Fast charger for NP-FZ100 batteries?

[Jacques Cornell]

I've got several Pearstone/Watson Duo desktop chargers at home and a couple of Neewer 2-bay USB chargers that I take on location, and they're fine, but I'd like to find something faster if such a thing exists, particularly for charging onsite when I'm working long days at conferences and other multi-day events and can't wait until I get home to charge overnight. Do you know of anything?

Also, any idea what the optimal Power Delivery (PD) output from a USB charging brick is for USB battery chargers? Would 30W or 40W PD get it done faster than 20W, or is a drained NP-FZ100 just going to take three hours no matter what?

And, yes, I could just buy more batteries, but I've already got three for each of three bodies and that's enough. It's just that I start to get nervous when half of them are drained, even if it's near the end of the day, so I want to have the morning's batteries charged by the time I finish lunch.

 

[Impulses]

Thanks!

 

[Jacques Cornell]

ZITAY 4-battery charger with 65W PD - $57. Charges four batteries simultaneously in 2.5 hours at 1A each. According to this Youtube review, it charges one battery in 1.5 hours.

 

[Jacques Cornell]

After I saw this thread I bought this one: ISDT NP-FZ100 NP-FW50 NP-BX1 Camera Battery Charger Set for Sony Batteries Cyber-Shot DSC-RX100, DSC-RX100 II, DSC-RX100M II, DSC-RX100 III, DSC-RX100 V, DSC-RX100 IV, HDR-CX405 https://a.co/d/8rULyie

So far I like it. I haven’t had to really challenge it yet. It offers full status including temp current flow etc. if you want more info let me know.

Looks like a nice desktop charger, but I want something more compact to take with me on event jobs.

 

[Hotel Lonely]

The ISDT NP2 Air looks like a good option, but I've continued to see what else is out there in the way of multi-battery fast chargers. Since some of you folks seem to be interested, I'll share below what I've found so far. Note that there are a lot of similar chargers - often the same thing sold under different brands - that are not fast. In many cases, I had to find a photo of the bottom of the product to learn the total output when multiple batteries are charged simultaneously.

ISDT NP2 Air - $30. Charges two NP-FZ100 batteries in about two hours according to Wes Perry's Youtube review. Total output 25W (per ISDT) or 27W (per Wes Perry). Can also charge NP-FW50 and NP-BX1 batteries.

Neewer / XTAR SN4 - XTAR sells with two two-bay NP-FZ100 "docks" for $50. XTAR also sells a 45W PD brick for $20. Docks for several other battery types are also available for $10 each. Charges one battery to 80% at 3A in just one hour. Charges up to four batteries simultaneously in under two hours according to Fstoppers' review. Available direct from Neewer and XTAR and on Amazon. User reviews indicate this unit requires a USB power supply that can deliver at least 12V and that lesser power supplies may not work at all.

Topcine two-battery fast charger - Also sold on eBay under no brand. Can charge two batteries simultaneously at 1A each. $20 on Amazon, $15 on eBay.

Kastar LCD Dual Fast Charger - This one plugs into AC. Charges two batteries at 800mW. $30.

Interestingly, XTAR also sells a smaller VN2 charger that connects to one of the docks used by the SN4. With one dock, it's just $19, and it displays diagnostic info including battery temperature, charging voltage, charging current, charging capacity and battery level. This could be useful info for managing and monitoring performance of batteries as they age. It charges one battery at 1A and two at 0.5A each.

I'm now leaning toward an XTAR SN4 and VN2, because as nifty as the ISDT NP2 Air looks, I like the idea of having a simple single solution for up to four batteries and the data the VN2 provides. The latter is also a smaller unit for less demanding uses.

I'm also leaning towards the SN4, plus it provides modules to charge NP-F batteries. As someone who does video and photo on travel, this, is a killing feature for me as it basically saved so much more space.

 

[Miss Chevious]

Something worth pointing out is that of the 4 chargers that you listed for consideration, it appears from the photos that only the ISDT NP2 Air has three connections to the battery. I can't remember exactly, but I think somewhere in this thread someone mentioned that the center connector provides some kind of battery status to the charger, enabling safer charging. I'm no expert, but it might be something to consider when choosing a third-party charger.

 

[UncleVanya]

After I saw this thread I bought this one: ISDT NP-FZ100 NP-FW50 NP-BX1 Camera Battery Charger Set for Sony Batteries Cyber-Shot DSC-RX100, DSC-RX100 II, DSC-RX100M II, DSC-RX100 III, DSC-RX100 V, DSC-RX100 IV, HDR-CX405 https://a.co/d/8rULyie

So far I like it. I haven’t had to really challenge it yet. It offers full status including temp current flow etc. if you want more info let me know.

