This portable power station can power almost any device you have and it can recharge itself on location.
When it comes to powering gear on location, things can get a little complicated if there is no access to a wall outlet. And having a loud generator isn't always ideal, especially if you are filming a video and need good audio. Enter the FJ Dynamics Portable Power Station. This setup is a portable battery pack. But it’s so much more than the little battery banks you are used to using for your cell phone (though this station can charge those too). This station is packed with a 2246Wh battery capacity and has a 2000w output power. This means it can entirely run things like refrigerators, power tools, and even production lighting for multiple hours.
But I wanted to put this to the test in terms of what a creative might need in the field. So the first thing I did was test how the battery held up in terms of charging. So I took my Elinchrom FIVE, which had a completely dead battery, and charged it to full. Starting off with the Power Station at 100%, the battery dropped to 65% after charging my Elinchrom FIVE to full power overnight. So I can get almost 3 full charges off the station.
This brings me to a little drawback. I charged the light overnight and once it was full, the output of the station dropped to 0w. But the station remained on for the rest of the night until I manually turned it off. Normally not a huge deal since the battery drain from the small screen should be insignificant, but I decided to keep it on and just monitor the power for a while. What I noticed is that the fan of the station would turn on every so often even though it was technically not doing anything. After about an hour of the station just sitting with zero output, the battery dropped about three percent in an hour. Again, this is even though the output level was showing zero watts. So it would be nice if the station had the option to automatically turn off after a set amount of time with zero output power. I know the Elinchrome FIVE didn't take all night to charge, so there is really no telling how much power I wasted.
Another thing worth noting about the station is that the Elinchrom FIVE charges off a standard USB-C port, so I tried using a regular wall charger as well as just using one of the USB-C ports on the battery station. The cool thing here is that I can visually see on the screen of the power station which port option is giving me a faster charge. This is great for situations where you might be in a hurry and want to make sure you have the fastest option in use. For example, I was only able to get 30w of output when using the USB-C port on the station. But I was able to get about 50w of output when using a charger plugged into the AC outlet. This is with using the same USB-C cable and the reading on the Elinchrom FIVE telling me it was in fast charge mode. So had I not had that visual data from the station, I would have had no idea that one option was giving me a faster charge versus the other.
Now when it comes to charging the station itself, the FJ Dynamics 2000w has two options. You can go with the traditional option of plugging it into an AC wall outlet, and with that, you can go from zero to full in just two hours. Or, you can also charge the station with an optional set of solar panels. If you use a maximum of three solar panels, you can go from zero to full in 4.5 hours. But are not limited to using three panels. You can use any number you wish, with the maximum amount being three. But obviously using less will give you a slower charge time. But using more means you have to buy more, pack them with you, and have room to set them up. but thankfully the solar panels fold up really nicely and have a solid carry handle as well as a pocket to store the needed cable and connections.
From here, what I feel this station is ideal for, is things like on-location video productions. Situations where you need power for things like constant lights, but you don't want the noise of a gas-powered generator interfering with audio. Now obviously the more lights you need, the more complicated things can get. But with this power station, I was easily able to power my Aputure 600C Pro and my Aputure 300X, both at full power, for 30 minutes and the station only dropped 25%. So I’m confident I could get close to two hours of run time with this setup.
Circling back to the screen on the station, in addition to telling you the power output of each set of ports, it will also tell you the power input when charging as well as give you information about the fan and any possible temp warnings. This detailed information is really helpful if you are trying to conserve power on the power station or trying to maximize the use of a set of gear. For example, you could have a set of lights plugged into the station while also having the station charge via solar. With the screen, you could easily decide how many lights you can have powered at once while maintaining enough charge to last the full day of production. So this detailed data on the screen allows you to prioritize your devices based on power consumption and available battery life.
The last thing worth mentioning is some of the physical elements of the station. On the outside, there is a handle on either end of the station to make carrying easier with two hands. Around the screen and outlets are multiple buttons to turn the station on/off and then buttons to turn on the different output options individually. Lastly, there is a power button on the inside of the station that is a master power button so that you can power off the station without there being a chance of an external button accidentally being pressed during transport. In terms of other ports, there is an AC input for charging as well as ports for having up to three solar panels plugged in.
Things I Liked
- Reasonably priced (given the capacity and solar options)
- Ability to charge via solar
- Fast charging
- The detailed screen gives useful input and output details
Things I Didn't Like
- No auto power-off feature can cause unwanted battery drain.
Interesting product, for devices with solar charging, it is always good to have images of the solar charge port, as well as info on the max input voltage, since many systems only give their max solar charge rate at their max input voltage.
A common thing that people do is buy a powerstation, and then buy a separate solar panel set for a fraction of the cost, then adapt it for the system. The best systems allow you to charge from solar while powering devices, if they have a good input amperage rating, and you double up on the panels, you can often have enough power if traveling, camping, then you can effectively have enough power to constantly power a laptop and a few other devices almost indefinitely, provides clear weather during the day.
Clicking through to the Amazon link reveals vastly higher prices just a week later: $1700 for just the power bank, $2499 with two panels, $2799 with three.