In Broadcast - February 2013 - 74

I N T E R N A T I O N A L

WWW.INBROADCAST.COM | ISSUE 16 - FEBRUARY 2013

N E W S

InTECH

The Power Overhead Of More Pixels
Performance comes at a price – the advent of large sensor cameras powering recorders has seen not
only capacity requirements increase but also the power draw rise…

By Kieron Seth
Contributing Editor

he arrival of the F65 at the
top of the Sony production
tree saw 16-bit linear RAW, 4K
shooting, an 8K sensor, on-board
SR tapeless recording and 120fps.
It’s a true phenomenon and one
that is relatively affordable. Just
as remarkable was the launch of
the Blackmagic Cinema Camera, a
low cost system that records 2.5K
in RAW, ProRes or DNxHD.
These breakthrough products
share a common, burning issue
– power. The Cinema Camera’s
internal battery gives no more than
90 minutes run time, yet the case
has no battery plate for additional
power cells. The F65 with recorder
draws approximately 100 watts.
For battery manufacturers used to

developing for ever more efficient
camcorders – such as the new
Panasonic HPX600 with a stated
consumption of 18 watts – there are
clearly new challenges, especially
as these cameras are likely to
be on location.

A Black Art
Many work-around adapters and
packs have been launched in the
months since the Blackmagic
camera was announced. The
Switronix Powerbase-70 claims
a run time four times that of the
internal battery. It overcomes the
lack of adapter issue by mounting
under the camera or onto a rig.
As well as supplying the camera,
the pack can feed into two

Sony F65 - one of the power
hungry large sensor cameras

additional 12V DC devices. Other
manufacturers to bring product
to market include Hawk-Woods
which offers a single output unit
with its Top-Mount Camera Adaptor
which can accept a single Sony
NPF-type battery.
PAG and Anton Bauer also both
offer mounting plates and interfaces
that make it possible to feed DSLR
cameras and the Blackmagic
camera. Like IDX’s V-mount hinged
battery plate, the PAGlink system
attaches to a standard rod support
system – the plate can be configured
so that it does not obstruct the
camera display or other accessories.

Big Guns
When it comes to higher draw
devices used on location, according
to Anton/Bauer’s Martyn Sly-Jex
there are three issues to consider:
Freight and transport regulations
– flight restrictions on units of over
100Wh; Load handling – coping with
high current demands; Avoiding
rapid decline – a standard 190Wh
can lose 30 minutes runtime on an
Alexa within months.
Over and above these concerns,
many lower cost units contain,
Hawk-Woods’ Blackmagic
Cinema Camera kit

according to the American giant,
20 individual cells or more with “no
cost-effective way to balance them
during charging, so the decline at
high load is rapid”.
Anton/Bauer’s 90Wh type Liion Dionic HC can manage a 10A
load and is optimised for long-life
performance. The unit has two
cell chemistry types and a large
cell size which allows it to handle
high current and contributes to a
longer lifespan.
Sly-Jex claims that the “HC and
HCX series have a cell chemistry
mix developed by Sanyo and sold
exclusively to Anton/Bauer in the
Video segment that outlive all the
tested competitor batteries by as
much as four-fold at both standard
loads and 10Amp loads.
“Our tests involve over two years
of continuous cycling. It is ongoing,
so the next generation is in our
labs right now.”
Finally, in terms of balancing,
the Dionic HD holds eight cells in a
180Wh pack. With only two cells in
each parallel string, balance issues
around state of charge, capacity
within and between strings are
significantly reduced. With the HC
and HCX range the balancing is
done during manufacturing. Anton/
Bauer specifies to within 5mV
– such a tight tolerance is
only feasible in the cell
factory itself.
“Other manufacturers
might purchase the
same cell type from
cell resellers, but these
are not the controlled
premium type and not
matched. This explains the
price differential on the
CONTINUED ON PAGE 75

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In Broadcast - February 2013

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