Everything You Need to Know About V-Mount Batteries
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- čas přidán 2. 08. 2024
- V-Mount batteries are awesome but also confusing if you’re looking for affordable options. In this video I break down everything you need to know about V-Mount batteries including battery types to consider, sizes, adapters, powering multiple devices and more! You can find the batteries I talked about here on Amazon (PAID LINK): geni.us/XiSTsq0
Comer V-Mount Batteries
Amazon (PAID LINK): geni.us/XiSTsq0
D&O Website: www.dandolighting.com/collect...
V-Mount Battery Chargers:
geni.us/18YNu
Dual Bench V-Mount Charger:
geni.us/zAQSebn
V-Mount Battery Plates (for rigs)
Best budget option on Amazon:
geni.us/iS4F
Two other options on Amazon:
geni.us/MGVM1
geni.us/ZLrxzy
D-Tap USB Adapter
Amazon (PAID LINK): geni.us/B1f7v
D-Tap Splitter
Amazon (PAID LINK): geni.us/a8HlQ8
D-Tap NP-F Battery adapter
Amazon (PAID LINK): geni.us/nBxCr
DISCLAIMERS:
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
Some of these batteries were supplied to me from D&O Lighting free of charge. This review and it's content was not reviewed or paid for by outside persons or manufacturers. - Krátké a kreslené filmy
Great video, Caleb.
Couple notes for people who want to go further:
-Batteries of this type range from 14.4V to 14.8V. This shouldn't present problems for most usages, but something to keep in mind when purchasing.
-Watts is amps multiplied by volts (P=A*V) So, if the information isn't listed you can tell the wattage by multiplying the current by the voltage.
-This is why the larger cells also scale their current, because if the voltage is constant at 14.8, then a 95 watt battery will have around 6 amps (95/14.8), and the 160 watt battery will have ~10 amps (160/14.8), etc.
It's 'worse': A fully charged V-lock battery goes up to 16,8 Volt (4,2 Volt, the full-state-of-charge of 1 lithium-cell, times 4 in series) and fully depleted their voltage goes down to about 12,8 Volt, but especially the 'fully-depleted' level slightly varies with the manufacturer ánd cell-age/condition.
The difference in voltage should not pose ANY problem for equipment. Equipment that can't handle anything between 12 and 17 Volts, is not designed to be powered by a V-lock battery.
weeardguy and in that case; probably isn’t video gear that’s anywhere near “professional” :o
Or am I mistaken on this?
E.g; follow focus System, Monitor, TX, camera, etc
@@shadi5885 To be honest, I don't know for sure. The Blackmagic Video Assist for example, only takes a 12 Volt input for external power, where I would have found anything between 8 to 17 Volts more logical (8 Volts as these monitors are powered by the most shittiest choice of batteries, the Canon LP-E6, 17 Volts for the upper limit explained before).
But I can't exactly consider Blackmagic Video Assist's 'not professional' equipment. It could very well be a space issue: a converter that can handle a bigger difference of voltage on its input, usually needs more components to make sure it's stable under both a low input-voltage condition as well as a high input voltage one.
I'm close to re-celling my own V-lock batteries (which involves resetting the Battery Management System IC by computer as well) and after reading about the battery management IC used in my batteries (which have gone below the critical discharge level and thus have been flagged 'permanent failure' by this IC, which prevents charging and discharging forever until one recells them and resets the IC), I ever more get the feeling that the '90 Wh thingy' is mostly a software related issue, as the management IC is so sophisticated: it knows exactly how much energy was pumped into the cells and also knows extremely precise how much energy was used during a total discharge cycle. As you have to tell the device the chemistry of the cells and even the maximum current, it makes it easy to just program the device different: tell the IC the cells are completely drained after using (let's say) 1,5 amp for an hour, while in reality, your cells have a 3 Amp-hour rating.
