BLUETTI EB70 Portable Power Station Solar Generator Review

Bluetti are offering readers of Camera Jabber a discount off the full price the of the Bluetti EB70. To take advantage of this offer click this link and enter the Bluetti discount code camerajabber.

The BLUETTI EB70 716Wh/1000W Portable Power Station Solar Generator is a large capacity battery with a built-in inverter. This means that you can power your devices, such as cameras, lights, and computers, and as the charge depletes, top it up or fully recharge it with the solar panel provided.

It is essentially a power bank on steroids, so rather than just being able to charge up your phone or camera, like the excellent Tether Tools Power Bank, it provides enough power output to charge, or power, most devices that you would normally plug directly into a standard wall socket.

The BLUETTI EB70 is very neat, with the battery used to power your devices and an inverter enabling the battery to be recharged through solar panels. The two bits of hardware, battery and inverter, are often separate, but here they’re combined into a solidly designed and aesthetic combination, although I’m not too taken with the turquoise outer they’re encased in. This means that you don’t have to worry about plugging in additional bits of hardware to get it to work. Simply plug in the device you want to power or charge exactly as if you were using the mains. Taking a MacBook Pro (2019) and BenQ 27 4K monitor as an example, you can simply plug both devices into the two AC sockets, push the power button, and you essentially have mains power.

• Find the Bluetti EB70 on Amazon UK and Amazon US

Of course, there is one small caveat; the power draw of a single device or multiple devices plugged into the BLUETTI EB70 must be no more than 1000W, as this would exceed the power rating for this particular portable power station. In real terms, that’s pretty good, as the MacBook Pro (2019) and BenQ monitor only drew 140w, leaving plenty of flexibility to plug in other devices. However, the obvious side effect is that you’ll run down the power station at a greater speed. Still, you’ll get around four hours of use if using just this combo.

The BLUETTI EB70 is in the mid-range of portable power stations that I’ve looked at, and its weight, at 9.7 kg, is heavy but not overly. Likewise, 32 x 21.6 x 22.1cm is a decent size, and with a large carry handle on top, it’s very easy to transport.

In this review, I’ve looked at the turquoise version of the portable power station, but it’s also available in black or blue. The turquoise colour is slightly peculiar, but it does make it stand out. Usefully it makes it easy to locate when thrown into the back of the car with a selection of black bags; there’s no possibility of missing it.

What I liked from the outset with the BLUETTI EB70 is the simplicity of its layout. First of all, across the top front of the station, you have the power input for the solar panels or the option to mains charge or charge from your car battery. Next is the clear LCD that shows the amount of charge left in the battery, the power input into the panel, and the power drawn from any devices plugged in. Like all of these portable power generators, there’s a bright LED light that offers plenty of unfocused illumination.

When it comes to the all-important power outlets, these are divided into DC outputs and AC outputs. On the left, you have a 2 USB Type-C PD rated at 100W, more than enough to power MacBook Pro (2019) and later directly. There are also two standard USB outputs (5V, 3A), a carport/cigarette lighter port (DC 12V, 10A), then a new one on this type of device to me, at least, is a 12V/10A DC (5.5 x 2.1 mm)

Then, you have your AC sockets on the bank on the right-hand side. These are the standard UK type (these vary depending on territory) you would find within your home and on the wall.

Other than what you see on the front of the BLUETTI EB70, the rest of the unit is very simplistic. The sides of the case are vented to allow plenty of cooling ventilation; the fans kick in when in use, especially with the MacBook Pro and monitor connected, but the fans are relatively quiet even then. The back of the case is plain, as it’s the underside. On top; you have the carry handle and a wireless charging pad for your mobile phone or another wirelessly chargeable device.

In use, I found this wireless charging pad extremely useful and not just for charging my mobile phone. The pad was a great place to leave the phone during the shoot to ensure that it remained charged. The only real issue is that everyone discovered the same thing, so there was a little hustling for the charging space. Just as a note, only one wireless device can be charged at a time.

Used on a day’s video shoot, and I had my standard kit plugged in. This consists of two Rotolight Anova Pro 2 lamps, one Sony FS7, a MacBook Pro (2019) and a BenQ 27-inch 4K as an addition on this occasion, along with something charging – checking the small screen showed a maximum power draw of around 200 W/h. This power draw essentially gave me about three and a bit hours of use, in reality, due to the computer’s internal battery and power-saving when using the camera, I was able to see it through six hours, excluding an hour or so for breaks and lunch.

In use I really liked BLUETTI EB70 because it was just straightforward to use, there’s nothing fiddly, it’s essentially like plugging into the mains. I like that all of the power outlets are on the front of the power station, making it quick and easy to plug things in and take things out without going around the side or repositioning the battery to access the sockets you need.

