EX3 & Working Solid State Drive (SSD)

Mike Chandler · May 30th, 2009, 03:12 PM

I'm less concerned with extending the battery life than with getting if off the camera. Running the phu for 3 hours barely made a dent in the life of the bpu30, and it sounds like your testing is finding the same thing with the corsair; but having both the drive and the battery on the camera for handheld added more imbalance and weight to an already imbalanced rig (the ex3). For tripod interviews it's great, but I think I'd have to stick with cards for handholding, if both pieces need to be camera-mounted.

Bob Grant · May 30th, 2009, 08:16 PM

I'm looking to roll my own variant of this solution. All the parts or variants of them are available locally. The Rocketfish housing is a no show down under but Silverstone make an equivalent housing and dock for under $100. Bonus is the box is metal.
Only real issue I'm having is the Corsair SSD. I can order the 256GB variety at a hefty price. Question is can the camera address that much disk. I recall a comment about it being restricted to somewhat less than that but cannot find the post.

David C. Williams · May 30th, 2009, 08:52 PM

308 minutes in HQ seems to be the limit from what I've read. Roughly 85GB according to my calculator.

Barry J. Anwender · May 30th, 2009, 09:16 PM

David is correct. The 80GB (308 min) formated capacity is what Sony currently has set in firmware. So the 256GB Corsair is overkill, although it is considerably faster than the 128GB model and therefore more power hungry. On the other hand, the 128GB model does offload 308 minutes of HQ video in 14 minutes to a SATA RAID-0 array. That's not to shabby!

I'm about 3/4 the way through measuring the BP-U30 battery life using the Aimtec AMSR1-7805-NZ switching regulator. It does not dissipate any heat whatsoever and so is indeed very efficient, more than able to run two Corsair drives if need be. The Sony battery life will be in excess of 20 hours. I should complete the actual life measurement in one more day and then will report back.

Bob Grant · May 31st, 2009, 03:27 AM

Thanks to both of you.
The only other option currently available is the M64 which would appear not to be a good choice as it's probably not MLC even though the capacity would be a nice fit with the 80GB limit.

One question, have you tried creating two volumes on the S128?

Giroud Francois · May 31st, 2009, 03:32 AM

quote :"as it's probably not MLC"

Well if it is not MLC, it is then SLC, it is even better....(lot faster).

intel is making 80gig SSD (but they are expensive SLC).

Paul Newman · May 31st, 2009, 04:14 AM

My tests show that more than one FAT32 partition on a drive causes the camera to throw an "unrecognised media please change" warning, as the camera creates the 80gb single partition on formatting, it looks as though this is the limit.

I did however get 8 hours and 50 mins onto one drive, but I'm still unsure as to how it was possible.

Paul

Ola Christoffersson · May 31st, 2009, 09:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike Chandler

I'm less concerned with extending the battery life than with getting if off the camera. Running the phu for 3 hours barely made a dent in the life of the bpu30, and it sounds like your testing is finding the same thing with the corsair; but having both the drive and the battery on the camera for handheld added more imbalance and weight to an already imbalanced rig (the ex3). For tripod interviews it's great, but I think I'd have to stick with cards for handholding, if both pieces need to be camera-mounted.

Have you considered using the SWIT EX1/EX3-batteries. I believe they have a power outlet for external devices. Then you would not need an extra battery.

Mike Chandler · May 31st, 2009, 02:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ola Christoffersson

Have you considered using the SWIT EX1/EX3-batteries. I believe they have a power outlet for external devices. Then you would not need an extra battery.

Did you mean this one, Ola? Swit S-8U62 Li-Ion 14.4v 63Wh Battery. This from nine months ago:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ted OMalley

I just received a message back from Swit Electronics in China. They have confirmed that the S-8U62 battery will not work with the EX3, but that they are currently developing one for it. They expect to have it ready before long, but no real ETA.

Presuming that's been fixed, how would the 14.4v output power the corsair?

Also noticed from an older thread some recommends for anton/bauer QR-EX3 Goldmount/Dionic90/Tandem70 charger. But if I'm going to spend a thousand dollars, I might as well just get a 32gb sxs card.

