Help with external battery solution for H4D-50

[torger]

I just became a Hasselblad owner. The H4D-50 is on its way to me and since I shoot Linhof Techno I need an external battery (the H4D-50 don't support the new battery adapter unfortunately).

I'll buy the Silvestri 1800mAh battery and cable Code 7010K and 7012K which is about $200 which I know works and is recommended by Hasselblad, unless someone here has a better suggestion . I know I've heard something about "quantum" but I don't really find a matching product, seems to have changed their product line or I'm searching in the wrong place.

[torger]

My memory is short, I was involved in this discussion over at GetDPI a few months ago:

http://www.getdpi.com/forum/medium-format-systems-digital-backs/52131-help-hasselblad-h4d-50-external-power-solution.html

[Ken Doo]

Quantum Batteries are a great product with good company support too.  What's great is that with the correct adapter you can basically use just about any of their batteries interchangeably---which can be important if size/weight is a premium to you. Turbo sc is less than a pound---what a huge difference to the old original Turbo!

ken

[torger]

Thanks for the tip! It's a pretty expensive product, but lots of power so it seems reasonable. I'll see. I think I'll go for the smaller Silvestri but I have problems reaching the companies selling those things today, and I'm just going to hate having a new camera early next week which I can't use because I don't have a battery at hand...

I just love web shops with stock status, but it's not that big in the world of MF digital :-)

[yaya]

You might find this thread useful: http://www.luminous-landscape.com/forum/index.php?topic=53070.0 although Quantum do not make the Turbo anymore and I think the SV16 cable is also discontinued. If you get the Leaf DC-FW800 adapter you can get the Silvestri battery to work with it I'm sure...

[foster_jb]

Torger,

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on the H4D-50 once you have had a chance to play with it a bit.

Best,
Foster

[torger]

I will report ☺. I got an offer I could not refuse from a photographer that has switched to Pentax 645Z.  I will keep my trusty Aptus in parallel until I know if the blad is for me. I know the files will please me, but I don't know about the user interface, if having an external battery and one more cable will drive me crazy etc.

[bpepz]

For external battery needs when ever I used an H4D or H3D camera, I used a chea pchinese lithium battery with a firewire to DC 12 volt adapter. Works perfect. I use it when I mount my back to my fuji gx or rz67.

[Paul2660]

Torger.

Congratulations on the Hasselbkad 50MP. Looking forward to some shifting examples.

Paul

[torger]

I went for the Silvestri, because of its availability and that it's relatively small and light. I rather have two smaller batteries than one big so I can have one at home charging, or have a (warm-kept) backup in the field.

Almost the exact same product can be bought off ebay for like $30 from china, but you never now what type of battery quality you get then, and delivery time can be looong. My experience with such products is that some are good and some are not so good and you never know in advance. As I work in cold temperatures sometimes I need good quality of the battery.

Concerning DC to firewire 800 cable I got the Silvestri too (which looks kind of home-made and unnecessarily thick and inflexible), because of immediate availability, but I will probably change that later to a Leaf DC-FW800 L-plug (if I can get hold of one) sitting in the back and a flexible thin DC-to-DC cable (maybe coiled) for the battery. I don't like the idea of having a thick inflexible excessively long cable hanging around in limb-catching loops :-).

[Enda Cavanagh]

Just adding to what I said in the get dpi post where I mentioned my friend. He went ahead and got the silvestri battery. It was a very cheaply made looking product. It has a cheap plastic feel to it.  The quantum battery is built like a tank and cased in a metal housing. He brought the Silvestri battery to the States on a 3 week trip and it stopped working after his first time using it. He wasn't impressed!

[torger]

Just adding to what I said in the get dpi post where I mentioned my friend. He went ahead and got the silvestri battery. It was a very cheaply made looking product. It has a cheap plastic feel to it.  The quantum battery is built like a tank and cased in a metal housing. He brought the Silvestri battery to the States on a 3 week trip and he stopped working after his first time using it. He wasn't impressed!

I guess it's actually almost the same as this:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/12V-3800mah-5V-USB-5800mah-DC-Rechargeable-Li-ion-Battery-Pack-with-UK-charger-/121461451061?pt=UK_CCTV&hash=item1c47aaa935

ie it's a china product with a hefty markup. Silvestri is a tiny company, I doubt they have had that much involvement in product development of the battery. I hoped that they would have put effort in selecting a good design though and have some own quality control, but maybe not . But anyway, I get it in my hand now (oh well, later this week, it's on its way). Hopefully I get a good copy, I will be disappointed if it fails due to poor quality control, but then complain and get a new one. I've become quite used to poor quality control in the medium format world, so I don't have that high expectations .

I don't doubt the quantum turbo sc product is great, but 440 grams and $400 dollars which becomes $600 here in Sweden with customs/VAT is on the high side, especially since I want two... my second battery may actually become one of those ebay batteries.

[ARCA]

Check this item:

http://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/MEPMPWR12VF8/

Regards

[torger]

Thanks for the tip. Buying outside EU is a bit messy for me (located in Sweden) but as I have a cable to live with at first I could order and wait.

I think I'd like even better to use this:



with something this:



(with dc plug in other end too). If I drop the battery it will pull the plug straight out.

[Enda Cavanagh]

Check this item:

http://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/MEPMPWR12VF8/

Regards

Arca is that the same connection (on the quantum end) as the obsolete quantum cable. If it is you will make someone very happy. 

[Joe Towner]

Check this item:

http://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/MEPMPWR12VF8/

Regards

Almost have to buy it to see if it matches up with the H batteries charging port - should flow both ways right?

[torger]

Just got the camera, but also the classical problem -- the back does not fit onto the H-mount adapter plate. It's not the first time I've had this issue (last time it was a V-mount adapter plate). What's wrong with the tech cam makers charging hundreds of dollars for an adapter plate which still does not have sufficient precision to actually fit?

Sigh... let's see if this can be solved with some mild force...

[Enda Cavanagh]

Just got the camera, but also the classical problem -- the back does not fit onto the H-mount adapter plate. It's not the first time I've had this issue (last time it was a V-mount adapter plate). What's wrong with the tech cam makers charging hundreds of dollars for an adapter plate which still does not have sufficient precision to actually fit?

Sigh... let's see if this can be solved with some mild force...

grrrrrrr

[torger]

As reported in another thread I solved the adapter plate problem. I've got the Silvestri battery and it was as expected a cheap China product (you can buy off Ebay) with 6x markup, but what I was hoping for, some added quality assurance for that markup, was not there. The charging won't work properly so the battery is drained in 20 minutes. I don't know if it's the charger or if it's the battery.

Anyway, I cannot come to any other conclusion than that I would not recommend the Silvestri battery, just as Enda. As they don't seem to add any quality assurance one could just as well order directly from China for 1/6th of the cost and hope for the best.

Or if you want something that just works buy a more expensive flash power battery like the Quantum Turbo SC.

I haven't decided yet what I will do, because I like the form factor of the Silvestri. First I will complain.

[tjv]

That's a real shame to hear about the Silvestri battery. I still have dreams where I buy an H4D-50 instead of the new CFV-50c back – as I'd like to use an auto-focus SLR body occasionally – for use with my Techno, but the external power problem you're having certainly gives me pause for thought.