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Powering a camera for a month-long 24/7 timelapse

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Long term timelapses are a lot of fun to shoot, but they can come with a lot of challenges. What happens if your gear gets stolen or damaged? What if it simply moves and you lose your framing? Or stops shooting entirely? It’s a constant learning experience of challenges that we have to figure out as we face them.

But probably the biggest challenge is that of power. For Oklahoma farmer Derek Chisum, who wanted to shoot timelapse of his peanuts growing up out of the ground in his field, the solution is simple. Hook the camera – a GoPro in this case – up to a car battery. Derek spoke to DIYP about his setup.

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The X-Tra battery Kickstarter campaign might have been a scam

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In November last year, we shared a Kickstarter campaign for a battery many of us would found useful. The X-Tra battery offered longer shooting time with a smaller, lighter battery, and the campaign was funded in no time. However, Canon Rumors recently came to the conclusion that the campaign might have been a scam.

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This camera battery will make your bag lighter and let you shoot longer

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If you’re a photographer or a filmmaker shooting in the field all day, you may need a solution to reduce the number of batteries and chargers you pack in your bag. X-tra battery offers a solution, and it seems like many creators are eager to get one. It has nearly twice more power capacity than most other batteries, it helps you get rid of additional accessories, and it spares you a few other headaches you may have when switching batteries. So let’s see what it has to offer.

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A review of Hähnel Pro Cube2 battery charger

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In recent years we have seen a demand for lighter and smaller cameras, and manufacturers have responded to that demand, mainly with mirrorless cameras, but despite the concern, on the part of photographers, to have less weight hanging from their necks or shoulders the same has not happened with what we carry in our backpacks. If you are like me, the space in your backpacks is never enough.

I always find something else to take with me. In my case, when I go out to photograph music festivals, mainly festivals that last several days, I cannot forget anything, I have to take everything I need and also take backup equipment, in case something goes wrong.
In these cases, at festivals, one thing that cannot be missing is the battery and battery chargers and here the problem begins, each charger needs a power cord, the battery charger, depending on the model may need a power cord or of an external transformer, if, like me, you work with two cameras, and each camera has a grip with two batteries, that makes 4 batteries in total, which requires at least 2 chargers so that we can charge any battery whenever we need.

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This weird gadget powers your camera with power tool batteries

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Many of us have some DeWalt batteries lying around the garage or workshop. What if I told you that they can double as camera batteries? Well, thanks to the Mag Max 3A battery adapter from Kessler, they can. This clever gadget lets you power your camera, as well as other gear, with power tool batteries.

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Apple launches iPhone 11 smart battery case with a dedicated camera button

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Apple has introduced a new series of its Smart Battery Cases for iPhone 11. And just like the phone is all about photography – so are the cases. There are three versions of the new battery case, and each of them has a dedicated camera button for easier access to your phone’s camera.

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Photographer stuck in Vietnam after airline bans him from flying with recalled MacBook Pro

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A few months ago, Apple announced a recall for a certain number of 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro laptops, and the FAA banned these laptops from flights. British travel photographer Julian Elliott recently tried to fly out of Vietnam with his MacBook Pro from the “suspicious” series. However, his laptop was deemed unsafe and he ended up being stuck in a foreign country.

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The FAA has banned some MacBook Pros from flights over battery recall

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A couple of months ago, Apple announced a recall for a “limited number” of 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro laptops sold between 2015 and 2017. This was due to the fact that “the battery may overheat and pose a fire safety risk”. If you own one, you can enter your serial number into this page to check if yours is affected by the recall.

If you’re not bothered about checking, don’t worry, the FAA is enforcing it for you, should you attempt to fly with it. They have alerted major U.S. airlines about the recall, and they’re banning the affected MacBooks from flights, reminding airlines to follow 2016 safety instructions for goods with recalled batteries, Bloomberg reports.

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Nitecore solves problem nobody had with their “World’s First Smart Battery” for Sony mirrorless cameras

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Nitecore has announced its “World’s First Smart Battery” for Sony, the Nitecore NFZ100. It’s a drop-in replacement for the Sony NP-FZ100 used in the Sony A7 III, A7R III, A7R IV and A9 mirrorless cameras. At least, it is if Sony doesn’t make 3rd party batteries impossibly impractical to use again.

As a “Smart” device, the new Nitecore Smart Battery talks to an app on your phone; Nitecore NNERGY. The app will be available for both iOS and Android and lets you monitor the battery health and other details wirelessly. Obviously, it needs power to do this, and I’m not sure a battery that drains itself is necessarily a great idea.

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Nikon confirms some authorised retailers were selling counterfeit EN-EL15b batteries

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Last week, B&H emailed customers who’d purchased EN-EL15b batteries from them. They said that some of the batteries were “subpar”. It was suspected that this was a euphemism for fake, and according to a statement released by Nikon to DPReview, the suspicions were correct.

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