything too expensive! __________________ Nate Haustein PXW-FX9 / FCPX www.flightcreativemedia.com

September 20th, 2012, 07:00 PM	#10
Pedanes Bol Regular Crew Join Date: May 2007 Location: Boston MA Posts: 167	Re: Portable power? I recently purchased this. It is plastic but seems to be very functional. The light is very bright. Works with some Sony camcorder batteries (which I already have) as well as AA batteries. A lot of good reviews. http://www.amazon.com/NEEWER®-Dimmable-Digital-Camcorder-Panasonic/dp/B004TJ6JH6/ref=pd_cp_p_0 I also ordered this one: Amazon.com: Professional Super 6pcs LED Lights with Hand Grip Video Light: Camera & Photo Amazon.com: Professional Super 6pcs LED Lights with Hand Grip Video Light: Camera & Photo Seems like great portable light sources for great price.

September 22nd, 2012, 04:31 PM	#11
Nicholas de Kock Major Player Join Date: May 2007 Location: KLD, South Africa Posts: 983	Re: Portable power? Look at "Tekkeon" power solutions. Love their stuff, powers almost anything.

September 23rd, 2012, 05:02 PM	#12
Noah Yuan-Vogel Major Player Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: New York City Posts: 613	Re: Portable power? Really depends on the LED units. Most efficient option is to avoid AC-DC and DC-AC conversions since you'll lose a lot of power to inefficient inverters/adapters. The great thing about most LEDs is that they take DC and have regulators built in, so you can power straight from DC cells. I have had a lot of luck with 12V li-ion batteries from ebay. They are about 1/10th the price of that paul buff unit and most v-mount options.