It's not bad they combine four cells to distribute the current, but I get the feeling part of the power rating is most likely down to software and not actual 'better cells'. It would make manufacturing the batteries more expensive as they would have to stock different cells.
It also shows why my standard V-locks have a maximum discharge current of 4 Amps while a few of my other ones, so called 'hi-discharge' types, feature a 6,6 Amp discharge rating...
@Gerald Undone, So if I want to connect a camera light, a camera, a monitor, maybe a teleprompter etc. to one battery, I should add up of each device the ampere usage, and the sum total should not exceed the amperes indicated on the battery?
I wonder why devices and batteries always indicate voltage, if voltage is only used to deduct wattage (and thus battery life). Why not indicate wattage straight away instead?
@@andrekloer You are right about the total sum of current. For safety, I would hold a 25% safety margin on the total current. Not because it can damage the battery, but because the battery management system can be extremely tightly controlled: just ten milli-amps over the programmed limit, and the BMS cuts off supply to your gear.
As most equipment works with some kind of converters inside (which use capacitors to smooth both in- and outcoming supply) the inrush current produced by these capacitors could push the BMS to its limit, while in total your total sum does not exceed the limit.
Beware that gear could start to draw MORE current as battery voltage DROPS. The converters inside equipment (switchmode power supplies) just work this way. If a manufacturer is clever, he will state the worst possible current-draw, but if it only states current at the nominal voltage, the current will increase.
The better battery brands do indicate a Wh-rating. 95 Wh is a pretty standard rating that quite a few airlines still allow in your carry-on. Everything above is usually a no-go: taking batteries in check-in luggage is usually prohibited unless you use the fire- and explosion proof cases (which are very expensive).
The voltage is there to give some indication whether your battery is compatible with certain equipment. As a lithium-ion cell is at its nominal voltage at 3,6 to 3,7 Volt and 4 of them in series make 14,4 to 14,8 Volt, this is the standard voltage stated on the battery.
But there are different types of cells. Usually, cells that can take some abuse (like, discharging them at twice their nominal current) have a slightly lower current capacity, while cells that are used in laptops (and most likely will never see a discharge-rate beyond their nominal current) have a higher capacity. But exchanging the cells from, let's say, a laptop battery to a pack for a battery powered drill will most likely result in direct failure of the laptop cells, as those are just not equipped to handle the stall currents of such devices that can easily go up to 30 Amps.
I'm just starting out on film-making [in my late 60s!!] Your videos have helped [and continue to help] me tremendously. You always explain things clearly and concisely and cover the stuff a new film-maker wants [and needs] to know. You have helped me find the right gear, avoid expensive mistakes, and learn the mechanics and art of film-making.
Caleb, you are amazing! Thank you
Thank you so much for the support!
Good timing! Just digging into V-Mount for my Ursa Mini Pro
Thanks for making this video. Exactly what I needed to know, and shockingly, not that many videos out there to explain this.
Awesome review man! Very detailed info on V-Mounts. I love D&O’s gear, I’ve got tons of the batteries! I’m looking forward to your review of the LED light.
As always, excellent review, nicely presented and edited. Thank you so much . Big fan here
The thing I like about you, and im sure you've heard this before, but you get right to the point and you're very wise in your craft. I've just switched from the canon 80D to the GH5S and I kinda went nuts and bought a bunch of accessories and a rig and the whole shabang. Thanks for all the information you spread on here and i'm pretty sure i'll be purchasing your tutorial on the GH5S. Cheers.
Now this is super helpful. Generally I am not a big fan of battery videos but this one explains a whole system. Very well done! :)
SO useful! I feel like I've been ignorant of this for far too long. Especially for someone who's been working with V-mounts for almost 5 years
Great overview! Everything I needed to know to re-learn about V-mount batteries
Oh bro! Thank you SO MUCH for making this video. I was getting so frustrated because I'm using V-lock batteries for the first time with a Blackmagic URSA and have NO idea how they work. Thanks for making it super simple. Rock on, bro!
