Which PD power bank?

[luisflorit]

Do you know which PD power banks are compatible with, say, the new OM1? Any PD power bank will be OK to operate the OM1?

And what about the EM1.II? Will it charge its batteries OK?

Sorry for the stupid question, I know nothing about power banks, much less about PD power banks...

Thanks!

L.

 

[MikeTX]

Hi, hope this helps:

https://www.markhumpage.com/How-to-guides/Beyond-the-Battery-Olympus-OMD-EM1-mk3

 

[Michael Meissner]

Do you know which PD power banks are compatible with, say, the new OM1? Any PD power bank will be OK to operate the OM1?

Chris & Jordan mentioned in their intro that for just charging batteries with the camera off, any USB charger should work. On the OM-1 if you want to charge the batteries and run the camera, you will need a PD power bank that can handle USB C-PD.

The E-m1 mark III requires that the USB C-PD unit provide at least 27 watts (i.e. 9 volts at 3 or more amps). Most of the PD chargers cannot provide that much power. So if you want to power the camera while it is on, you need to check out an appropriate PD charger. I don't know if the OM-1 has a similar requirement.

And what about the EM1.II? Will it charge its batteries OK?

Here is a summary of the support as I understand it:

• E-m1 mark I/II, E-m5 mark I/II: There is no support at all for charging batteries.
• E-m5 mark III: The E-m5 mark III ill charge the BLS-50 battery if the camera is turned off. It has no support for USB C-PD.
• E-m1 mark III: The E-m1 mark III will charge the battery in the body if the camera is turned off. The E-m1 mark III will NOT charge the battery in the HLD-9 grip. The E-m1 mark III will power the camera via USB C-PD providing the batteries have some amount of charge, and you are not using external HDMI or tethering.
• E-m1x: The E-m1x is similar to the E-m1 mark III, except it does not have the HLD-9 grip, and it will charge both batteries.
• OM-1: The OM-1 is claimed to be able to both charge the batteries and power the camera with USB C-PD. I believe it should charge batteries in the HLD-10 grip as well. I don't know if it still has the requirement to have partially charged batteries and not use external HDMI or tethering to use USB C-PD. Note, the OM-1 no longer comes with an external charger, but you can buy one.
• E-m10 mark I/II/III: There is no support at all for charging batteries.
• E-m10 mark IV: I believe it can charge the BLS-50 battery when the camera is off. I suspect it may not come with a battery charger.
• Pen cameras: I think the Pen E-PL10 may charge the battery when the camera is off, earlier models did not charge the battery. I think the E-PL10 may no longer provide an external battery charger.

 

[luisflorit]

Do you know which PD power banks are compatible with, say, the new OM1? Any PD power bank will be OK to operate the OM1?

Chris & Jordan mentioned in their intro that for just charging batteries with the camera off, any USB charger should work. On the OM-1 if you want to charge the batteries and run the camera, you will need a PD power bank that can handle USB C-PD.

The E-m1 mark III requires that the USB C-PD unit provide at least 27 watts (i.e. 9 volts at 3 or more amps). Most of the PD chargers cannot provide that much power. So if you want to power the camera while it is on, you need to check out an appropriate PD charger. I don't know if the OM-1 has a similar requirement.

According to the OM1 manual, page 287, yes, also 27W. As you wrote, most power banks do not provide so much power.

And what about the EM1.II? Will it charge its batteries OK?

Here is a summary of the support as I understand it:

• E-m1 mark I/II, E-m5 mark I/II: There is no support at all for charging batteries.
• E-m5 mark III: The E-m5 mark III ill charge the BLS-50 battery if the camera is turned off. It has no support for USB C-PD.
• E-m1 mark III: The E-m1 mark III will charge the battery in the body if the camera is turned off. The E-m1 mark III will NOT charge the battery in the HLD-9 grip. The E-m1 mark III will power the camera via USB C-PD providing the batteries have some amount of charge, and you are not using external HDMI or tethering.
• E-m1x: The E-m1x is similar to the E-m1 mark III, except it does not have the HLD-9 grip, and it will charge both batteries.
• OM-1: The OM-1 is claimed to be able to both charge the batteries and power the camera with USB C-PD. I believe it should charge batteries in the HLD-10 grip as well. I don't know if it still has the requirement to have partially charged batteries and not use external HDMI or tethering to use USB C-PD. Note, the OM-1 no longer comes with an external charger, but you can buy one.
• E-m10 mark I/II/III: There is no support at all for charging batteries.
• E-m10 mark IV: I believe it can charge the BLS-50 battery when the camera is off. I suspect it may not come with a battery charger.
• Pen cameras: I think the Pen E-PL10 may charge the battery when the camera is off, earlier models did not charge the battery. I think the E-PL10 may no longer provide an external battery charger.

