The bebob ml-micro is a rechargeable Li-ion hot swap battery with a V-mount to V-mount power adapter that also features numerous outputs for running accessories.
Please note that the ml-micro I was reviewing was an early version and not the one that will be shipping.
The bebob ml-micro also features a built-in 43Wh 3A 14.4V Lithium-ion battery so that you can hot-swap batteries while the camera is still running or recording.
Key features
- Hot Swap 14.4V Li-Ion Battery
- High-capacity built-in buffer (3 Ah / 43Wh)
- Rechargeable by using back mounted battery or battery charger
- Automated takeover from empty back-mounted batteries for an uninterrupted power supply
- Visual low-capacity alarm
- Compatible with micro V- and V-Mount Batteries
- Fits directly to cameras via V-Mount and micro V-Mount plates
- 3x Lemo 2pin 14.4V / 2.5A (unreg)
- 1x Twist D-Tap 14.4V / 5A (unreg)
- 1x USB-C 45W / PD3
- 1x USB-A 5V / 1A
- SMB protocol for data communication
- Milled aluminium housing
- Zero maintenance
- Compact and lightweight
Size & Weight
The bebob ml-micro adapter is a little bit smaller than a bebob V150 micro battery. It weighs in at around 580g / 20.45 oz.
Build Quality
Like all of bebob’s products, the ml-micro adapter is beautifully made and well-constructed.
The battery release switch and all of the outputs are well made and the positioning of the ports and the writing on the adapter are all symmetrical and not badly printed or at odd angles like you find on a lot of cheaper solutions.
It weighs 580g / 2045 oz and it has physical dimensions of (W x H x D): 77 x 110 x 57mm or 85 x 110 x 57mm (dimensions incl. switch).
Inputs & Outputs
The ml-micro adapter features two bebob Twist D-taps and three 2-pin 12V unregulated LEMO outputs. There is also a USB-A 5V 1A output as well.
The USB-C PD3 port supports the charging of laptops and smartphones and also allows the MLmicro to be charged using standard USB-C chargers.
There is an on/off switch that lets you turn the outputs on or off.
Outputs:
- Vmicro 200W (total continuous power), 14.4V unreg. (10V-16.8V) / 16A (constant)
- USB-C (PD3) 45W (5V; 9V; 12V; 15V / 3A)
- USB-A 7.5W (5V / 1.5A)
- D-Tap 14.4V unregulated / 5A (per output)
- Lemo 14.4V unregulated / 2A (per output)
- Supported camera protocols: Red, Arri, Sony, Blackmagic
Inputs (charging):
- V-Mount charger: 84W (16.8V / 5A)
- Attached battery: max. 8.4W (14.4V unreg. / 500mA)
- USB-C (up to 40W)
- D-Tap 16.8V unregulated / 5A
Connectors:
- 3x 2pin Lemo out (14.4V unreg.)
- 2x D-Tap (14.4V unreg.)
- 1x USB-C (input/output)
- 1x USB-A
How does it work?
You need to have the ml-micro adapter attached to a camera or some other piece of equipment before you attach a battery to avoid any type of electrical charge happening. You should never attach a battery to the ml-micro adapter if it isn’t first connected to something else.
Essentially what is happening is that if the ml-micro hasn’t been charged it will draw power from the attached battery and store it so that when you take a battery off, your camera or accessory will still remain powered on and running. It’s acting as a small battery and it will keep drawing power from the attached battery until it is fully charged. This doesn’t take a lot of time, and once the ml-micro adapter is fully charged you will see a green indicator next to where it says Ready Charging.
Once you remove a battery it will keep your camera or other equipment powered up by using the power it has stored.
The ml-micro can be charged by any micro-V-Mount or standard V-Mount battery mounted on its back or any compatible charger. While charging the Status LED turns orange, symbolizing “Charging”.
The LEDs will display the remaining capacity until its remaining charge falls below 20%. Then the ml-micro will switch over to a warning pattern, signaling its imminent depletion.
Once you attach a new battery to the adapter it will start drawing power again from that battery until it is full.
The ml-micro is capable of performing hot swaps with only 20% of its capacity remaining. In combination with its self-charging function, this results in a potentially unlimited number of hot swaps.
The ml-micro will also take over powering the camera when the back-mounted battery falls below 12.5V. If the back-mounted empty battery is replaced with a sufficiently charged alternative (>14,5V under load) then the new battery will take over powering the camera/device and the additional outputs without interruption.
Now, I tried it out with a Kinefinity MAVO EDGE 6K and I was able to keep the camera running for just over 2 minutes with no battery attached. I also did another test where I attached a 7″ monitor and had the camera record in 6K Open Gate, and again I was able to do this for just over 2 minutes before the camera shut down.
I also tried using it while powering an ARRI Amira, and again, it kept the camera running and recording for just over 2 minutes.
With a capacity of 43Wh, the battery can also power the new Sony Burano with 60W for more than 40 minutes
My issue with the way the LEDs work is that you don’t get any clear indication of when it is about to run out of power. Flashing red is fine, but there needs to be some other type of indicator when it only has around 10-20 seconds left.
I found that the ml-micro adapter was also a handy device for attaching to mid-to-large sized monitors that were running also running wireless RX units. I could change out batteries while keeping both the monitor and the RX unit powered up.
With any battery or powering solution safety is very important.
- Do not charge batteries unattended!
- Do not charge near flammable object.
- Disconect all external loads before the charging process.
- Wait 30 minutes since the last discharge before charging the ml-micro.
- The ml-micro can be charged via any bebob V-Mount charger. (or equivalent charger using the CC-CV method)
- Do not supply more charging voltage than specified
Price & Availability
The bebob ml-micro Rechargeable Li-ion Hot Swap Battery is now shipping for € 1,198 / $1,298 USD with an unlimited two-year warranty.