I appreciate this video so much! I recently purchased a Godox vl 300 and was confused as to which batteries I should buy for it. Now I know what to look for! Thanks!
I literally just bought the Aputure 120d and I was in need of a video like this to help me choose which battery to buy 😃
Perfect, just what I was looking for, thanks.
Right on time for my new rig makeover. Great video Caleb!
Boom!
You literally always make videos right when I'm looking into something lol. Thank you
Ha! Glad I could help out!
I went with the dual NP-F to V-Mount adapter since I had a few other things running from them already. Simplified charging and swapping batteries. Ddual NP-F970s easily power my large 880 led main light - just make sure if you're using the larger devices to use 970s or something in that range. 550s overheated due to the current draw quite quickly (the larger the NP-F, the more cells are in parallel to increase max current).
Very thorough video for those of us that are still closer to novice than expert.
Thank you
Great video, I have a 120d mkii and was wondering which v mount to get for it and I think I found the answer. BIG THX
Another very helpful video. Very informative as always. Thank you.
This was really helpful. I’ve been using dual NP-F batteries with a v mount adapter to power my lights (Dracast 500s) because it seemed like v mounts were really expensive. But less than $100 for a good v mount battery is pretty reasonable. And it’s probably more durable than NP-Fs
Thanks Caleb!!! Great informative vid and nicely presented.
Thank you. This was very helpful!
Little things we don't obviously think about.... but very useful and important to know!!!!
Wow, great video man! I didn't know I could power a lot of things with one battery. This is great!!
Looks like you raided my gear closet for this one :-) One note worth mentioning, if you have a rail mounted system with a V-mount powering multiple devices, it makes for a super-quick setup (assuming you can put it away mostly or fully assembled). Another important note, you should have a multi-meter to test the output voltage and polarity of any ports coming off the battery adapters. I've fried a panel LED when I fed it 16v from the battery tap that was supposed to be 12v.
Thank you so much for this. It's all I needed!
Excellent thank you, all my questions answered!
Liked the video before watching and I don't normally do that. I knew it was going to be useful, as always.
Great vid, thanks! Very much helpful! Do you also have a review about that d&o light over there? Looks interesting!
Just got my 195 for the 300d and was searching to find other ways to my v mount thanks you came through on time now I'm off shopping 👍
Nice!!!
This was SO useful! Thanks man.
Awesome. I've stayed away from v mount batteries due to the high cost. So i didnt even bother learning about them Now i know there are affordable options. Thanks so much. Ry from Dubai
thanks for the info always love the videos
Such an informative video! Great help!
Thank you.
I cannot get over how GOOD this video is ! ... wow..... So hang on, instead of buy one one of these really overpriced USB charger things on Amazon to charge your iPhone etc, you could buy one of these huge batteries, with an adapter and have something that is 10x more powerful.... who knew ! So many possibilities. I need to watch this again to have it all sink in. Great video !
@Evan Jones Yes, but there are huge differences. Most V-lock batteries have extensive safety-features inside and have a VERY accurate indication of their remaining charge. They will protect themselves against undervoltage, damaged cells, dangerous undervoltage (this usually means end of story: the BMS inside the battery will protect it FOREVER against charging and discharging) overcharging and such.
Those cheap jump-starter things... I would not trust their short-circuit capabilities and certainly also not the rest of the safety-features.
And no, those batteries in jump-starter thingies are NOT the same batteries. Those are Lithium polymer flat-pack batteries. Those usually do not have ANY trouble supplying tenths of amps when shorted, while good quality 18650 Li-ion cells are limited anywhere between 600 mA to about 12 Amps of discharge current in short-circuit mode (that's just down to the way the cells are made)
Pair that with the limitation set by the BMS (most batteries have cells that can supply more current than the pack can deliver) and you're talking about totally different quality.
Great information! Thanks
Thank you! Very informative video.