Thanks a lot for all the info!

Cheers,

L.

--
My gallery: https://luis.impa.br/photo

 

[SW Rick]

I assume you have resolved this by now, but for those who came after, the OM-1 needs one with Power Delivery (PD) and output of 9V/3A to charge the battery. Not easy to find- most have only 2A output.

A 9V/2A bank will power the camera but is not sufficient to charge the battery.

 

[Jeff Wahaus]

• E-m10 mark IV: I believe it can charge the BLS-50 battery when the camera is off. I suspect it may not come with a battery charger.

This is the case for the E-M10 mark IV. It can charge the camera's battery via a Micro-USB cable when the camera is powered off. This camera does not come with an external charger (although they are available). Previous models came with an external charger in the box.

 

[Phocal]

I assume you have resolved this by now, but for those who came after, the OM-1 needs one with Power Delivery (PD) and output of 9V/3A to charge the battery. Not easy to find- most have only 2A output.

A 9V/2A bank will power the camera but is not sufficient to charge the battery.

The Goal Zero Sherpa 100 series will output 9V @ 3A.

 

[Trevor Carpenter]

Anybody using one of these with an OM-1. Good buy?

 

[Michael Meissner]

I assume you have resolved this by now, but for those who came after, the OM-1 needs one with Power Delivery (PD) and output of 9V/3A to charge the battery. Not easy to find- most have only 2A output.

A 9V/2A bank will power the camera but is not sufficient to charge the battery.

Actually several of us have discovered that is not the case. I originally thought that also, but I think it was AussiePhil that mentioned it can use PD power sources that aren't 27 watts.

Yes, the manual explicitly calls out the need for at least 27 watts (i.e. typically, 9 volts and 3 amps). But the camera will charge batteries and power the camera with power supplies with 18 watts (i.e. 9 volts and 2 amps). Sure, perhaps in the worst case it would need the full 27 watts, but it does seem to work. Perhaps, the battery isn't charged as quickly if you don't have at least 27 watts, but it does seem to charge the batteries.

I will try it tonight with one of my chargers and/or power banks just to be sure. I will compare 3 use cases:

• Using USB C-PD on a fully charged battery;
• Using USB C-PD on a battery that is about 50% discharged with an 18 watt power bank and/or charger, making sure the battery is getting charged by checking the percentage available afterwards; (and)
• Using the USB C-PD A/C adapter that came with the camera and/or with a 27 watt power bank.

There are 2 places where the 27 watt power source is needed:

• If you have the SBCX-1 charger with a PD power source that does not provide at least 27 watts available, will charge batteries at a trickle charge level. Note, from my measurements, the SBCX-1 charger will use 9 watts for a single battery and 18 watts for 2 batteries.
• I don't have either camera, but it appears from user's comments that neither the E-m1 mark III nor E-m1x cameras will power the camera with PD unless the power source advertises it can do at least 27 watts. Neither camera will charge the batteries while using USB C-PD, but they will be at least powered by it.

Note, with more and more laptops now being powered by USB C-PD, it has become easier to find power banks with at least 27 watts of power (more likely 45 or 60 watts). Sure, the 18 watt power banks are more numerous, but at least it seems easier to find power sources providing more power now than last year. From a USB point of view, I believe you need special cables if you want to go above 27 watts of power.

 

[Michael Meissner]

Anybody using one of these with an OM-1. Good buy?

Since I'm USA based, I'm not sure whether batteries I've used would be available in the UK.

FWIW, the power bank that I've used most is one I got from Amazon:

• IDMIX 20000mAh PD30W Power Bank for Laptops

It supports 30 watts of power. It has a fold-out USA plug, so I don't need a separate charger for it, and it comes with cables to use with the power bank. It has a total capacity of 77 watt/hours, so it can be safely carried in carry on luggage for most planes. The only thing I wish it had was a digital display for the battery level instead of 4 LEDs (I haven't found a power bank that has a digital display with the built-in plug and 70-99 watt/hours of capacity).

 

[luisflorit]

I assume you have resolved this by now, but for those who came after, the OM-1 needs one with Power Delivery (PD) and output of 9V/3A to charge the battery. Not easy to find- most have only 2A output.

A 9V/2A bank will power the camera but is not sufficient to charge the battery.

Yes, I solved it. Got a very nice and well priced Baseus 10000mah 30W (it has both 15v 2A and 9v 3A). It works just fine, and the PowerBank weights only 200gr.

