NP-FZ100 battery health

Martin Ocando

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Does anyone knows a way to measure the battery remaining life? I'm not expected to get amount of charge cycles, and estimated remaining, but a way to know if a battery is worth to keep it or selling it with your old camera.

I'm about to receive an A7R V with an original BP-FZ100, and I'd like to know how healthy it is and which one of my batteries should I send back to MPB.com.

AI told me there is a feature in the menu a-la-iphone or MacBook Pro. And that's a lie. There is no menu option that shows this. But I know there might be a way using a multimeter.

Thanks
 
I wonder about the same thing. My idea is to let the camera running recording in video mode to have a measure of the remaining capacity of each battery. Don't want to sell the newest battery with an old camera, either. An easier method is most welcome.
 
I don't know if there's a way to determine battery health but there is a way to determine age. The first four numbers of the serial number is the year of manufacture.
That is very good information, and in my case I have two 2024 and one 2025, so I guess if what I'm getting is less than that, I'm sending it back.

Or I can keep it and send a 3rd party to mpb. I'll loose like 20$ of the selling price, but these batteries are worth way more than that.
 
I was just trying to determine this myself. It is not easy to check the voltage with a multimeter as the contacts are recessed and thus protected. I did realize the date in the serial numbers and will go with that. I currently have my A7R V on craigslist for sale in Portland.
 
It would require you to buy a brand new sony original battery. Get a hobby charger which typically has a discharge function, discharge the new battery and record the mAh, then do the same with the old battery and you'll have a "health" figure.

Sony uses a 18500 cell type in the z type battery. They're slightly higher capacity than cells you can sourse from in China or what not. They're pretty good batteries and definitely higher capacity than any 3rd party battery. I've done extensive testing.
 
It would require you to buy a brand new sony original battery. Get a hobby charger which typically has a discharge function, discharge the new battery and record the mAh, then do the same with the old battery and you'll have a "health" figure.

Sony uses a 18500 cell type in the z type battery. They're slightly higher capacity than cells you can sourse from in China or what not. They're pretty good batteries and definitely higher capacity than any 3rd party battery. I've done extensive testing.
How long do they last? As in # of cycles and if not used heavily how many years? Thanks!
 
It would require you to buy a brand new sony original battery. Get a hobby charger which typically has a discharge function, discharge the new battery and record the mAh, then do the same with the old battery and you'll have a "health" figure.

Sony uses a 18500 cell type in the z type battery. They're slightly higher capacity than cells you can sourse from in China or what not. They're pretty good batteries and definitely higher capacity than any 3rd party battery. I've done extensive testing.
How long do they last? As in # of cycles and if not used heavily how many years? Thanks!
Tough question. The answer is: 'it depends'. SoC, Heat, Drain and Charge Amperage etc.

Most modern LiIon cells are rated ~1000 full charge cycles (500-1500 based on quality).

What most people don't understand is that charging a 25% depleted battery up early only counts as 1/4 charge cycle.

With recent cell phones e.g. 'charge early, charge often' applies.

Then on the other hand, storage is a different topic alltogether. 80% SoC in the fridge is best.

Complicated topic. No kidding. Forget everything you learned about NiCa or NiMH batteries in the past...
 
It would require you to buy a brand new sony original battery. Get a hobby charger which typically has a discharge function, discharge the new battery and record the mAh, then do the same with the old battery and you'll have a "health" figure.

Sony uses a 18500 cell type in the z type battery. They're slightly higher capacity than cells you can sourse from in China or what not. They're pretty good batteries and definitely higher capacity than any 3rd party battery. I've done extensive testing.
How long do they last? As in # of cycles and if not used heavily how many years? Thanks!
Tough question. The answer is: 'it depends'. SoC, Heat, Drain and Charge Amperage etc.

Most modern LiIon cells are rated ~1000 full charge cycles (500-1500 based on quality).

What most people don't understand is that charging a 25% depleted battery up early only counts as 1/4 charge cycle.

