I have been using the Anker 26800 mAh power bank for a while now and have been really impressed by the amount of power it can hold. No matter if I am out doing photography, hiking or shooting time-lapses I never leave home without it. For the amount of power, it can store it still has a reasonably small footprint and can be easily packed in your camera bag or backpack.
Anker PowerCore 26800 Power Bank TimeLapse Test
How long will the Anker PowerCore 26800 mAh power bank last when doing a GoPro time-lapse? This is a question I have been asked many times and until now I was only guessing. I have done many 8 to 10 hour time-lapses using this incredible power bank but never pushed it to see how long it could actually go. I decided to film a time-lapse of some sunflower seedlings growing and just let it run until the power bank was empty to see just how long it would last. For this test, I used my GoPro Hero 5 Black and the Anker PowerCore 26800 mAh power bank. I connected the power bank to my Hero 5 black via a 6 foot Anker USB C cable. The Hero 5 internal battery was at about 80% charge when I started. All services were enabled on the GoPro such as GPS and WiFi. I had my GoPro set to capture a frame every 30 seconds.
I started the time-lapse at 7:00 A.M. in the morning and when I checked on it 15 hours later the charge indicator on the Anker power bank had only gone down by one bar. At this point, it had already acceded my expectations. I let the timelapse continue throughout the night and when I check on it in the morning (24 hours in) the power indicator had only dropped by 2 bars (out of 4). I let the time-lapse continue throughout the 2nd day and the Anker power bank finally ran out of juice that evening around 10 P.M. So my test showed that the Anker PowerCore 26,800 mAh power bank could perform a 39 hour time-lapse non-stop. At this point, the GoPro battery now had a power level of 100% so I could have pushed the timelapse another hour or two.
This power bank is definitely an essential tool to any GoPro time-lapse creator especially those wanting to shoot long overnight night-lapses. Another thing to note is the LCD screen on my Hero 5 Black stayed on during the whole 39 hour time-lapse at 100% brightness. This is important to know as the LCD screen draws a significant amount of power, this makes the 39 hours of run time even more impressive.
Things To Consider: Keep in mind I was shooting at an interval of 30 seconds, If you shoot at a lower interval rate say 5 seconds it will use more power. If you are shooting a night-lapse again it will draw more power as the shutter on the Hero 5 is open longer and is usually shooting at a continuous interval. However, with these results you know you will have more than enough power to film all night from sunset to sunrise.
Equipment Used In This Test.
Anker PowerCore 26800 Power Bank: http://amzn.to/2pREuQC
Anker 6′ USB C Cable: http://amzn.to/2pkW3Y8
GoPro Hero 5 Black: http://amzn.to/2pR0FZm
MeFoto Tripod: http://amzn.to/2pQW1KM
Watch the video of this Anker power bank time-lapse test.