Thanks,

L.

--
My gallery: https://luis.impa.br/photo

 

[luisflorit]

• E-m10 mark IV: I believe it can charge the BLS-50 battery when the camera is off. I suspect it may not come with a battery charger.

This is the case for the E-M10 mark IV. It can charge the camera's battery via a Micro-USB cable when the camera is powered off.

So does the OM-1.

L.

 

[Trevor Carpenter]

Anybody using one of these with an OM-1. Good buy?

I forgot the link

INIU Power Bank, 22.5W Fast Charging 20000mAh Powerbank, PD3.0 QC4.0 Portable Charger, 3A (USB C In & Out) with LED Display Battery Pack for iPhone 14 13 12 11 X Pro Max Samsung S21 S20 iPad Huawei : Amazon.co.uk: Electronics & Photo

 

[Jan Steinman]

The E-m1 mark III requires that the USB C-PD unit provide at least 27 watts (i.e. 9 volts at 3 or more amps)… I don't know if the OM-1 has a similar requirement.

The same.

Most power banks won't have a model specified as "27 watts." I've bought two rated 30 watts, and they both power, charge, and tether the OM-1 just fine, simultaneously.

If you don't get one rated "PD" (for "power delivery"), it will charge the OM-1 slowly. If the PD one you get isn't rated at least 27 watts, it may not charge and power your OM-1 simultaneously.

Either way, you'll have to use a USB-C to USB-C cord. Using a "conversion cord" that is USB-C on the camera end, but USB-A on the other end will, at best, supply the camera with only 15 watts.

This USB stuff is needlessly complicated!

 

[Jan Steinman]

The only thing I wish it had was a digital display for the battery level instead of 4 LEDs (I haven't found a power bank that has a digital display with the built-in plug and 70-99 watt/hours of capacity).

Here is one with a digital display , but it doesn't have a built-in plug. You'd have to take your 27-watt OM-1 wall-wart with it to charge it.

 

[Michael Meissner]

The only thing I wish it had was a digital display for the battery level instead of 4 LEDs (I haven't found a power bank that has a digital display with the built-in plug and 70-99 watt/hours of capacity).

Here is one with a digital display , but it doesn't have a built-in plug. You'd have to take your 27-watt OM-1 wall-wart with it to charge it.

Yep. I've found various power banks with a digital display, but so far, none with the full combination that I want (at least 27 watts, digital display, built-in US plug, and 70-99 watt/hours capacity, both USB C and USB A ports, the A port also doing QC 2.0/3.0, and under $50-60 US).

I use power banks for more than just the camera. My particular phone doesn't do PD, just QC 2.0 or 3.0, so having QC via the USA A port is important. I also at times power various hobby electronics boards, and many of them still have micro USB-B ports. I prefer not to have to carry separate chargers to recharge the power bank. Sure at times, I will use a separate charger, but it cuts down the stuff I need to carry if I don't need to bring the separate charger.

Now, if I really were designing a unicorn power bank, lets see:

• Built-in US plug with a 2 prong cable which retracts within the case;
• Being able to be re-charged via USB C-PD and also USB micro-B;
• Being able to be re-charged from A/C power while providing power to the devices;
• Have at least 27 watts of USB C-PD power available for power;
• Multiple USB A ports, at least one of which can handle QC 2.0/3.0;
• Having multiple USB C ports would also be useful (but not as needed as multiple USB A ports for me);
• Some USB A jacks should have the ability to deliver 5 volts and 2.1 amps without negotiation;
• Some USB A jacks should have the ability to not turn itself off when I'm powering low wattage electronics;
• Digital capacity display that can also act as a volt/amm-meter. Ideally the meters should be able to report the power used by each USB connector, plus a summary for the whole battery;
• Power bank itself is splash resistant;
• Separate 2.1mm x 5.5mm power jack for at least 5, 9, and 12 volt power (user selectable); (and)
• At least one 1/4-20" screw thread to attach the power bank to camera cages and tripods.

I have various power banks that have a subset of these features, but so far, I haven't found one that has all of them.

Another unicorn device that I would find useful is a device that is hooked up to several USB C-PD power banks. It would use the power from each power bank in succession until the power bank can't deliver the power. When the first power bank runs out of juice, it switches to the next unit. The device would also have its own battery to smooth over the connections, and to allow you to manually switch power banks.

 

[Michael Meissner]

There has been some discussion about the need for a USB C-PD power source that can supply at least 27 watts of power to both run the camera and charge batteries. I decided to test this out tonight.

