Battery hanger on PRO I

[Chris Flurry]

Thinking about upgrading the battery stage of my PRO I from chocolate Bars to the Steady Rig battery hanger. Any one out their with this modification have any perspective they could add. Also when hooked up does the parallel/ separate switch still work as it did originally?

 

Thinking about the V-mount with this battery:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/4810...on_V_Mount.html

Obviously I would need to see if these would run a 435, but if not too heavy would be excellent for most cameras. Does the weight seem too much, is this just overkill?

According to B&H

 

Hytron 50 1.1 lbs

Dionic 90 1.7 lbs

TrimPac 2.7lbs

IDX Elite 2.7 lbs

Power Cube 2 lbs

 

Thank You,

Chris Flurry

[Mike McGowan SOC]

I've had a PRO 1 bottom half and used it for about 8 years. It worked great and I re-celled the batteries 2 times in 8 years (they were new when I got them so about 2.5 years per re-cell).

 

I currently have the PRO battery module 2 and it is fantastic! It runs every camera system I've used on it. I use hytron 50's which are cheap and work great (at least for the 14 months I've had them so far). You can take them on a plane with out worrying about airport security and last I heard they never explode.

 

I have 9 batteries and 2 dual chargers and the only time I even got close to running out of juice was on a D-20 with the camera on for basically 12 hours straight and I started the day with 3 down as I had just come from another job (so I cought up at lunch). They will run a 435 just fine at any frame rate (including 150 fps for at least 3 mags) with no problem in my experience with them which is now 14 months.

 

I can't speak to other battery systems I havn't used but the PRO BM2 with Hytron 50's are cost effective and work great in every situation I've put them in.

 

mm.

 

p.s......... though Iv'e never had the need, it's nice to know that you can pick up a charger and additional batteries at any video rental house any where in the world and they all match your existing equipment.

[Charles Papert]

Chris:

 

I've been beta-testing the Hanger for Hugo for close to 3 years now, looks like we are just inches away from the final version which will incorporate "skid plates" for resting the rig on a flat surface and protecting the batts in case of a crash (like the PRO 1 did most excellently, as I can attest to from unfortunate experience!) This will be a backwards-compatible upgrade for any existing Hanger, I believe.

 

I'm very pleased with the Hanger and love the ability to migrate the front battery forward which is invaluable when using a lightweight monitor. And yes, the PRO 1 lower junction box will continue to work exactly as it did with the chocolate bars.

 

I use the Dionic 90's for nearly all applications and find the weight pretty much perfect. I do have a set of the old Proformers (NiCad) in case I encounter a 435 at high speed and need the extra poop, but that hasn't come up since I switched to the AB system so the suckers just sit in the case. I have 7 Dionic 90's and two dual-place chargers and have yet to run short with that setup. I would think that a set of the IDX you list would be a bit on the heavy side--you'll find 2/3" cameras with video style lenses and 16mm cameras riding pretty high on the post.

 

The chocolate bars were a good system, but once I made the switch, I really appreciated the flexibility in balance and the freedom of having non-custom batteries. On my upcoming show I'm back to the Genesis (thankfully with flash mags this time) and will likely be using Dionics from Panavision which will save mine from the wear and tear. And if you are able to sell your batteries, charger and cage, once all is said and done it's a relatively inexpensive upgrade.

[paul magee]

Charles,

 

Do you use Antlers in low mode with your battery hanger and if so how are you attaching them?

Will these new skid plates give you a mounting surface?

 

Paul Magee

[Chris Flurry]

Charles,

First thanks for your response. That is exciting news about the skid plates, those are two features that seem invaluable. When do you anticipate this new version of the battery hanger to be available?

[Charles Papert]

I don't think I'm letting the cat out of the bag with all this, probably the important thing to stress is again that the skid plates will be backwards-compatible so if you are ordering or have recently ordered a Hanger, all is well. And yes, there will be an available cheese plate to mount antlers and other goodies.

 

Hugo will announce their availability, I think they are a little ways off but not terribly.

[Dave Isern]

I've been using Hugo's SteadyRig Battery Module for the past 6 months and I really like it. The forward shifting battery gives me more options in monitor weights. I can also better fine-tune the dynamic balance with different size cameras and batteries. The battery module is great way to keep a rig lean and simple for running shots or other lightweight uses. It helped make my rig much more flexible.

 

The cost is a little lower than other battery modules too. Great quality. Check it out.

Dave Isern

 

www.daveisern.com

[Jon Beattie]

if your looking for another good idx v-mount battery, which will give you way more options checkout; http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/3765..._Stackable.html

 

the e-10 is 98wh so its ok for airtravel. they weigh 1.5lbs and you can piggy back them boosting you up to 196wh. should be able to handle 435 highspeed. ggvideo gave me a quote of $407 a battery.

[Brett Manyluk]

If you're interested, you can also consider Dave Hable's Cramped Attic Upgrade. It's a different approach, where the battery stage and lower junction box are one unit, but he can install whatever you would like for wiring. Mine has 12/24, series and parallel (with full time 12 & 24 capability), video distribution amp, 2 level walking light, transmitter out, recorder out, 4 pin power out, 8 pin pro power/video/level/talley out, and a separate HDSDI line (which can loop video back up to the top from the distribution amp if not being used).

 

Mind you, it was a little more money than the Steadyrig hanger (which looks great BTW) at around $5000 Cnd, but that was for the hanger and the junction box.

 

Brett Manyluk