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Thomson Viper Filmstream


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If I do it (and that's a big if) I'll be using my old arse PRO with original battery system (yes, they are still out there). So I'm assuming this thing will nail my batts as bad as the genesis will yes? May have to strike another camera off my list.

 

Dave

 

 

No it's not as bad as the Genesis, it's a little more than half as bad :) Call me if you have any questions, I lived with the Viper for 9 months and have the ear of the factory.

 

Eric

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Soon will be flying the Viper with Venom on my PRO sled, at least that's the current plan.

 

The combination camera and flashpak sucks up battery power faster than my Hoover ingests the hordes of dust mites buried in my carpet.

 

Any thoughts on the best solution? Current thoughts include:

 

1. Use all 3 batts (Trimpacs) and make a cable that pulls from CAM and AUX to a single XLR which feeds the camera. Would this drain one batt and then the next or would it act like a single 24V batt?

2. Camera House says they can make batteries that will be more suitable than mine. Didn't discuss details of weight and size, though.

3. Lose the Venom and go cabled (but flying with the Venom would be so cool!)

4. Have a battery monkey wear a belt and chase after me (the least preferred option)

5. ???

 

Also, I have the option to mount the Venom on the back which makes for a very long camera or on top which makes for a tall camera. Any thoughts on which is better or is it 6-of-one, half-a-dozen of another? Flying it long is great for straightaways but turns can be a bear. Didn't have time to test it the other way.

 

Any input greatly appreciated.

 

Dan

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From reading the specs, the viper and flashmag's are are 12v with a combined draw of 72w.

I would go for some good LI-ION batteries like the Dionic 90, as there is no great surge, just a continuos draw.

Even one D90 should be enough to drive both, as that's rated at 90w max.

Two D90 bricks in parallel 12v should last a around 2:20 hrs.

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Hi

 

Regards the flash mag position. Personally I would go with mag on the back, as on top makes for a high camera CG. Which means you will need a longer post to get your balance (I prefer a short post so it may be different for others) or more bottom weight. It can also make balancing a bit fun having a high CG as a little adjustment on the topstage as a larger effect with a high CG.

 

Ant

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Now hee is a question for youo tech types. I bought the parallel distribution block from george paddock last year for a genesis gig. He mentioned that you had to use matched D90 batteries or the strong one will cause the weaker one ( even slightly weaker) to shut down. Indeed in practice this is the case. Has anyone come up with a system other than buying new cells and always working them in matched pairs, so I can have that extra capacity for 12v ( 14.4) camera systems. For HD work I actually power the camera off of the accessory power port and let the default camera power run the preston, and sometimes the downconvertor, which spreads the load a little bit more, without the batteries shutting themselves off.

Brad Hruoska.

:angry:

 

You can also use larger capacity anton bauers like hyron 120's on the back of the pro sled. If the rental company is providing them, don't burn your own supply. We are providing batteries like consumable film stock anymore. On a Genises job I made the producer buy batteries to use as I suspected they would have a short life with the large draws.

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dan- i flew the viper on a feature in the spring. we didn't have the venom then and went with a fiber cable for all the controls and one onboard battery off the back for a better balance. there is a super thin fiber cable that is really easy to adapt to. depending on which lense you are flying, prime or short zoom, the viper can be a little front heavy. mounting a battery off the back will even that out a bit. i agree with the short post theory. the venom pack should be about six pounds, if i remember correctly and will counter the smaller zooms nicely. as for the power, matched dionic 90's are the way to go. the problem is with the newer smart a/b batteries. whichever battery has a higher charge will try to charge the other to balance them out. this will cause the chargee to shut down. i fly an ultimate and we have to install blocking diodes in each a/b plate on the rig to fly more than one smart battery, of any chemistry, to prevent this. in answer to brads question, you should try to do the same so voltage only flows one way. at the moment, i am on a genesis feature and i am running with the 2 piece setup. i actually had panavision build a vertically mounted dual anton bauer bracket off the back of the camera body. basically, i fly 2 dionic 90's off the back where a mag would be. it adds 5 1/2 pounds but made the camera feel much more familiar in performance. anyways the record deck weighs almost 13lbs, so it's way lighter than that option. i'll put up some pictures when i get a chance. but for reference, we all know what a power pig the genesis is. well, 2 dionic 90's will power the camera for an hour and i made production rent them from pananvision so we aren't killing mine. the fiber cable off the viper is much lighter and easier to deal with than the dual bnc's off the genesis. and if all this isn't confusing enough, panavision has bought plus 8 digital and will be doing there own variations on the viper and venom soon. that will be intersting. hope this helps.

 

geoff

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Gentlemen-

 

The best battery system for these high amp situations is the Powercube, made by IDX for Steadicam. They are 98Whr batts like the 90's, but they trip at 24 amps or so, love loads of ten or more amps without messing up the cells, and they don't mind being paralleled. They are totally easy to use, no fuss, no worries.

 

They have standard IDX/V-mount connectors, chargers, etc. One alone will drive a Genesis with, yes with, the recorder, and 2 in parallel will drive a Genesis and recorder for more than one full tape in cold weather (I did some practical testing in February on the movie Empty City).

 

Jerry

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jerry- i had heard about the new idx's you guys have and called tiffen to see if they would rent or demo some for the feature i am on. they never responded one way or another. i would love to try them. i liked them when i saw them at cinegear, but how do i try them? let me know.thanks.

 

geoff

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jerry- i had heard about the new idx's you guys have and called tiffen to see if they would rent or demo some for the feature i am on. they never responded one way or another. i would love to try them. i liked them when i saw them at cinegear, but how do i try them? let me know.thanks.

 

geoff

 

 

Hi Geoff:

 

Sorry, I never received your message to borrow batteries. We have them available and welcome you to use them on na shoot. Contact Kyle Young at Tiffen to make the arrangements. If he referrs you back to me just have him I approved.

Batteries are available to anyone(subject to availability) to try.

 

Frank Rush

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Hello,

I'm going to fly the Viper in 4:4:4 mode via dual HD SDI cables. Does anybody have a source for those cables in L.A.? Im talking about the super thin flexible ones.

How is the balance with a short Fujinon zoom lens and no onboard batteries?

 

Thanks for your insights.

 

 

Jens

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Jens,

 

I'm not sure where your getting the Viper from but if it is from any reputable rental house one of the techs should know what you need and have all the materials there to make you the cables. If you talk nice he may even make you a backup set.

 

As I remember the viper doesn't have a rational center of gravity as you would expect. Most new film cameras the CG is well thought out and even the Genesis has a very convenient CG, wonder what they were thinking when they made the Viper.

 

Good luck,

 

Chris Konash

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