Details video as always! Thank you🙏
Just the video that I need. Thanks a ton!
whats that cage for the inferno
And now you have your own v mount batteries
Congrats man!
I wish this video existed 3 years ago. I figured it all out on my own eventually, but not before I'd spend money on stuff that didn't work.
For example, I destroyed some large NP-F batteries while trying to power an Aputure 120T via a NPF > V mount adapter.
For the benefit of those who don't know, you will be able to run the 120d/t to about 75% brightness, but go beyond that and the NPFs will die immediately. And in my case they were unrecoverable.
V mount batteries are a pain to carry around, but you definitely need them to power powerful lights like the bigger COB lights.
I wish I started out powering everything off V mount, then the problem of multiple batteries and battery charges is gone.
Great information in this video that every serious newbee should know sooner rather than later.
Thanks Caleb.
Oh wow! Yeah I wouldn't recommend powering a light like that off NP-F batteries. Could cause a fire if you're not careful with current!
Just getting a 120d mk2. Was thinking of getting a V plate to use some of my high power Sony NP-F batteries. Will they work for a while? 5 minutes?
But can you power up a camera like that? I'm just researching for npf to v-mount plates to power my pocket 4k. I just saw a couple of rigs where the camera got the juice from the v-mount adapter's d-tap. So it should work, right? thanks!
Thanks very much, that was extremely helpful.
Very informative 👍 Still don't fully grasp the wattage and amperage deal but you did a great job with the video
Thanks man!
You just solved a thousand problems in one. Thank you!
ANOTHER Great presentation! Great Information!
Very helpful. Thanks Caleb!
It's uncanny how often you post a video at just the right time! Was literally learning about V-Mounts this morning and having trouble finding clear answers. You answered everything and then some. AS ALWAYS!! Thanks Caleb.
Haha! Happy to be of service Ryan!
I'm in the same boat, this was perfectly timed for me, does he have a spy bot out there tracking us?
Seriously, me too! Perfect timing Caleb 💯
Right!? I was just doing research yesterday. I think Caleb is working with Google and can see all my web searches and amazon browsing history haha!
Same with me. I was researching vmount for a black magic pocket cinema 4K
hey Caleb. You have the talent to explain things really specifically and to the point, without wasting time. Thank you for sharing. One question: is it save to use higher voltage charger/battery to charge a phone, or camera. I am confused between wattage, voltage, amperage. Also I'm in Germany. Here the sockets are 230-240V in the US, I guess they are 110V. So it is really important either to use a converter while traveling OR buying from other parts of the world.
I was just concerned, if I get a V-mount battery, can I use it to charge camera from USB port, and also gimbal and other stuff. Do I need to be concerened volts and ampere? OR just make sure that the battery is at least capable of providing at least the minimum AMPs required to run for a decice.
After watching your other video about DSTE NP-F750 batteries, which you told and I checked, really are purchasable for €34 (2 batteries-each having capacity of 5000 mAh, means 10k mAh for €34). These V-Mount batteries; i don't know, they just don't look feasible, cost wise, 6600 mAh. And one 6600 mAh V-mount cost around €125 here. I guess the only reason to use V-mount is that it can supply power to other devices as well while the DSTE cannot. Is it right, or is there a way we can use of DSTE batteries in order to supply power no just to the camera with dummy battery, but also to charge a phone, etc?
Thanks very much. You are doing an amazing Job!
Kind regards,
Great video. Thanks!
Very informative, thank you very much!
Very awesome and good to know. Thanks for sharing!
Brilliant!… I'd never heard of V-mount Batteries till now.
To elaborate further about TSA restrictions, you can carry as many batteries under 98Wh as CARRY-ON, but CANNOT put them into CHECKED baggage.
However, ...." with airline approval, devices can contain larger lithium ion batteries (101-160 watt hours per battery), but spares of this size are limited to two batteries in CARRY-ON baggage only. This size covers the largest aftermarket extended life laptop batteries and most lithium ion batteries for professional-grade audio/visual equipment."
thomaskazuya I thought you could have these batteries of some size in checked baggage as long as they are installed in a device.
thank u for this video. I needed this.
