Batteries & Storage

V Mount Battery Buying Guide for Filmmaking

A v mount battery is a flat, brick-shaped battery that mounts on the back of a camera, cage, or light stand and powers cameras, monitors, and lights through D-tap or P-tap cables. It's the standard power source once a shoot needs more than an hour or two of runtime, since it lasts far longer than the small battery packs built into most cameras.

Capacity classes

Small v mount batteries (roughly 95 to 100 watt-hours) sit right at the airline carry-on limit and cover a single camera plus a monitor for a half-day shoot. Mid-size batteries (around 150 to 200 watt-hours) run a camera, monitor, and a small light for most of a working day. Larger batteries (260 watt-hours and up) are meant for powering lights directly, since lights draw far more current than a camera or monitor alone.

Output and how many devices it can run

A v mount battery's output ports (usually D-tap) determine how many devices you can power at once, and its max output in watts sets a ceiling on what you can run together. Running a monitor and a camera off the same battery is light work. Running a flat panel LED light off the same battery adds real load, so check the light's draw against the battery's max output before assuming one battery covers everything.

Grab the free filmmaking gear starter checklist to see how battery capacity fits your actual shoot length and gear list.

Real brands to compare

SmallRig makes v mount batteries across small and mid-size capacity classes, aimed at solo shooters and small crews who want one battery that covers a camera and monitor for a day. See our dedicated SmallRig v mount battery guide for how its lineup breaks down by capacity, plus the compact SmallRig VB99 mini v-mount battery if you want the smallest option in that lineup.

Anton Bauer builds higher-capacity v mount batteries aimed at professional ENG and cinema crews running multiple devices off one battery for a full shoot day.

Core SWX covers a similarly wide range, with batteries built to also power lights directly, which matters if your kit includes a light that draws significant current.

Compare v mount batteries

What pairs with a v mount setup

Once you're running a v mount battery, you're usually also running fast media and a way to offload it quickly. CFexpress cards write fast enough to keep up with high-bitrate video without dropped frames, and a dedicated card reader gets that footage off the card faster than plugging the camera in directly. See our CFexpress card and CFexpress card reader guides for capacity and speed classes. If you're running a gimbal off the same battery system, weight and power draw matter there too, in an upcoming gimbal guide.

Matching a battery to your shoot

Buy for your longest common shoot day, not your average one. A battery that just barely covers a normal day will leave you short the first time a shoot runs long or you add one more device. Mid-size capacity is the safer default for most one- or two-person crews; go larger only once lights are drawing power from the same battery.

Charging and carrying more than one

Most v mount batteries pair with a dedicated charger, and many chargers can charge more than one battery at a time, which matters if you're running two batteries in rotation on a longer shoot day. Carrying two mid-size batteries instead of one large one also gives you a backup if one battery fails or drains faster than expected, and splits the weight between two smaller bricks instead of one heavy one.

Common mistakes with v mount batteries

The most common mistake is buying based on watt-hour capacity alone without checking the battery's max output in watts. A battery can have plenty of stored capacity but not enough output to run a power-hungry light at full brightness, which shows up as the light dimming or the battery cutting out under load even though it still shows charge remaining.

A second mistake is assuming any v mount battery fits any rig. Check that your camera cage, light stand plate, or accessory actually has a V-mount interface, since some gear uses a different battery mount standard entirely and needs an adapter plate.

A third mistake is treating airline travel as an afterthought. Batteries above 100 watt-hours typically need airline approval or can't fly at all in checked or carry-on luggage, which matters if you're traveling with gear for a shoot. Check a battery's watt-hour rating against airline rules before booking travel with it in your kit.

A worked example

A two-person crew shooting a full-day branded video might run one mid-size v mount battery (150 to 200 watt-hours) dedicated to the camera and field monitor, and a second, separate battery of similar size powering a single flat panel light. Splitting power this way means a light drawing more current doesn't compete with the camera and monitor for the same limited output, and either battery can be swapped mid-day without shutting down the whole rig.

Matching battery capacity to your actual shoot day, not your camera's spec sheet

A V-mount battery's rated capacity (in watt-hours) tells you total stored energy, but actual runtime depends on everything drawing power from it, not just the camera body: a field monitor, a wireless video transmitter, and camera-mounted lights all pull from the same battery if they're powered through it. A battery that would run a bare camera all day can drain in a fraction of that time once a monitor and lights are added to the same power chain. Add up everything you're actually powering off one battery before assuming a capacity rating translates directly to hours of shooting.

Airline travel limits on lithium battery capacity

Most airlines cap carry-on lithium battery capacity around 100 watt-hours without prior airline approval, and prohibit anything above roughly 160 watt-hours entirely in carry-on luggage, with V-mount batteries never permitted in checked baggage due to fire risk. If a shoot involves flying, check your specific batteries' rated watt-hours against your airline's current limit before you pack, since a battery seized at security can leave a traveling crew without power on location.