Bob Grant · May 31st, 2009, 04:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike Chandler

Did you mean this one, Ola? Swit S-8U62 Li-Ion 14.4v 63Wh Battery. This from nine months ago:

Presuming that's been fixed, how would the 14.4v output power the corsair?

Also noticed from an older thread some recommends for anton/bauer QR-EX3 Goldmount/Dionic90/Tandem70 charger. But if I'm going to spend a thousand dollars, I might as well just get a 32gb sxs card.

Yes, the Swit has been 'fixed' by making the lead longer. The Swit battery includes a D-Tap in the body of the battery which makes powering other devices simpler. You'd still need a 14.4V to 5V converter though.
Many of the larger 'brick' batteries also include D-Taps in the battery body and/or the battery plate. Again you'd need to do the 14.4 to 5V conversion. These batteries do give you more capacity for your dollar than the Sony or Swit batteries, excluding the cost of the charger and mounts.
If you're shooting for extended periods from a fixed location don't overlook the humble Sealed Lead Acid batteries. We've made a lot of use of the Panasonic Calcium / Lead SLAs. They're very cheap for their storage capacity and the chargers are also cheap. On the downside energy density is very low with this battery chemistry so to get 200WH the batteries are large and heavy.

Mike Chandler · May 31st, 2009, 05:41 PM

Bob, Thanks for the info;what do you suggest as the simlplest/best way for converting the 14.4 to 5?

Barry J. Anwender · May 31st, 2009, 07:24 PM

Just completed measuring the Sony BP-U30 battery life with the Aimtec AMSR1-7805-NZ switching regulator. The regulator is very efficient and does not throw any heat whatsoever. The battery lasted for 22 hours of recording.

The 5-volt Aimtec switching regulator also fits nicely inside the bottom of a V-Mount Battery adaptor. So that provides even more options for those wanting to supplement the EX1/3 camera power as well as run with an SSD. I'm about half way through completing the mount for my SSD as well as for the Dolgin adaptor or the V-Mount adaptor. I will post pictures when it's finished. Cheers!

Bob Grant · June 1st, 2009, 12:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike Chandler

Bob, Thanks for the info;what do you suggest as the simlplest/best way for converting the 14.4 to 5?

The Aimtec or similar regulators mentioned previously should do the job quite nicely.

Paul Newman · June 1st, 2009, 09:36 AM

So, 22 hours is approx 1.3W or 260mA at 5v average draw - stunning, you could fill 3 SSD's and have 15 hours of footage with a single BPU30 !! or a single BPU 60 will double that capacity -

I'm currently making up some card adapters with 3 metre USB cables for use on studio tripod set ups, hoping to use them with three SSD's and 3 EX1's on a shoot next week, if all the parts arrive in time that is.

Paul

Stuart Wilson · June 1st, 2009, 02:55 PM

This thread is reading really well. However, all this talk of regulators, ohms and voltages is way over my head. Surely, someone out there can simply make a kit that works for the masses, PLEASE ??

Superb work and hats off for pioneering this, now we just need it going into production at a sensible price, someone could make a killing here...

Stuart

May 30th, 2009, 03:12 PM	#46
Mike Chandler Major Player Join Date: May 2008 Location: Moab, UT Posts: 264	I'm less concerned with extending the battery life than with getting if off the camera. Running the phu for 3 hours barely made a dent in the life of the bpu30, and it sounds like your testing is finding the same thing with the corsair; but having both the drive and the battery on the camera for handheld added more imbalance and weight to an already imbalanced rig (the ex3). For tripod interviews it's great, but I think I'd have to stick with cards for handholding, if both pieces need to be camera-mounted. __________________ www.packcreekproductions.com EX3, Mac Pro, FCP

May 30th, 2009, 08:52 PM	#48
David C. Williams Major Player Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: melb.vic.au Posts: 447	308 minutes in HQ seems to be the limit from what I've read. Roughly 85GB according to my calculator. __________________ www.davidwilliams.com.au

