Twin batteries

[Bob Torrance]

Any plans for twin batteries on board to divide the load between EVF, external monitors, etc., and camera power? In fact, this could be attached to the rear of the camera and provide for a continuation of the shoulder mount to better balance the camera for hand-holding. Of course, it would be removable. Maybe a mounting point under the removable rear control panel.



thoughts?

[Michael Ragen]

Personally I don't like the idea of having to worry about the charge levels of two different batteries while using the camera.

[Bob Torrance]

Personally I don't like the idea of having to worry about the charge levels of two different batteries while using the camera.

Good point. Then maybe just to avoid reboots (though I read something about an internal battery to avoid that problem).

In evaluating digital cameras for a rental business I feel a good studio mode and a good handheld setup are a must. Onboard batteries at the rear with a solid mount could help.

[Brook Willard]

I think that the better solution would be shorter reboot times [obviously depends on so much technical stuff that we just can't know about...], a "sleep mode", an internal battery or a small external battery in the battery plate to keep it live during swaps. The dual battery thing is a great solution for a symptom, but I'd love to kill the problem at its core. :)

Another solution would be a simple circuit that would allow one to plug in a power source while the battery is onboard... so the camera could swap power sources [from onboard to block] without powering down.

If the 5K ships in its current design, I'm going to have an accessory built that attaches to the back like a film magazine. It would act as a ballast, drive holder and battery mount. I'd wire in a small backup battery to keep it alive during swaps and I'd also put an XLR power input with a swap circuit onboard.

[Michael Ragen]

I am totally down for a solid battery mount in the place of where the controls are shown currently in the renders. I believe Brook is working on an accessory thread regarding this issue. There is already one dual battery mount that I know of but there may be more. I think we will continue to see third pary accessories coming out at a rapid rate for all of Red's cameras.

As a side note, I like having 15mm rods at the top of the camera as they allow for a lot of mounting options with the whole Element Topside Combo. I understand that people would like to have these things not be necessary though for mounting the battery and drives with Epic.

[Brook Willard]

I don't want it to seem like I'm making an accessory to solve issues with the camera. Nobody has the camera yet... we can't assume that the issues that exist with the RED ONE will carry over to the 5K. I just have ideas running around... I always do.

[Bob Torrance]

Another thing that might be nice would be a RED block battery for studio mode (on dolly etc).

[Brook Willard]

Anton Bauer [among others] already have blocks well suited to this task. Not to say that RED shouldn't do it, just to inform that there is a current solution already.

[Bob Torrance]

Yes, I saw the block batteries at NAB. Hopefully, they can be modified to show the charge state on the EPIC LCD.

[Mitch Gross]

It's not about modifying the battery, it's about designing the camera appropriately. There are plenty of electronic cameras out there today that can read Anton Bauer and every other brand of battery stuck on the camera without issue because they simply read the voltage. Simple and accurate.

[Dylan Reeve]

Pana-tech and Rockteer had a video a while ago of something they made to run two batteries at once - the camera still reads status information from the A-battery, but when it's removed you just get 'DC' status from the B battery. So you use B battery to keep the camera going while swapping out the A battery.

[Steve Freebairn]

If the 5K ships in its current design, I'm going to have an accessory built that attaches to the back like a film magazine. It would act as a ballast, drive holder and battery mount. I'd wire in a small backup battery to keep it alive during swaps and I'd also put an XLR power input with a swap circuit onboard.

Not a bad idea, one question really, why are you calling it the 5k? Did RED announce that they are changing the name? Why not call it Epic like RED is? I'm not being hostile, I really am curious why you changed from calling it Epic like you used to.

[Robert Guthrie]

Pana-tech and Rockteer had a video a while ago of something they made to run two batteries at once - the camera still reads status information from the A-battery, but when it's removed you just get 'DC' status from the B battery. So you use B battery to keep the camera going while swapping out the A battery.

It was a modded Switronix Dual Battery Plate.

[Brook Willard]

Not a bad idea, one question really, why are you calling it the 5k? Did RED announce that they are changing the name? Why not call it Epic like RED is? I'm not being hostile, I really am curious why you changed from calling it Epic like you used to.

People give me funny looks when I say "the RED Epic" in conversation. It helps me to differentiate it from "the RED" which is what everybody calls the RED ONE. Saying "RED's 5K" or "the RED 5K" is pretty clear in conversation. It just takes a little of the "OMG" out of the discussion. :)

That said, it's not like some big change I've made... it's just another name. I call the RED ONE the RED ONE, the RED, etc. I call Epic the RED Epic, the 5K, etc.

Don't lose sleep over it. :)

[gdv]

I think that the better solution would be shorter reboot times ...
When rebooting wait 60 seconds between powering off to on.
You will be surprised what a difference it makes for the rebooting time (though you spend a minute waiting).

[Brook Willard]

I'm referring to Epic's boot time.