Start up time

[Fence sitter]

I have finally got to the bottom of the start up time for doc shooting...apparently around 60 seconds. Have those using the camera found it a pain in the a**s? When you change batteries does this mean a complete power down and a further 60 seconds to start up? Can you connect interim power through the 12volt in to stay powered for a battery change? Is the time likely to get shorter? Is there any sleep mode for outboard EVFs etc to conserve power?

Fence

[Jannard]

The current startup time is 90 sec... way too long. We expect that time to drop dramatically as we tune up the firmware.

Jim

[Shawn Nelson]

What about a "power-saver" mode that would drain a mere fraction of the watts but would restore in a moment's notice?

[Peter Richardson]

Another question: once powered up, is there any delay once we hit the "record" button?

[Fence sitter]

By a factor of how much, Jim? I know you probably don't know exactly but ballpark?

[Michael Stanmore]

Hehe. I love seeing a post by the products creator about a problem that he seems genuinely irritated about! Reminds us that you want your own Red to be awesome, Jim.

[Michael Morlan]

Thanks for that forthright answer Jim. Ninety seconds on a set can feel like an eternity. I've watched 35mm film magazines changed in a fraction of that time. A narrative 2nd A.C. doesn't want to be "that guy" while an actor is "in the zone." :)

[G.A. Kokes]

Thanks for that forthright answer Jim. Ninety seconds on a set can feel like an eternity. I've watched 35mm film magazines changed in a fraction of that time. A narrative 2nd A.C. doesn't want to be "that guy" while an actor is "in the zone." :)

Agreed. However, I am less concerned when we do in studio or city shoots. In those circumstances we usually have plenty of power access. Chanaging out a CF card will be much quicker then changing 35mm mags any day of the week.

However, when we are doing documentary work, 90 sec may be uncomfortably too long.

For the run and gunner.....

Cheers,
G

[Joe Aurili]

I was wonder about this option also.


What about a "power-saver" mode that would drain a mere fraction of the watts but would restore in a moment's notice?

[David Battistella]

Morning. The owner of 98 had a great idea about this.

A "Y" shaped power cable that would allow you to connect to another power source when changing the battery pack. This would eliminate the need for a power down, power up cycle.

David

[Brook Willard]

Morning. The owner of 98 had a great idea about this.

A "Y" shaped power cable that would allow you to connect to another power source when changing the battery pack. This would eliminate the need for a power down, power up cycle.

David

I've seen it done and it works.

That said, I've found that I can generally get away with 4-5 power cycles a day. There's only been one time I've been caught with my pants down while changing batteries... the rest of the time it's been when the camera's got a minute or two of downtime. It takes some planning, but it works.

Build 10 also cut off a good chunk of boot time. It's still too long, but it's heading in the right direction.

I hope they're able to come up with a "sleep mode" where the camera powers itself from some internal capacitors or something for five seconds while the battery is swapped. That would rule.

[Gianny Trutmann]

Brook have you seen the Y cable, he is talking about.
Does it really work, explain

[Dustin Cross]

Another option is to get a dual battery set-up like the one at the bottom of this page:

http://www.batteries4broadcast.com/extras_cart.htm

The GT-TS for $155. Allows you to swap batteries without powering off and allows for two batteries for longer run times.

I haven't used it, but it is on my list of accessories for my Red.

Mahalo,
Dusty

[Michael Brennan]

The latest Panasonic P2 camera, the 3000 starts up and drops into record in very short time. I didn't put a stopwatch on it, I recall it being around 8-12 seconds.
And thats from cold, not standby

If it can be done with a HD camera does it follow that it can be done with a 4K camera?



Mike Brennan

[Justin Anderson]

Morning. The owner of 98 had a great idea about this.

A "Y" shaped power cable that would allow you to connect to another power source when changing the battery pack. This would eliminate the need for a power down, power up cycle.

David

I think they're making a dual battery mount that would do essentially the same thing.

[dalemccready]

With the Arri d20 on set we have the double ended Y power cable so before removing one battery we attach the other, that works well. A double mount system would also work well for this.

I wonder if there could be a smaller "helper" battery that could provide the minimum charge to keep the camera running for the few seconds to replace the main battery. This could be external and stay on the camera all day if it was small enough.

Maybe even something built into the mount?

[Mick van Rossum, NSC]

With the Arri d20 on set we have the double ended Y power cable so before removing one battery we attach the other, that works well. A double mount system would also work well for this.

I wonder if there could be a smaller "helper" battery that could provide the minimum charge to keep the camera running for the few seconds to replace the main battery. This could be external and stay on the camera all day if it was small enough.

Maybe even something built into the mount?

Or maybe a small piggybag battery mounted inbetween body and Battery connected like IDX does with their powerlink system.