USB PD

Stop paying through the nose for OEM batteries – Your camera might support USB power banks

May 14, 2022 by John Aldred 5 Comments

Do you ever get that feeling that you never have enough batteries for your camera(s)? I do, especially when I’m shooting video. OEM batteries for most mirrorless cameras can be insanely expensive, but many people shy away from third party batteries. But there is another, much less expensive power option available to many mirrorless camera shooters these days, and that’s USB Power Delivery.

I’ve spoken about USB-PD here on DIYP before. I use USB-PD cables that negotiate the voltages for me and let me feed it into a dummy battery inside my camera. But now, most new cameras are coming with USB-PD support natively built right into the camera. And we’re not just talking about charging up the battery here, either. No, you can actually power your camera from a USB-PD power bank (personally, I’m a fan of OnSite 100W PD battery)

Straw delivers power to your cameras from a Type-C USB power bank

Oct 8, 2020 by John Aldred Add Comment

A few months ago, some of you might remember I posted a video about some prototype USB cables I’d been testing. These cables take advantage of the USB Power Delivery (USB-PD) protocols in order to negotiate a 9v signal, instead of the USB-typical 5v, which can be used to power cameras and other devices.

Well, those cables are what is now known as Straw, and they’ve just launched on Kickstarter. Also, there are a couple of new Nikon EN-EL15 and Canon LP-E6 Type-C dummy batteries available, too. For those that missed it, here’s the video I posted back in June.

Blindspot Gear launches range of USB PD cables to power your cameras from USB power banks

Sep 22, 2020 by John Aldred Add Comment

I’m always interested in different ways of powering kit externally on location and USB Power delivery has been particularly fascinating to me. With more power banks supporting USB PD over the last couple of years, I’m actually quite surprised it’s taken this long for photographers and filmmakers to jump on it. But jump on it they now have.

Blindspot Gear, creators of the Power Junkie, have today announced a new line of “Power Pipe” cables that offer 8.4v and 12v outputs from your USB power banks to keep your cameras (and other gear) powered externally on location. As well as standard DC barrel jack versions, there’s also one specifically for the Blackmagic Pocket cameras.

This tiny cable will power your camera from a USB power bank

Jun 16, 2020 by John Aldred 5 Comments

USB has been undergoing a pretty rapid development over the last few years since the Type-C connector came along. We’ve seen massive increases in speed, but it’s also received a very cool feature that few companies seem to actually be utilising; USB Power Delivery (USB PD).

It’s essentially an attempt to consolidate and standardise all of the different “quick charge” protocols that smartphone companies have implemented into their devices over the years. But did you know you can actually power a DSLR or mirrorless camera with it, too? Well, you can if you have this little cable. I was sent a couple of prototypes, so I made the above video to test them out.