I hadn't recharged my OM-1 battery in awhile, so it was useful to do a test. I had the TV going and I hand held video doing 4K at 60fps recording with the 12-40mm lens. I tried to do each recording for about 5 minutes. I used a voltmeter and ammeter combination to measure the voltage. While this meter allows PD to pass through, it does not indicate PD is used or the precise mode. I also couldn't get the bluetooth to function, so I just manually watched the numbers. Because of this, it may not be as accurate as I would hope, since I was just watching the meter, instead of looking at a graph afterwards, and the time was approximately 5 minutes. I only used official BLX-1 batteries. I do not have a HLD-10 battery grip, and I don't use lenses with OIS like the 12-100mm.

In the first test, I replaced the battery with a freshly charged battery (charged via the SBCX-1 charger), and recorded about 5 minutes of video. I plugged the camera into the A/C charger that comes with the OM-1. It used roughly 9 volts and 0.6 amps of power to record the video. As expected, the BLX-1 battery was still at 100% capacity when I finished.

In the second test, I put in the battery that had been discharged back into the camera. The camera used roughly 9.1 volts and 1 amp of power. I used the OM charger, which is rated for 27 watts of power. Before starting the test, the BLX-1 battery was at 24% capacity, and after the test it was at 26% capacity.

In the third test, I switched to a a 20 watt A/C adapter that I had lying around. Like the OM-1 charger, it used 9.1 volts and 1 amp of power. The BLX-1 battery was 26% capacity before the test and 28% capacity after the test.

In the fourth test, I switched to an Idmix power bank that is rated for 45 watts of PD power, and it used 9 volts and 0.95 amps of power. The BLX-1 battery was 28% capacity before the test, and 30% capacity after the test.

In the fifth test, I switch to a ROMOSS power bank that is rated for 20 watts of PD power, and it used 9.1 volts and 1 amp of power. The BLX-1 battery was 30% of capacity before the test and 32% capacity after the test.

In the sixth test, I turned off the camera, and I let the battery charge for 5 minutes using the ROMOSS power bank that is rated for 20 watts of PD power. The OM-1 used 9 volts and 1 amp of power. The BLX-1 battery was at 32% capacity before the test and 36% of power after the test.

In the seventh test, I switched to the Idmix power bank that is rated for 45 watts of PD power. The OM-1 used 9 volts and 1 amp of power. The BLX-1 battery was at 36% of capacity before the test and 41% of capacity after the test.

In the eighth test, I switched to the 20 watt capacity A/C adapter. The OM-1 used 9 volts and 1 amp of power. The BLX-1 battery was 41% of capacity before the test and 45% capacity after the test.

In the ninth test, I switched back to the OM charger which is rated at 27 watts of USB PD power. The OM-1 used 9.1 volts and 1 amp of power. The BLX-1 battery was 45% of capacity before the test and 50% capacity after the test.

In summary, the OM-1 uses the same amount of power with a USB C-PD power source that is rated for at least 27 watts of power, compared to USB C-PD power sources that are rated to 20 watts of power. Under my test conditions, the camera used roughly 9 volts of power and 0.6 amps (5.4 watts) when the battery was at 100% capacity. If the camera needed to charge the battery, it would charge the battery at roughly 3.6 watts of power. If the camera is off, it will charge the battery at 9 watts of power.

This means the statement on page 287 that you need the USB C-PD power source to be rated for at least 27 watts of power is mis-leading, at least in the simple case where you do not have a lens with OIS to suck up the power and you don't have a second battery.

Of course if you want to charge the BLX-1 battery the fastest, you need to have the camera off. But when it is on and using USB C-PD, it will charge batteries at roughly 50% of the speed of the camera being off, while powering the camera.

 

[luisflorit]

There has been some discussion about the need for a USB C-PD power source that can supply at least 27 watts of power to both run the camera and charge batteries. I decided to test this out tonight.

I hadn't recharged my OM-1 battery in awhile, so it was useful to do a test. I had the TV going and I hand held video doing 4K at 60fps recording with the 12-40mm lens. I tried to do each recording for about 5 minutes. I used a voltmeter and ammeter combination to measure the voltage. While this meter allows PD to pass through, it does not indicate PD is used or the precise mode. I also couldn't get the bluetooth to function, so I just manually watched the numbers. Because of this, it may not be as accurate as I would hope, since I was just watching the meter, instead of looking at a graph afterwards, and the time was approximately 5 minutes. I only used official BLX-1 batteries. I do not have a HLD-10 battery grip, and I don't use lenses with OIS like the 12-100mm.

