Aputure F10 Fresnel & 2 bay Battery Power Station

In this episode, we take a look at the new Aputure F10 Fresnel lens mount as well as the 2-bay Battery Power Station which can power the Aputure Nova P300C and the Amaran 100 and 200 series lights.

If you’d like to learn how to make great dialogue audio for your film and video projects, please have a look at my courses including processing dialogue audio in Adobe Audition and DaVinci Resolve/Fairlight, recording sound, how to use the Zoom F4, F6, F8, and F8n, and how to get the most from the Sound Devices MixPre series of recorders. Our latest course is Sound for Live Streaming with the ATEM Mini.

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Gear used or mentioned in this episode. The links below are Amazon.com, B&H Photo, Sweetwater, DVEStore, or other affiliate links. As an affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases:

- Aputure F10 Fresnel - Aputure, B&H, DVE Store

- Aputure F10 Barn Doors - Aputure, B&H, DVE Store

- Aputure 2-bay Battery Power Station - Aputure

- Aputure Nova P300C RGBWW panel light - Aputure, B&H, DVE Store

- Aputure 600D Bowens mount light - Aputure, B&H

- Aputure 300X Bowens mount light - Aputure, B&H, Amazon

- Aputure 300D II Bowens mount light - Aputure, B&H, Amazon

- Aputure 120D II Bowens mount light - Aputure, B&H, DVE Store, Amazon

- Amaran 100D Bowens mount light - Aputure, B&H, DVE Store, Amazon

- Amaran 200D Bowens mount light - Aputure, B&H, DVE Store, Amazon

- Aputure Light Dome II - Aputure, B&H, Amazon

- Aputure Light Dome SE - Aputure

- Aputure Light Dome Mini II - Aputure, B&H, Amazon

- Earthworks SR314 Microphone - B&H, Sweetwater

- Blackmagic Design Pocket Cinema Camera 6K - B&H, DVE Store, Amazon

- Sigma 24-70mm EF f/2.8 DG OS HSM ART Lens - B&H, Amazon

- Schneider Radiant Soft filter - B&H

- Canon C200 camera - B&H

- Canon EF 24-105 f/4L IS Lens - B&H, Amazon

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Copyright 2021, Curtis Judd

D&O Lighting 180W Bi-color LED Panel Light & 900Wh Battery

In today’s episode, we have a look at the D&O Lighting 180W bi-color LED panel light as well as its add-on soft box and 900Wh battery. We test the color quality and amount of light output, demonstrate how to light an interview video with the 180W, and talk about all the things you can power with the massive 900Wh battery, including lights, cameras, and audio gear.

If you’d like to learn how to make great dialogue audio for your film and video projects, please have a look at my courses including processing dialogue audio in Adobe Audition and DaVinci Resolve/Fairlight, recording sound, how to use the Zoom F4, F8, and F8n, and how to get the most from the Sound Devices MixPre series of recorders.

Gear used or mentioned in this episode. The links below are Amazon.com, B&H Photo, or other affiliate links. As an affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases:

- D&O Lighting 180W bi-color LED panel light - Amazon

- D&O 900Wh battery for lighting all sorts of things on set - D&O

- D&O 95Wh v-mount cine battery - Amazon

- D&O 190Wh v-mount cine battery - Amazon

- D&O v-mount dual battery charger - Amazon

- D&O Softbox for 180W - Coming Soon

- DPA 4017B shotgun microphone - used to record the audio for this episode - B&H

- Aputure 120DII LED Light used for slash of light on background - B&H Amazon

- Aputure Barn Doors used to create the slash of light - B&H Amazon

- Blackmagic Design Pocket Cinema Camera 6K - B&H

- Blackmagic Design Pocket Cinema Camera 4K - B&H

- Tilta Half Cage for BMPCC 4K/6K - B&H

- Olympus 45mm f/1.8 Micro 4/3 Lens - B&H Amazon

- Panasonic 12-35mm f/2.8 OIS Lens - B&H Amazon

- Sigma ART 24-70mm f/2.8 EF Mount Lens - B&H Amazon

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Copyright 2020, Curtis Judd

bebob micro cinema batteries - v-mount and Anton Bauer Gold Mount

In today’s episode, we give you some audio samples from the new RODE NTG5 shotgun microphone and Zoom F6 recorder while we talk about the bebob micro cinema batteries. The headline feature of these batteries is that they are tiny relative to other cinema style batteries. They come in V-mount/V-lock or Anton Bauer Gold Mount. While they aren’t the cheapest cine batteries out there, they appear to be top quality and have some unique features like twist d-tap outputs, USB outputs, and an in-built flash light. But what is more interesting is that once the batteries have been used and their ability to hold a charge degrades, you can send them back to bebob and for about 1/2 the price of the original battery, they will put new cells in the battery. If you drop your battery and one of the physical parts break, they can be replaced.

