I’ve recently decided to switch my existing HyperJuices Batteries to V-Lock batteries.

But why?

I’ve been running HyperJuice 222WH batteries for several years now, and even been able to adapt them to power the latest Macbook USBC laptops. But I feel like all HyperJuices, including the latest 100WH ones are very limited in their uses.

Charge a Macbook [with the extra £50 USB C charger on older models]
Charge a USB devices

That’s it… Maybe I’m being harsh.

As some form of social distancing seems to be in place for the foreseeable future. The use of wireless monitors and other devices seem like a must have on shoots. I’m needing to find alternative ways of powering said items other than a HyperJuice.

The reason for V-Locks is that they are much more versatile than a HyperJuice.

They are universal & are industry standard [in video] and depending on the shoot, I’m sure you could borrow one in an emergency from a video crew, maybe...

Also 99% of [good] rental houses stock these batteries globally.

Power Laptop, Laptops, Phones, Cameras, LED lighting, Monitors etc…

NineVolt PowrBloc [PowerBlock]

There are alternatives to the PowrBloc, including hyperjuices, but as I’ve already invested in Ninevolt, both in the digiplate [Inovativ respectively] & IQ Tether cables, I feel that it’s good to continue supporting a company that are producing new and interesting products, regardless of the high shipping costs & Import Tax… ugh.

A Few Test

It’s hardly a benchmark test of a real world performance on set, though I’d thought I’d run one and see how it fairs. I was able to stream footage [football] over wifi for over 3 hours and 30 minutes through chrome, which is known as a CPU hog. The footage was streaming at between 720p & 1080p on full brightness.

In relation to a real world shoot, I can’t really say how this would be comparable when hammering the shutter & processing files. This is something I will just have to try prior to a real world shoot. Typically I don’t machine gun things on set, but some do… Though Wifi & streaming are typically actions which drain a lot of power, so I feel this is a good starting point for testing.

As they are rated around a similar power spec to the latest HyperJuice USB batteries, I would expect them to have a similar draw when used on a shoot.

The cable & Powrbloc is actually supplying 100W of power unlike many cables and other USB C batteries.

It’s a piece of kit I’m looking forward to using on future shoots, feel free to get in touch if you’d like to hire for a shoot. I’ll be building a 4-6 battery kit in the near future for more heavy location jobs, so check back soon.