FEATURE | POWER RANGES
BROWN OUT Newer and ever greater demands are being made on battery products, as Kanarek explains: “What we’re finding is that camera manufacturers are getting concerned as larger sensors and more auxiliary equipment gets connected. The user might think that if you have, for instance, ten D-Taps available, that they could use every one. It’s browning out the cameras; shorting the power supply – so we’re working with camera manufacturers to show the loading of the battery pack for example. “Our packs monitor that and can communicate, rather than simply providing some kind of indication on the battery itself through the LCD. We will be communicating that on the camera’s EVF or LCD monitor” As a premium brand, CoreSWX needs to differentiate itself as much as possible. “We have other stuff on our technology roadmap that we’re going to be working on to make the user experience even better,” reveals Kanarek, who believes the battery market is ‘kind of’ turning into what the on-camera LED lighting market was a few With lithium-ion, you have a steep discharge curve once you get towards about 15% capacity left
years ago. “B&H probably has 15 different packs and they’re all the same, just labelled differently,” he adds. FOR AND AGAINST GOING LOW However, CoreSWX would never try to persuade anyone from buying the lower-end products. “If you’re a hobbyist and want to go on Amazon and pay £116 ($140) for a V-Mount pack as you need something to power your gear, it’ll function. There are protections involved to keep the pack, we hope, safe. Obviously if it wasn’t safe to use, then it produces a whole load of problems regarding transport,” says Kanarek. “But longevity isn’t something you’re going to receive. Let’s say they are protected on cell balances; each cell pack is a series of parallel packs and it won’t allow any one of those packs to over-charge. But if there’s an imbalance, the pack will only charge up to the highest pack’s capacity. So if one cell pack in a series is 20% less, then you will receive 5% less runtime. That will further deteriorate the pack over a very short time.” With NEO, CoreSWX is streamlining its manufacturing process.
“We’ve been working on this for the past three years – to bring the cost down. Recommended retail price is around £209, maybe €225 and approx US$239, so we’re trying to bridge the gap, as there’s a large amount of OEM packs from China at around US$200,” says Kanarek. He feels there is enough technology in its pack to justify the $40 difference. “You’re getting a longer warranty and better global support. It also has many more features. Most of the other $200 packs are 10 amps at best, we’re offering 16-12 amps. You’re getting RFID, you’re getting an intuitive LCD and upgradeable firmware makes the pack sustainable for much longer,” says Kanarek. “We’re also trying to make the battery packs more intuitive and build an ecosystem around the pack. That’s what the Helix batteries for the high voltage or dual voltage and the NEO are. There are also other features CoreSWX is going to unlock. “We’re working on new systems to better alert the user to a dead battery or near-dead battery. These are more cinematic and high-end features that we’re offering to the broader market. With non- intelligent packs, all you’re getting is voltage; the smart battery protocol constantly monitors previous charge capacity,” explains Kanarek. “We’re also able to see how the battery is ageing, so with lithium- ion you have a steep discharge curve once you get towards about 15% capacity left. With our battery packs, and other smart products, you can get hours and minutes, so a much truer run time estimation versus ‘I’m at 13v and I know the battery dies at 11v’. That 13 to 11 drop-off could be about 25 minutes on a new pack and it could be six minutes on an old pack. So it’s premium features in the lower budget market.” ANTON/BAUER At IBC, Anton/Bauer is launching an addition to its Titon line of batteries called SL. It’s a reduced package size, so you might say it’s ‘slimline’. It’s 150Wh battery in a 90Wh case, so a smaller package and higher energy density. There’s also going to be a
IMAGES Anton/ Bauer’s new Titon range (above) and CoreSWX’s Helix battery on a Red camera (left)
72 DEF I N I T ION | SEPTEMBER 20 1 9
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