Tag Archives: battery

PAG MPL Mini Pag Link Batteries

I’ve been using PAG batteries forever, well at least for as long as I have worked in film and TV and that’s a very, very long time now. Pag batteries have always been known for their robustness, reliability and performance, all things that are vitally important to me as often I find myself shooting in some very remote and very tough environments.

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Shooting with Venice deep in the Slot Canyon powered by a Pag Link PL150 battery.

 

For around 7 years I have been using the Pag Link battery system. Pag link allows you to quickly link together multiple batteries. This has many benefits. For a start you can charge many batteries at once with a single channel battery charger. This is great for me when travelling as I can use the tiny Pag travel charger to charge several batteries overnight. Or back at base with my 2 channel Pag charger I will often put 3 or 4 linked batteries on each charger channel so that all my batteries will charge in one single session. And you are not limited to using a Pag charger, you can stack the Pag Link batteries on almost any charger.

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A single Pag PagLink PL150 battery will run Venice for around 2 hours.



Another benefit is being able to link a couple of batteries together when you need a higher current output, perhaps to power a big video light or to run a higher powered digital cinema camera. If using more than one battery on a camera it is even possible to hotswap the rear most battery without needing to turn off the camera or stop recording.

The Pag Link batteries have served me extremely well and even after 6 or more years of use are only showing very minimal capacity loss. But as modern cameras are getting smaller and smaller and need less and less power, even the already relatively compact Pag Link batteries sometimes seemed like overkill.

Enter the MPL series.

The Pag Link MPL batteries have taken what was already a great concept and miniaturised it. Using the latest battery cell technologies Pag have managed to produce new smaller and lighter stackable batteries with the similar capacities to the original Pag Links. Pag have also listened to customer feedback adding D-Tap ports to the tops of the batteries as well as an additional USB output. The USB output module can be swapped to other outputs if you need them such as Hirose or Lemo. In addition, the MPL batteries are fitted with industry standard ¼” mounting points. These can be used to either mount accessories to the battery or to mount the battery on to something that doesn’t have a standard battery connection.

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Pag Link Mini MPL99 powering my FX6 while shooting the Volcano in Iceland.



My first real test for the MPL batteries was a trip to Iceland to shoot the Fagradalsfjall Volcano. When travelling by air you must take your Lithium batteries as carry on luggage. The MPL’s are built to very high standards and UN tested, so you can be confident that they are as safe and as flight friendly as possible. The smaller size and light weight makes it nice and easy to travel with these batteries.

 

To get to the Volcano you have to hike up a small mountain using rocky, slippery and sometimes very steep routes. It’s around 2.5 miles from the nearest road to the closest places from where you can see the volcano crater, so a minimum of a 5 mile round trip.  I was working on my own, so had to carry camera, lenses, tripod and batteries in a backpack. Plus spare clothing, food and drinks as the weather in Iceland changes frequently and can often be quite nasty. So, every gram of weight counted. I was shooting with a Sony FX6 using an Atomos Ninja V raw recorder and needed enough power to run everything for a full day of on and off shooting. The Pag MPL’s had just become available and were perfect for the job. The built in D-Taps could be used to power the recorder. I used a V-Mount adapter plate for the camera and the USB port in the MPL batteries was perfect for topping up my phone for the live streams I was doing.

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I spent several days up at the Volcano, often hiking even further from the road, seeking out different camera angles and different views. A single 100Wh MPL 99 ran the whole setup for most of the day. By adding an additional 50Wh MPL50 on to the back of the MPL99 I had power in reserve. The diminutive size and light weight of these batteries made a big difference for this shoot. Then back at the hotel I could use the Pag travel charger to charge all of my MPL batteries overnight by connecting them together on the charger, no need to get up in the middle of the night to swap batteries over.

Since then, I’ve used the MPL batteries for many different applications. Their small size is deceptive, they don’t look like they would be able to power anything for a long time, but they can. On a shoot using a Venice 2 I used a stacked MPL99 and an MP50 to power the camera while walking around London to save weight. The batteries ran the camera for close to 2 hours and the capacity display on the battery as well as the run time indicator in the cameras viewfinder was highly accurate.

