Great stuff as always! Those multi battery chargers are definitely a great thing to have, and since most of them are USB powered now, so easy in the field with those GoalZero gadgets! Cheers!
I will likely do a video on that at some point. I am using a now discontinued solar panel from Goal Zero called the Nomad 3.5 along with a battery pack I got as a promotional item at some point.
You should have had yourself a stand at Photokina selling your advice Ben. With the amount of mirrorless cameras being released right now there’s bound to be huge demand for this kind of help 😉
I tend to use a combination of a 18000mAh batterypack with 2 USB and a 220v outlet for the smaller things (and the gopro/gimbal), and a 12-220v transformer (which uses a sine wave, not a square wave; I found out the hard way that's important for the laptop) to recharge the d500's batteries, the batterypack, the laptop and if I ever start using it again, the panorama robot. It does mean the back seat of my car is all filled up with wires etc, but when I'm on the road for 2-3 weeks during the summer, it's a good tradeoff. :P
Great detailed explanation of the pain behind most of the digital video cameras, poor battery life! That Goalzero "center piece" looks great and I agree its almost the fool proof way in case you ever forget or have charging issues in the back. The worst part about the plugs in the back is you have to stop to check everything! Does your microphone have its own power supply too? Another interesting topic, especially if you're shooting 4k, do you need to dump cards while you're away? or do you take plenty of memory and just change? Im not shooting 4k but the canon m50 file sizes are huge! I made a similar charging setup with a bit more completeness for travelling. I took a travel packing cell, and lined it with velco, added all my chargers, spare battery banks, and an inverter! So when the bag is plugged into a 12v socket, the bag goes live. From that I can charge 4 x canon M50 batteries, 2 x canon 6D batteries, a drone battery, my laptop, and my phone! I haven't tried it at full load, but on a few recent trips (one down to Tasmania with some guys) the bag worked really well. I also used it in India too and it was amazing! When Haylie and I travel its usually for months at a time so we need to be able to not only charge everything including laptops, but because we dont know where we will be or what the setup is (hire car, van, hotel rool) the bag makes it so simple to have it all centralised.... just like your center console "power hub"! Great stuff Ben and congrats on the portfolio set.
I do the same with my 4Runner except I use a standard power strip but will now be changing it to a power strip that has two usb ports on it. This will allow me to run two dual chargers and all my single chargers for my Fuji XT2 as they eat batteries faster than I can eat a bag of Peanut M&Ms. I can now charge all 6 batteries at once if need be while I have another 6 batteries in the two bodies with grips. This is freaking crazy but I don't have to worry about running out of juice. Been there done that.
I use a cig plug style inverter to go to ac power and then a big surge strip to plug everything into. It seems that everything charges faster with ac and this is only good when driving or working near the car of course. I like the idea of the 52k mah charger. Since we are talking batteries I may start taking a spare deep cell car battery on remote trips. My last little adventure my battery barely turned over the car. The car battery was 3 yrs old about to crap out. If I were in the middle of nowhere and this happened I could have jumped it with the extra battery.
If your completely off the grid and you don't have a truck, how many charges do you think you can get with your sony batteries out of the battery pack?
That's a very good question, and I unfortunately don't have the answer for it. I suspect you'll eat through the charge on the big battery pretty fast though. As a matter of perspective, I have a small Goal Zero Venture 30 battery that I use to charge the batteries for my RX100VA/ZV-1 in the field. That battery solar charges, and by the end of the day, I'm able to charge 3 of the BX1 batteries along with my phone and some other devices. It's a much smaller battery than the one I show in this video.
but what about the backcountry... Recently back from a 6 day trip with my canon 80d shooting lots of video. Went in with 2 batteries, but didn't make it through the trip.
For that, you'll want to have a solar setup. Goal Zero makes some kits that include a solar panel and battery. The panel charges up the battery during the day, then you can plug in some USB battery chargers in the evening. You also need to take into consideration the weight of the solar panel/battery/charger versus just carrying a bunch more batteries.
It really depends on your situation, but the solar panel is a great thing to have as well. On my trips to Death Valley, there are times when my truck is parked for days and I don't run the engine. That's when I use a solar panel to charge the Sherpa Battery. I usually just park my truck so the front faces the southern sky, then place the solar panel on my windshield. It's the perfect angle, and doesn't get in the way of anything. Also, that way I can't forget about it when I change locations and drive somewhere else. :-)
Graeme Somerville The great part about this system is that my truck only charges the battery while I drive. It happens automatically without me having to flip a switch. The 12 volt outlet is not powered when my truck is turned off, so there is no risk of it draining the battery.
I don't know how you keep a straight face 😂
The magic of video editing makes things a heck of a lot easier in that sense. ;-)
Great stuff as always! Those multi battery chargers are definitely a great thing to have, and since most of them are USB powered now, so easy in the field with those GoalZero gadgets! Cheers!
Thanks Ben for such detailed explanation
Thanks. Would love also to see the smaller bikepacking bettery kit!
I will likely do a video on that at some point. I am using a now discontinued solar panel from Goal Zero called the Nomad 3.5 along with a battery pack I got as a promotional item at some point.