With recent cell phones e.g. 'charge early, charge often' applies.

Then on the other hand, storage is a different topic alltogether. 80% SoC in the fridge is best.

Complicated topic. No kidding. Forget everything you learned about NiCa or NiMH batteries in the past...
Don't put your Liion batteries in the fridge. Temperature extremes are very bad for Liion. Low temps will lower their resting voltage and increase cell resistance. It won't do anything for long term battery health. I believe the fridge idea is from NiCad or NiMH or Alkaline batteries...not sure.

If you can, never store your batteries charged >80% over long periods of time. Anything over like 4.06V per cell and the cell will start to lose ion exchange and lessen capacity. I believe there's some research that suggests the total amount of time a battery is spent at 100% will degrade x% which is like 11 days of total time spent at 100% will permanently do damage to the battery. Not sure what the amount of damage is done but I always try to keep my batteries at 60-80% SOC.

I believe most 'standard' 18500 cells will get you around 1950-2000mAh whereas the Sony battery cells which are made by their sister company Murata get around 2200-2250mAh per cell. I haven't fully torn down a Sony branded Z battery primarily due to only having one and the price...but It'd be fun to take a look...
 
It would require you to buy a brand new sony original battery. Get a hobby charger which typically has a discharge function, discharge the new battery and record the mAh, then do the same with the old battery and you'll have a "health" figure.

Sony uses a 18500 cell type in the z type battery. They're slightly higher capacity than cells you can sourse from in China or what not. They're pretty good batteries and definitely higher capacity than any 3rd party battery. I've done extensive testing.
How long do they last? As in # of cycles and if not used heavily how many years? Thanks!
Tough question. The answer is: 'it depends'. SoC, Heat, Drain and Charge Amperage etc.

Most modern LiIon cells are rated ~1000 full charge cycles (500-1500 based on quality).

What most people don't understand is that charging a 25% depleted battery up early only counts as 1/4 charge cycle.

With recent cell phones e.g. 'charge early, charge often' applies.

Then on the other hand, storage is a different topic alltogether. 80% SoC in the fridge is best.

Complicated topic. No kidding. Forget everything you learned about NiCa or NiMH batteries in the past...
Don't put your Liion batteries in the fridge. Temperature extremes are very bad for Liion. Low temps will lower their resting voltage and increase cell resistance. It won't do anything for long term battery health. I believe the fridge idea is from NiCad or NiMH or Alkaline batteries...not sure.

If you can, never store your batteries charged >80% over long periods of time. Anything over like 4.06V per cell and the cell will start to lose ion exchange and lessen capacity. I believe there's some research that suggests the total amount of time a battery is spent at 100% will degrade x% which is like 11 days of total time spent at 100% will permanently do damage to the battery. Not sure what the amount of damage is done but I always try to keep my batteries at 60-80% SOC.

I believe most 'standard' 18500 cells will get you around 1950-2000mAh whereas the Sony battery cells which are made by their sister company Murata get around 2200-2250mAh per cell. I haven't fully torn down a Sony branded Z battery primarily due to only having one and the price...but It'd be fun to take a look...
I have kept my Sony NP-FZ100 batteries at 100% for years between uses always ready to go . The oldest is almost 10 years old and it seems as good as new. Sony must be charge limiting the battery? So when ut says 100% it is actually less?
 
It would require you to buy a brand new sony original battery. Get a hobby charger which typically has a discharge function, discharge the new battery and record the mAh, then do the same with the old battery and you'll have a "health" figure.

Sony uses a 18500 cell type in the z type battery. They're slightly higher capacity than cells you can sourse from in China or what not. They're pretty good batteries and definitely higher capacity than any 3rd party battery. I've done extensive testing.
How long do they last? As in # of cycles and if not used heavily how many years? Thanks!
Tough question. The answer is: 'it depends'. SoC, Heat, Drain and Charge Amperage etc.

Most modern LiIon cells are rated ~1000 full charge cycles (500-1500 based on quality).