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Pag MPL99 and MPL50 being used to power a Sony Venice II



I can’t recommend the Pag Link system highly enough. The only negative is that the original larger V-Mount Pag Link batteries and the new compact V-Mount Pag Link ML batteries can’t be connected together. A new mating system for V-Mount was require for the new smaller batteries. The Gold mount versions both old and new can be stacked together. Stacked together, despite their diminutive size a pair of MPL99’s can deliver up to 12 amps of power, enough for most video lights. The intelligent linking system means there is no issue connecting a fully charged battery to a flat battery. These are very clever, small, light and compact batteries.

Beware Fake Sony BP-U Batteries!

Fake-real-bpu-600x225 Beware Fake Sony BP-U Batteries!Can you tell which is genuine and which is fake? It would appear that a number of fake BP-U batteries are starting to show up on ebay and other less reputable places. The battery on the left won’t charge on a genuine Sony charger, this tells me it is not a real Sony battery.

If you look at the labels on the batteries the quality of the printing on the fake battery on the left is not as fine as on the genuine battery, in particular the ® as well as the box around the level indicator LED’s is not as crisply and finely printed.

The sellers are clever. These are not so cheap as to raise suspicion, they just seem very competitively priced. These batteries might be a little bit cheaper, but how safe are they and how long will they last? I have to say this would have fooled me and I have a lot of sympathy for others that have been tricked into buying these. But if the manufacturer can’t sell these by legitimate means under their own brand name I really do have to question their quality and safety.

Thanks to Zachary Këpël for the use of his image.

3rd Party BP-U style batteries And Sony Camcorders (Update)

I wish to update and present the facts that I have regarding potential issues with mainly older 3rd party PB-U batteries. This isn’t here as a scare story, I’m not trying to sensationalise this, just present the facts that I have to hopefully clarify the current situation.

In 2019 I became aware that it was suddenly becoming very hard to buy 3rd party BP-U batteries. Dealers didn’t have any and you couldn’t find them anywhere. Talking to a couple of manufacturers I was informed that they had been told to stop making BP-U batteries.

Then I learnt from Sony that they had been getting an unusually large number of their more recent cameras in for repair, cameras that had suddenly and inexplicably stopped working. They traced this to design issues in some 3rd party batteries that resulted in power flowing through the batteries data pins, damaging beyond repair the cameras motherboard. It was not a case of a battery being inserted incorrectly, it was an issue with the circuitry in the battery.

As a result of this Sony took action in 2019 to prevent the manufacture of 3rd party BP-U batteries and that’s why you could no longer get them.

Since then however it would appear that the manufacture of 3rd party batteries is once again in full swing. In addition I’ve noticed that some older models have been discontinued, often with new versions replacing them, perhaps a “B” version or a model number numerically higher than before.

From this I must assume that whatever the issue was, it has now been resolved and that the 3rd party BP-U batteries on sale today should be perfectly safe to use with our cameras. I would have no hesitation in today buying a brand new BP-U battery from any of the reputable brands.

I have nothing to gain here. This is not a campaign to make you all buy Sony batteries. Even though Sony do make a very fine battery, I too use 3rd party batteries as I need the D-Tap port found only on 3rd party batteries.

But clearly there was a very real battery issue. I’m led to understand that the cost to repair these damaged cameras was over $1K. While not every user of these batteries ends up with a dead camera, I think you have to ask yourself – is it worth using batteries made in 2019 or earlier? I won’t list the batteries that I know to have problems because the list may be incomplete. Just because a battery is not on the list it would not be a guarantee that it’s safe. However if any 3rd party battery manufacturer is reading this and has the confidence to provide me with a list of batteries that they will guarantee are safe, I will gladly publish that (January 2022 and not one manufacture has provided any information).

Clearly not everyone ends up with a dead camera, perhaps the majority have no issue, but enough did that Sony had to take action and it appears that the manufacturers responded by checking and adjusting their designs if necessary.