Looks like a nice desktop charger, but I want something more compact to take with me on event jobs.

It isn’t very big. The RavPower and Nitecore chargers I have are slightly smaller however. The only original is smallest of all when fitted with a tight angle mains adapter. It only charges one battery.

 

[Jacques Cornell]

Something worth pointing out is that of the 4 chargers that you listed for consideration, it appears from the photos that only the ISDT NP2 Air has three connections to the battery. I can't remember exactly, but I think somewhere in this thread someone mentioned that the center connector provides some kind of battery status to the charger, enabling safer charging. I'm no expert, but it might be something to consider when choosing a third-party charger.

Manfrotto's ProCube also has only two contacts, as does my Watson Duo. Sony's charger has three. I have no idea whether this is of any consequence. I've found no overheating with my Watson, but then it doesn't fast-charge. Others who've contributed to this thread seem to have more expertise in matters electrical than I, but I haven't seen any informed opinions on this matter expressed so far. Most of these chargers' PR materials contain claims about protection against overheating and overcharging, though none explain how this works.

--
Event professional for 20+ years, travel & landscape enthusiast for 30+.
http://jacquescornell.photography
http://happening.photos

 

[Jacques Cornell]

I've got several Pearstone/Watson Duo desktop chargers at home and a couple of Neewer 2-bay USB chargers that I take on location, and they're fine, but I'd like to find something faster if such a thing exists, particularly for charging onsite when I'm working long days at conferences and other multi-day events and can't wait until I get home to charge overnight. Do you know of anything?

Also, any idea what the optimal Power Delivery (PD) output from a USB charging brick is for USB battery chargers? Would 30W or 40W PD get it done faster than 20W, or is a drained NP-FZ100 just going to take three hours no matter what?

And, yes, I could just buy more batteries, but I've already got three for each of three bodies and that's enough. It's just that I start to get nervous when half of them are drained, even if it's near the end of the day, so I want to have the morning's batteries charged by the time I finish lunch.

Hi Jacques,

You havent mentioned any specific camera type except for the a7rIII however if you have any of the newer models, the a7iv or the a7rv for instance, you can use the camera itself as a fast PD charging device. The new a6700 (fz100) also has that capability which I've tested with different capacity bricks, you can read it here, go to the last result for the conclusion.

I did a test same as you and can confirm that NP-FZ100 actually can charge from 0 to 100% for about 110 minutes when plugged in with a PD compatible charger, using BionzXR camera bodies. That translates to about 9watts of power requirement (16.8whr battery capacity).

I do find it strange that no third party maker (except for ISDT NP2 Air) is doing the fast charging thing here. Even ISDT is not charging as fast as the stock Sony charger.

Wes Perry's Youtube review indicates the Air does "fast" in 90 minutes.

However they do provide dual slots.

 

[Hotel Lonely]

Something worth pointing out is that of the 4 chargers that you listed for consideration, it appears from the photos that only the ISDT NP2 Air has three connections to the battery. I can't remember exactly, but I think somewhere in this thread someone mentioned that the center connector provides some kind of battery status to the charger, enabling safer charging. I'm no expert, but it might be something to consider when choosing a third-party charger.

Manfrotto's ProCube also has only two contacts, as does my Watson Duo. Sony's charger has three. I have no idea whether this is of any consequence. I've found no overheating with my Watson, but then it doesn't fast-charge. Others who've contributed to this thread seem to have more expertise in matters electrical than I, but I haven't seen any informed opinions on this matter expressed so far. Most of these chargers' PR materials contain claims about protection against overheating and overcharging, though none explain how this works.

 

[UncleVanya]

Something worth pointing out is that of the 4 chargers that you listed for consideration, it appears from the photos that only the ISDT NP2 Air has three connections to the battery. I can't remember exactly, but I think somewhere in this thread someone mentioned that the center connector provides some kind of battery status to the charger, enabling safer charging. I'm no expert, but it might be something to consider when choosing a third-party charger.

I would not be comfortable with a fast charge with only 2 contacts. Slow isn’t worrisome.

Food for thought: https://www.tycorun.com/blogs/news/maximum-charging-current

 

[Jacques Cornell]

I've got several Pearstone/Watson Duo desktop chargers at home and a couple of Neewer 2-bay USB chargers that I take on location, and they're fine, but I'd like to find something faster if such a thing exists, particularly for charging onsite when I'm working long days at conferences and other multi-day events and can't wait until I get home to charge overnight. Do you know of anything?

