2007Batteries/Power forum
Battery requirements for powering an Arri 435 camera at high speed on a Steadicam rig
19 years old. Gear and prices may have changed since.
DisputedParticipants disagreed and reached no conclusion. Read the findings as positions, not as an answer.
What the thread found
- Nickel-cadmium batteries are the recommended choice for running an Arri 435 at high speed, with options including AB Proformer and Trimpac models.
- Hytron 50 batteries alone are insufficient for high-speed 435 operation due to the high current draw required by the camera.
- Combining a Pro Pack with a Hytron 50 battery may provide adequate power for high-speed shooting.
- Steadicam PowerCubes can successfully run the 435 at high speed without issues.
- At 150 frames per second, Hytron 50 batteries may work but require changing after every five 20-second takes, while they perform adequately at 50 frames per second.
- A backpack-mounted camera battery connected via a 2-meter power cable is an alternative solution for sustained high-speed operation.
- Some operators have successfully used multiple Hytron 50 batteries for high-speed 435 work across numerous productions and many thousands of feet of film.
Depends on
- Hytron 50 performance degrades as batteries age.
- The conflicting reports suggest results may depend on specific battery condition and age.
- No consensus was reached on whether Hytron batteries are suitable or unsuitable for this purpose.
- NiMH batteries were mentioned as an alternative, but limited details were provided about their performance.