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A7SII NP-FW50 Battery Charger Tests


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Just thought I'd share the results of a charger test I just conducted.

I used four completely discharged, genuine Sony NP-FW50 batteries.
I simultaneously tested four different charging devices.
And I confirmed the charge level of each battery to eliminate potentially false charge indicator lights.



Sony A7SII Camera:  Free
Charged via a 2.1 amp USB Charger
Time to Full Charge:  1 Hour 30 Minutes

Watson Duo LCD Charger: $79.95 (USD)
Charged via AC Power Mains
Time to Full Charge:  1 Hour 31 Minutes

OAproda Patent Portable Ultra Slim Charger:  $7.99 (USD)
Charged via a 2.1 amp USB Charger
Time to Full Charge:  2 Hours 50 Minutes

Sony Charger Included with A7SII Camera:  Free
Charged via AC Power Mains
Time to Full Charge:  3 Hours 50 Minutes


Conclusion:  

I'm keeping the Watson Charger because it is as fast as the camera, charges two batteries simultaneously, has a very useful charge level indicator -- and it includes an AC power cord and a 12 volt car adapter.

I'm also keeping four of the OAproda Chargers because they are very small, very lightweight, very inexpensive and very convenience for travel.  They also nicely leverage the USB chargers that follow me everywhere I go.  The extra time they require to charge a battery, over the Sony Camera and the Watson Charger, is of very little significance for my workflow.

And finally, it turns out the charger that is included in the A7SII box is of absolutely no value to me.  It is too big, too slow and can only operate on AC.

 

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Thanks for the tests. 

The only thing that worries me with the fast chargers is that they can degrade Li-ion batteries faster. 

I understand why Sony might have chosen fast charging within the camera, and slow charging with an external charging. They could have very easily allow fast changing too but my understanding tells me they chose not to. I could of course be wrong about this.

The dual fast charger is good when you need the fast charging capability more than battery health. 

What is your experience? 

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Thanks for the tests. 

The only thing that worries me with the fast chargers is that they can degrade Li-ion batteries faster. 

I understand why Sony might have chosen fast charging within the camera, and slow charging with an external charging. They could have very easily allow fast changing too but my understanding tells me they chose not to. I could of course be wrong about this.

The dual fast charger is good when you need the fast charging capability more than battery health. 

What is your experience? 

I considered that.  

I neglected to run a speed test on the original A7S charger when it was still in my possession.  But my recollection is that it wasn't as lethargically slow as the charger included with the A7SII.  That charger (AS7II) is also unnecessarily larger than it needs to be.  Its over-sized form factor could have easily accommodated two battery trays.

It would be nice to have empirical data on the extent by which "faster" charging reduces battery endurance -- or not.  I don't have it.  And I suspect that without a completely controlled testing environment,  user experiences are probably largely anecdotal.

It is also worth mentioning that my USB tests were conducted with dedicated USB charging cables -- which have larger conductors and no provision for data.

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http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Genuine-Original-SONY-BC-VW1-Charger-for-NP-FW50-Battery-NEX-3C-NEX-5C-NEX-5-/251487959645?hash=item3a8dd9ba5d:g:62QAAOxy0zhTNFeB

I've never timed the charging, but I estimate around 1hour from completely discharged to full from this charger.  I have four of these units running off a 4 way ac plug.  I'd never look back.  This was the unit they originally supplied with the NEX cameras.  

the current charger http://www.sony.co.uk/electronics/interchangeable-lens-cameras-batteries-chargers/bc-trw is a significant step down from the original.  I used it once and decided to keep using the older chargers I'd acquired with my NEX's.

 

 

Have you tried the older unit?  Looks like the supplier above has a batch of new old stock..  worth grabbing!  

 

 

 

 



Sony Charger Included with A7SII Camera:  Free
Charged via AC Power Mains
Time to Full Charge:  3 Hours 50 Minutes

 

interesting! - are you running 110vac in the USA or 230vac in EU?  I get an hour from this unit from 230vac.  I wouldn't have thought it would make a difference though! 

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On this subject, anyone have good experiences with 3rd party batteries? I want to get 2 extra and don't really want to be paying Sony prices.

