DIONIC 90?

[Edgar Colon]

Hi friends;

 

To all of you Dionic 90 owners, how well are performing those batteries with film cameras???

How about the 435's on high speed??

My Hytron 50 are about to die and start planning for a new set

 

Thanks

 

Edgar

[RobVanGelder]

I just bought 4 of them, after I read from several people about their incredible performance.

I have no real experience with them, yet. That will come in the following months so I will let you know.

[Edgar Colon]

Thanks Rob

Anyone else??

[MattWyer]

Hi Edgar,

 

I don't know if this is of any use to you but I recently changed my batteries and went with Hydron 120's and they're brilliant. Unless you double up the Dionic 90's on your sled you may find them a little too light. Also Anton Bauer only guarantee Dionics for a year but Hydrons for 3 years as it's a more proven technology.

 

Best,

 

Matt

[Charles Papert]

Edgar, how are you old friend?!

 

I switched to an A/B system this year but haven't used it much to date for various reasons. I bought 7 Dionics and am collecting a few Proformers with the assumption to run one of each type for the camera and a single Dionic for video. I believe this is the formation that Jim McConkey has been using for quite a while and likes a lot. Certainly there are questions about the ultimate longevity of the Dionics but my feeling is that if you are working enough to wear out your batteries, you can generally afford the re-celling or replacement, and if the daily advantages are worth it...

 

As far as not enough weight with the Dionics, one can always ADD weight to a sled as needed but if you want to go uber-lightweight for one reason or another (the 235, A-Minima, DV cameras, running shots etc), it's great to be able to do this.

[Edgar Colon]

..." went with Hydron 120's"...

 

 

Hi Matt

 

The thing for me is that Hytrons 120 are too heavy and since I have a GPI sled I need two 50s or Proformers to make the 24v circuit for that type of cameras, on the other hand I don't know if those 120 give the same problem w/ 435's high speed!!!!

[Edgar Colon]

..."I bought 7 Dionics and am collecting a few Proformers with the assumption to run one of each type for the camera and a single Dionic for video. I believe this is the formation that Jim McConkey has been using"...

 

 

Hi Mr Papert (ASC?)

 

Jajajaja Hope soon...you looked cool in the AC

 

I thought you hang the vest!

 

Is that combination of Dionic and Proformer for all cameras??? or just the 435, Uhmm, wondering

Is little bit confusing this battery thing, and the other problem,

 

I didn't know those dionics were so "light", seems kind of tricky since if you don't have a good stock of charged ones and you have to change types, your balance goes off the chart.

I've been tryng to recell my Hytrons but the local guys doesn't guaranteed that the battery is not gonna loose the display among other things since the body of the batt is very tight in relation to the cells.

And Proformers will be out of the market as soon as Paul sell the las batch,

 

How about Trimpacs????

 

 

Nice to hear from you amigo

 

 

Edgar

[Charles Papert]

Yup, trying my best to "hang the vest"...doing less and less of it, but since I'm 10 months into a home renovation, gotta follow the wallet for a while!

 

Indeed, Proformers are on the endangered species list but being Nicads they'll likely be good for at least 3 years; by then this battery thing should be a bit better sorted out.

 

The Proformer/Dionic thing is a good choice for all 24v film setups (I think) as it is a nice balance of weight and power. You can run all day (or more!) with that setup.

[JobScholtze]

I do have a couple of dionics and the hydron 50's and 120's. I like to switch around. When i use XD cam, the hydron 50's will be empty very soon. The dionics are a little bit better, but i prefer the 120 for long use. Same as when i use 24v, i usally use 2 dionics to power up the camera, but prefer the 120 for long time use. Hope this helps

[paul magee]

Here's a question. You can carry on TWO Dionic 160's in the passenger cabin of a plane but you can't

put them in the hold. How can you travel with a checked case that has nine Dionic 90s packed into it?

There has to be more lithium contained in that one case than the 16 grams of two Dionic 160s.

 

 

Paul Magee

Philadelphia, PA

[Edgar Colon]

Yup, trying my best to "hang the vest"...

