MINI TESTS
A portable powerbank to keep your gadgets running has become an everyday bit of tech, especially useful for phones, which seem to lose power regularly. But these small and portable units don’t have enough power or the connections to charge filmmakers’ kit, such as laptops, cameras and drones. The Omnicharge Omni 20+ is bigger and more expensive than most phone powerbanks, but packs 20,000mAh. It should have enough juice to keep you shooting, featuring the right connections to work with all your kit. And it’s approved for airline travel. What’s unusual is that it has a maximum power of 100WDC. So with the DC barrel port, you can run your cinema camera directly through the Omni 20+ when there is no mains to plug into. The Euro-spec 230V version has a twin-pin European plug socket on the side for using lots of low-powered DC kit. UK versions have an adapter included for bulkier UK-spec plugs. Of course, you’re not likely to be able to run a toaster off this, but it OMNICHARGE OMNI 20+ POWERBANK £249/$199 omnicharge.co
“A full battery is enough to completely charge amirrorless or DSLR camera up to five times, a drone twice, or one full charge of a laptop”
does allowmains-style charging and powering for cameras, drones and phones. A full battery is enough to completely charge a mirrorless or DSLR camera up to five times, an iPad or drone twice, or one full charge of a laptop. These are all approximations – it depends on the power draw of your device – but we used it to charge a 15-inch MacBook Pro. It managed this with enough power left to top up an iPhone. As well as the DC output, there is a USB-C input/output. This is used to recharge the bank, which can take up to three hours via mains adapter. It’s about the same time from a 12V car power port, but USB sources take up to seven hours for a full charge. Once it’s ready, you can use the USB-C port, two USB 3.0 ports or DC power outlet. Turn the rugged, rubberised unit on with a single long push of the power/menu button, illuminating the screen. This tells you the time remaining, power input and battery power output in watts, battery temperature, battery power level and DC/USB-C output voltage. The only other controls are two buttons to select DC or USB power out, or to navigate the menu, which allows you to set the DC output to match your device. If you really just want to use it to charge your mobile, it also has a
SCREEN SHOT A small panel lets you navigate the power settings MAINS STYLE The barrel port for a laptop charger is a great feature
wireless option. Put your phone on the top of the unit and you’re set for cable-free 10W charging of your compatible device. PROMOVIEMAKERRATING: 8/10 One bit of kit to keep all your tech juiced up Pros: Lots of charging options Cons: Not the cheapest powerbank SPECIFICATIONS Capacity: 20,000mAh USB-C: Bidirectional input/ output charging. Input USB-PD, 5-20V, up to 3A/45W. Output 5V/3A, 9V/3A, 12V/3A, 20V/ 3A, up to 3A/ 60W USB-A: Two ports QC 3.0, 5V/3A, 9V/2A, 12V/ 1.5A DC port: Bidirectional input/ output charging. Input 5-25V, up to 3A/45W. Output 5-25V, up to 5A/100W AC port: 230V AC, 50Hz, 100Wmaximum Wireless charging: 10W Capacity: Six cells, 70Whmax at 3.7V Weight: 611g/ 1.35lb Dimensions wxhxd: 127x122x27mm/5x4.8x1.1in
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