2009Batteries/Power forum
Red One camera power management with sealed lead acid batteries and voltage limitations
17 years old. Gear and prices may have changed since.
What the thread found
- A Red One camera drawing 5.5A during HD recording on a 12V 28Ah lead acid battery provides approximately 4 hours of runtime before the 11.5V shutdown threshold is reached.
- With full accessories including monitor, focus control, second monitor, and HD transmitter, a Red One draws approximately 9.5A, reducing usable runtime to about 1 hour before shutdown.
- Heavy current draw from accessories causes voltage to drop significantly under load, triggering camera shutdown before the battery is actually depleted of usable charge.
- Using shorter, 12-gauge battery cables with clean connectors and new batteries helps maintain voltage delivery to the camera.
- A Battery Watcher device can display both voltage and ampere-hour consumption, revealing that a camera may shut down with 80% of battery capacity still remaining due to voltage sag under load.
- Higher voltage battery systems using 12 NiMHd cells at 16.4V or 7 lead acid cells configured for 14V output can extend usable runtime by maintaining voltage above the camera's shutdown threshold during high current draw.
- Standard XLR battery connections should be wired with pins 1 and 2 connected together and pins 3 and 4 connected together.
Depends on
- Discussion focuses on sealed lead acid batteries and does not cover onboard Steadicam batteries or lithium solutions.
- The 4-hour and 1-hour runtime figures assume specific battery capacity and current draw conditions that may vary with different setups.
- No testing data or independent verification provided for alternative voltage solutions mentioned.
- Specific rental house practices cited without detailed performance metrics or comparative analysis.
Gear in this thread
Same gear or parts
- 2025History of wireless focus and lens control systems for Steadicam®: from cable-based Cinema Products and Seitz to Preston digital, and European solutions by Chrosziel, cmotion, and ARRI.FacebookSteadicam operators group
- 2019Suitability of small Steadicam rigs like the Aero-15 for run-and-gun solo work versus dedicated camera support systemsSteadi-Newbies
- 2018Comparison of Aero 30 and Zephyr steadicam rigs for lightweight camera packagesGeneral Discussion
- 2018Priority purchases for a beginning Steadicam operator who rents equipmentSteadi-Newbies