SWIT S-8U62 XDCAM EX battery
 

HAs anyone tried these yet? I'm pretty keen to have it as a backup.

SWIT S-8U62 replacement for Sony BP-U60 Battery/ PMW-EX1 camera [SWIT S-8U62] - $189.00 : Zen Cart!, The Art of E-commerce

I'm waiting for them to come out with a version for the EX3. (cable isn't long enough)

Yes i've got the Swit EX1 battery.
Last's about as long as the BP-U60.
It's got a d-tap outlet as well, i'm also using the Swit s-2000 light as well.
The only thing not good i'll say about the battery is the led indicators for remaining battery, they're not at all accurate, 4 led's at 1st then drops real quick to 3 then 2 then 1 then stays at 1 led for ages even though the voltage doesn't drop much.
However you can tell the camera (via the battery alarm in the menu) what low voltage is.
I set low voltage 1 to 13.5 volts and low voltage 2 to 13 volts.
Fully charged shows 16 volts on the EX1 screen.
These settings are similar the the low voltage % settings which can be set with the proper sony batteries.
I'd buy another one of these batteries in a flash, wouldn't have to think twice.
Loads cheaper than BP-U60.
Charges fine on the EX1 charger.
TIP..When charging, make sure the fly lead is tucked into the battery, it makes some sort of circuit.

Paul.

The cable could easily be cut and extended, it's just twin core cable.

Paul.

I was told by my dealer in Germany, that the EX3 version with longer cable will be available at the end of January.
Jürgen

See discussion here:

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/sony-xdca...g-modulus.html

i'm agreed with Paul about swit battery.Can confirm about led indicator ,that not adecuate but battery working time is as it must be..also as mentioned by Paul earlier that swit oncamera led light enough good..i ordered the promo package-battery and light and quiet happy with them.

Anyway - i recommend this product!

kind regards

Raul

I've been using the Swit for about a month. I would recommend it. I have the U60 and they are very similar is duration. It is about 1/4 inch longer than the sony bat - to make room for the power cable. Haven't noticed the LED light issue. I will be buying another one.

We got two last week.

Hi Bob,
from which dealer? I am looking desperately for the batteries. At the end of the month I will come to New Zealand for filming, so maybe your dealer could send them to NZ... but we are talking about the EX3 battery version with the longer cable?
I would appreciate it, if you could send me contact details.

Yes, the EX3 battery with the longer cable. Ours came from the local dealer, Lemac, two doors down from where I sometimes work. If you're flying through Sydney or Melbourne you might be able to pick them up on the way through. Suggest you email Lemac.

If I can be of any help drop me a PM.

Been using one of these with my EX1 with no problems. Like having them for longer shoots. Just covered the CES show and used the D-tap with my Zylight and I couldn't be happier with that combo. Started running down around lunch, so I plugged in and recharged while we ate, then we were back on and it seemed to get a decent charge quickly.
Thumbs up on this one.

Great battery and even greater distributor
 

I have the Swit S-8U62 and love it. I had concerns about the LEDs on the back. They are not accurate as to the remaining voltage, however, the voltage reading in the viewfinder is very accurate as to remaining amount left. I contacted Gubobin Zhu (gb@swit.us) and couldn't be more pleased with his concern and offer. He sent a new battery to me and told me if I was not happy, to return it to him for full refund and he would pay the shipping. Hard to beat.
So, The battery lasted about 4.5 hours and charges just fine. I would highly recommend the battery and the distributor without reservation.

Phil Hanna

I 'd like to clear the issue of the LEDs being not accurate. This has something to do with how the LEDs on this battery work. Basically, there are 2 ways to indicate state of charge. The first, and the most popular is to have a built in circuit measure the cell voltage, and turn the LEDs on according to the voltage measured. As the battery gets discharged, the voltage changes from about 16.8V down to about 12V. This is the same idea used in many other electronic devices like cell phones, etc. When designing the circuit, the design engineer is trying to characterize the discharge curve of the battery, and to set the trigger points he thinks are close to real life decrements in say 20% or 25% of the total battery capacity. The second, and this is more elaborate and accurate way of doing this is to use "Fuel gauge" technology, relying on actually metering the amount of charge going in while charging, and going out while powering the camera. This technology was originally developed by Anton Bauer, and then became popular with laptops, and a few other battery related products. The first, voltage based approach suffers from the fact that the battery voltage depends on both state of charge and load. This is why your cell phone can indicate all battery bars the moment you want to make a call, and then drops to one bar when you actually use it.
The reason I explain this is Sony BP-U30/60 battery uses the fuel gauge circuit; it digitally transmits information to the camera. It uses their proprietary communication protocol. Swit (or any other generic vendor) can not do the same, so they use voltage based indication, and instead of using the Sony link, just powers the camera via the 12V jack. So by the virtue of using this method, it can not be as accurate. I did some tests, and found out that while not powering the camera, the SWIT battery LEDs are closer to real state of charge than otherwise. They are still on the low, more conservative side from being exact. Try to use them when the camera is off, or while the battery is not on the camera.
Now, for the good news, I tested several SWIT battery samples, and they all deliver exactly the same charge as the Sony BP-U60, which agrees with the field reports here.