Also, any idea what the optimal Power Delivery (PD) output from a USB charging brick is for USB battery chargers? Would 30W or 40W PD get it done faster than 20W, or is a drained NP-FZ100 just going to take three hours no matter what?

The Neewer dual one works fine for me but AFAIK it doesn't even use PD and I've not seen any that do, would be nice. I'm looking at the back of the Sony BC-QZ1 and it says 8.4V - 1.6A for output, so realistically you wouldn't need anywhere near a 30-40W brick to match that, practically any stock USB PD phone charger can do 9V 2A (18W).

That Sony charger takes like 2.5h, I suppose a slightly faster one would be feasible too, but it might still not need any more than a 20W brick. If you wanna use two Neewer chargers at a time with a small brick I can highly recommend the Spigen one, it'll do 20W x2 or 30W x1, with PD stuff that will call for it obvs, not the Neewer charger (but I think that one will still charge a single battery faster than two).

And, yes, I could just buy more batteries, but I've already got three for each of three bodies and that's enough. It's just that I start to get nervous when half of them are drained, even if it's near the end of the day, so I want to have the morning's batteries charged by the time I finish lunch.

Understandable! I don't have anywhere near that kinda pressure so I haven't looked very hard. Maybe try and see what the output or charge time is on Nitecore's charger? They're a pretty reputable battery/flashlight brand, I remember looking at it before going with the Neewer but I don't remember any specifics tbh.

Thanks. ISDT's NP2 Air looks promising for $30. Can charge two batteries from a 30W brick in 120 minutes standard and 90 minutes in fast charge mode.

Next question: are there any chargers that can (partially) DIScharge these batteries? It's not good for the batteries to store them with a full charge.

Following someone's suggestion to use a video light to partially discharge batteries prior to storage, I came across this nifty little on-camera light that uses and charges NP-FZ100 batteries. $25. It's 6000K, so I'll be putting a 1/2 CTO gel on it. Could be good for AF assist in bat-cave conditions.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1567231-REG/andycine_cl_fz100_led_video_light_powered.html

--
Event professional for 20+ years, travel & landscape enthusiast for 30+.
http://jacquescornell.photography
http://happening.photos

 

[Jacques Cornell]

OK, after all that, I'm gonna just stick with what I have, which is three Sony chargers and four Watson/Pearstone Duo desktop chargers, plus a couple of Neewer/YXWIN 2-bay USB chargers.

Now, now, hear me out. This conversation led me to reconsider my Sony chargers, which had languished in their boxes along with the unopened camera straps. My a7RIIIs each came with one, but I never used them because I assumed they were cheap & slow, and I preferred a multi-bay charger. Well, you guys brought it to my attention that, in fact, the Sony charger is among the fastest, and it uses the third pin. So, a pair of them can serve me well on location. For additional simultaneous charging onsite during long multi-day events, I can add the slow but tiny 2-bay charger that came with my third-party batteries, or I could bring one of my Watson/Pearstone desktop chargers, which, I've just discovered, are not so slow after all, charging at up to 1 amp per bay.

 

[A74Me]

OK, after all that, I'm gonna just stick with what I have, which is three Sony chargers and four Watson/Pearstone Duo desktop chargers, plus a couple of Neewer/YXWIN 2-bay USB chargers.

Now, now, hear me out. This conversation led me to reconsider my Sony chargers, which had languished in their boxes along with the unopened camera straps. My a7RIIIs each came with one, but I never used them because I assumed they were cheap & slow, and I preferred a multi-bay charger. Well, you guys brought it to my attention that, in fact, the Sony charger is among the fastest, and it uses the third pin. So, a pair of them can serve me well on location. For additional simultaneous charging onsite during long multi-day events, I can add the slow but tiny 2-bay charger that came with my third-party batteries, or I could bring one of my Watson/Pearstone desktop chargers, which, I've just discovered, are not so slow after all, charging at up to 1 amp per bay.

my new fast charger arrived at home yesterday but im on holidays for 2 weeks so cant give you a review. that being said i did a 8 hour studio shoot the other day and only used 1 and a quarter of the second battery, your going to laugh but my in camera charger is just as fast as the dedicated oem sony charger .

 

[caterpillar]

Best to stick to regular or standard charging speeds. It will not damage or prematurely lessen its life.

I would rather suggest that you just get 2 or more batteries. Then get a 3rd party charger that can charge 2 or 3 batteries at the same time. It's really hard to drain these batts, so I don't know why you need faster charging. You will still spend time with that, and maybe even have to find an outlet. Or you will carry a big power bank. Just get an extra battery or 2.

