RR MicroRemote follow focus battery selection

[David Alpert]

Hi all,

 

First, this is a great community. Happy I found it googling. I've lurked for a little while and the wealth of insightful posts is great.

 

I have a Defy G5 gimbal showing up tomrrow that I am using with a 5D Mkiii and a RR wireless follow focus. It's going to be fun but I need to help with powering the follow focus.

 

I am looking for a lightweight solution to mount a battery somewhere near center mass on the gimbal. The main rod is 20 or 22cm...I'll measure tomorrow when it comes in. I may have a friend 3D print some sort of carrier or integrated bracket for that.

 

My main hurdle now is ordering the actual battery/charger.

 

RedRock has this on their site: "Please Note: External power via p-tap power source is also required for proper operation."

 

So they also recommend something like an Anton Bauer with a ptap/dtap, AB, or vmount with a bracket.

 

Because a lot of this is new lingo for me, could someone quickly distill the major differences between those battery types. I know a couple may actually share connections but after a couple hours of research I'm still scratching my head - a bit.

 

I have a friend who uses IDX batteries with his RR microRemote. He has a 7s and 9 with a bracket.

 

If anyone can share a link to some batteries that would fit that application I would really, really appreciate it.

 

How are guys with the Movi powering their followfocuses?

 

Finally, here's a picture of the gimbal with a remote follow focus and an external battery pack. Can anyone reverse engineer what is going on from these angles?

 

Thanks.

 

[Alan Rencher]

You might try the forum on FreeFly's website. They might be a good resource for you.

[Mitch Mommaerts]

As Alan mentioned freefly or similar gear forums may help you out and even in the long run may worth finding a good related forum.

 

However general answer to your question is regardless of battery brand you can find a battery mounting plate which has a ptap plug on it. Use this to power your rr receiver. Enjoy your system.

 

Mitch

[Sam Morgan Moore]

She wont be smiling for long.

[Sam Morgan Moore]

.. Seriously If you can get power off the rig I'd look to getting an A/C to carry the batt and any other gack..

[Mark Schlicher]

The basics:

 

Two main broadcast battery systems in the US:

V-mount aka IDX aka Sony

Anton Bauer aka AB aka Gold mount

Both are in wide use.

 

IDX is the "name brand" manufacturerer of V-mount batteries

Anton Bauer is the "name brand" originator/manufacturere of gold mount batteries

Small and large batteries are available in either mount.

For any given battery capacity, the battery sizes and weights are similar between the two systems, genuine AB are slightly heavier.

Generic batteries and charging systems are available in either mount

 

D-tap aka P-tap aka Powertap is an Anton Bauer invention. It is an auxiliary power connector that plugs into a receptacle on one of the sides of the battery mounting plate (the main output of the plate is usually hardwired into the attached equipment that it is mounted to).

 

D-taps are present on all genuine Anton Bauer plates and most IDX plates, AFAIK

Most generic plates of either type have d-taps built in

Many generic batteries have a d-tap connector built right into the battery.

 

In the photo it appears that they are using an AB battery on a plate, which is mounted to the cage (unclear how) . The battery and mounting plate would be a bit over two pounds, plus whatever cheeseplate and bracketry they used.

 

Hope this helps.