I'm jacked up about this battery/light combo. Just purchased one set (to make sure I like it before I buy more).

My only reservations are with the light. 40 Watts claimed. Curious to know if owners of the light believe this spec is accurate? ...or does it seem to be overstated?

I'm using Bescor lights now with NiHydride battery packs. I'm constantly switching battery packs at events - and when they die, they die fast, something I constantly worry about so I don't get caught when I'm shooting something important. I'm looking forward to being able to monitor battery remaining for camera & light in LCD. Also, looking forward to no longer having to lug around a 2lb battery pack.

This is a cool solution.

Paul Good afternoon,


How long does it last with camera and light on at the same time.
You also said "TIP..When charging, make sure the fly lead is tucked into the battery, it makes some sort of circuit." Does that mean that it has to be connected to something or just secured?

Except for the space saving aspect of using the same battery for both the light and the camera the whole idea seems like you would be playing with fire. It will definitely cut down the shooting time even more than the pathetic shooting time it allows with no light attached.

Wouldn't the version of the light (S-2010) that requires the battery bracket and separate 7.5 volt battery be a better option?

John

I tested this - 2.5 hours

Thank you Craig!

I don't have an EX-1, just thinking about getting it (vs. Z7U... yes, money is an issue...) but I am using the SWIT S-2010s light (with Sony 7.2V battery plate) for several years already and can't be happier!.. Even there is also a combo option from SWIT (NP-F970 7.2V battery with the plug for the light) I use 2 separate batteries: one for my PD-170 and the other one for the light). With this setup I can shoot about 3-4 hrs of footage (typical wedding) without re-charging. If I decide to go for EX-1, I definitely will be using my S-2010s light with 970 batteries, and will buy 14.4V batteries for EX-1 from SWIT (though I won't be able to use my S-2010 light with them - different plug...)

The light has 40W optical output (but consumes only 12W of electrical power). What it is practically: 40W of day-light balanced undiffused light (I rarely use it...) Tungsten filter alone absorbs about a stop, and diffusor - about 1/2 a stop. So, what is left - less than a half... Typically (during reception) I use both of them (up to 6ft) - the quality of lite is pretty good. If the object is farther away - I open up the diffusion filter. When I shoot almost in the dark, I use only 1 diffusion filter and balance my camera for the day light (1 stop gain!..) Since EX-1 is very low-light sensitive, I assume, it'd work great with both filters for most indoor situations...

I apologize, this is out of place, but since I am already on EX-1 forum, one question for EX-1 owners:
- Can you record on both SxS cards simultaneoulsly (for redundancy?..)

No but the SxS cards are extremely reliable, better than tape.

I just got the S-2000 light and S-8U62 battery. I gotta say I'm mighty pleased. I just did a couple of really quick test shots with my EX1, Letus Extreme and Canon FD 24mm 1.4L and even on full wide when using the diffuser barn door on the light you get an evenly lit area on the whole picture. And its totally usable to I'd say to about 2 meter distance. Theres even a little nifty bag that comes with the light that fits the battery as well.

I dont know if Proactive is a sponsor here but gotta give props to them as well. UPS delivery from UK to Finland to my door in 3 days and cost only 27 pounds.

Sami

What is the EX3-version of the SWIT S-8U62 battery called? Or does it go by the same model?

I don't know about Europe but in the US store it is the same battery SWIT S-8U62 with 2 options you can choose from - for EX-1 or EX-3:
Li-ion Battery S-8U62 . I would contact them and ask before placing the order...

It is the same model for both EX1 and EX3 now. SWIT modified their original battery to work for both, but did not change the model number.

Is this the best option 3rd party battery for the EX1? Or even the only one?

I am wondering about these Swit batteries for the EX1.

Question 1: Will they charge if I leave them in the camera and just plug in the camera? Or do I need to buy a special charger?