I got some completely no brand batteries and the problem with them is that they do not communicate the left-over charge too precisely. This means that if you are at around 30% and you are doing a longer take (5+ mins) the battery might die unexpectedly and the whole video files is lost. If you get a low charge warning with the original battery, it writes the file before it dies (this is using Sony NEX-5N).

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On this subject, anyone have good experiences with 3rd party batteries? I want to get 2 extra and don't really want to be paying Sony prices.

 

Few years back when I was using the good old nex7 and was shopping for spare batteries I found out that Sony has this ¨accessory kit¨, that includes a small camerabag and a spare battery. Funny thing is this kit cost me about 30€ when a new battery purchased separately costs about 80€ :d

Don't know if they sell these anywhere but here is a more recent model of the kit on the Sony website, no info about the price though http://www.sony.co.uk/electronics/interchangeable-lens-cameras-accessory-kits/acc-fw1e#reviews_awards_v2_default

 

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interesting! - are you running 110vac in the USA or 230vac in EU?  I get an hour from this unit from 230vac.  I wouldn't have thought it would make a difference though! 

My tests were conducted in US with 110.

The charger you linked on Ebay is slightly different from the one included with the A7SII.  The form factor is similar, but the one included in the box has an articulating mains plug built into the unit -- as opposed to a receptacle for an appliance cord.

It does seem like an unreasonable amount of time.  Maybe I have a bad charger.

Anyone else seeing similar charging times with the 

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My tests were conducted in US with 110.

The charger you linked on Ebay is slightly different from the one included with the A7SII.  The form factor is similar, but the one included in the box has an articulating mains plug built into the unit -- as opposed to a receptacle for an appliance cord.

It does seem like an unreasonable amount of time.  Maybe I have a bad charger.

Anyone else seeing similar charging times with the 

very interesting.  as I recall...

nex3 - came with the charger i linked to on ebay

nex5 - as above

nex5n - as above

a7r - the small unit as shown on the sony store link (i think it may have been powered by USB - this was horrific)

a7s - as the a7r but with a proper 110/230v ac plug on a wire, and with two batteries 

a7rii - charger the same as the ones I got with the NEX's.

 

It's worth trying the one on the ebay link.  I recon it does around 1hr from 'battery exhausted' to when the orange charge light turns off and you're at 100%.

 

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Sony Charger Included with A7SII Camera:  Free
Charged via AC Power Mains
Time to Full Charge:  3 Hours 50 Minutes

Thanks for doing this test. This charger is the Sony BC-VW1. It also came with my A7RII. There is another Sony charger, the BC-TRW, which has a bar graph. I have two of these but have never tested the charging time vs the BC-VW1 or other 3rd party chargers: http://amzn.com/B00FSB749Q

However the instructions with both Sony chargers state: "When the CHARGE lamp goes out, normal charging is completed. For a full charge, which allows you to use the battery pack longer than usual, leave the battery pack in place for approximately another one hour (Full charge)."

So depending on whether you count charge time to light out or +1 hour after that affects how you rank them.

It is possible the LED indicators on some chargers can be misleading. When the charge light goes out, the battery may not be fully charged. I'd like to test this but have not had time. It would probably require a timed discharge test after the charge.

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So depending on whether you count charge time to light out or +1 hour after that affects how you rank them.

Good point.  

My measurement of that particular device was based entirely on the LED light extinguishing (going out) -- and not waiting any additional time for a further charge.

And, for the record, I applied that same methodology to all of the devices -- which adds another level of variability in terms of when their respective indicator lights are 'programmed' to provide feedback.

However, and as mentioned, after each test I checked the charge level of each battery, charged in each device, to confirm that the batteries were in fact registering a 'full charge'.

Of course, the 'resolution' of that battery tester would probably not evidence the capacity of the battery to accept an incrementally higher amount of charge ...

But the test provided enough information for me to draw general conclusions.

I regret that the test was not more comprehensive, in terms of being able to test the smaller A7S included charger -- and maybe the Wasabi charger.  

But individuals who have those devices are encouraged to chime in and add their results to this thread.

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  • 2 years later...

this battery is okay but I must say that battery is very important for any electronic device for changing and a charger should be good and original so that is cannot harm your device. I use original charger because I have to use Skype for video chat and it consumes lost of charge more informtion you may visit the site. Skype for business tech support

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