BETTER Than Sony Batteries?! SmallRig NP-FZ100 USB-C Rechargeable Battery for Sony Cameras
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- čas přidán 23. 08. 2024
- When it comes to third party battery options for Sony mirrorless cameras, there are a range of different options to choose from. And this is especially true for NP-FZ100 batteries, which are used in a majority of Sony's popular cameras including the a7S III, FX3, a1, a7 IV, FX30, a7R V, a7C II, a7C R, ZV-E1, a6700, and many more. But, how do these batteries compare to Sony's own OEM batteries in terms of charge time, battery life, and price?
In this review, I'll cover SmallRig's 4265 / 4265B NP-FZ100 USB-C compatible rechargeable battery for Sony Alpha cameras, and discuss all of the battery's specifications and features. While this NP-FZ100 battery works in most of Sony's newer cameras, and classic models such as the a7 III, a7R III and a7R IV, a7C, a6600, etc., SmallRig makes a number of additional models of the same battery for other battery types and camera systems. This includes Canon (LP-E6NH), Nikon (EN-EL15c), and the popular Sony NP-FW50 battery used in many of Sony's APS-C cameras like the a6500, a6400, a6100, and older models like the a7S II, a7R II, a7 II, etc.
Additionally, I'll cover many of the different potential caveats to using a third-party battery like the SmallRig, and discuss my experience testing the battery life with my Sony a7R V against some original NP-FZ100 batteries from Sony. All in all, whether you choose to go the third party route for batteries in your camera will be your decision, but if you're going that route, I do not think you can go wrong with the SmallRig.
If you like videos around battery-related content, feel free to check out the additional videos on this topic on my channel currently, as there will be more on the way. Leave a like, subscribe, and let me know if you have any questions in the comments below!
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Sony NP-FZ100 Battery: amzn.to/39ORD8E
Sony BC-QZ1 Battery Charger: amzn.to/3o8WbdN
Charge Your Sony Batteries EASILY With This Hack!:
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Thanks for this review. I look forward to your follow-up in 6 months or so for durability 😊.
No problem, Ben!
@@andrewsaraceni so how did it fair?
@@anrn5303 It's held up well - still holds its charge as expected.
@@andrewsaraceni thanks I went for K+C option... they have 2 pack option and best price :)
Thank You!
I have the exact same one, but under the Neewer brand, in brown. I noticed that when I charge and shoot 4K video at the same time on the Sony a7IV, I get overheating. Unfortunately, their Type C does not support fast charging protocols. To do this, I purchased an ISDT NP2 Air charger. It charges the battery in 1.5 hours
No problem! Glad to hear that's working better for you, I'd be curious if the overheating behavior with the battery changes depending on resolution, frame rate, etc.
@@andrewsaraceni I think overheating depends on the power consumption of the camera. I recently carried out a test by connecting a dummy battery to the a7IV through a wattmeter. I noticed that increasing the framerate from 25fps to 50fps has almost no effect on power consumption, even at 4:2:2, 10bit. But when switching to 100fps, power consumption increases significantly. Consumption also increases when Active Stabilization is enabled. Here are some indicators:
XAVC S HD:
1) 25p and 50p, 50M, 4:2:0, 8bit:
Active stabilization off:
Standby - 5.5W, Rec - 6.2W (APS-C mode - 6.3W/7.6W)
Active stabilization on:
Standby - 5.7W, Rec - 6.4W (APS-C mode - 6.3W/7.6W)
2) 100p, 100M, 4:2:0, 8bit:
Active stabilization - off (not supported)
Standby - 7.4W, Rec - 8W (APS-C mode - 7.0W/7.6W)
XAVC S 4K:
1) 25p 100M, 4:2:0, 8 bit:
Active stabilization off:
Standby - 8.4W, Rec - 8.9W (APS-C mode - 6.6W/8W)
Active stabilization on:
Standby - 8.8W, Rec - 9.4W (APS-C mode - 6.7W/8W)
2) 50p, 100M, 4:2:0, 8bit, ⚠APS-C mode
Active stabilization off:
Standby - 6.6W, Rec - 9.2W
Active stabilization on:
Standby - 6.6W, Rec - 9.3W
Thus, we see that the a7IV consumes the most when recording 4K, 25fps with Active Stabilization enabled. In this mode it eats a lot even on standby
@@User-pq2yn Really interesting, thanks for sharing your results!
I use 3rd party batteries for all 3 of my Sony cameras. I use Ravpower and have had great success with all of them. They work just as good as my OEM batteries and I'm not paying $80 a piece for them. I get two batteries and a charger for $40 that work just fine. And I have not had one issue in 3 years. But I do like the fact that you can use usb-c to charge these small rig batteries. I will have to give one a try
Glad to hear your experience has been positive! Haven't tried the Ravpowers, but I can say these are definitely worth a shot.