I am buying an EX1 very soon so I don't know any of it's work flows. I am used to working with a Sony VX2100, where you just plug it in and the battery charges. I take it there is no "Minutes left" indicator wth this battery, but it sounds interesting to be able to set up a voltage alarm in the camera. I hope that can be set to go off with maybe a half an hour of charge left so I can ease out of whatever situation I'm in (I record seminars, and need to wait for a brief pause to swap batteries) with some battery live left to fudge.

Question 2: How much battery time is usually left when you set a voltage alarm?

Thanks guys. I'm excited to get rollong wth the EX1 and these cool batteries.

Chadfish

I purchased one of these last week and used it yesterday on a shoot with my EX3.

Thoughts? Its a decent enough battery but a couple of caveats. First of all the lead is only just long enough and is taut along the side of the EX3 to the 12v plug. But it works. However, it can be easy to snag and if that happens the camera will instantly shut down. be careful.

Secondly, the camera can't tell how much power is left in the battery, and on the LCD screen just says its a 12v input. So the only way of judging how much power is left is to use the guage on the battery, which "may" show 100%, 75%, 50% and 25%. When it gets down to the final light, I wouldn't trust to use it on any shots which may stretch to a bit of time.

The battery did work very well though. It sticks out about half an inch further than the U60 battery buut that's not really a problem.

Pricewise the Sony U60 battery sells for around £195 inc VAT +postage in the UK, whilst the Swit costs approx £107 delivered from B Hague. So a pretty good saving.

Here in the US the SWIT is listing at $185 on their website vs. $250 for the Sony at B&H, so the price difference (which still significant) is not so great.

I guess I'm missing something with this concept though. It says you charge the battery with the regular Sony charger, so that must mean it has contacts like the Sony battery? Why use the DC cable to power the camera then? Doesn't seem like this product would offer much advantage unless you have one of their lights.

Chad, unlike your VX, the EX-1 has an external battery charger. It has a cable which can be used to power the camera externally, but in doing so you need to slide a switch to the power position. In other words, you can't power the camera and charge a battery at the same time. This is the same system they started using with the Z1 (whereas the FX1 had a system like the VX cameras).

Personally I am always very wary of powering the camera via the AC adaptor. There were a number of reports of blown internal fuses on the FX1 from this, although I haven't seen any problems reported on the EX1. Nevertheless, I resolved some time ago to only power my camera(s) with batteries. But maybe I am just paranoid!

So boyd

Are you saying that if I am running the EX1 on battery during a long seminar, and my battery is low, I can't have continuous power just by plugging in the power cable? Can I plug in the power cable, then switch to DC power while the camera is recording?

And Yes, now I am considering getting a big sony battery for general use, and to have an accurate reading of remaining time, and maybe getting a Swit as a secondary, and to use with the associated light. Though, I have never run out of power with my VX and a 970 battery, even during a 3-4 hour concert - it is good to see how much time you have. Then again I don't believe my VX2100 has 715 minutes like the battery indicator says. So maybe it's all a guessing game.

This is why I like that other guy's suggestion of using the voltage alarm in the camera. I am hoping he responds with an answer to my question of how accurately you can set this alarm to tell you when you may have say, 30 minutes left. Or 15 min? Does anyone have any experience with this alarm?

Thanks

Chadfish

Sorry, I just don't know the answer to your questions. I *think* that the camera will run on external power as soon as you plug the cable in. Personally I would not be comfortable "hot plugging" it, seems like an invitation to trouble if there's a spike or even static. Might be fine though.

Haven't tried the battery alarm myself. People report something like 4 hours run time on the big Sony battery IIRC. I have not yet run mine all the way down. The VX was a real champ on the NPF960 batteries, it would run for close to 8 hours. Don't think you will get nearly that much on the EX1 with the large battery.

Sean, i've got one of those swit batteries, it last's about as long as the big sony battery, plus it's got a D-tap output, so i can connect my swit s-2000 light as well.
The battery can also be used as a stand alone battery for powering the light from somewhere other than the camera.

Paul.

One use would be for powering Ross's new HDD or SDD's using Alex's adapter and not having to use an additional battery like the Sony phu-60 drive takes.

I use AC power on every interview I shoot, never had a problem. Just leave a battery on in case it makes you nervous.

good question ...
 

Can anyone answer this question. I've got this battery coming so I'll know at some point but do the contacts on the swit allow the battery to run the camera just as the Sony does?

No. You have to plug it into the DC on the back of the EX1. That's why you can't get a minute reading on the LCD. But you do save 70.00, and you can power a the light without the light having to have it's own battery.

Looks like this: http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/yhst-4973653...8_2066_5714506

Chadfish

So how would you power both the camera and simultaneously make a 14.4/5v stepdown to power a hard drive?