So my advice is: Don’t use 3rd party batteries made prior to 2020.  

If you do, then make absolutely sure the camera is completely powered down when inserting or removing the battery. 

I believe that any BP-U battery made in 2020 or later should be safe to use. So please think about replacing any old batteries with new ones, or perhaps contact your battery supplier and ask if what you have is safe. However you should be aware that since 2019 Sony’s own BP-U battery chargers will no longer charge 3rd party batteries.

The information I have presented here is correct to the best of my knowledge and I hope you will use it to make your own decision about which batteries to use.

Look after Your Batteries In Lockdown.

I received this timely reminder from the guys at Pag Batteries and it contains important information even if you don’t have one of Pag’s excellent batteries. The main one being that you should not store lithium batteries full charged.

2074787f-47de-45d3-9ece-3b97aee4f155 Look after Your Batteries In Lockdown.

If you are currently unable to work as a result of the global pandemic, then you need to make sure that your Li-Ion camera batteries are in good health when it becomes possible to return to work.
 
Batteries naturally self-discharge over time. If their state-of-charge is less than 10% before an extended period of inactivity, they could become difficult for you to recover.
 
It is also undesirable for batteries to be 100% charged for storage as this can damage the cells and lead to a shorter overall life.
 
PAG recommends that you charge your Li-Ion batteries to 50% (anywhere between 20% and 80% is desirable) prior to long term storage of more than 2 weeks. PAGlink batteries should also be in an unlinked state during this period.
 
 
PAGlink Sleep Mode for Storage
 
PAGlink Batteries can be put into Sleep Mode for long term storage, using the battery display menu system. It shuts down the internal electronics and greatly reduces battery self-discharge. The battery can be woken-up with 2 presses of the display button.
 
Please refer to Section 6 of the User Guide for PAGlink Batteries via the links below:
 
 
 
PAGlink Gold Mount Batteries have an automatic sleep mode feature that initiates after 2 weeks of inactivity.
 
To maintain good battery capacity, it is beneficial to cycle batteries every 6 weeks (discharge followed by a full-charge).
 
If you have any queries regarding your PAG batteries, Sleep Mode and storage then please contact support via email: support@paguk.com
 
 
PAG would like to wish you all good health and a safe return to work when that day finally arrives.
 
The PAG team.

Core FX9 V-Mount Adapter and Core Hypercore Neo Mini Batteries.

DSC_0691-2-1024x768 Core FX9 V-Mount Adapter and Core Hypercore Neo Mini Batteries.
Core FX9 V-Mount adapter with a Hypercore Neo Mini battery on my PXW-FX9

One of the things about the FX9 that makes no sense is it’s external DC input. When you are using just the camera body the FX9 requires a rather odd-ball 19.5 volts to power it via it’s DC in connector. Most cameras have a 12v to 16v input range so they can be used with the multitude of V-Mount or Gold Mount batteries that are common place in the world of professional video. But not the FX9.  The FX9 is also fairly power hungry so the standard BP-U batteries can be a little limiting, especially if you also need to power any accessories as the camera doesn’t have a power output. A V-Mount battery will run the camera for a long time and they generally have D-Tap power outlets, but they are the wrong voltage for the FX9s external input. So if you want to use a V-Mount battery, as I do, then you need not only a mounting plate but also a voltage converter.

The adapter I have chosen to use is manufactured by Core. Why this one? One thing that was important for me is not only to be able to power the camera from a V-Mount battery, but also to be able to power it from a standard external 12 volt power supply such as found in most studios, or something like a car battery. The Core CXV-FX9 adapter includes a voltage regulator that takes the 12 to 16 volt range of a typical Lithium battery and converts it to the 19.5v needed by the FX9. It also has an industry standard 4 pin XLR connector that you can use to power the camera from a 12v external power supply.

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The Core FX9 V-Mount adapter has an industry standard 4 pin XLR input for standard 12v power supplies.

Hot Swap:

If you have a power supply connected to the 4 pin XLR you can hot swap the V-Mount batteries. If you have a battery on the adapter you can hot swap to and from the external power. During hot swapping the adapter not only continues to feed the camera with power but also the 2 D-Tap ports on the adapter remain powered.

