FXLION recently announced its new BP-HP600 559Wh V-lock battery, which unless I am mistaken, makes it the largest capacity V-lock battery available.
The 14.4V / 559Wh (38.8Ah) high-power waterproof battery was purpose-built for compatibility with high-power equipment and it supports 14.4V/30A (400W). With its capacity, it would also be able to power 300W LED lights remotely for significant amounts of time.
With more and more devices coming out that draw large amounts of power, higher-capacity batteries are needed. Yes, there are devices that require 28V batteries, but there is still a need out there for high-capacity 14.4V V-mount and AB Gold mount batteries. That’s where the FXLION BP-HP600 comes in.
It wasn’t that long ago that the largest capacity 14.4V V-mount batteries used to top out around 300Wh.
In July 2022 SWIT announced its PB-C420S, which at the time, and for the last few years, was the largest capacity battery V-lock battery available. The PB-C420S is a 420Wh 14.4V, 29.1Ah battery that can supply a constant power load of 250W/20A, and a peak load of 305W
In the high stakes, high capacity battery poker game FXLION has raised SWIT 159Wh.
If you are running high-powered LED lights or large cameras with high power draws then batteries with a big capacity like this make sense. With a peak load of 400W, a pair of FXLION BP-HP600 batteries can power a 600-watt light at full power for an extended amount of time.
If you have high-power draw cameras that utilize 14.4V V-lock batteries then you don’t have to worry about changing batteries. You could run an ARRI ALEXA for most of the day from a single battery. A battery like this is also great if you need to continually roll for long periods of time which is handy if you are filming time-lapses or long locked-off shots where you don’t have access to mains power.
400W Max High Load
I asked FXLION what the battery could output in terms of watts and amps even at 1% capacity (the peak load is up to 400W), and they told me: Working current is changed depending on power consumption of load, and battery voltage. It is difficult to say precisely what is the sustained high load output is. We can tell it is around 18Amps to 20Amps, as the battery continues to supply high power, with no cut-off because of over-current, or heat.
What you clearly need to know when it comes to high-capacity batteries like this is that even though it is 559Wh in capacity it can’t deliver 559W of power. People may just assume that if you take two 559Wh batteries you could run an 1100W power draw device, but that is not the case.
With high-powered lights, you won’t be able to use two FXLION BP-HP600 batteries to power fixtures like the Aputure LS 600d/600b/600c Pro or Nanlite Forza 720d/720b at full output. If you want to run the Aputure LS 600c Pro at full output remotely then you will need to use 26V 18A batteries. 14.4V 15A or 26V 8.5A batteries will only allow you to run the light at 50% output, regardless of their capacity. With the Nanlite Forza 720d/720b you need two V-lock batteries otherwise it won’t even turn on.
When using it with some lower power draw lights such as the Prolycht Orion 300 FS you also can’t use a single FXLION BP-HP600 battery to power the light. Even though the BP-HP600 can deliver a maximum output of 400W, which exceeds the sustained 320W the Orion 300 FS requires to operate, the light will not turn on unless two batteries are connected. This is hardly the end of the world, as you could just put any other V-mount battery on one side of the power supply/controller and then you are good to go.
With the Kelvin Epos 300 (which draws 320W) I could run the light at 100% output from a single FXLION BP-HP600 battery without any issues at all. This is one of the few lights like this that can actually be run at 100% from a single battery.
High power draw lights can be difficult to run remotely and lighting manufacturers, at least in my opinion, should spend more time clearly explaining the limitations when running lights via batteries. Even lights that don’t have high power draws can have serious limitations when using batteries.
I say this, because as an example, if I am using a Godox AT200BI KNOWLED Air Bi-Color LED Tube Light (4′) that only has a power draw of 210W, if I try and use a single battery, regardless of its capacity, the output is limited to just 40%. This means that when using the FXLION BP-HP600 I don’t get any benefit over using a regular 150Wh battery, except for the increased run times.
It is the same case with a light like the Nanlite Forza 300 II. Even though it has a maximum power draw of 350W, it still can’t be run at 100% output from the FXLION BP-HP600. You can only run the light at 45% via a single battery, regardless of the capacity.
