Kickstarter: This Revolutionary Camera Battery will Lighten Your Bag and Change the Way You Shoot

[Ozarker]

I could be very wrong, but I consider myself to be the typical old man, get the camera out and hour at a time, kinda guy. I have never had problems with batteries not giving enough, or a problem carrying an extra battery in the case I think I might be doing a whole lot of shooting. I know some of you go through batteries a lot. I just think that most people are already happy. I am. I even have trouble justifying an OEM extra battery grip for myself. I have not had one since I had a 70D.

 

[Ozarker]

In many countries like Japan, selling a battery pack without extensive testing can't be done. Apparently not so in the US. A battery pack needs sophisticated electronics to tailor charging rates to the cells, to monitor for overheating, and to communicate with the camera. The cells themselves have none of this built in. There are lots of back alley battery pack manufacturers in China who move every night to keep one step ahead of the authorities. $10,000 would be a lot of money to them, the components they use just cost a buck. Its the safety testing, hot and cold testing, distribution and warranty that run up the cost and they just skip all that.

This has the look and feel of a quick buck outfit. That doesn't mean that the guy doing all this is not a genius, many businesses started with a genius that operated on a shoestring. Its just that even if the design is perfect, the first products will be crude and won't last long. That's the best outcome because safety is a serious issue and when a battery loses capacity, it is unlikely to become a huge safety issue.

Your wisdom is always deeply appreciated.

 

[RunAndGun]

Of course, they wouldnt be on kickstarter otherwise.

I‘m not endorsing this in any way, shape or form, because these guys are obviously unknowns and there are too many red flags and weasely marketing words and phrases being used, but... There are legit, existing companies that were already making and shipping existing products that have used KickStarter to more or less feel-out the real world demand for a product and used it to bring it to market(and actually created a whole new product that became more successful, many times over, than their previous line that they were known for).

Just trying to say that KickStarter isn‘t ALL nobody’s and crappy never-gonna-show-up products. But I wouldn’t drop a penny on this...

 

[Kit Chan]

Too bad there isn't an EOS M variant.
This would solve both my needing a dummy battery and a spare battery or 2 woes.
Real pain that the M200 is aimed at streamers, yet can't receive continuous mains/USB power without an overpriced and scarce accessory, and I'm not daring enough to take my chances on those cheap and nasty options on Amazon.

 

[Max TT]

Yea errr nope... I gonna need to see this product in the hands of independent reviewers first. Nice marketing but Kickstarters are money pit.

 

[lawny13]

HI I'm Billy Mays here with a fantastic set of buzz words.

Seriously, I know not everyone does tech or science.... But read this. Secret Recipe? I'm literally cracking up that people will eat this up.

I mean, common people. And all this at the low budget price of 10k? Seriously... Super Secret High Tech Battery Recipe created by people that like natgeo and photography and videography in the low time of 6 months ago....with what looks like 2 eneloop pro's in a battery case in at least one of their images...

So depressing.

We are a group of photographers and engineers who are into NATGEO photography and videography. EVERYTIME we are out shooting, our packs are loaded with tons of batteries, which are heavy and annoying. What's more, for certain mirrorless cameras, such as Canon, constantly inserting every single battery in the pack to check the leftover power is really “a pain in the ass". Thus, we created the X-TRA Battery (prototype about half a year ago), which helped us a lot during the creation process - Longer Battery Life, Easier Battery Indicator, Quicker Reloading, Better Grip and Faster Charging. Now, we want to share the "Secret Recipe" with all camera fanatics and we really hope the X-TRA Battery will boost your efficiency and make each trip much easier. NEVER MISS A STUNNING MOMENT!

Ya the loads and heavy batteries put up the red flag for me. Most generally the weight for X amount of shooting with batteries would be the same regardless of the battery.

Most generally the reason why so h hits those high photo counts isn’t because of some battery voodoo but because of the camera and the software’s power management algorithms.

I would prefer a concept where you have the canon battery grip, but with a large single battery taking the entire battery compartment, using as much space as possible rather than two ol’ LP-E6NH batteries. Or for canon to give us a body that accepts 3 batteries like Fuji has done rather than just 2.

 

[slclick]

Ya the loads and heavy batteries put up the red flag for me. Most generally the weight for X amount of shooting with batteries would be the same regardless of the battery.

Most generally the reason why so h hits those high photo counts isn’t because of some battery voodoo but because of the camera and the software’s power management algorithms.

I would prefer a concept where you have the canon battery grip, but with a large single battery taking the entire battery compartment, using as much space as possible rather than two ol’ LP-E6NH batteries. Or for canon to give us a body that accepts 3 batteries like Fuji has done rather than just 2.

Something like the RP EG-E1? That size with a battery would be amazing.

 

[Hector1970]

I've racked up a number of bad experiences with Kickstarter at this stage.
Very little is well made in the end and a number of projects are running for years without producing something.
I'm not a huge fan of Peak Designs final products but they do make a high quality product and generally on time.
I wouldn't risk my expensive electronic equipment on a new company with no track record in battery making.
So many different cameras's being catered for.
I would need a battery to be tried and tested before I risked it.
Kickstarter has become a way of getting alot of money up front and all risk is transferred to the backer.
Kickstarter do nothing when a project isn't working out.
I'm involved in one which looks like a complete fraud but is 4 years running without Kickstarter intervening.
I hope this project is more successful for those who back it.

 

[davo]

I will say I find it rather ugly. I would like to see custom to the camera design including grip tape.