Bebob EX3 battery mount
 

I know it has been in development for a while and has been discvussed here, but this will be great for all those V-Lock batteries like mine, as well as lots of power taps from additional devices. As long as the device is limited to 12 volts and extreme current surges, it should do well.

COCO-EX3-V

I've been using it for the past month and it's great. It gives ample outputs for any current and future needs. But most important of all is that with the addition of a heavy V-lock battery, much better ergonomics is achieved so that the EX3 can be held for a longer period of time shoulder mounted. In fact I bought a Blueshape battery 210WHr and the weight distribution is fantastic. Not to mention the abundance of power (I also power a 20 watt on board lamp from it).

The only drawback is that I could not convince Bebob to manufacture another mdel with an optional record button trigger function - i.e the on board light switches on automatically once the camera starts recording. Theoretically this can be done if an output from the SDI out is taken (based on the same principle that Flash XDR is using).

Thanks Brian,

If I could pick your brain a little please:
1. Does the battery power the camera from the DC input or from the battery terminals via the adapter?

2. If it powers the camera via the dc input, does it come with a high quality connector or do you have to provide your own?

3. What indication do you have in the viewfinder as to battery status?

4. If the camera is powered from the battery terminals via the adapter, do you have remaining battery power displayed?

5. How does it attach to the camera?

I have a couple of V-Lock batteries and although the BP-U60 battery gives me 5 hours of record time, the V-lock system and additional DC outputs will be very convenient and as you stated and I look forward to, is a better weight balance towards the rear of the camera.

1. The Bebob adapter powers the camera via the DC input.

2. The cord is supplied, and is detachable from the adapter as well in case it ever needed to be replaced.

3. The viewfinder displays the voltage level that slowly drops from around 16.9 volts when fully charged(depending on the manufacturer). The battery display (on the battery) should provide accurate information on time left/power left.

4. It isn't.

5. It attaches to the camera using a three-point mounting setup. The main support is the from the two screw holes used for the cheek guard on the bottom of the camera. The third point is using the cold shoe at the rear. Their device also includes an additional cold shoe to make of for the used one, but with some battery types it may be difficult to attach anything to it.

Or, you could go with the DIY option that I did a few months ago - third point of contact is the rear strap loop - much more solid than the cold shoe and leaves the cold shoe free.

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/sony-xdca...old-mount.html

Thanks Ted for answering David for me :-)

I didn't quite understand question 4 but I'm connecting the camera from the lowest Hirose connector to the DC input. I still have the voltage display in the viewfinder.

The good thing about V-lock batteries is that most of them are capable of sustaining an on-board light as well.

Apart from shifting the weight to the back it also shifts the weight sideways in an outwardly fashion. I'm not sure I'm able to exlain this well. However I've found out that without this added weight, whenever I used to remove my left hand from under the lens so as to manually adjust either the focus of the zoom or the aperture, the camera used to roll sideways towards my face and I had to exert an incredible effort to keep it level with my right hand (which would be placed under the lens strap). With the V-lock battery being situated more towards the right hand side of the camera, this rolling effect is eliminated and I can stabilise the camera with my right hand only! This depends on the weight of the V-lock battery - the heavier the better.

He was curious about readings in the viewfinder if the power was routed to the actual battery compartment of the camera - making connections where the Sony battery would. Since it doesn't, it's irrelevant, and the readings he'd see were mentioned in #3.

And, I have come the the exact conclusions you have about weight distribution and the battery being offset. It moves the center of balance much closer to your hand so that your wrist does not have to deal with so much torque.

Ted, I dont have an EX3 (yet) but I like your version.

Thank you very much Ted. Shortly after I posted the questions I browsed the web and found most of the answers I asked.

It is great that so many 3rd party products are available (and still being released) to assist us with the EX3 camera.

Best of luck with your mount Ted.

I've been using the BeBob EX-3 since a few days before its release at IBC and wrote about it in my DV Magazine column this month.

What I really like about it is the fact that it attaches both to the bottom two screws of the EX3 (where the otherwise-useless cheek pad would go) as well as to the rear shoe. It then includes a rear shoe for wireless mikes or eventually even a NanoFlash. I've been testing it with the Omega Power System battery BeBob is distributing-- it is a 130w V-mount battery with integrated charger.

I've not seen the A-B mount yet for the EX-3 but it does not seem to have as sturdy a mount as the BeBob.

Ned Soltz