I'll do a test today to see how long it takes to drain my 15000.
To clarify, I said "another $52" because I already own one ATC power bank. I meant "another $52 in addition to the $52 I spent originally," not in addition to the $33 for the Maximal Power (Sony replacement). I would return or cancel the Maximal Power battery if I got the ATC or Naztech power banks.
Yeah the counterweight is great. I have a 5 lb counterweight + an ATC on my rig already. I would have 2 power banks, one powering the monitor and one powering the camera if I got another.
@TGDude Here my source: http://www.lilliputuk.com/monitors/hdmi/5D-ii You can find it on the FAQ tab, third question/answer. GH2's power consumption is declared in manual.
@vicharris Sorry, I've corrected my post above. I haven't read @TGDude words correctly. He said "another 52 $". So in his case it's 33 $ + 52 $ = 85 $. But then the calculation gets worse for the ATC (if you only look at Wh and price). But the ATC is by far more flexible and it comes with a charger. As always the decision depends on your needs and if you already own a charger for the Sony. And nice idea with the counterbalance weight!
@TGDude, before you go with the NP batteries, do that math with the 15000 power bank priced at $84, that makes a huge difference and the powerbank can help act as a counterbalance weight on the back of your rig for handheld stuff, taking weight off the front :)
Thanks @vicharris. That's the battery I was about to buy before I came across the ATC.
Thanks @alexxela. I didn't know the GH2 consumed so much less power than the Lilliput. If your numbers are accurate, then yeah I'm better off with the cheapo Maximal Power NP-F970. I feel like you just did my homework for me, lol. Great advice!
@alexxela Just an FYI, that battery isn't $150, I just bought one for $84 from amazon so with those numbers, it seems like a fa better deal, no?
@TGDude I doubt that you can run your Lilliput 5D-II/O/P with a Battery-Pack like the ATC PowerBank with 15000 mAh all day long. This Battery-Pack has got 55.5 Wh (http://www.naztech.com/naztech-cat-power-banks/285-naztech-product-bp15000-universal-power-bank.html I think it is identically constructed then yours http://www.personal-view.com/talks/discussion/comment/79529#Comment_79529). The Sony NP-F970 has got 47.4 Wh (http://www.sony.de/product/cac-batteries---chargers/np-f970). That is only about 18 % more energy the ATC can provide! That means you can run your Lilliput about 5 h instead of 4 h. But if you also want to charge your audio recorder then this ATC will not last much longer than 4 h. Don't forget the Lilliput has a power consumption of almost 10 W in comparison to the GH2's power consumption of only 3.5 W. If you put your expenditure in relation to the energy then the Sony is more worth the money (47.4 Wh / 33 $ = 1.44 Wh/$ vs. 55.5 W / 85 $ = 0.65 Wh/$).
It was $84 on Amazon Prime so that's not too bad. These things power a GH2 for two constant days of shooting.
Found another version of the ATC but with more juice on Amazon. It's a bit more but I think I'm going to grab another one!
Sucks that the ATC 15,000 mAh power banks aren't on amazon anymore.
I would gladly buy another ATC just to power my Lilliput 5D-II/O/P monitor. I've had the monitor battery die after about 3-4 hours of use out on two shoots. So I just ordered another $33 (after tax/ship) Maximal Power NP-F970 battery. I would rather pay another $52 for an ATC that will last all day and be able to recharge my audio recorder in the field.
@kin869, there was no way to change the polarity, so it was plug and play.
Now I am trying to use the same setup with my GH1, but the GH1 coupler has a male plug rather than female plug. And, it doesn't fit in the Anker input plug. Does anyone know if I can buy a tip that will convert the GH1 coupler tip to the correct size for the Anker input plug?
@Peter123456 Did you try the tip labelled "G"? That one connects fine to my DCC8.
I was messing around with it last night and found out that if the cable is held at a certain angle, my GH2 will power up. I think I got a faulty DCC8 (even though it's brand new from Panasonic), because the same cable and tip works fine powering my external speakers. It's only with the DCC8 that I have to fiddle with the cable to get it to work. I'll probably take your and @ttruong's advice and purchase that aftermarket coupler to see if that solves my problem. Thanks for responding!
Edit: Did you have to change the polarity of that aftermarket coupler to make it work? Or was it just plug and play?
@HowardHC, @kin869, I bought the 10,000 mah Anker, and I tried it on the official Panasonic coupler, but the plug doesn't fit any of Anker's supplied plugs.
So, I ordered this aftermarket coupler (based on @ttruong's advice) and that one has a plug that fits: http://www.bestbatt.com/Panasonic-DMW-DCC8-Plus-DMW-AC8PP-Combo-p/bbdcc8.htm
I haven't tested it extensively, but it works fine so far. I will take it on the next wedding gig I have. I like how the Anker has a battery indicator.
The plug between Anker and Coupler is slightly loose, but I think a rubber band should be sufficient to give me extra security.
Thank you @alexxela. Very well explained and instructive. I admit am not so expert so I was reporting only based on my little experience. I'm fully aware that the LIPO for RC Cars are the best batteries around mostly because of the balancing feature.
@Mike_C Yes, I can confirm! This is the converter I have used!
@Mike_C Yes, for some batteries you may get more out of it with a combi-converter. But I think in this case the battery is not properly selected. You should have selected a battery with higher voltage to better suit your application. But let me explain:
Moved to http://www.personal-view.com/faqs/gh2-usage/gh2-power
I'm selling this on DIY , I made only one available, not a mass production :-) made it for my self, but now using GH3
http://www.personal-view.com/talks/discussion/6457/selling-my-own-diy-power-solution-gh2-etc
this is the step-down converter http://www.ebay.com/itm/LM2596-DC-DC-Converter-4-40V-to-1-5-35V-Step-down-Voltage-Regulator-module-/321029269473?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4abed5e7e1
however, I noticed that by using a step-up/step-down converter like this one:
you could still get some additional "juice" from the battery when the power starts to go down.
@zsero or others, do you know where to find the converter used between the anker battery and DMW-DCC8? Thanks.
@alexxela Thanks for such a detailed write up!
@fredfred27 @sedlak I bought the batteries from the ebay link. They have a model number: MP-18000. So then I found matching models: http://www.aliexpress.com/wholesale?SearchText=MP-18000
This battery may also be an option: http://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/Universal-solar-power-bank-MP-20000-Portable-Power-For-Notebook-Laptop-Free-Shipping/701204_537510443.html
@zsero I purchased the Anker battery you have linked in your post and the official Panasonic DCC8 coupler, but I'm having no luck in powering my GH2. The first time I used it, my GH2 turned on for about 5 seconds before turning off, but it hasn't worked since that first time. The Anker battery is able to charge my other devices so I don't think it's the device.
EDIT 1: This is the battery I purchased: http://www.amazon.com/Anker%C2%AE-Astro3-10000mAh-Multi-voltage-output/dp/B005NGKR54/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1363211530&sr=8-1&keywords=anker+battery+3
Does anyone have any suggestions? Thanks!
EDIT 2: It turns out the stock Panasonic coupler is a dud (Bought it brand new from Adorama). I bought a third party coupler based on @Peter123456's recommendation and it's been working perfectly with my Anker battery.
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