Very well explained
thanks, great info!
This is super handy! Just getting into V mount batteries now as I'm slowing building out the camera rig to incorporate more things.
Father Bless me, for I have committed the Sin of charging my phone for a THOUSAND years! Excellent video Caleb, loving it, right in time for me to get some V mount batteries.
I still have the fs700 myself! Very capable camera, and it looks cool in videos.
Incredibly helpful! Thanks! :)
Great video! Good work! 👍
V G information on v-mount. Great explanation on battery Thankyou
Thanks for the video! Just a heads up, some of your links are Anton Bauer Gold Mount, while others are V-Mount. Some less-experienced viewers might not know to double-check this incompatibility.
Thanks for creating these awesome videos! I've learn so much from them! I have 1 question and I hope you don't mind answering.
Am I correct to assume that I am unable to power a Aputure COB 120D light using 2 x NP-F970 batteries on a V-mount adapter since the current draw on the light is 9A while the NP-F970 batteries can only provide 6.3A?
Great! Thank you!
Ahhh, where was this video literally five days ago when I was looking for it from you?! ;)
What if the battery doesn’t have amps listed?
I bought a couple of V mount batteries to power an Aputure 120d II. I can only turn the light up to 93% or so before it trips a circuit (or whatever the correct term is). I can run on the battery for an hour at 90%, though. I grabbed the battery to check the amps and it’s not specified.
The specs on the battery are 14.8V, 177Wh, and 12000mAh. There is no amps designation.
And this is an awesome video. I already watched it twice because this was exactly the tutorial I needed.
Insanely good video!!!!! Wow. Super helpful
It's worth mentioning for V-mount battery chargers that the cheaper ones that accept several batteries will only charge them one at a time. And they can take a while.
Also, how are you finding the Fotga plate? I found out that the UPS is basically a lie and regretted not shelling out a bit more for the Lanparte plate which has more outputs.
Thanx man, now I know what to order ;)
Great video! was wondering if the v-mount plate acted as a protection for electrical issues while connecting multiple devices together on the same battery. It seems if not you would have to connect power, then hdmi to avoid problems
Solid information.
Great post. It was informative, interesting and detailed. Outstanding! I did want to find out more about the HD router you pointed to. If you have a little spare time, would you send or post the link to its location or model number. Thanks for the information on that video.
James
Thanks for this video. Now I understand how v-mount batteries work and how to use them. Plus, now I know that I actually NEED to buy a v-mount battery.
Exactly the video i wanted, i can't seem to find a perfect v mount battery for my Aputure 120D Mkii
This video was a big help.
Can the batteries kill you if you have it outside in rain or metal rod touch? I heard it takes 1 amp to kill a human!
10mA could kill someone if unlucky... The muscles gets cramped and you are unable to let go/get away from the power source.
@@LisaSamaritan Amperage will be Voltage divided by Resistance. The resistance of the human body is quite high. A 14.4V will not shock you unless you are touching it to your tongue or something. So first you need a much higher Voltage to get started. Now if you touch a 120V A/C source current will start flowing through you and it actually doesn't take many Amps to kill you.
10 amps will usually just give you a severe shock. Between 100-200 mA is lethal.
Please could you show the set up with the 300d? As this would be super helpful and much easier and cheaper than buying an inverter and big battery :)
Thank you for this video… I got a lot out of … putting together my rig. Already at the website looking at batteries that can support The Canon Eosm50
Caleb, you're the man.
Thanks for doing this. It was very helpful. I would be interested in a review of the Shape battery and plate package for the GH5. Is it possible to get a review on this. No one seems to be reviewing this unit.
Thanks for the informations
Caleb HELP! I'm trying to hook up a vmount battery to my Panasonic UX90. I can't find a cable that connects Dtap to 12v eiaj-04 on my camcorder. Both the dtap 2.1mm and 5.5x2.5mm 12V and 5.5x2.5mm 12V connectors I found on amazon are not compatible.