 

[Jacques Cornell]

Best to stick to regular or standard charging speeds. It will not damage or prematurely lessen its life.

I would rather suggest that you just get 2 or more batteries.

I mentioned in my original post that I have nine batteries.

Then get a 3rd party charger that can charge 2 or 3 batteries at the same time.

This has been discussed in-depth already.

It's really hard to drain these batts, so I don't know why you need faster charging.

This has been discussed in-depth already.

You will still spend time with that, and maybe even have to find an outlet. Or you will carry a big power bank. Just get an extra battery or 2.

This has all been discussed in-depth already.

I get the impression that you didn't read the entire OP or any of the rest of the conversation.

--
Event professional for 20+ years, travel & landscape enthusiast for 30+.
http://jacquescornell.photography
http://happening.photos

 

[Impulses]

OK, after all that, I'm gonna just stick with what I have, which is three Sony chargers and four Watson/Pearstone Duo desktop chargers, plus a couple of Neewer/YXWIN 2-bay USB chargers.

Now, now, hear me out. This conversation led me to reconsider my Sony chargers, which had languished in their boxes along with the unopened camera straps. My a7RIIIs each came with one, but I never used them because I assumed they were cheap & slow, and I preferred a multi-bay charger. Well, you guys brought it to my attention that, in fact, the Sony charger is among the fastest, and it uses the third pin. So, a pair of them can serve me well on location. For additional simultaneous charging onsite during long multi-day events, I can add the slow but tiny 2-bay charger that came with my third-party batteries, or I could bring one of my Watson/Pearstone desktop chargers, which, I've just discovered, are not so slow after all, charging at up to 1 amp per bay.

 

[UncleVanya]

OK, after all that, I'm gonna just stick with what I have, which is three Sony chargers and four Watson/Pearstone Duo desktop chargers, plus a couple of Neewer/YXWIN 2-bay USB chargers.

Now, now, hear me out. This conversation led me to reconsider my Sony chargers, which had languished in their boxes along with the unopened camera straps. My a7RIIIs each came with one, but I never used them because I assumed they were cheap & slow, and I preferred a multi-bay charger. Well, you guys brought it to my attention that, in fact, the Sony charger is among the fastest, and it uses the third pin. So, a pair of them can serve me well on location. For additional simultaneous charging onsite during long multi-day events, I can add the slow but tiny 2-bay charger that came with my third-party batteries, or I could bring one of my Watson/Pearstone desktop chargers, which, I've just discovered, are not so slow after all, charging at up to 1 amp per bay.

You're probably already aware of this, specially since it was a pretty popular alternative with Oly chargers as well, but just in case you or anyone else dislikes the short pigtail cable that comes with the OEM Sony charger... You can replace it with this:

SF Cable, 2 Prong Right Angle Plug Adapter, USA IEC 60320-C7 Receptacle to NEMA 1-15P https://a.co/d/6eHfxRu

It plugs in firmly enough it'll hold the charger again the AC outlet even if it's sideways, can be handy depending on where you're using etc. I think you mentioned you had a station with a power strip so the short cable might work better for you, just throwing it out there for anyone else.

I'm glad you made the thread, I'm still waiting on my ISDT NP2 Air, I mostly use the Sony one at home but it's nice to have options in case but batteries are depleted or whatever.

I don’t care for that particular right angle plug. The one I have is older and hard to find but sturdy and better made.

 

[Jacques Cornell]

OK, after all that, I'm gonna just stick with what I have, which is three Sony chargers and four Watson/Pearstone Duo desktop chargers, plus a couple of Neewer/YXWIN 2-bay USB chargers.

Now, now, hear me out. This conversation led me to reconsider my Sony chargers, which had languished in their boxes along with the unopened camera straps. My a7RIIIs each came with one, but I never used them because I assumed they were cheap & slow, and I preferred a multi-bay charger. Well, you guys brought it to my attention that, in fact, the Sony charger is among the fastest, and it uses the third pin. So, a pair of them can serve me well on location. For additional simultaneous charging onsite during long multi-day events, I can add the slow but tiny 2-bay charger that came with my third-party batteries, or I could bring one of my Watson/Pearstone desktop chargers, which, I've just discovered, are not so slow after all, charging at up to 1 amp per bay.

