Charging

[Andrew C]

Do you charge the battery in camera? or use a separate charger?
I'm interested in pros/cons and peoples reasons.

Also if you use an external one - do you stick with the official Sony charger or go for a third party one such at Nitecore?

 

[Andrew C]

All Models - Battery conclusion based on my own experience, A7R-III and A7-IV

When the A7-IV was released there were discussions about the lack of a charger, whether to get a Sony or aftermarket for those who don't want to charge in-camera, Sony vs. aftermarket batteries, Sony cameras not recognizing aftermarket batteries, number of shots from each, etc. I took the cheap...

www.alphashooters.com

Thanks - I wasn't asking about Third Party batteries though. Just whether people prefer to charge sony batteries externally or not. I also understand that third party chargers don't have an issue - but wanted to find out if people used them.

I ask because to charge my camera means sitting on the corner of my desk where it's a bit vulnerable. Also the camera only shows charging or not - nothing about how charged it is, battery condition etc.

 

[iain clyne]

I always charge mine in the charger as I can then use the camera with another battery in.

 

[Deleted Member 5045]

I have a Sony charger that has never been used. I just turn the camera upside down to charge because of the crappy doors on the A7RIII. There's an automatic charge shut off which activates quite some time after fully charged, but if that concerns you just unplug and switch the camera on to see battery level a couple of times throughout.

 

[John B]

I use the Sony charger to charge my A7iv batteries. But switching batteries on a shoot is just not something I face as I'm almost always using the VG-C4EM Vertical Grip.

 

[russellsnr]

Bought a JJC dual charger from Amazon, does take a while to charge two batteries at once but does the job during the hours of darkness. Russ.

 

[Deleted Member 5003]

I never charge in camera except in extreme emergencies and use my grip and/or carry extra charged batteries for the field as most seem to do.

For charging i use the Hahnel ProCube 2 which is a dual charger and find it very reliable and functional. It has a LED illuminated read out of the % charging status of each battery from initial insertion to fully charged status...its also useful to check battery levels on those occasions when having inadvertantly mixed charged batteries with used.

 

[Andrew C]

For charging i use the Hahnel ProCube 2 which is a dual charger and find it very reliable and functional. It has a LED illuminated read out of the % charging status of each battery from initial insertion to fully charged status...its also useful to check battery levels on those occasions when having inadvertantly mixed charged batteries with used.

Thanks for the reply - I hadn't heard of this charger and it looks very interesting.