Freelance Camera Operator Uses Anton Bauer Gear at U.S. Open

Anton/Bauer, part of Vitec Videocom, a Vitec Group company and a premier global provider of batteries, chargers, and other mobile power systems for the professional broadcast, video, film and healthcare technology industries, held the home court advantage at the 2013 U.S. Open Tennis Championships, assisting freelance camera operator Michael Frye in his filming of the tournament's key matches and fan reactions for the Tennis Channel.

Frye used Anton/Bauer mobile power products exclusively for his coverage of the three-week-long tennis championship, specifically selecting the company's DIONIC90 batteries for their known portability and longevity. I've been using Anton/Bauer batteries for years, as long as I've been working in this industry, he says. Even when I was in school, these were the batteries I was taught on, so I trust them, especially when I'm shooting run-and-gun style, like I was at the U.S. Open.

Frye says the DIONIC 90 batteries were particularly useful during the U.S. Open, as they allowed him to shoot on his Panasonic AG-HPX370 camera for many hours. We were constantly on the go, in ridiculously hot heat, so a lot of the shooting I did was handheld. That's why we used the DIONIC 90s, he says. The batteries are small, but super powerful. They generally lasted seven hours, which is great for when we're making our way around the stadium surrounded by hundreds of thousands of people and don't have the energy to carry six heavy batteries for backup all day. I only carried two batteries a day, one loaded in the camera and one in my bag.

Anton/Bauer designed the DIONIC 90 to deliver consistently reliable performance even in the most challenging shooting environments, such as a crowded sporting event. The 95Wh battery can handle a maximum load of six amps, and offers run-times ranging from six hours at 15 watts to 1.75 hours at 50 watts. The enhanced RealTime display indicates both fuel gauge and remaining run-time data simultaneously. The display incorporates readouts of hours, minutes and remaining capacity, making battery change decisions quick and easy. Its motion-detection feature, now standard on all Logic Series batteries, incorporates a sleep-mode setting that reduces battery self-discharge, allowing for extended periods of storage with minimal capacity loss. The battery can be awakened by the built-in motion sensor. These patented features offer the camera operator additional confidence that his gear will power through the shoot.

Frye was impressed with the RealTime display, which allowed him to monitor his battery usage efficiently and accurately. Before it was introduced, I used to guess how much time I had before I would have to swap out the battery based on how many bars were still left on the display screen, Frye says. But now with the RealTime display, I know exactly how long the battery is going to last. And it's not like a cell phone, where it says you have two hours left, but then your phone stops working within the half hour. When the DIONIC 90 RealTime display says you have two hours of power left, you can be sure that you really have two hours left, so that was definitely helpful.

LINK:	http://sportsvideo.org/main/blog/2013/10/freelance-camera-operator-use...
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