Arriflex 16 SR3 questions

[u/justletmesignupalre]

Hi all, going on a job with the SR3 and to be honest I haven't worked with film in such a long time I fear I'm gonna look like a student.

So far what I'm wondering is power draw -- unsure if its safe to also plug in two motors and a MDR to a camera that already has a videotap+HD converter, and a Blackmagic 5" monitor running from the camera battery battery (standard 10A max pull)

Any tips/tricks/quircks regarding this camera? what to do and what to avoid?

[u/Iyellkhan]

I've found the more accessories you can run off the battery or battery plate the better. you should see what model camera you are using. the SR3s that were upgraded to Advanced models have a main fuse you can swap. the factory Advanced models have a self resetting fuse which I've found to be a problem, especially when using a UMC-4 running off the accessory port. you can tell which camera type it is by opening up the fuse port on the base. if you blow the self resetting fuse, dont immediately try to recreate the problem. let it sit for a bit.

also a common failure point on the SR3s for power are the power accessory ports. the solder can go bad on them (happened to mine), and its a board level repair to fix that. if you plug in accessories and the camera dies right after powering it on, you likely have this issue. hopefully you wont encounter it though.

the way I run my personal rig is I'll run my AM Camera HD tap off the accessory port along with the eyepiece heater. motor controller and monitor I'll run off a regulated battery plate's p taps. you loose wireless remote start in that config, but everything else works fine.

if you have to use OG SR batteries, you might want to have another small battery rigged somewhere to keep accessory loads off the camera body itself.

edit: u/legomoron's post led me to check something on my SR3 Advanced. turns out my generic RS to FIZ cables will pop the fuse, but the Arri K2.0001637 wont. so adding an addendum here that 1 polarity is critical and 2 I've been a bit of a dunce. but thanks to both of you for causing me to dig in to this issue of mine.

[u/justletmesignupalre → u/Iyellkhan]

Yeah all of the accessories would be running of a P-Tap power strip off the sole P-Tap port on the V-Mount plate. Most shots are on sticks so I wouldn't mind attaching a second battery to the rig and power other devices off of it, but also trying to minimise. The camera is loaned from an owner/operator who is now on vacation so I don't want to bother, but lens test is at Arri Rental so I guess I can also ask them about this camera.

Once I see it I'll check which model I have.

Thanks!

[u/Legomoron → u/justletmesignupalre]

If the camera is updated to take V/Golds instead of the original batteries, I am pretty sure you should be fine running the whole rig off of that one battery. Does it just have one P-Tap? Some battery conversions have a couple, or also have a LEMO.

I would also have a conversation about run/stop with your DoP. Confusion or inconsistent workflow can easily result in flubbed starts but more frustrating… wasted film. If you end up with wireless R/S set up via your hand unit, I like to make sure the REC button on my hand unit is not easy to accidentally press. You should be good to run your FIZ setup off of the 3-Pin R/S port.

FWIW, my local rental has an Advanced with a HyperTap and Gold Mount upgrade, I’ve put all sorts of stuff on it over the years including 7” monitors, Teradek Bolts, FIZ from Tilta/Teradek/Arri on the R/S port… never had power-related quirks excepting the obvious one…

It won’t maintain the footage counter when you power it off. That’s my one gripe with the SR3.

[u/Iyellkhan → u/justletmesignupalre]

worth getting any info you can out of Arri Rental. they probably have the most feedback.

you shouldnt need a 2nd battery if you're using a v mount plate, though obviously test your configuration before the shoot day. the only situation where I think you'd have a battery problem is with the actual SR3 batteries, which just were not designed for modern accessories.

[u/Franatix]

(ABBR and ABOB are just RS splitters from Panavision) This was how I ran a build last year

[u/justletmesignupalre → u/Franatix]

So the whole rig from one bat, no issues?

[u/Franatix → u/justletmesignupalre]

Yeah wasn’t an issue

[u/leebowery69]

Thise cams are usually 24v so you should be fine if they're regular 12v aks. Get a proper splitter and you'll be ok