In the first test, I replaced the battery with a freshly charged battery (charged via the SBCX-1 charger), and recorded about 5 minutes of video. I plugged the camera into the A/C charger that comes with the OM-1. It used roughly 9 volts and 0.6 amps of power to record the video. As expected, the BLX-1 battery was still at 100% capacity when I finished.

In the second test, I put in the battery that had been discharged back into the camera. The camera used roughly 9.1 volts and 1 amp of power. I used the OM charger, which is rated for 27 watts of power. Before starting the test, the BLX-1 battery was at 24% capacity, and after the test it was at 26% capacity.

In the third test, I switched to a a 20 watt A/C adapter that I had lying around. Like the OM-1 charger, it used 9.1 volts and 1 amp of power. The BLX-1 battery was 26% capacity before the test and 28% capacity after the test.

In the fourth test, I switched to an Idmix power bank that is rated for 45 watts of PD power, and it used 9 volts and 0.95 amps of power. The BLX-1 battery was 28% capacity before the test, and 30% capacity after the test.

In the fifth test, I switch to a ROMOSS power bank that is rated for 20 watts of PD power, and it used 9.1 volts and 1 amp of power. The BLX-1 battery was 30% of capacity before the test and 32% capacity after the test.

In the sixth test, I turned off the camera, and I let the battery charge for 5 minutes using the ROMOSS power bank that is rated for 20 watts of PD power. The OM-1 used 9 volts and 1 amp of power. The BLX-1 battery was at 32% capacity before the test and 36% of power after the test.

In the seventh test, I switched to the Idmix power bank that is rated for 45 watts of PD power. The OM-1 used 9 volts and 1 amp of power. The BLX-1 battery was at 36% of capacity before the test and 41% of capacity after the test.

In the eighth test, I switched to the 20 watt capacity A/C adapter. The OM-1 used 9 volts and 1 amp of power. The BLX-1 battery was 41% of capacity before the test and 45% capacity after the test.

In the ninth test, I switched back to the OM charger which is rated at 27 watts of USB PD power. The OM-1 used 9.1 volts and 1 amp of power. The BLX-1 battery was 45% of capacity before the test and 50% capacity after the test.

In summary, the OM-1 uses the same amount of power with a USB C-PD power source that is rated for at least 27 watts of power, compared to USB C-PD power sources that are rated to 20 watts of power. Under my test conditions, the camera used roughly 9 volts of power and 0.6 amps (5.4 watts) when the battery was at 100% capacity. If the camera needed to charge the battery, it would charge the battery at roughly 3.6 watts of power. If the camera is off, it will charge the battery at 9 watts of power.

This means the statement on page 287 that you need the USB C-PD power source to be rated for at least 27 watts of power is mis-leading, at least in the simple case where you do not have a lens with OIS to suck up the power and you don't have a second battery.

Of course if you want to charge the BLX-1 battery the fastest, you need to have the camera off. But when it is on and using USB C-PD, it will charge batteries at roughly 50% of the speed of the camera being off, while powering the camera.

Interesting.

My Baseus givesb PD at the following:

Good USB-C to USB-C cable:

27W at 9V==3A (as the OM-1 manual requires) and 30W at 15V==2A,

and

Good USB-A to USB-C cable:

15W @ 5V==3A ; 18W @ 9V==2A ; 18W @ 12V==1.5A, and 22.5W with SCP: 4.5V==5A and 5V==4.5A.

When using the first option, I can use the camera and charge simultaneously.

With the second option, I can use the camera without charging (charging light off), and charge begins when I turn the camera off. Yet, I don't know if the camera works with full performance, namely, same fast fps captures, video, focus, etc.

L.

 

[Michael Meissner]

Interesting.

My Baseus givesb PD at the following:

Good USB-C to USB-C cable:

27W at 9V==3A (as the OM-1 manual requires) and 30W at 15V==2A,

and

Good USB-A to USB-C cable:

15W @ 5V==3A ; 18W @ 9V==2A ; 18W @ 12V==1.5A, and 22.5W with SCP: 4.5V==5A and 5V==4.5A.

When using the first option, I can use the camera and charge simultaneously.

With the second option, I can use the camera without charging (charging light off), and charge begins when I turn the camera off. Yet, I don't know if the camera works with full performance, namely, same fast fps captures, video, focus, etc.

You need to use USB C for both connections between the camera and the power source in order to power the camera and charge the battery. You also need to use a USB C cable that is rated for USB power delivery. The USB A plug does not support USB power delivery.

 

[Trevor Carpenter]

so is a "PD 30W 10000mAh Powerbank PD 3.0 QC 4.0 Fast Charging USB C Mini Powerbank" better than a 20aAh with a lower wattage. In other words is the W more important than the MAh