2 Ravpower + 1 Sony since 2019. All still holding charge well.
@@kevincreaghan916 yeah I forget what kind of third-party brand of battery that I had issues with but the only really issue I had was in my Sony A9 when my battery grip switched over to the second battery after the first one drained it popped up saying incompatible battery and it would not work in the battery grip. But if I took the battery grip off it would work in the camera but that defeats the purpose of having a battery grip but the rav power works great and all three of my cameras. Glad to hear yours are working fine also
Only once I bought third party batteries for my Sony and they worked equally as well as Sony. For a short time. Then they wouldn’t hold a charge so became worthless. I’m interested in seeing how these perform after a year or two use.
Yeah the long term life is always a question - so far, so good I will say for these.
I bought a third party battery name wasabi for my A6000, after 5 years (from 2019) the battery still hold very good ammount of power, even better than the original one come with the camera. What a suprise!
@@chaulong503 Glad to hear that - I've had mostly good luck with third party batteries as well - e.g. Neewer's NPF970s for lighting, etc.
Thanks for the video Andrew...I have several of the third parties, but I am going to be migrating out of them...the pop up asking me if I want to continue to use the battery is annoying and always comes at the most inopportune time....plus with the FX3, eventually the remain power percentage goes away and you only see a white outline of the battery. In order to check the remaining power, you have to turn the camera off and back on the see it.
My older Z batteries are all fading (they lasted about 4 years of hard work) and now with these two issues above (at least for the FX3), I'm going to stick with the OEM.
May not be a problem for other cameras but for the ones I am using, that is no bueno.
No problem, Paul! Yeah I hear you, the warning is definitely a bother to some, and it's a moving target as to whether the third-party manufacturers can stay ahead of it. Getting that many years out of the OEM batteries is pretty impressive all things considered.
I got the Smallrig version for Fuji and they are better than the Fuji's. I can charge one of each to 100% and let them sit for a month and the Fuji will drain itself (it's not a smart battery designed to do that) but the Smallrig will still be 95-100%.
Good to know, thanks Jimmy! I've found they're the best of the third-party options for Sony that I've tried as well.
Is it the NP-W235? Do charges last as long as the official Fujifilm ones?
@@ChaosKamiKaze yes the Smallrig hold storage charge better than the Fuji w235
Does the type C port output any power? I mean is it possible to run a cooling fan out of it? ( for a minimal build ofcourse)
I don't believe you can run power off of it beyond conventional use in the camera - the USB-C port is for charging purposes only.
What are 4265 and 4265b differences?
From what I know, basically the same battery, just removes the battery warnings on some newer camera models, so it's an "update" to the original.
@@andrewsaraceni which one is new “B” type?
@@travelpatron Yeah, 4265B is the new one.
@@andrewsaraceni thanks
Smallrig has a version of this to Canon too (LP-E6NH). I get only around 1000 pics with the Smallrig and I get over 2000 pics with Canon. Still Smallrig claims their has more mAh..
And my R6 MkII refuses to charge via usb, if it has the Smallrig battery.
But the worst is I once lost all videofootage from prom, when the Smallrig suddenly died during video footage, even though there should have been 25% battery left.
I could live with less pics and no usb chatging, because the battery is cheap. But dead camera during video capture is devastating.
I do wonder if it's something at the firmware/software level that handles predicted remaining charge, compatibility with using external power with the battery, etc. that might explain that. Though I don't expect we'd ever hear that from Canon - I haven't had any of those issue with my Sony cameras.
@@andrewsaraceni I don't know, maybe. But no more 3rd party for me, if the footage is critical. 😄
Can you use it while charging?
Good question, see the comments below - I've done some basic testing of it, and it looks like it'll work.
Can you charge this while also using it.... lets say USBC charge from a V mount battery so you can also now use the native USBC port for other accessories..... like a follow focus that can remotely control the A7R5 zoom and record start stop.
Not sure about from a V-Mount battery, but from my testing, it does appear it can be charged and used silultaneously.
Thanks for your video work!
One question for this one, can you plug the battery and charge it at the same time? To get infinite battery life
No problem, Mickael! I mentioned this in another comment - a quick test on my a7 IV did show it seems to work. The supplied USB-C cable is a little tight, but if you nudge it it'll fit. You'd need to test further to see if/how it charges vs. consumes power though (i.e. not sure if infinite or a slower drain, etc.).