What most people don't understand is that charging a 25% depleted battery up early only counts as 1/4 charge cycle.

With recent cell phones e.g. 'charge early, charge often' applies.

Then on the other hand, storage is a different topic alltogether. 80% SoC in the fridge is best.

Complicated topic. No kidding. Forget everything you learned about NiCa or NiMH batteries in the past...
Don't put your Liion batteries in the fridge. Temperature extremes are very bad for Liion. Low temps will lower their resting voltage and increase cell resistance. It won't do anything for long term battery health. I believe the fridge idea is from NiCad or NiMH or Alkaline batteries...not sure.

If you can, never store your batteries charged >80% over long periods of time. Anything over like 4.06V per cell and the cell will start to lose ion exchange and lessen capacity. I believe there's some research that suggests the total amount of time a battery is spent at 100% will degrade x% which is like 11 days of total time spent at 100% will permanently do damage to the battery. Not sure what the amount of damage is done but I always try to keep my batteries at 60-80% SOC.

I believe most 'standard' 18500 cells will get you around 1950-2000mAh whereas the Sony battery cells which are made by their sister company Murata get around 2200-2250mAh per cell. I haven't fully torn down a Sony branded Z battery primarily due to only having one and the price...but It'd be fun to take a look...
I have kept my Sony NP-FZ100 batteries at 100% for years between uses always ready to go . The oldest is almost 10 years old and it seems as good as new. Sony must be charge limiting the battery? So when ut says 100% it is actually less?
Well, taking into account that my iPhones usually keeps 100% health for more than a year, sometimes longer, and I charge them daily, I can expect the at least similar performance from Sony batteries, even though I rarely charge them more than once a month. I try to cycle them so I don't use the same all the time. Once goes down at 60%, I change it. Unless I'm on a trip and I use more than one the same day.

So I guess is likely to expect many years of service at max performance.
 
I use Sony original charger to determine battery health.

1) Full charge auto cut-off = perfect health

2) The 3 LED always on even after 5 hrs = deteriorating has began

3) Only 2 LED always on even after 5 hrs = prepare to throw. They also lose charge quickly

I have not done replacing internal Li cells, I don't have the tools for that, and where to source for good quality Li cells to replace?
 
Your batteries are quite new, l would not worry.

lt is a bit annoying that Sony, has no indication on their cameras, about battery health, something else missing from Sony.

Sony batteries should last at least 5 years.
 
Your batteries are quite new, l would not worry.

lt is a bit annoying that Sony, has no indication on their cameras, about battery health, something else missing from Sony.

Sony batteries should last at least 5 years.
When I saw this thread this was my first thought to ask, what is the lifetime of a Sony battery. I got my camera about 5 years ago, but purchased 2 additional batteries about 3 years ago. My worst worry when traveling is the batteries dying and where I am going there is going to be no store (unless anyone knows of a shop in the middle of the desert or savannah).

You have a good about the camera displaying battery health. I am going to assume that the system should already be able to read something, just not displaying to the user. They must have some sensors or metrics that read everything from battery temp to stuff way beyond my technical understanding (just like some other devices do).
 
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Your batteries are quite new, l would not worry.

lt is a bit annoying that Sony, has no indication on their cameras, about battery health, something else missing from Sony.

Sony batteries should last at least 5 years.
When I saw this thread this was my first thought to ask, what is the lifetime of a Sony battery. I got my camera about 5 years ago, but purchased 2 additional batteries about 3 years ago. My worst worry when traveling is the batteries dying and where I am going there is going to be no store (unless anyone knows of a shop in the middle of the desert or savannah).

You have a good about the camera displaying battery health. I am going to assume that the system should already be able to read something, just not displaying to the user. They must have some sensors or metrics that read everything from battery temp to stuff way beyond my technical understanding (just like some other devices do).
Longevity is measured in how often you cycle them (full discharge to full charge) and the operating temperature, which is the major killer of batteries. I charge my iPhone daily, but won't let it discharge completely, that means that if I charge it from 60 to 100% today, and tomorrow I do the same, I'll be completing one full cycle in 2 days and a half approximately. Li-ion batteries are expected to last 1,000 cycles and doing this routine, it should give me between 5 to 6 years of "expected" life.