Throughout the day, I was also pleased with the number of devices that I could plug into the BLUETTI EB70 and how quiet it stayed even when the power draw was increased. As with other portable power stations, there is a maximum power draw of 1000W, so plugging in something like the Dyson air blade will max out the power output. Still, for most of the devices that you’ll be using as a photographer or videographer, the specifications of the BLUETTI EB70 should be more than enough.

Of course, the power station is just one part of the set-up in the review, the other part being the SP 120 solar panels.

The solar panel consists of four panels that concertina into a very neat package. Once unfolded the panel features two eyelets on one edge enabling it to be hooked over and tied to the side of a vehicle, wall or anything else that makes it easy for the panel to absorb the Sun’s rays. Alternatively, on the back of the panel are 4 velcroed into position legs that can be folded down.

Once the solar panel is set up, the cables can be taken out of the zipped pocket on the back and then plugged into the front of the BLUETTI EB70. On a sunny day, I found that an almost completely discharged BLUETTI EB70 could be recharged to 100% in between six and eight hours, depending on the brightness of the sun, it was also important to move the panels around as the position of the sun changed to the day.

On a cloudy day or days, it will take about a day and a half to two days, or twelve hours to fourteen hours, of sunlight to fully recharge a depleted battery.

The BLUETTI EB70 provides plenty of power, more than enough really for a day shoot, and it enables you to plug in all of those devices you need, such as a lighting camera and laptop. There are some features that really stand out, like the wireless charging pad but ultimately it’s just the ease of use and reliability.

I also really like the design, even though the review unit is in turquoise; having all ports on the front of the case makes it easier and more convenient to use, especially when you’re moving the power station around on a shoot.

Ultimately for a single person shooting small productions, the BLUETTI EB70 is an excellent power solution. Photographers will find that the capacity of the BLUETTI EB70 is more than adequate for a full day shoot, if not more, probably an entire week, and you’ll be able to recharge your batteries for your flash, camera and lighting multiple times without the need to plug into the wall or recharge the power station.

Videographers will also benefit from the capacity of the BLUETTI EB70 and through two shoots it was handy to keep batteries charged up with the power station which I left charging in the car with the panels draped across the window screen.

Solar panels are highly efficient and some of the best designed I’ve come across. Although it still takes between 6 to 8 hours to get a full charge on a sunny day. However, I found that topping up the charge through the day was the best solution, and on one shoot it provided the power for the day and I still came home with 40% capacity.

One of the hidden technology features of the BLUETTI EB70 is the battery technology inside. The battery cell of the power station is LiFePO4 which is much safer than other alternatives. This technology also has the advantage that it has a much longer life span than other battery technologies which will enable up to 2500 cycles to 80% capacity. This means that you could essentially use the battery every day for seven years.

The BLUETTI EB70 is an extremely well-considered portable power station, with solar panels. Despite the capacity being in the mid-range of power stations of this type that little extra power that you get over the likes of the EcoFlow River goes a long way. Even with the more powerful Jackery 1000, I found that the smaller and lighter weight of the BLUETTI EB70 made it easier to transport, especially if you have to like it across the field.

There are several things that I really like about the BLUETTI EB70 firstly the design, with those power outlets all on the front including the power input. This positioning of power I/O enables you to easily plug things in so they don’t get in the way of each other or in a way that covers over the power buttons. The wireless charging pad on top of the BLUETTI EB70 is also inspired and it’s one of those essential extras that you didn’t realise you needed until it was given to you.

I also really like the SP120 solar panel. It is still a little fiddly to set up when folding down the four velcroed legs, but the panels are relatively lightweight and slimline which makes them easy to carry. These panels are also very well thought out with the wise position of cables and the neat fold of the sections that all clips together ready for transport or storage.

Overall the BLUETTI EB70 is a workhorse of a portable power station that will suit most videographers and photographers. There are a few things that I would’ve liked to see such as a wireless app and maybe a little bit more capacity, but ultimately the BLUETTI EB70 provided the power I needed on both photography and video shoots with the reliability I needed and it provided the power quietly.

If you’re looking for portable power with solar panel charging then the BLUETTI EB70 is so far the best portable power station I’ve seen.

Having now swapped to these portable power generators when working away from the studio, the next stage of the solar journey is to look at solar for the garden studio. If you have any thoughts or questions on this then please leave them in the comments box below or pop me an email on ali@camerajabber.com

Bluetti are offering readers of Camera Jabber a discount off the full price the of the Bluetti EB70, to take advantage of this offer visit the following link and enter the Bluetti discount code of camerajabber

https://bluettipower.co.uk/discount/camerajabber?redirect=%2Fproducts%2Fbluetti-eb70-solar-generator-sp120-solar-panel.

The discount code: camerajabber