Fantastis setup Ben. Love the power pack unit.
You should have had yourself a stand at Photokina selling your advice Ben. With the amount of mirrorless cameras being released right now there’s bound to be huge demand for this kind of help 😉
Looking like an apple computer with all those extra cords haha will have to check out that battery, as it does seem to be a great system
I tend to use a combination of a 18000mAh batterypack with 2 USB and a 220v outlet for the smaller things (and the gopro/gimbal), and a 12-220v transformer (which uses a sine wave, not a square wave; I found out the hard way that's important for the laptop) to recharge the d500's batteries, the batterypack, the laptop and if I ever start using it again, the panorama robot.
It does mean the back seat of my car is all filled up with wires etc, but when I'm on the road for 2-3 weeks during the summer, it's a good tradeoff. :P
Great detailed explanation of the pain behind most of the digital video cameras, poor battery life! That Goalzero "center piece" looks great and I agree its almost the fool proof way in case you ever forget or have charging issues in the back. The worst part about the plugs in the back is you have to stop to check everything! Does your microphone have its own power supply too? Another interesting topic, especially if you're shooting 4k, do you need to dump cards while you're away? or do you take plenty of memory and just change? Im not shooting 4k but the canon m50 file sizes are huge!
I made a similar charging setup with a bit more completeness for travelling. I took a travel packing cell, and lined it with velco, added all my chargers, spare battery banks, and an inverter! So when the bag is plugged into a 12v socket, the bag goes live. From that I can charge 4 x canon M50 batteries, 2 x canon 6D batteries, a drone battery, my laptop, and my phone! I haven't tried it at full load, but on a few recent trips (one down to Tasmania with some guys) the bag worked really well. I also used it in India too and it was amazing!
When Haylie and I travel its usually for months at a time so we need to be able to not only charge everything including laptops, but because we dont know where we will be or what the setup is (hire car, van, hotel rool) the bag makes it so simple to have it all centralised.... just like your center console "power hub"!
Great stuff Ben and congrats on the portfolio set.
I do the same with my 4Runner except I use a standard power strip but will now be changing it to a power strip that has two usb ports on it. This will allow me to run two dual chargers and all my single chargers for my Fuji XT2 as they eat batteries faster than I can eat a bag of Peanut M&Ms. I can now charge all 6 batteries at once if need be while I have another 6 batteries in the two bodies with grips. This is freaking crazy but I don't have to worry about running out of juice. Been there done that.
I use a cig plug style inverter to go to ac power and then a big surge strip to plug everything into. It seems that everything charges faster with ac and this is only good when driving or working near the car of course. I like the idea of the 52k mah charger. Since we are talking batteries I may start taking a spare deep cell car battery on remote trips. My last little adventure my battery barely turned over the car. The car battery was 3 yrs old about to crap out. If I were in the middle of nowhere and this happened I could have jumped it with the extra battery.
Nice 👍
That hat is pretty great.
If your completely off the grid and you don't have a truck, how many charges do you think you can get with your sony batteries out of the battery pack?
That's a very good question, and I unfortunately don't have the answer for it. I suspect you'll eat through the charge on the big battery pretty fast though. As a matter of perspective, I have a small Goal Zero Venture 30 battery that I use to charge the batteries for my RX100VA/ZV-1 in the field. That battery solar charges, and by the end of the day, I'm able to charge 3 of the BX1 batteries along with my phone and some other devices. It's a much smaller battery than the one I show in this video.
but what about the backcountry... Recently back from a 6 day trip with my canon 80d shooting lots of video. Went in with 2 batteries, but didn't make it through the trip.
For that, you'll want to have a solar setup. Goal Zero makes some kits that include a solar panel and battery. The panel charges up the battery during the day, then you can plug in some USB battery chargers in the evening. You also need to take into consideration the weight of the solar panel/battery/charger versus just carrying a bunch more batteries.
Just happen to get the 100 version. Do you reckon it's helpful to get the solar panel that can integrate to the battery pack?
It really depends on your situation, but the solar panel is a great thing to have as well. On my trips to Death Valley, there are times when my truck is parked for days and I don't run the engine. That's when I use a solar panel to charge the Sherpa Battery. I usually just park my truck so the front faces the southern sky, then place the solar panel on my windshield. It's the perfect angle, and doesn't get in the way of anything. Also, that way I can't forget about it when I change locations and drive somewhere else. :-)
Hi Ben, Do you ever worry about your Forerunner's battery dying when you are out hiking around with the Goal Zero plugged in and charging? Thanks -
Graeme Somerville The great part about this system is that my truck only charges the battery while I drive. It happens automatically without me having to flip a switch. The 12 volt outlet is not powered when my truck is turned off, so there is no risk of it draining the battery.
Ben. I need that hat. Where did you get that?
Your wish is my command: www.etsy.com/shop/redrockdesignco
They are made by an awesome photographer in Utah.
You should apply for a job at Apple dongle department ;)
Can’t you just do a ceremonial charge dance instead and hope the gods keep you in b-roll?
I'm all for that!
10 hour