Let’s start by looking at the batteries and charger Sony provides
How much battery life does the NP-FW50 provide? According to the official specifications, here are the ratings:
- Approx. 55 min with viewfinder, approx. 60 min with LCD screen – if you also zoom while recording
- Approx. 90 min with viewfinder, approx. 90 min with LCD screen – if you are not using any functions except recording.
In real world use, one can estimate about 30-40 minutes of usable battery life in video mode, using a 1080 mAh battery. The viewfinder draws more power than the LCD.
What about charging time? Sony claims 150 minutes, though I’ve found sometimes it the stock charger takes about 150-220 minutes (3-4 hours) to charge one battery! Now that’s a problem.
Important: Sony does not fix or replace a dead charger, even in the camera warranty period. At least that’s what the dealer told me when I took my dead charger to them. So, don’t risk your production by only having one charger.
My setup
First, watch this earlier video for two power solutions for the Sony A7s (I continue to use both solutions for the a7S II and a7R II):
Here are the parts of my setup from the above video (links to all products are in my gear page):
- Battery brick with a P-tap port – 130 Wh FXLion Gold Mount (Chinese batteries, have proven very reliable over a year of use)
- Sony dummy battery to P-tap adapter (in my case it’s a fixed link directly from the next item)
- Battery plate (connects battery brick to the adapter)
- Battery slide (helps support and move the whole thing to balance on my rig)
- Plain charger (they have dual chargers but they’re not fast either)
- Dolgin Engineering P-tap to P-tap cable – to power the Atomos Shogun from the P-tap port on the brick.
And this is what you get “officially” with Sony:
- You can purchase an AC to USB adapter (AC-UB10) which also charges the battery.
- For a more ‘regular’ AC adapter, you will need to purchase the AC-PW20 ($80 for original Sony, about $20 unbranded). The camera does not have a DC port, and the adapter has a battery attachment instead.
- The camera comes with a charger (BC-TRW, which retails otherwise for $48) and two batteries (NP-FW50: 7.7Wh, 1080mAh, $40 for original Sony)
- You can also extend the recording times by using a vertical grip, like the original Sony VGC1EM, which sells for $298. You get to use two batteries at the same time, and it might help you handholding the camera as well. The negatives are:
- It adds weight, almost double with two batteries.
- It might interfere with the mounts on the lens adapter, especially the Metabones adapter.
- You can’t use the same cage.
With the external recorder
The Atomos Shogun takes a Sony NP-F970 (6300 mAh, retails for about $120) battery which will give it about 2.5 hours of life. You could get a Wasabi kit with two batteries and a charger for $84 instead and that would be the route I would take.
Of course, you could power up an entire rig with Anton Bauer batteries as well, which is what I’m doing. Ultimately, I highly recommend getting a V-mount or AB mount brick. Nothing beats that solution, unless you specifically need to lower weight.
Therefore, I recommend getting a Wasabi Charger+2 battery kit for $26.99. It will also charge the stock batteries. Even though the Wasabi is rated at a higher energy level, you get about the same or slightly lesser battery life. For professional use, I recommend getting two Wasabi kits to supplement the Sony kit. You’ll end up with three chargers and six batteries. Consequently, you can also use dual chargers.
USB Power, and additional options
Here’s a new video going over the USB power options and a new dual charger I bought:
Items in the video:
- “Fake” batteries (use at your own risk!) and Dual charger Kingma (Ebay)
- Powerbank with a 2.1A 5V USB 2.0 output (avoid 1A, it doesn’t work) (Anker is the best brand to get) (Amazon, B&H)
- Meiki Grip (Ebay)
FAQs
These are important topics raised by subscribers that shed more light on this lesson.
Q. Does the camera display battery life correctly on an external battery brick?
A. No. In fact, it is totally misleading, and just shuts off quickly. I rely on the indicator on the battery instead.
However, when using the grip, powerbank or third-party fake batteries, it does.