There is a common complaint about videography – the low capacity of the camera battery. During a long-time shooting, you may be surprised at how quickly your camera’s battery drains, especially when shooting in 2K or higher resolution. The battery drain problem is amplified when attaching power-consuming accessories, such as microphones, external monitors, or lights.
It can be very annoying having to be bombarded with low battery warnings when you’re in an intense video shooting session. But you don’t have to be worried – the low capacity of the camera battery can be remedied by adding a v-mount battery plate for your camera, where the external camera battery can be attached and give power support. Read ahead to find out how a v-mount battery with a v-mount battery plate can immensely prolong your video shooting time.
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Why Replacing Camera Batteries is Infeasible?
You may wonder why you should spend money on buying external batteries instead of just replacing the camera batteries. This method is not recommended because of the following three reasons:
- The original camera battery is too expensive.
- The shooting cannot continue while replacing the camera battery.
- The capacity of the camera batteries is limited; thus, frequent replacements are needed.
Types of External Camera Battery Adapters
Compared with the internal camera battery, external camera battery adapters can be attached to your camera without interrupting the filming process. It supports you with a large capacity of power and prolongs the camera’s runtime. It can also power the camera accessories such as microphones, monitors, lights. Some external camera batteries allow you to add more than one external battery (depending on the type of adapter).
There are mainly three types of external camera battery adapters available and each of them is with different attributes as the following shows.
⮚ NP-F Series Battery Adapter
This battery adapter utilizes the NP-F series battery (initially popularized by Sony), available in different sizes. For the most part, these types of batteries are compact enough to be used in handheld shooting. The other side of the coin is that this type of external battery has low capacities limited by the compact design.
⮚ Integrated Power Adapter
The integrated power adapter is equipped with a built-in battery. Compared with the other external camera battery adapters that allow the batteries to be replaced when running out of power, this one requires a full charge after it runs out, leaving a no-power camera until the integrated power adapter is recharged.
⮚ V-Mount Battery Adapter
Attached by the v-mount battery plate, the v-mount battery adapter provides a large power capacity. V-mount batteries are pretty versatile and convenient to replace. The large capacity of the v-mount battery adapter attached by a v-mount battery plate supports your camera to shoot for long periods without changing the camera battery regularly.
The v-mount battery plate is the best option for videographers out of all the aforementioned external camera battery adapters. It is convenient, and the large battery capacity allows the camera to shoot without the annoying warning of “run out of battery”.
Attach the Battery with SmallRig V-Mount Battery Plates
SmallRig provides three types of v-mount battery plates for you to choose the most suitable mounting solution.
- SmallRig V-Mount Battery Adapter Plate with Crab-Shaped Clamp 3202
This v-mount battery plate, with a crab-shaped clamp, fits a 15mm – 30mm diameter rod. It can attach a v-mount battery to a tripod, LED light, or a handheld ring for gimbals. The multiple 1/4”-20 thread holes on the back, top, and bottom can mount a dual rod clamp, a magic arm, or other accessories. The v-mount battery plate has multiple output ports for accessories, including an 8V DC output port, two 12V DC output ports, and a 14.8V D-Tap output port, as well as a 5V/2A USB output port for phone charging.
- SmallRig V-Mount Battery Adapter Plate with Dual 15mm Rod Clamp 3203
This v-mount battery plate features a power switch that can conveniently switch on and off the power of all the attached rigs. It comes with a dual 15mm rod clamp to mount the plate to your 15mm LWS rod system and multiple 1/4”-20 thread holes on the back, top, and bottom, to attach a dual rod clamp, magic arm or other accessories.
- SmallRig V-Mount Battery Adapter Plate with Adjustable Arm 3204
This v-mount battery plate comes with a dual 15mm rod clamp to help mount the plate to your 15mm LWS rod system and an adjustable arm that allows for quick position correction of the v-mount battery plate.
The Final Verdict
SmallRig is a company based in Hong Kong that specializes in camera accessories. They provide a diverse range of quality shooting accessories, including but not limited to camera cages, matte boxes, and follow focus systems, which are designed for Sony, Canon, Nikon DSLR cameras, and smartphones.