May 31st, 2009, 04:14 AM	#52
Paul Newman Major Player Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Agua Blanca Ibiza Posts: 305	My tests show that more than one FAT32 partition on a drive causes the camera to throw an "unrecognised media please change" warning, as the camera creates the 80gb single partition on formatting, it looks as though this is the limit. I did however get 8 hours and 50 mins onto one drive, but I'm still unsure as to how it was possible. Paul __________________ Another Sunny Day in Ibiza

May 31st, 2009, 05:41 PM	#56
Mike Chandler Major Player Join Date: May 2008 Location: Moab, UT Posts: 264	Bob, Thanks for the info;what do you suggest as the simlplest/best way for converting the 14.4 to 5? __________________ www.packcreekproductions.com EX3, Mac Pro, FCP

May 31st, 2009, 07:24 PM	#57
Barry J. Anwender Major Player Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Saskatchewan, Canada Posts: 382	BP-U30 Battery Life with Aimtec 5-volt Regulator Just completed measuring the Sony BP-U30 battery life with the Aimtec AMSR1-7805-NZ switching regulator. The regulator is very efficient and does not throw any heat whatsoever. The battery lasted for 22 hours of recording. The 5-volt Aimtec switching regulator also fits nicely inside the bottom of a V-Mount Battery adaptor. So that provides even more options for those wanting to supplement the EX1/3 camera power as well as run with an SSD. I'm about half way through completing the mount for my SSD as well as for the Dolgin adaptor or the V-Mount adaptor. I will post pictures when it's finished. Cheers!

May 30th, 2009, 08:16 PM	#47
Bob Grant Trustee Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Sydney Australia Posts: 1,570	I'm looking to roll my own variant of this solution. All the parts or variants of them are available locally. The Rocketfish housing is a no show down under but Silverstone make an equivalent housing and dock for under $100. Bonus is the box is metal. Only real issue I'm having is the Corsair SSD. I can order the 256GB variety at a hefty price. Question is can the camera address that much disk. I recall a comment about it being restricted to somewhat less than that but cannot find the post.

May 30th, 2009, 09:16 PM	#49
Barry J. Anwender Major Player Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Saskatchewan, Canada Posts: 382	David is correct. The 80GB (308 min) formated capacity is what Sony currently has set in firmware. So the 256GB Corsair is overkill, although it is considerably faster than the 128GB model and therefore more power hungry. On the other hand, the 128GB model does offload 308 minutes of HQ video in 14 minutes to a SATA RAID-0 array. That's not to shabby! I'm about 3/4 the way through measuring the BP-U30 battery life using the Aimtec AMSR1-7805-NZ switching regulator. It does not dissipate any heat whatsoever and so is indeed very efficient, more than able to run two Corsair drives if need be. The Sony battery life will be in excess of 20 hours. I should complete the actual life measurement in one more day and then will report back.

May 31st, 2009, 03:27 AM	#50
Bob Grant Trustee Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Sydney Australia Posts: 1,570	Thanks to both of you. The only other option currently available is the M64 which would appear not to be a good choice as it's probably not MLC even though the capacity would be a nice fit with the 80GB limit. One question, have you tried creating two volumes on the S128?

May 31st, 2009, 03:32 AM	#51
Giroud Francois Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: switzerland Posts: 2,133	quote :"as it's probably not MLC" Well if it is not MLC, it is then SLC, it is even better....(lot faster). intel is making 80gig SSD (but they are expensive SLC).

June 1st, 2009, 09:36 AM	#59
Paul Newman Major Player Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Agua Blanca Ibiza Posts: 305	So, 22 hours is approx 1.3W or 260mA at 5v average draw - stunning, you could fill 3 SSD's and have 15 hours of footage with a single BPU30 !! or a single BPU 60 will double that capacity - I'm currently making up some card adapters with 3 metre USB cables for use on studio tripod set ups, hoping to use them with three SSD's and 3 EX1's on a shoot next week, if all the parts arrive in time that is. Paul __________________ Another Sunny Day in Ibiza

June 1st, 2009, 02:55 PM	#60
Stuart Wilson Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Warrington, UK Posts: 48	This thread is reading really well. However, all this talk of regulators, ohms and voltages is way over my head. Surely, someone out there can simply make a kit that works for the masses, PLEASE ?? Superb work and hats off for pioneering this, now we just need it going into production at a sensible price, someone could make a killing here... Stuart