PDW700 power consumption

[Steve Phillipps]

Never seen the battery warning light so often in my life! I don't know about volts and watts etc., but it seems this camera does use a lot of juice. Left it powered up to test it, in standby mode it lasted bang on an hour with a BP60 battery. With the same battery a Sony 750 lasted 1 hour 45 minutes in standby. Maybe not a deal-breaker but it is something of an issue which I thought I'd share.
Steve

[Stewart Menelaws]

Thanks for that Steve - this is a question I have had on my mind as it could be important for certain jobs.

I am not familiar with the BP60 Battery - do you by any chance know how that compares with the IDX Endura 10?


Regards: Stu
www.studioscotland.com

[Steve Phillipps]

I think it's similar, I do have both here, will try and get round to doing it with the IDX 10. Also didn't try it recording either, will see if I can do that.
Steve

[Simon Wyndham]

The 700 does have very high consumption. Around 40w if memory serves, with large power spikes on record start. But that's what you get for having those chips combined with the disc recording system. The XDCAM cameras do need much more consideration when it comes to battery systems. The standard Sony ones just don't cut it for these cameras.

When I spoke to Anton Baeur about it once they told me that Li-ion batteries are not the best option for XD cameras. They said that a battery such as their Hytron would be a better bet because they cope with the power spikes better.

[Steve Phillipps]

Interesting. The PDW700 with an IDX10 battery recorded a whole 50gb disc + another 10 mins or so. That makes about 107 minutes by my reckoning. Maybe as Simon says there are some batts that are batter than others for this camera.
Steve

[Simon Wyndham]

If you start to add accessories such as camera lights etc you need to be even more careful with XD.

I started with Dionics. But was told later by AB that Hytrons would be far better suited. The power draw in itself isn't so much of an issue (although it does of course cause shorter runtimes). It seems to be that the power spike (it often goes as high as 70w) on the XDCAM disc cameras is detrimental to Li-ions.

Batteries like the Hytrons seem like a good idea anyway due to the limited lifespan of Li-ions. Use em or lose em so to speak, the Li-ions are probably only going to last 3 years or so, even if they aren't used, but even less time if they are used heavily.

[Greg Boston]

Originally Posted by Simon Wyndham

It seems to be that the power spike (it often goes as high as 70w) on the XDCAM disc cameras is detrimental to Li-ions.

That's the main reason I like the Hytron 140 (that and it balances the camera better). With the Dionic 90, I don't use the VDR Save mode cause it spikes every time you press record and the disc spins up. The Hytron 140 in Save mode yields some very good run times.

-gb-

[Thierry Humeau]

The 700 uses more power than let say, the F350 but it is not all that bad. One important thing to do is to properly set you "power save" options.

- In Operation Menu 01, switch OFF HD/SDI Output 1 and 2 if you dont use them
- In Operation Menu 07, Disable Ethernet/USB and i.Link if you don't need it. Also, switch the record audio out to SAVE from EE.

All of this can help quite a bit to reduce the power draw.

I am using 130W batteries from Pro-X and 160W lithium packs from Anssotech, they are light, compact and with 2 batteries, I have plenty of power to run through a normal day of shooting.

I don't think Sony BPL-90 have enough capacity for top end HD cameras.

Thierry.

[Steve Phillipps]

Problem with these bigger batteries though is that they're so much heavier. Those Hytrons are 2.5kgs each, whereas the BP60 and IDX10 are 700g, so you'd expect to get 3-4 times longer from them - does a Hytron really last 5 hours? What I see as a bit of a problem is just the fact that you need to carry extra weight into the field, not a continuous run time.
By the way, the heat sink (or whatever they're called) at the back right of the camera gets really hot, so I'd be careful after putting a camera glove/Portabrace cover etc. over it.
Steve

[Peter Newsom]

I have been using two Antons since I got my 350. My main battery is a Dionic90, and my second is the Hytron140.
I shoot news, and use a 20watt ultra light. No problem with the Dionic 90. I use the power save mode always, and I have two years of daily use on it, and it still has a good run time. Probably will need to look at a new one this season.
The only thing I can't do is run a 50watt light. I tried, and the battery display flashs it's unhappiness.
As to the Hytron, it weighs a ton, and I avoid it except when I need to use the 50watt light.

I might consider a Dionic 160 next time.

[Mike Marriage]

Originally Posted by Stewart Menelaws

I am not familiar with the BP60 Battery - do you by any chance know how that compares with the IDX Endura 10?

AFAIK the BP60 are 60WH and the Endura 10s are 100WH (actually 98WH I think). Meaning they can output that many watts for one hour.

Hytrons use NiMH cells, an older technology than Li-ion and has less capacity for a given mass. However, it can cope with higher currents than most Li-ion batteries.

With less capacity still are Ni-Cads, however they can really pump out the amps when required. I still use Ni-cads on my Steadicam which has to power the rig with CRT monitor, camera, remote focus and video transmitter all off one battery. A lot of power tools still use NiCads for the same reason. I think the only way to get more current is Lead Acid (aka car batteries). A car starter motor draws several hundred amps but the down side is that they weight a ton!

The ultimate solution is probably Tiffen Powercubes, a high capacity Li-ion battery with a much higher maximum output current. They're not cheap, but worth a look. I haven't used them personally but I've heard a lot of praise for them. They are manufactured by IDX for Tiffen and AFAIK will charge on most IDX chargers but don't quote me on that.

Check out http://antonbauer.com/selecting_batteries.htm

As you can see, the number of cells also affects max output.

[Steve Phillipps]

So if you use IDX Endura 10 batteries that can stack do would get better run times? If you use on on it's own you'll get say 80w, but two in tandem will give you 160w, so does this mean you'll be using them more efficiently and will get significantly more run time than from this one stacked unit than you would from the two used separately?
Sorry, but all talk of volts, watts and power draw gets me lost completely!
Steve

[Stewart Menelaws]

Trouble is with larger battery solutio

[Stewart Menelaws]

Thread went funny on me there...?

Are there any issues with airline travel with these Tiffen Powercubes?

Regards: Stu
www.studioscotland.com