If you are working in broadcast, the FXLION BP-HP600 batteries make a ton of sense, especially if you need to power 1×1 or 2×1 panel lights that are often used by news crews in the field. If you are doing lots of live crosses then having a high-capacity battery that can power your lights for long periods of time at 100% output is something that will be very appealing.
It would also work really well with a light such as the Creamsource Vortex4 or Vortex4S.
I could power a NANLITE PavoSlim 120C at full output for almost 8.5 hours using a single FXLION BP-HP600 battery.
I could also power a light like the Z CAM ZOLAR Blade 60C (which draws 140W) at 100% output for a very long time from the FXLION BP-HP600 battery.
Size & Weight
The battery has physical dimensions of 161.7mm (L) × 104.7mm (W) × 105.5mm (H) and it weighs 2.78kg / 6.12 lb. As a comparison, the SWIT PB-C420S weighs 2.07 kg / 4.56 lb and it has physical dimensions of 155 x 101 x 80mm.
Above you can see how it compares size wise to the SWIT PB-C420S.
At 2.78kg / 6.12 lb, the FXLION is a heavy battery and you need to be aware of this as it could make your camera very back heavy and unbalanced.
I personally wouldn’t use a battery of this weight when shooting on the shoulder. For me, the battery makes more sense to use for long interviews, etc. where you are not moving around.
Other Features
The battery is shockproof and supports working current of up to 30Amps. It also has dual D-Tap Outputs (14.4V/10A).
The battery is easy to hold and grip as it has groves on both sides.
Personally, I would have liked to have seen FXLION include a USB-C PD output on the battery as it would allow you to charge and run laptops, phones, etc. if you are away from mains power for extended periods of time.
The BP-HP600 559Wh V-lock battery features IP54 protection with a waterproof groove structure, waterproof rubber O-rings, and D-tap port covers with an integrated injection molding structure design.
The Caveat with high-capacity batteries
The biggest caveat with high-capacity batteries is you can’t travel with them on a plane. Most airlines limit the max capacity to 160Wh, and even then you are only allowed to carry two batteries between 100-160Wh.
Another caveat is the charging time. Charging a 559Wh battery, even with a fast charger, is a time-consuming process.
As I already mentioned, the size and weight can also be another caveat, but that really depends on your use case scenario.
Will the FXLION BP-HP600 be available in other mounts?
Currently, the BP-HP600 is only available in V-Lock. It is still unclear whether FXLION will release the new battery in other mounts such as B and Gold Mount.
Charging
The battery can be charged on an FXLION 16.8V charger or other V-lock battery chargers that support 16.8V/4A and above.
FXLION recommends that the battery should be charged to 50% power status when it is going to be stored for extended periods of time and it should be charged and discharged once every three months.
PC-C420S Specifications
| MODEL | BP-HP600 |
| Nominal Voltage | 14.4V |
| Capacity | 559Wh, 38.8Ah |
| Power Load | 14.4V/30A 400W (max) |
| D-tap | 2× D-tap 14.4V/10A |
| Charging | DC 16.8V, 6A Max |
| Size/Weight | 161.7mm (L) × 104.7mm (W) × 105.5mm (H) 2.78kg / 6.12 lb |
Pricing & Availability
The FXLION BP-HP600 will be available for $679 USD which makes it very good value for money. As a price comparison, the SWIT PB-C420S retails for $699 USD.
Final Thoughts
High-capacity V-lock batteries such as the FXLION BP-HP600 are niche products. It is certainly not a battery that is going to appeal to a lot of shooters.
It is a good solution as I mentioned earlier in the review if you need to run certain lights for long periods of time on location or if you need to power a camera without interruption or having to hot swap batteries.
It could also be viewed as a pseudo-alternative solution to large and heavy battery blocks where you don’t need to provide 26V or 48V power. Yes, it will power certain lights out there on the market, but with high-power draw lights, there are always caveats that you clearly need to know about. You need to do your research to see what the requirements are for powering high-draw lighting fixtures via batteries and not just assume something will work.
The caveats are the weight, charging time, and the fact that you can’t travel with it on an aircraft.
I like that I can power my cameras for long periods of time without having to worry about swapping over batteries and that I can also power c1x1, 2×1 panel fixtures, and some other 300W COB lights remotely for extended periods of time.
The battery is very competitively priced given its high capacity. It is well made and works as advertised.
