MANCHESTER, England—My day-to-day workload as a freelancer can be extremely varied and also quite hectic. This includes fast setups out in the field where mains power is not an option during the live hits I do for major news broadcasters such as ITV, CNBC and the BBC in remote locations.
Some of these can be from really challenging scenarios. I’ve covered most of the worst-hit flood areas in the U.K. over the past few years, where we’ve had to travel by boat or wade waist deep for coverage with enough room to carry only one or two batteries. Endurance and reliability are absolutely key when it comes to these situations.
On top of all this I also use a variety of power-hungry accessories such as my on-camera 7-inch monitor and my location lighting (a set of Litepanel Astra 6x 1x1’s), which often need to be operating at full power through soft boxes in a range of locations, oftentimes in the middle of nowhere when endurance and reliability is crucial.
Powering an Upgrade
Taking all of these ingredients into account, when it came time for an upgrade, I opted for the Anton Bauer Titon 150’s. The first thing I noticed was the absolutely biblical run-time they offered—I didn’t need to swap out for the entire day if I was just powering the camera alone on run and gun setups, I genuinely couldn’t believe it.
Even with the monitor added into the mix I would still get seriously improved run-time—I’m talking many hours here. My lights are never an issue on location now.
One feature I really love is the digital screen on the side that shows percentage. Having an astonishingly accurate actual “time remaining” display allows me to monitor how much time I have left in a high-pressure scenario. We’ve all been in that situation—nervously holding our collective breath and second guessing when our cameras are going to die mid-take.
I chose to go with the V-mount option as my light panels all have the V-mount plate. Plus the majority of cameras and accessories I use on all broadcast jobs always seem to be V mount too. Considering how many times I get last minute curveball requests thrown at me by clients, it gives me the confidence that all bases will be covered.
Never Miss the Moment
Outside of live hits, I also regularly self-shoot for high-profile feature packages and docs. Very recently I was working on a Netflix crime series with a contributor on location that was giving an extremely sensitive interview to do with a murder—not the kind you can stop mid-take to change dead batteries, which could force them to re-deliver something that took all of their heart and soul to build up to doing that one time. I had two cameras set up, both powered on a Titon150. This setup gave me peace of mind knowing they’ll go the distance at crucial times.
Since making this switch, I often get asked on shoots what batteries I’m using as I never really seem to be seen swapping them out. I also get a lot of attention regarding the charger I use (Quad V-mount charger) as it is insanely quick at recharging dead batteries.
I love having the confidence to not worry about finding power during shoots anywhere. Being able to concentrate on the content rather than worrying about anything else, especially a blinking battery light, is the way it should be.
More information is available at www.antonbauer.com/en