 

 

When you come to the caribbean to shoot a movie don't forget that you have a pal with a steadicam! jaja

 

Thanks for the advice brother

 

Peace

 

 

 

 

 

...i usally use 2 dionics to power up the camera, but prefer the 120 for long time use. Hope this helps

 

Thanks Job

 

Dionics will be the way to go then...

 

Edgar

[WillArnot]

I just replaced Jim McConkey on a picture since he had to go to the hospital with a minor hernia. He is on a quick recovery just can't lift anything for a couple of weeks. He and I were talking batteries.

 

I bought 6 Dionics in February. I run 2 Dionics and 1 Proformer on my XCS sled. So with a total of 4 full sets, I am so well covered with tons of run time and power that I can sometimes go for 2 days without changing batteries if it is just a couple of hours of rig work per day. All full 35mm setup w/ 2 Preston motors and Panatapes, blah blah .... all the accessories. Mainly Panavision Lightweights, Arricams, 435's.

 

And I can easily run one or two KS-4 gyros as well. The Dionics in combination with a NiCad Proformer handle a 435 no problems whatsoever. I also get huge run time with this same combination on my AR set up as well. Check out http://homepage.mac.com/willglide/PhotoAlbum4.html

I haven't run a 435 with just 2 Dionics alone so maybe Rob can let us know how that goes.

 

The Dionics by their nature (Lithium Ion) are not designed to conduct large surges of voltage. This however is what good old NiCads do so well, hence the 1 Proformer 2 Dionic combo. 435's demand a huge surge in voltage (up to 18 amps!) to get up to speed. It is hard for me to say wether the Dionics can handle the surge b/c they have a NiCad to help with the volt spike, or if it is the brilliance of the electronics of the XCS sled that make the current draw so manageable. The Dionics are certainly not spec'd to handle anything close to what a 435 demands on start up. Anton Bauer will be the first to tell you this, and remind you of the 1 yr warranty only.

 

But the proof is in the field and they are working with 435's. Jimmy has had his since the end of '03 and is still raving about them. He also had some good info on another quirk with the Dionics that if you don't work with them for more than a couple of weeks you should let them sit at half charge or uncharged. NOT at full charge. Apparently they 'eat' themselves up when the cells are left to sit at full capacity. So leave them uncharged until you know you are going to work with them again, then re-charge them.

 

As far as weight goes, I heartily agree w/ Charles. I'd much prefer to have the option of adding or subtracting a battery. Versatility is key these days.

 

Also, the Dionic 90's weigh 1.7 lbs. Same as a Proformer and also a Hytron 50 I believe.

 

The thing I love with my 4 sets of 2 Dionic 1 Proformer is my battery case size has shrunk by 50% and wieghs 50% less as well. At the same time I have days(!) more run time than i did with the 8 sets of NiCads (1 Trimpac 1 Proformer) that I used to lug around in a bigger, much heavier case. 17 lbs VS. 36 lbs of batteries alone.

 

This also lightens my flying weight. In response to Paul Magee's question about flying with many Dionic 90's in 1 case and not allowed to fly with 1 120 or 160. I should think it is the proximity of double the amount of cells inside one battery that makes it a potential bomb. Not many seperate batteries that on their own as individual batteries have a much safer cell arrangement.

 

I carry 2 Hytron 120 in my gyro case for heavy gyro days and that's it.

 

Dionics rock.

 

Will

[Edgar Colon]

Hey Will;

 

Thanks for taking the time to explain your experiences with the battery subject.

Now I have better understanding of the whole "Dionic" issue

On my way to buy my set

 

By the way, what a beautiful rig you have!

 

Respects

 

Edgar Colon

[markdeblok]

Dionic Users

 

what voltage is a fresh charged dionic 90, combining two for a 435 might be over 32V, I know the L I batt I use will be 16.5

 

????

 

mark de blok

[RobVanGelder]

Which should still be ok for Arriflex camera´s. According to the manual their safety shut-off is at 35 volts though it might change with certain cameras....

 

Moviecam is something else......

For that I made a little box with some heavy diodes, and that cuts off some of the voltage, like 0,5 volt per diode. so 12 diodes in series would cut down 6 volts.

 

I used it one time, they got hot, but are made for that.