You're probably already aware of this, specially since it was a pretty popular alternative with Oly chargers as well, but just in case you or anyone else dislikes the short pigtail cable that comes with the OEM Sony charger... You can replace it with this:

SF Cable, 2 Prong Right Angle Plug Adapter, USA IEC 60320-C7 Receptacle to NEMA 1-15P https://a.co/d/6eHfxRu

I came across a Youtube video that pointed out that the modular 2-prong unit from an Apple laptop charger fits in the Sony charger. I've got some of these kicking around in the bottom of a drawer somewhere.

It plugs in firmly enough it'll hold the charger again the AC outlet even if it's sideways, can be handy depending on where you're using etc. I think you mentioned you had a station with a power strip so the short cable might work better for you, just throwing it out there for anyone else.

Yeah, I like the short power cord that came with the Sony charger.

I'm glad you made the thread, I'm still waiting on my ISDT NP2 Air, I mostly use the Sony one at home but it's nice to have options in case but batteries are depleted or whatever.

 

[Jacques Cornell]

I've got several Pearstone/Watson Duo desktop chargers at home and a couple of Neewer 2-bay USB chargers that I take on location, and they're fine, but I'd like to find something faster if such a thing exists, particularly for charging onsite when I'm working long days at conferences and other multi-day events and can't wait until I get home to charge overnight. Do you know of anything?

Also, any idea what the optimal Power Delivery (PD) output from a USB charging brick is for USB battery chargers? Would 30W or 40W PD get it done faster than 20W, or is a drained NP-FZ100 just going to take three hours no matter what?

The Neewer dual one works fine for me but AFAIK it doesn't even use PD and I've not seen any that do, would be nice. I'm looking at the back of the Sony BC-QZ1 and it says 8.4V - 1.6A for output, so realistically you wouldn't need anywhere near a 30-40W brick to match that, practically any stock USB PD phone charger can do 9V 2A (18W).

That Sony charger takes like 2.5h, I suppose a slightly faster one would be feasible too, but it might still not need any more than a 20W brick. If you wanna use two Neewer chargers at a time with a small brick I can highly recommend the Spigen one, it'll do 20W x2 or 30W x1, with PD stuff that will call for it obvs, not the Neewer charger (but I think that one will still charge a single battery faster than two).

And, yes, I could just buy more batteries, but I've already got three for each of three bodies and that's enough. It's just that I start to get nervous when half of them are drained, even if it's near the end of the day, so I want to have the morning's batteries charged by the time I finish lunch.

Understandable! I don't have anywhere near that kinda pressure so I haven't looked very hard. Maybe try and see what the output or charge time is on Nitecore's charger? They're a pretty reputable battery/flashlight brand, I remember looking at it before going with the Neewer but I don't remember any specifics tbh.

Thanks. ISDT's NP2 Air looks promising for $30. Can charge two batteries from a 30W brick in 120 minutes standard and 90 minutes in fast charge mode.

Next question: are there any chargers that can (partially) DIScharge these batteries? It's not good for the batteries to store them with a full charge.

Following someone's suggestion to use a video light to partially discharge batteries prior to storage, I came across this nifty little on-camera light that uses and charges NP-FZ100 batteries. $25. It's 6000K, so I'll be putting a 1/2 CTO gel on it. Could be good for AF assist in bat-cave conditions.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1567231-REG/andycine_cl_fz100_led_video_light_powered.html

I received an Andycine 35-LED video light today. It uses an NP-FZ100 battery and can also charge it at up to 1 amp via the USB-C port. $16, though I paid $25 for it at B&H (with free shipping). It's about 2/3 the size of a deck of cards and weighs nothing. Three brightness levels. On the brightest setting it ran down a battery from 100% to 55% in 50 minutes and charged it back to 90% in the same amount of time.

This will be great for partially discharging fully charged batteries for storage if I'm not going to be using them for a few weeks (most of my jobs don't require all of my batteries). It'll also serve as an extra charger onsite. I love two-fers in my location kit.

What's exciting to me is the prospect of using it, instead of a flash, on-camera for stills in very dim conditions. My on-camera Godox TT350 flashes don't have a functioning AF aid light (with Sony, at least), so this could be useful for AF as well as putting gentle light (on the dimmest setting) on up-close subjects in very dim conditions (wedding reception, dance floor, cocktail hour) where I'm shooting at high ISO to capture the ambient light. Way back in the Paleolithic Era, when I assisted a handful of wedding shooters, we sometimes used a small video light this way, and my recollection is that it gave a look that was much gentler than a flash, despite being a similarly small light source. I'll just have to put a 1/4 or 1/2 CTO gel on it for color balance.

Might be my best $25 accessory of the year.

 

[A74Me]

1 hour 31 min to ready 98% then it does a trickle charge to 100% battery doesn't even get warm.