Who has had experience with...

[Andrew Bradley]

Hey everyone,

 

Just looking for some recommendations/opinions

 

IDX Endura H10DS

http://www.idxtek.com/products/e-hl10ds/

 

IDX Endura HL9

http://www.idxtek.com/products/e-hl9/

 

Who has used them? What do you like, dislike about them?

 

I know the H10 has Dtap which could be useful, little bit more heavy.

 

HL9 Clip together... But seem to be WAY more expensive, anyone know more on this? What is Digi-View?? Listed on specs.

 

Andrew

 

[brett.mayfield]

I never found the stackable batteries particularly useful. But it has worked for me once when flying a phantom that just drained batteries. but then i made a cable and the situation was resolved.

frankly i would go towards the heavier battery. lighter is not really ever going to help you, as generally more of the batteries are going down low where you need the weight.

if your rig is v-mount, then idx is good, but i am personally very anti-Vmount. I had one slip off when in low mode and it went down through a stairwell and landed right between two ferraris. i immediately swapped every plate i had on every piece of gear to gold mount and sold my v-mounts.

if buying new, then you are good. if buying used, have them checked so that you know the cells are in good shape.

look into buying from john ritter. he does great work to batteries. he has a banner on the rite --->

 

brett.

[Keith Wood]

Andrew, what is your use? Unless you are doing something where there isn't any kind of break to swap batteries, stacking isn't useful. If you are in a position to hang the weight of a battery stack, you should consider the full-house AB instead of the V, especially if you have the need for more battery time.

 

While Brett hates the V, I have a love-hate relationship with AB, developed in the years since I was wearing a battery belt (and dinosaurs ruled the Earth). I currently have 2 cams and 3 field editing decks (all Sony) that take V, and one cam (Panasonic) that takes AB. It wasn't hard for me to go with the Pilot that takes V (which will also feed the cam that takes Sony packs, once I get the power cord built), and even after I sell off the Panasonic, I'll hang onto a couple of the AB batteries and the smart charger.

 

BTW, Brett, I would point out that the AB is just about as easy to drop as the V -- apropos of nothing, I'll mention that there isn't much left of a battery pack that falls a couple of thousand feet after the gold mount release button bumps against the door frame of a Huey. And some people have asked me about the strip of gaffer's tape I sometimes wrap around whatever battery I'm hanging . . .

[brett.mayfield]

all good points, keith

 

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

[Ken Nguyen]

Regarding about the secure mounting of V-mount and AB mount, they both are good and secured, if you use the good mounting adapter.

With the good mounting adapter, it is easy to lock your battery in, and no wiggle.

I use Sony made and IDX made adapters for V-mount; use original AB made adapter for AB battery.

Most knock-off mounts are bad.

 

Cheers,

 

Ken Nguyen.

[Andrew Bradley]

Thanks guys, I was just looking for comparison and opinions on both as I own BOTH:)

 

I did like how much lighter it was to carry my box of 6x hl9 over the 6 x hl10ds! But I do not need the stackable thing, and I like the dtap option on the hl10ds which I have used a couple times on some jobs.

 

So I am now selling my hl9 kit, they are in the market place. Will continue to use them until sold.

 

p.s I do worry about the plates being secure as it seems there are a lot of horror stories about them coming off. Mine feel pretty damn solid, and when upside down I use a strap to keep them secure just in case.

Thanks everyone.

Andrew