Low Battery Warning:

One issue that all these adapters have is that they have to convert the battery voltage up to 19.5 volts and this is what is fed to the cameras DC in connector. This means that the camera has no direct connection to the battery, so it has no way to know the charge state of the battery. All you will see in the viewfinder as an indication of the output of the voltage converter. This will remain at a constant 19.5v all the way until the battery is flat and cuts off, at which point the camera will just die. That’s not good, if you are halfway through recording something it could corrupt your media. You won’t have any warning in the camera of the battery going flat.

To try to address this at least in part the Core adapter has an LED light on the operators side that is green when the battery is well charged, but turns to red when there is only around 10% of the batteries capacity left. This does at least give some warning of a battery about to die.

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The Core FX9 adapter has an LED battery status indicator that turns red and flashes when the battery voltage gets low.

As well as the adapter, I’m trying out a couple of Core’s Hypercore Neo Mini batteries. These are nice, compact 98Wh batteries. They are UN Tested and certified so meet all the requirements for air travel. These batteries have a clever LCD display that displays the available run time of the battery. This is much more advanced than a simple charge indicator (it has one of those too). The battery actually detects the load being drawn from it. It also knows the exact state of charge of the battery.

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Core SWX Hyoercore Neo Mini 98Wh battery with incredibly accurate run time display giving the time in minutes until the battery will be flat based on the cameras power draw.

Using these it is able to calculate with great accuracy how long it will be before it will be flat. I have found this to be remarkably accurate, typically to within just a few minutes. I’ve been using this display to let me know when I need to start thinking about changing the battery. It’s accuracy gives me the confidence to continue shooting until I’m down to the last few minutes of run time. Typically I’m getting around 2.5 hours without the Atomso Ninja recorder and just under 2 hours with the Ninja from one of these excellent little batteries.

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Core V-Mount plate for the FX9 showing the lugs that lock into slots in the camera battery compartment to eliminate any flex or wobble.

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There are two D-Tap power outlets at the top of the Core FX9 V-Mount plates as well as 3 1/4″ mounting holes for accessories.

Attaching the adapter:

Attaching the adapter to the camera is easy. It uses the same mounting points as Sony’s XDCA extension unit. So there are lugs that slide into slots inside the FX9’s battery compartment as well as two small bolts that attach it to the top of the camera. This makes it incredibly secure with no wobble or other movement. I would have no concerns about supporting the entire camera rig from the battery adapter or adding perhaps a V-Mount wireless video link and then large or heavy batteries behind that. It’s very secure and it looks like it’s meant to be there. Another nice touch is that as well as the 2 D-Tap power ports on the top of the adapter there are also 3 additional 1/4″ mounting points for accessories such as monitors or wireless receivers etc.

I do have one small criticism. The position of the D-Tap ports is quite close to the edge of the adapter. If you are using a tall battery and you have a very fat D-Tap plug they can interfere with each other.

Despite this the Core V-Mount battery adapter gets a big thumbs up from me. The voltage indication is most useful as is the ability to use a normal 4 pin 12v XLR feed.

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The Core FX9 V-Mount battery adapter gets a big thumbs up from me.

Why Can’t I Get Third Party BP-U Batteries any more?

In the last month or so it has become increasingly hard to find dealers or stores with 3rd party BP-U style batteries in stock.

After a lot of digging around and talking to dealers and battery manufacturers it became apparent that Sony were asking the manufacturers of BP-U style batteries to stop making and selling them or face legal action. The reason given being that the batteries impinge on Sony’s Intellectual Property rights.

Why Is This Happening Now?

It appears that the reason for this clamp down is because it was discovered that the design of some of these 3rd party batteries was such that the battery could be inserted into the camera in a way that instead of power flowing through the power pins to the camera, power was flowing through the data pins. This will burn out the circuit boards in the camera and the camera will no longer work.