I charge my camera batteries way WAY less frequent than my phone. So I believe they can last as much or longer.

When I'm not shooting, but still take my camera with me everywhere, as I usually do, even to work and visit customers, I might let a battery in the camera for the whole week, if I happen to just capture a few snapshots here and there, and still get over 60% by Friday. Then I'll put it in the charger and grab a fresh one.

For my shooting routine today is an example. I'm going to downtown LA in a couple hours, going to visit the Walt Disney concert hall, Union Station, Hollywood Blvd and Rodeo Drive, and I will grab some lunch in between those places. So once I'm sitting I'll swap my battery for a fresh one. The one I was using should have like 70%ish life left, but I won't let it go down completely, so I'll put it back in my Jupio and grab a fresh one.

It might not work for everyone, and also depends on the conditions but in general this is what I do, it works for me and batteries keep its performance longer.
 
Your batteries are quite new, l would not worry.

lt is a bit annoying that Sony, has no indication on their cameras, about battery health, something else missing from Sony.

Sony batteries should last at least 5 years.
When I saw this thread this was my first thought to ask, what is the lifetime of a Sony battery. I got my camera about 5 years ago, but purchased 2 additional batteries about 3 years ago. My worst worry when traveling is the batteries dying and where I am going there is going to be no store (unless anyone knows of a shop in the middle of the desert or savannah).

You have a good about the camera displaying battery health. I am going to assume that the system should already be able to read something, just not displaying to the user. They must have some sensors or metrics that read everything from battery temp to stuff way beyond my technical understanding (just like some other devices do).
Longevity is measured in how often you cycle them (full discharge to full charge) and the operating temperature, which is the major killer of batteries. I charge my iPhone daily, but won't let it discharge completely, that means that if I charge it from 60 to 100% today, and tomorrow I do the same, I'll be completing one full cycle in 2 days and a half approximately. Li-ion batteries are expected to last 1,000 cycles and doing this routine, it should give me between 5 to 6 years of "expected" life.

I charge my camera batteries way WAY less frequent than my phone. So I believe they can last as much or longer.

When I'm not shooting, but still take my camera with me everywhere, as I usually do, even to work and visit customers, I might let a battery in the camera for the whole week, if I happen to just capture a few snapshots here and there, and still get over 60% by Friday. Then I'll put it in the charger and grab a fresh one.

For my shooting routine today is an example. I'm going to downtown LA in a couple hours, going to visit the Walt Disney concert hall, Union Station, Hollywood Blvd and Rodeo Drive, and I will grab some lunch in between those places. So once I'm sitting I'll swap my battery for a fresh one. The one I was using should have like 70%ish life left, but I won't let it go down completely, so I'll put it back in my Jupio and grab a fresh one.

It might not work for everyone, and also depends on the conditions but in general this is what I do, it works for me and batteries keep its performance longer.
So it sounds like keeping the battery from going to zero is more important than charging to 100% for longevity? This is my routine also.



PS Venice Beach is my fav LA photo area. Enjoy!
 
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Your batteries are quite new, l would not worry.

lt is a bit annoying that Sony, has no indication on their cameras, about battery health, something else missing from Sony.

Sony batteries should last at least 5 years.
When I saw this thread this was my first thought to ask, what is the lifetime of a Sony battery. I got my camera about 5 years ago, but purchased 2 additional batteries about 3 years ago. My worst worry when traveling is the batteries dying and where I am going there is going to be no store (unless anyone knows of a shop in the middle of the desert or savannah).