Since my V-Mount came in the mail today, this should be timely!
Do a video in wireless transmitter options! Since you already have one there. Long range vs short range etc
Been waiting years for this video
Hi
I am a regular viewer of your channel and I do take your views as real ones. I recently viewed your reviews about V-Mount batteries and I am excited about it. After viewing your reviews I bought one Smallrig V mount battery adapter plate and I am planning to use it for my rig. I am using a Sony A7C camera with a Atamos Ninja V monitor. After buying the Smallrig V mount, I realize that I need a dummy battery and a power code for the Ninja V. There are a bunch of Dummy batteries available in Amazon. But afraid to buy and use. Then I went through your channel in search for a review about Dummy Battery. But I couldn't find one. If we buy some cheap dummy battery and use it, there are chances that it may fire the camera itself. In this regard, I need a genuine review about dummy battery and cables and your honest suggestions. It will help lots of people like me in finding a proper Dummy battery and cables.
Kind regards
D and O Lighting is awesome. Their customer service is great too. I ordered the v mount 190 batteries and the dual charging station. Its back ordered though. So. I’ll have to wait a bit before I get mine. Just a heads up. Don’t buy the kit they sell. If you break up the order and just buy two batteries and the charging unit separately you’ll have more money. Just a tip. 🙂
Great explanation of v-mount batteries! Very new to this field. I have one light, the UL 150. Will use for remote work(away from corded power source). Will also be flying(airplane). What battery is rated for airlines, yet also powerful enough for one UL 150? Should I get two lower-wattage batteries, or just one higher-wattage battery?
Hi Caleb. Thanks for the comprehensive video. I wonder how the NP-F system you showed compare to, say the 95WH V-mount?
Thanks
Caleb, what can you tell me about this...
The Godox VL150, for example, says the DC Input is 16.8 VDC at 10A, yet can be run on a 14.8V v-mount battery. How can the light require a higher voltage than the batteries supply but still run just fine?
I don't know the definitive answer to your question, but my guess would be that it is like with SD-cards. Working with less writing speed than is officially recommended might work, but not in extreme conditions. I used to work with an Aputure 120dII and sometimes it would just go out running on a V-Mount Battery. My guess after this video is that it didn't meet the qualifications and worked somehow, but not reliably.
V-mount batteries usually supply anything between 12 Volts (completely depleted, not every battery can take this) and 16,8 Volt (fully charged).
14,4-14,8 Volt is the nominal open-clamp cell voltage of a lithium cell (3,6 to 3,7 Volt) x 4 (as there are 4 cells in series)
16,8 Volt as stated on the light is the max voltage rating (in reality, it's probably even higher, as designing equipment with such a tight tolerance is usually not a good idea) but consider it a maximum one better not surpasses.
@@weeardguy Excellent info, thanks for sharing.
@@NewLayer You're welcome ;)
Thanks for the great info Caleb. Any suggestions for which v-mount battery would work best with the Aputure 120DII?
Hello Shooter from the past. I’m from the future! I wanted to ask you if you could make a more recent video about this topic? It was an amazing information and I stayed wanting for more!! Like what kind of cable are used for this? Can I leave the original batteries in the camera and monitor for example for “extra” power? So that this V mount battery charge the original batteries on the equipment? An example of how calculate how much the battery would last feeding all that setup you got there in the tripod would have been nice too! Thanks!!
Can you tell me what your main light is modified? The light looks really nice and soft. Is it behind a diffuser or a soft box of some kind? Thank you! And this video was EXTREMELY helpful and educational. Huge help.
AWESOME. TY!
You should make a rig for the Eos R, I would definitely see that
Friend, is this battery good for Aputure 120D II?
Congratulations on the channel! Soon I will be member. Tks!
5:00
very informative! thanks!