Moderator: E.J. Peiker

All times are UTC-05:00

  
« Previous topic | Next topic »  
Reply to topic  
 First unread post  | 8 posts | 
by Brian Stirling on Tue Feb 08, 2022 4:42 pm
Brian Stirling
Lifetime Member
Posts: 2558
Joined: 23 Dec 2004
Location: Salt Lake City, UT USA
Member #:00446
I finally ordered and just received the Sony A7 IV which uses the NP-FZ100 battery and am not real impressed with the supplied charging setup.  Being able to charge in the camera is OK I guess, but depending on that isn't.  So, a quick look at the charger options and it looks like just about every option other than Sony's BC-QZ1 at $100 is USB powered so in addition to the charging unit itself you also have to have the USB power block which increases the part count and does so with the generally feeble charge rate typical of USB anything.  So, are there any good alternatives to the BC-QZ1?  Having just received the A7 IV a few hours ago the battery is still charging 3 hours later -- ouch!  I typically have at least a couple batteries and the thought of needing 6+ hours to charge a days worth of batteries is ... sad...

As an aside, the first lens I got with the A7 IV is the Sony 24-105 but I plan to add some primes in the near future.  I like the idea behind the Sigma I-series, particularly for hiking and for use on a stabilizer when shooting video as I tend to do more often these days.  Still need to get something longer than 105 but other than the way out of my league super teles from Sony your only options tend to be zooms.


Brian
[font=OpenSans, "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Roboto, Arial, sans-serif] [/font]
 

by E.J. Peiker on Tue Feb 08, 2022 8:33 pm
User avatar
E.J. Peiker
Senior Technical Editor
Posts: 86761
Joined: 16 Aug 2003
Location: Arizona
Member #:00002
I don't think I have ever needed to charge more than 1 battery after a full day of shooting with the a7R4, even in the zero degree temps of the Himalayas, and have never felt the need for anything more than one BC-QZ1.
 

by Mark L on Tue Feb 08, 2022 8:48 pm
Mark L
Forum Contributor
Posts: 145
Joined: 1 Feb 2020
I have also been able to shoot for a day with one battery (a7RIV). You might look at this dual charger from B&H:
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/ ... html/specs

My brother uses a charger that looks like this, but is not Manfroto, and loves it.  The ability to change plates to accommodate different batteries is valuable to some who have multiple cameras.

This is the charger that my brother uses:
[font=tahoma, sans-serif]I have been using these Hahnel "Procube" chargers for a few years. One nice thing about them is you can interchange the battery holder part and put different batteries into the same base[/font]

[font=tahoma, sans-serif]https://www.hahnelusa.com/li-ion-battery-chargers/[/font]

[font=tahoma, sans-serif]Regarding lenses, I have the Sony 100-400 GM and love it.
[/font]
 

by Brian Stirling on Tue Feb 08, 2022 9:05 pm
Brian Stirling
Lifetime Member
Posts: 2558
Joined: 23 Dec 2004
Location: Salt Lake City, UT USA
Member #:00446
I wasn't necessarily looking for a dual charger, just that upwards of 5 hours to charge a single battery using USB isn't very appealing to me. And I wasn't expecting to burn through two batteries in a day shooting stills, however, shooting video can be a whole lot more energy demanding particularly the higher 4K modes.

Thanks Mark for the link for the Manfrotto ProCube -- that looks like the ideal option with the additional ability to charge AA batteries like the Eneloops.


Brian
 

by Brian E. Small on Wed Feb 09, 2022 6:34 pm
User avatar
Brian E. Small
Forum Contributor
Posts: 2808
Joined: 20 Aug 2003
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Member #:00479
Brian Stirling wrote:I wasn't necessarily looking for a dual charger, just that upwards of 5 hours to charge a single battery using USB isn't very appealing to me.  And I wasn't expecting to burn through two batteries in a day shooting stills, however, shooting video can be a whole lot more energy demanding particularly the higher 4K modes.  

Thanks Mark for the link for the Manfrotto ProCube -- that looks like the ideal option with the additional ability to charge AA batteries like the Eneloops.


Brian
Another vote for the Hahnel ProCube.................I have it and love it.  I wanted a dual charger because I have 3 NP-FZ100's
 

by Brian Stirling on Wed Feb 09, 2022 7:35 pm
Brian Stirling
Lifetime Member
Posts: 2558
Joined: 23 Dec 2004
Location: Salt Lake City, UT USA
Member #:00446
Brian E. Small wrote:
Brian Stirling wrote:I wasn't necessarily looking for a dual charger, just that upwards of 5 hours to charge a single battery using USB isn't very appealing to me.  And I wasn't expecting to burn through two batteries in a day shooting stills, however, shooting video can be a whole lot more energy demanding particularly the higher 4K modes.  

Thanks Mark for the link for the Manfrotto ProCube -- that looks like the ideal option with the additional ability to charge AA batteries like the Eneloops.


Brian
Another vote for the Hahnel ProCube.................I have it and love it.  I wanted a dual charger because I have 3 NP-FZ100's
Ordered one yesterday...


Brian
 

by E.J. Peiker on Thu Feb 10, 2022 3:41 pm
User avatar
E.J. Peiker
Senior Technical Editor
Posts: 86761
Joined: 16 Aug 2003
Location: Arizona
Member #:00002
Hahnel does in general market high quality products - I have used many of their medium format accessories in the past, not a charger though but other stuff.
 

by Brian Stirling on Mon Feb 14, 2022 9:38 pm
Brian Stirling
Lifetime Member
Posts: 2558
Joined: 23 Dec 2004
Location: Salt Lake City, UT USA
Member #:00446
Just received the Manfrotto/Hahnel ProCube, used it to charge one of my Sony batteries and that looks good. Unfortunately, the AA charger is a series charger requiring four AA cells at the same time -- it won't charge individual cells or any combination less than the full four cells. That's inconvenient and worse, it has no way that I can see to balance the cells to make sure all are at the same level, unless I'm missing something...

Still, it is a nicely made unit that solves the Sony charging issue...

Brian
 

Display posts from previous:  Sort by:  
8 posts | 
  

Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Group