2026From a Facebook group: The Steadicam Group
Why a 150 Wh battery at the sled powers the camera for only ~20 minutes versus two to three times longer when mounted on-body, and how to extend runtime.
Note (as of October 2026)Curt O. Schaller, the developer of Artemis and Trinity, has no longer been with ARRI since the end of 2025. To our knowledge, ARRI currently has no dedicated team and no official contact persons for its stabilizer systems. In our view, the future of this line is uncertain. If you are buying new, get written confirmation from ARRI beforehand on how long service and spare parts are guaranteed. Have used rigs checked by the manufacturer before you buy.
DisputedParticipants disagreed and reached no conclusion. Read the findings as positions, not as an answer.
What the thread found
- Observation across multiple sleds (ARRI Artemis 2 with Live-Base, Tiffen M1/M2, Elite, Axis, PRO CP2) shows that a 12 V battery at the sled, supplying roughly 80 W camera draw plus ~7 W for Volt monitor and video link, suffers ~1.5 V loss, triggering low-voltage warning after ~20 minutes; disconnecting the sled battery and using a fresh battery body-mounted extends runtime to over 45 minutes.
- Voltage drop in cabling rises linearly with current, while power loss rises quadratically; at 24 V, losses are approximately one-quarter compared to 12 V for the same power draw, which is why modern high-end cameras operate at 24 V.
- Sled cabling is long, thin, and routed through the center post with approximately 6 to 9 contact points; additionally, battery sag under high load creates voltage droop, with measured differences of up to ~1.25 V between battery terminals and camera input even with 16–18 AWG custom cabling.
- Diodes used to isolate parallel batteries consume voltage: standard silicon diodes ~0.7 V, Schottky ~0.4 V, and Tiffen uses super-barrier diodes with low forward drop at small currents but higher drop at operating current; ideal diodes with nearly zero forward drop and 300 A rating cost under USD 5 and would be superior.
- One operator found that a jumper block connecting all batteries in the lower rack tier significantly improved runtime on a PRO rig.
- Options include operating the sled in 24 V mode with two batteries in series (no hot-swap at sled), retrofitting a 12 V to 24 V step-up converter, or mounting the battery directly on the camera.
- Alexa 24 V cameras have a 12 V input but internally boost to 24 V and draw higher current as a result.
- Many operators now routinely fly an on-board battery because modern batteries are lightweight.
Depends on
- Choice between single 12 V sled battery with converter, two batteries in series (24 V), or camera-mounted battery remains unresolved and depends on rig configuration and operational needs.
- Watt-hour ratings versus ampere-hour and actual current draw vary in usefulness when selecting batteries.
Gear in this thread
Same gear or parts
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- 2026Operating a Steadicam® Zephyr without Volt: drop time, horizon control, and the effect of upper-rig weight distribution on balance.DisputedFacebookSteadicam operators group
- 2026Entry-level stabilizer strategy on a 15,000 USD budget: Rever EVO versus used Artemis 2 or M2 plus Volt, in a market with limited secondhand availability.DisputedFacebookThe Steadicam Group