Camreras & Accessories News

Filming the Dakar Rally

Wed, 04 Jan 2012 12:57

The DIONIC battery in action:

As from 1 January Léon Jansen and his crew at the Dutch Dakar Press Team have been filming the 2012 Dakar Rally off-road automobile race.

Anton/Bauer, a brand of The Vitec Group, and a premier global provider of batteries, chargers, lighting and other mobile power systems for the professional broadcast, video and film industries, is on hand, as Jansen and his crew are relying on the company's DIONIC HCX, DIONIC HC, Solar Panel, and various other power and lighting accessories to help capture this competitive event.

Jansen first discovered the Dakar Rally in 2004 and began covering it as a photographer in 2005 when he launched the Dutch Dakar Press Team. "I fell in love with the Dakar Rally the first time I saw it," he says. "It's tough to fight against time and the elements, but very rewarding to be a part of this legendary event."

The 2012 rally marks Jansen's ninth year covering the race, which takes participants several thousand miles from the sunny Atlantic shores of Mar del Plata, Argentina, through Copiapó, Chile, which is surrounded by the formidable Atacama Desert and ending in Lima, Peru, a subtropical desert city located on the Pacific coast of the country. To get to the finish line, Jansen and the Dakar Rally 2012 drivers must cross deserts rising to more than 6,000 square feet in some locations and dune-strewn landscapes.

According to Jansen, the combination of Anton/Bauer's Solar Panel and DIONIC HC batteries is the ideal formula for powering his equipment in a desert environment. "January in South America is summer, so there is a lot of light to power the Solar Panel," he says.

Anton/Bauer's Solar Panel is a flexible power option for the Tandem 150 Modular Power System and uses direct sunlight as an alternate power source. Ideal for remote locations where no power is available, it is easy to operate. Users only need to snap the Logic Series battery on the QR-TM bracket and attached the bracket to the solar panel to start charging. "Using the Solar Panel to charge our batteries while on location is really simple; we just unfold the panel and put it on the roof of the car. It charges relatively fast because of the very intense sun light.

"At night, we will use the DIONIC batteries in combination with Litepanels equipment. In many cases, when you are working in the desert in the middle of the night, you have no light at all, even from villages and the roads," continues Jansen. "You discover very quickly that you must trust that you are using the right brand of batteries. We've been working with the Anton/Bauer batteries since the 2010 rally, and they have never let us down."

The DIONIC HCX is the company's latest addition to its successful high-current DIONIC series. Working closely with top cell manufacturers, Anton/Bauer developed the DIONIC HCX to incorporate a honey comb cell pack design for Li-Ion cell safety, performance integrity and high current draws of up to 10 amps.

Jansen's team for the 2012 Dakar Rally comprises eight people traveling in two Toyota Land Cruisers. As there is very little room for both people and equipment in the vehicles, each one carries only four batteries per day, in which the team will charge each night using the 375 watt Power Inverter for Mobile Power. As there is no room for large HD broadcast cameras in the vehicles, the team brings DSLR cameras to cover the race and uses the Anton/Bauer batteries to power them, as they provide seamless power and compatibility, regardless of the camera brand.