Several months ago, we received several products from the Chinese manufacturer Rolux under their new brand name YINCHEM. The company, which was founded back in 2002 specializes in batteries and other power-related products, might not be as well known as some of the other brands of professional batteries that we have tested here in the past such as Swit, Bebob, and Hawk-Woods, but they have a very wide selection of products and a few interesting innovations some of which we shall review today.
The new YINCHEM products we tested in this review
Let’s start by going over all of the products that we received and their features as there are quite a few of them:
High power high capacity 230Wh V-mount battery (model: RLC-230S)
We received two of these high-power behemoths. Each weighs almost 1.5kg (just over 3lbs), they have a 230Wh capacity (so no taking those babies on any flights), they have a large screen with lots of info plus a single D-tap on the top. They can output up to 80W with a current of 5.5Amps and 14Volt and are designed to work with high power lights and other power-hungry V-mount supported devices.
The two 230Wh V-mount batteries
Mini V-mount CF (model: YC-BP0990SM)
From the other end of the V-mount spectrum, we have this tiny but sexy looking carbon fiber encased model (the first of its kind that we have seen). This is a flight-safe 99Wh battery (6875mAh capacity) which weighs just over 0.5kg (1.16lbs) with 14.4Volt and a tiny screen which you can turn on to see the battery status and output using a small button on the side. it also has dual USB-A connectors on top and dual D-taps, one on each side ideal for smaller lights, cameras, monitors, and other accessories.
The new Mini V-mount CF battery with the small screen
Two Channel V mount charger (model: 2KS – under the Rolux brand on the company website at the movement)
This high-speed dual V-mount charger can charge two v-mount battery’s at the same time and can also power a compatible professional camera or light using its DC out 4 pin connector (no XLR cable is supplied so make sure you have one).
L mount battery with USB charging and power (model: RL-F971 L)
This large Sony L-mount style battery (similar in size and with a bit more capacity than a conventional Sony NP-F970 battery with 47.5Wh) is ideal for powering accessories such as monitors and small lights but it has a couple of tricks up its sleeve that makes it a little more interesting. First, it has a check button at the top for battery status (25%, 50%, 75%, and 100%) next it has a micro USB port on one side which can be used to charge the battery overnight so you don’t need to take a charger with you unless you need to quickly charge the battery. Finally, it has a USB-A 5V 2.1amp port for powering USB accessories – ideal for some of the new wireless HDMI units like the Hollyland MARS 300 Pro unit we recently reviewed).
The RL-F971 L battery with micro for charging and full USB-A for powering external devices
Safe D-tap power cable
(model: YC-AC301, two others are also available for powering Alexa and Red cameras – we had no use for them) – this small cable (close to 50cm/1.5ft long)
This unit is perfect for powering a monitor from D-tap without the risk of wrongly connecting the cable and damaging your gear (YINCHEM mentions on their website that this is a patented technology that uses special circuitry to prevent accidental damage to your gear).
Working with the YINCHEM products
We have used all these products over the past few months. We used the two large 230Wh batteries with our NanLite Forza 300 and our LS victorsoft round 24″ LED both are high power LEDs that require high power dual V-mount batteries (we tried using them with mini V-mount batteries – it didn’t work). With the YINCHEM 230hW batteries we were able to power the Forza 300 for a little over 92 min at full power which is quite impressive considering how powerful this light is. The LS victorsoft LED is a little less demanding and we were able to power it for well over 2 hours at full power.
The two large 230Wh batteries on our LS victorsoft LED
Charging the 230Wh with the charger took just over 5 hours for both batteries at the same time. The charger does have a fan for cooling and it does make some noise although not all the time so this is something to keep in mind.
Moving onto the smaller 99Wh carbon fiber V-mount battery – this one turned out to be really useful for powering some of our monitors, either directly or using the interesting new safe power cable. Battery life really depends on the specific gear that you are using but with 7” monitors we typically got over 6.5 hours of run time. The dual USB ports are also very useful and you can for example use them to power both components of the Tilta Nucleus Nano following focus (as long as they are close enough).
Charging the 99Wh battery with the YINCHEM was much quicker at around 2 hours but we did notice that this battery did drain on its own more than the larger batteries which only lost about 4% after a week or two compared to almost 10% with this battery.
The L mount battery seems to work very well in our tests and we used it both for monitors and for some smaller LEDs like the Old but faithful Manfrotto Lykos Daylight which worked for over 92 minutes with the battery (the light draws around 20W at full power). We also used it with a MARS 300 Pro and had no issues. Charging it through micro USB though took a long time (over 7 hours in our tests) so this is certainly an overnight type of solution. Use a dedicated fast L mount charger if you want fast charge times.
Conclusion
Rolux or YINCHEM might not be as familiar brand names in the industry as some of the others that we have tested in the past but they certainly have an impressive line of products with some interesting innovations and from what we have seen so far, they do the job.
Batteries and power-related accessories, in general, might not be a sexy topic (although the new YINCHEM carbon fiber mini V-mount battery
So far there are no real negative to speak of when it comes to those products maybe aside from the somewhat quick self-discharge of the 99Wh battery. It would be fantastic if you can use fast USB-C PD to charge some of these batteries but we understand that there are some patent issues involved in that.
Batteries are not just about power; charging and features they are also about reliability and long-term usage. So far, we had these batteries for only about 3-4 months so it is way too short to comment on longevity but we are planning on keep using them and see how well they operate on a long-term basis.
Pricing for the YINCHEM products
As for pricing, YINCHEM might not be the least expensive brand on the market but it is relatively affordable with the following prices:
- L mount battery with USB charging and power (model: RL-F971 L) – $50.
- High power high capacity 230Wh V-mount battery (model: RLC-230S) – $520.
- Mini V-mount CF (model: YC-BP0990SM) – $278.
- 2 Channel V mount charger (model: 2KS) – $140.
- Safe D-tap power cable (model: YC-AC301) – $35
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