@@andrewsaraceni Great! Many thanks
@@andrewsaraceni If one would let's say plug usb c in 99Wh V-mount battery and usb C into this battery and put it in the camera would it be able to last all day instead of dummy battery? :)
@@BurekNeinDanke That's an interesting idea....can't say I've tried it, but I could see that potentially working. 🙂
i was juat thinking the same thing instead of dummy batteries
With the new Sony update you will get a warning message and battery level will disappear😒.
Good question - eventually the specific battery life percentage will disappear, and you'll just get a few bars to show battery life. You'll see the warning message if the camera's idle, but not if you're filming. Overall I'd say it works fine with it.
Hey Andrew, unfortunately that wasn't a question. I was commenting on the 3rd party warning for The smallrig battery pops up and the battery indicator will not show battery level. This has happened with the newest update from Sony on the newer line of cameras.
@@kenmoto16 Ah yep, I missed that. It's somewhat annoying, but doesn't prevent the battery from working at least and seeing some battery life. Basically like other third party batteries.
can we use this battery like a dtap. like charge it while its in the camera?
See some of my other comments, in my testing it looks like it can be charged/plugged in while in the camera, but it's a snug fit.
Hi. After firmware update, still display battery power percent?
It's worked fine for me in the latest versions of Sony firmware (a7S III, a7 IV, a7R V) doing some cursory testing.
how about the FX30?
@@Brazefuze Haven't gotten to test it with the FX30 myself.
@@andrewsaraceniHave you updated to v3.00? Does the popup appears at all? I’m using a A7iv and looking forward to get third party batteries but I’m afraid I’ll have to deal with the popup and I don’t want that to ruin important shots
@@raphaelliioo On the a7S III v3.0 firmware, I got the popup once, but it didn't appear after that. If you're recording, it won't show. It does limit seeing the available % you have left (not as granular as with Sony batteries).
How long does it take to charge? Does it have fast charging?
Same as a regular NP-FZ100 battery, and yes it supports fast charging.
What firmware did you have in this video? its the a7iv right?
Depends on the camera - for the a7 IV, I have the latest now, but in the video I think was on 2.x (can't recall the minor). I tested it on all of my cameras - a7S III, a7 IV and a7R V.
Never had issues with 3p Batteries baxtar pantona 👌 as I know these Batteries doesn’t work on fx3 right?
These do work with the FX3 - basically, any Sony camera that takes the NP-FZ100 battery.
Cool! I don’t have the fx3 but it’s nice to buy a battery that is compatible maybe for a future buy
do these batteries still work with the recent firmware upgrade?
Yes, they still work fine, might just receive a warning notice and/or change in how the battery percentage is displayed, depending on the model.
@@andrewsaraceni i wonder if Sony did that on purpose (they probably did) or if they're gonna release another firmware update after all the backlash - they probably won't cause they wanna make more sales on their own batteries lol
@@BryanMiraflor Yeah, I think that' exactly it. Probably a back and forth between the camera companies and third party battery companies to see who can get ahead of each other quicker.
Long term review in the future!
Definitely on the list to cover.
Can they be charged while in use? say for streaming?
It should be a similar charging situation to using regular Sony NP-FZ100 batteries, so likely depends on what source is powering the camera.
@@andrewsaraceni I meant... From the USB-C on the battery... If I charge it while using and keep the battery door open.... Is that possible too?
@@adverspace Gotcha, I did a quick test on my a7 IV and it does seem to work. Supplied USB-C cable is a light tight, but if you nudge it it'll fit. You'd need to test further to see if/how it charges vs. consumes power though.
@@andrewsaraceni Thank you so much 😄!
There is also this option SmallRig 4268B Sony NP-FZ100 Dummy Battery with Power Adapter from BH Photo for continuous power..
How are they holding up 4months after this review? Still holding good power?
Still going strong, no noticeable loss of battery life yet.
These smallrig batteries seem to drain faster than the Sony stock ones, unfortunately. Has anyone else found the same?
I noticed it got to 0% 5-10 mins before the Sony batteries, but it had a much longer final runtime until the camera actually shut off.
Yes, I have same experience with Smallrig on Canon R6 MkII. I get only around 1000 pics with Smallrig, despite higher claimed mAh. With Canon OEM I get over 2000 pics.
And usb charging in camera doesn't work with Smallrig.
But the worst was when my camera died during video footage when I used Smallrig
@@erik.karlsson Sorry to hear that, can't comment on how the batteries work on the Canon side, but I can say my experience has been completely different using/shooting with them on my Sony cameras.
I bought Digitek battery used maximum 10-15 charging then now dead😢
Sorry to hear that, can't say I've used one of theirs before, but that's good to know.
i would just stick to genuine Sony batteries thanks. third party batteries have stuffed up me in the past.
Definitely a valid choice, it's a balance of tradeoffs.
in what way were you stuffed up?