You have a good about the camera displaying battery health. I am going to assume that the system should already be able to read something, just not displaying to the user. They must have some sensors or metrics that read everything from battery temp to stuff way beyond my technical understanding (just like some other devices do).
They don't suddenly die, they just lose their capacity slowly. On Canon it tells you the condition, even when in the red, they still work for a year or so. Canon batteries lasted about 8-10 before they were dead, about 4-5 years still over 80% charge capacity.



You may want to consider buying a spare battery in a few years time.
 
Also if you charge the battery to 100% on your charger then plug it into the camera and it doesn't say 100%, it's likely the battery cells are out of balance.

I'm not 100% sure but if you charge via a 3rd party charger that has 2 prongs vs in-camera or with a genuine Sony charger, I don't believe 3rd party batteries will utilize a balance circuit whereas genuine Sony batteries will.

If you're not exposing the batteries to extreme heat or manually fast charging the cells, they should last a good 10-15-20 years. They're nearly the same cell chemistry as Tesla's you see on the road today from 2012-2013...
 
Your batteries are quite new, l would not worry.

lt is a bit annoying that Sony, has no indication on their cameras, about battery health, something else missing from Sony.

Sony batteries should last at least 5 years.
When I saw this thread this was my first thought to ask, what is the lifetime of a Sony battery. I got my camera about 5 years ago, but purchased 2 additional batteries about 3 years ago. My worst worry when traveling is the batteries dying and where I am going there is going to be no store (unless anyone knows of a shop in the middle of the desert or savannah).

You have a good about the camera displaying battery health. I am going to assume that the system should already be able to read something, just not displaying to the user. They must have some sensors or metrics that read everything from battery temp to stuff way beyond my technical understanding (just like some other devices do).
Longevity is measured in how often you cycle them (full discharge to full charge) and the operating temperature, which is the major killer of batteries. I charge my iPhone daily, but won't let it discharge completely, that means that if I charge it from 60 to 100% today, and tomorrow I do the same, I'll be completing one full cycle in 2 days and a half approximately. Li-ion batteries are expected to last 1,000 cycles and doing this routine, it should give me between 5 to 6 years of "expected" life.

I charge my camera batteries way WAY less frequent than my phone. So I believe they can last as much or longer.

When I'm not shooting, but still take my camera with me everywhere, as I usually do, even to work and visit customers, I might let a battery in the camera for the whole week, if I happen to just capture a few snapshots here and there, and still get over 60% by Friday. Then I'll put it in the charger and grab a fresh one.

For my shooting routine today is an example. I'm going to downtown LA in a couple hours, going to visit the Walt Disney concert hall, Union Station, Hollywood Blvd and Rodeo Drive, and I will grab some lunch in between those places. So once I'm sitting I'll swap my battery for a fresh one. The one I was using should have like 70%ish life left, but I won't let it go down completely, so I'll put it back in my Jupio and grab a fresh one.

It might not work for everyone, and also depends on the conditions but in general this is what I do, it works for me and batteries keep its performance longer.
So it sounds like keeping the battery from going to zero is more important than charging to 100% for longevity? This is my routine also.

PS Venice Beach is my fav LA photo area. Enjoy!
Ahh, stupid me, instead of heading to Union Station decided to go to Hollywood Blvd. Total waste of time. Walked for an hour and only grabbed a few shots of the Chinese theater and some stars I was looking for, but nothing really interesting.

Next time I'll do Union Station and Venice Beach, as I've hard great things about it.

Here are a few from today's walk:



View attachment b4aa54aefc9241fda5b5e4e03c747b24.jpg



View attachment ff0213075d274410b473427d6ec7999b.jpg
Cheated a bit removing people using AI with Lightroom. I think it works well.



View attachment 86296965c12d494687576348f64f9d80.jpg
This building is amazing



View attachment d1be639cca0b4611aea46506d4042d87.jpg



View attachment 6810f159b973464e9943e08d0afba514.jpg
One of many I took. Just miss this guy too much.



--
Martin
"One of the biggest mistakes a photographer can make is to look at the real world and cling to the vain hope that next time his film will somehow bear a closer resemblance to it" - Galen Rowell
 

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