If you’d like to learn how to make great dialogue audio for your film and video projects, please have a look at my courses including processing dialogue audio in Adobe Audition and DaVinci Resolve/Fairlight, recording sound, how to use the Zoom F4, F8, and F8n, and how to get the most from the Sound Devices MixPre series of recorders.

Gear used or mentioned in this episode:

Bebob V-Mount and Anton Bauer Gold Mount batteries at B&H

Bebob Chargers at B&H

Bebob adapters and plates at B&H

RODE NTG5 Shotgun Microphone - B&H

Zoom F6 Audio Recorder - B&H

Aputure Light Dome II Soft Box - B&H

Aputure C120T key light- B&H

Aputure C120DII for slash of light on the back wall- B&H Amazon

Blackmagic Design Pocket Cinema Camera 6K - B&H

Blackmagic Design Pocket Cinema Camera 4K - B&H

Tilta Half Cage for BMPCC 4K/6K - B&H

Sigma ART 24-70mm f/2.8 EF Mount Lens - B&H Amazon

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Copyright 2019 by Curtis Judd

Ethics statement: Some of the links above are Amazon.com, B&H Photo, or other affiliate links. As an affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Sound for Video Session: MixPre 10T Power Options

What are the options for powering the Sound Devices MixPre-10T? Here we cover the main options to keep your recording sessions smooth and trouble free.

This is an excerpt from my course, Getting the Most From Your MixPre-3, 6, 10T. Please consider my sound for film classes available over at the school.

Gear and links discussed/used to record this episode:

Sound Devices MixPre-10T Audio Recorder/Mixer

Sennheiser MKH 8050 Supercardioid Boom Microphone (used to record this segment)

AC to Hirose Adapter (B&H) If you’ve got AC power available, this will power the 10T for as long as you need.

12 Volt Battery Bank (Amazon): One of the more affordable powering options. There’s also a higher capacity version for twice the price.

DC Barrel to Hirose cable (Amazon): Required to connect the above battery bank to your MixPre-10T

JuiceBox V-mount (Amazon): Cinema style battery that will power the MixPre-10T for up to 10 hours, depending on how many mics and phantom powered channels you use.

D-tap to Hirose cable (Amazon): Use this cable to attach the V-mount battery to your MixPre-10T

Remote Audio BDS (Battery Distribution System - B&H): Pros use solutions like this - one battery will power everything in your bag, including wireless. Not for use with consumer grade wireless systems.

Hi-Q Style battery (B&H): Li-Ion battery with a microchip which optimizes the performance of the battery over time. This is the battery system I use.

Hi-Q Battery cup to BDS cable (B&H): I use this cup/cable to attach the Hi-Q battery to the BDS box.

NP1 Style battery. This is the “2nd option” I didn’t elaborate on in the video, very similar to the Hi-Q batteries, but without the microchip (B&H). If buying today, I’d go with the Hi-Q instead.

Copyright 2018 by Curtis Judd

Outro music licensed from Artlist: Call on Me by Kick Lee. Artlist provides high quality music tracks for your film and video projects. You can receive two months off an Artlist account by using our link.

Sound for Video Session: Aiming Mics, Loudness, and Batteries

In this week's sound for video session, we addressed several questions:

• Should I aim my boom mic at the talent's mouth or at their chest?
• What are the loudness wars and are they over?
• Tell us about batteries: Sony NP-F/L Type and Anton Bauer
• How come when I loudness normalize audio clips, sometimes their peaks hit -3dB and sometimes they hit -6dB? Is this right?

This was our first week trying this on YouTube since Google Hangouts on Air is going away. A few lessons learned. Talk with you again next week!

Power Your Tascam or Zoom Recorder All Day

Tascam and Zoom recorders are really impressive for their price, but given that they are made for cost conscious film makers like myself, the engineers had to sacrifice some things. On the Tascams in particular (DR-60D, 70D), battery life seems to be one of the things that isn’t perfect for longer shoots. The 4 AA batteries power the DR-60D for about 2.5 to 3 hours when phantom powering two mics.

So what can you do for those days when you have a 6 hour shoot?

You could carry around a lot of AA batteries and change them out several times, hopefully without sacrificing any of the takes. And if you’re recording a live event, you cannot afford to stop the recording while you change batteries.

The USB batteries on the market can be a good solution. In this episode we look at two on the market: Coocheer (cost conscious option that offers nearly 8 hours of power for the DR-60D with two phantom powered mics) and LifeCHARGE (pricier option that offers over 20 hours for the same recorder/mic combo).