Users of these damaged cameras, unaware that the problem was caused by the battery were sending them back to Sony for repair under warranty. I can imagine that many arguments would have then followed over who was to pay for these potentially very expensive repairs or camera replacements.

So it appears that to prevent further issues Sony is trying to stop potentially damaging batteries from being manufactured and sold.

This is good and bad. Of course no one wants to use a battery that could result in the need to replace a very expensive camera with a new one (and if you were not aware it was the battery you could also damage the replacement camera). But many of us, myself included, have been using 3rd party batteries so that we can have a D-Tap power connection on the battery to power other devices such as monitors.

Only Option – BP-U60T?

Sony don’t produce batteries with D-Tap outlets. They do make a battery with a hirose connector (BP-U60T), but that’s not what we really want and compared to the 3rd party batteries it’s very expensive and the capacity isn’t all that high.

BP-U60T Why Can't I Get Third Party BP-U Batteries any more?
Sony BP-U60T with 4 pin hirose DC out.

So where do we go from here?

If you are going to continue to use 3rd party batteries, do be very careful about how you insert them and be warned that there is the potential for serious trouble. I don’t know how widespread the problem is.

We can hope perhaps that maybe Sony will either start to produce batteries with a D-Tap of their own. Or perhaps they can work with a range of chosen 3rd party battery manufacturers to find a way to produce safe batteries with D-Tap outputs under licence.

DSM-U84 Direct replacement battery for PMW-200, EX1, F3 etc tried and tested.

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DSM-U84 battery in use on my PMW-F3

I received a sample DSM-U84 battery just before the weekend for testing and review. This battery is a direct replacement for the Sony BP-U60 type battery typically used on the smaller Sony PMW cameras like the PMW-150, 200, EX1, EX3 and F3. It docks directly with the camera and does not need to use a cable or any other adapter to power the camera. This is particulary significant for PMW-100, 150 and 200 users as the cameras power socket is located inside the battery compartment making it impossible to use an external power source when a battery is inserted.

The capacity of the DSM-U84 is 84Wh so about 20% more capacity than the BP-U60 but in the same sized package. In my tests this did equate to around 20% more run time on my F3, about 3 to 3.5 hours which I think is pretty good. Like the original Sony battery it has an LED capacity meter on the rear of the pack and the quality of the plastics used appears very good. The battery uses high quality Japanese sourced Panasonic cells so should give a long service life. You can charge it using the standard Sony charger. With an estimated list price of £130 + VAT this makes it a serious alternative to the Sony BPU-60 which is typically around £170.00.

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Another view of the DSM-U84 on my F3 rig.

One point to note is that the DSM-U84 does not feature a D-Tap socket like some of the other 3rd party batteries on the market. According to DSM this is stipulated by the cell manufacturer for safety reasons. I’ve used many DSM batteries over the years and they have always lasted very well, I have some that are now at least 6 years old but still perfectly useable.

New Batteries for PMW-200, 150, 100, F3, EX1R, EX1 and EX3

DSM-U65-84-Fuel-GaugeMR-281x300 New Batteries for PMW-200, 150, 100, F3, EX1R, EX1 and EX3
New DSM Battery for the EX and PMW series cameras.

A few weeks back I got a phone call from Dave at DSM…… Hey Alister do you think a battery that works on an EX1, F3 or PMW-200 just like the original Sony batteries would be popular? Of course it would, was my answer. Up to now almost all the 3rd party batteries that have been available for  these cameras have had to use a cable to deliver the power to the camera via the DC in socket. This is because if you try to supply the power from the battery directly the camera knows it’s not an original Sony battery and it will refuse to operate. These new batteries from UK manufacturer DSM have new circuitry that allows the battery to be used directly on the camera with no adapter cable. The capacity is quite a bit higher than the similar sized Sony BPU-60 and at 84Wh, enough juice to run an EX or PMW-200 for around 4 hours.

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Underside of the DSM U-84 battery.

The batteries are made with high quality Japanese Panasonic cells and assembled in the UK. I’ve been using DSM V-Lock batteries for years and they have always been completely trouble free and long lasting. For more information see the DSM website or contact them at info@dsmpower.tv