16mm cameras voltage

[Pavan Deep]

With Super 8 cameras some simpler camera seem to run with two batteries or 3 volts, most silent cameras with a zoom seem to run on 6 volts and most sound models seem run on 9 volts.

 

With 16mm cameras it seems that 12 volt is standard on most [not all] 16mm cameras, but why is 12 volt power popular on most 16mm cameras? Is there a technical reason why lower voltages like 6 volts or 10 volts weren't used?

 

Thanks

 

Pav

Edited August 18, 2017 by Pavan Deep

[Mark Dunn]

I'm guessing, but it does keep the current down. As to the voltage, it's a multiple of the professional Nicad cell nominal voltage, 1.2V, and of the predecessor wet and dry cells. So it would never be something like 10. 6, 7.2, 9.6 or 12 or more, but never 10.

Super-8, being a domestic format, was geared for multiple disposable cells which are nominally 1.5V each.

You'd need an expert to tell you why 1.2 and 1.5 were the nominal cell voltages in the first place. Probably a size/weight/output tradeoff which became a standard.

[Aapo Lettinen]

1.2 and 1.5 come from the potential difference of the cell which comes from the materials used for electrodes, they are only related to the technology used in the cells for practical and performance reasons and can only be changed by changing the battery technology. 1.2 is for rechargeable and 1.5 is for regular batteries traditionally (nicad or nimh and carbon+zinc, respectively)

[Tyler Purcell]

Well, I mean they're entirely different worlds. Super 8 cameras don't need a lot of power to pull film through a magazine or spin a mirror shutter. Plus, they don't really run at super high speeds like a lot of 16mm cameras do.

 

12v battery solutions also have enough CURRENT to do these things, that's the trick.