What kind of run time do you get out of yours batteries?

Hi Randy

Hard to tell as even the 750's that come with the cameras have never dropped below 60% for me and that's shooting a wedding from mid-day right thru to the end of the reception!

If you need a really long run time then grab a couple of F950's they seem to last for ever!!

It obviously depends on how much on-time your camera has and obviously how much shoot time...my A-Cam runs the entire ceremony (up to an hour non stop) and also the entire speeches (again nearly an hour) and there is still plenty of life left in the battery. I'm not sure if the "% remaining/used" is accurate as I have never recorded more than probably 70 minutes at a time but the batteries are pretty good!

Chris

The reason I ask is I have a double booking coming up and I wasnt going to throw the new Sony into the frey jut yet but I have to. and since my lights now use the same batteries as my new camera I am running thin. I have one 77 and one 55 (I think ) for each kit. I dont know if that will get me through or not. Also do they make a l type dummy battery that I can power the camera off a anton/bauer d-tap? That would be the perfect solution.

Hi Randy

Sorry my mistake ..the cam comes with the 770 and the optional is the 970 ... the 550 will work but won't charge on the charger according to the manual. I have a bunch of 550's for my lights too. You should have at least another 770 battery for back to back weddings!

Chris

Forgive me for this but instead of worrying about how long they'll run just pick up 1 or 2 more.

Amazon sells Wasabi batteries for a very low price and I've never had a problem with them. I've got a bunch of Sony 970 type for my lights and 4 of them cost me about what 1 real Sony cost. I used to use them for my PD170s as well but now, they're just for my LEDs. If you do that then you've got the real Sony's for the camera.

I've had Sony batteries blow cells which shortens their usage tremendously and you don't know it until you put it on the camera so why take the chance.

Hey Don

Better than sound advice! I wouldn't even contemplate a wedding knowing I only had one battery per camera! What happens if a battery fails?? For my two EA50's I have 5 batteries all charged and I would prefer to have at least 6!! It's much the same as taking just one SD Card to shoot a wedding !! You have to have a backup for everything and then a backup for each backup

Chris

Maybe my favourite "feature" of the EA50 is that the batteries last forever! I only have the battery that came with the camera... I could make it through a 12 hour shoot with just that once. And in -3˚C to boot! At that shoot I ried to shut the camera down and also charge the battery during the few breaks though.

I recently were camera assistant on a shoot using Canon D5 (MkII and III) and they had to change batteries all the time! ;)

I wish you could by the FP770 because the FP970 seems redundant to me. Rather pay less...

I understand the run time but the thing is batteries do fail. I've had 3 or 4 over the years of using my PD series camera (about 12 years) that have failed. Cell go bad. For the little money a battery cost's isn't the piece of mind worth it?
Remember if it hasn't happened to you yet, you just haven't been around long enough! ;-)

Hey Don,

When mine fail I just blow hot air into them!

I popped for the big one for my backup. True Sony. I start out with the small one on a gig and if it runs out, which it hasn't I no I have plenty of power to spare. I could not imagine going out on a run-n-gun shoot without back up power!

When I was working with the whole Canon XL series of cameras I bought a bunch of the e-bay cheapies. They worked OK but on one of them the case separated at the mount within two outings.

Do any of the Sony knock offs have the "info" chip or do you have to fly blind?

Steve

I am going to get more batteries but like I said I had not intended to put this camera into full service yet so I got caught by surprise. 1. I dont know if I have time to get batteries in and 2. I use anton bauer for the lights and wieless and maybe it would be better to get (if they make it) a dummy Sony battery that I can plug into my d-tap and run the camera off the anton/bauer.

I ordered a couple Wassabe 977s I hope I get them in time. I tried a test with my 570 battery I put it on and let it run after an hour I was down to %75 so I thought great I should get close to 4 hours out of this. Then I came back 30 min later and it was dead and off.

When I ordered mine from Amazon I had them within 3 or 4 days.
Yeah, batteries are like that especially if they're older. They look good then BAM! and you're left holding the bag. Smart move getting an extra or 2!

Steven,
The Wasabi always "talked" to my PD series camera as far as run time so I guess they had "the chip".

Randy,

Make sure you turn off all unnecessary features like gps and stabilization if you don't need them.

Steve

Hi Steve

I have the same LED lights as Don has and they also come with not the same battery as the EA-50 but the 550 ...it's, of course, a knock off (the light PLUS the battery and all extras is under $100) However I did try one of the batteries in an EA-50 is it seems to show the remaining battery % but I didn't run it down any as the manual says the 550 is "unsuitable" ???

My rule for generic batteries is don't use them for stuff like wedding ceremonies or speeches where it's a non reshootable event .... I leave mine as backups for the backups and if they did fail at a wedding I want it to be on general footage like the guests dancing so if the cam did die at that stage no-one would notice and I could simply carry on after a battery change.

However there is no reason why you cannot quietly charge exhausted batteries at a venue just for safety's sake. The generics tend also to be inaccurate! My Panny camera batteries used to tell me they had 51 minutes left and then die 5 minutes later but they were still OK for the first hour!

Chris

I totally agree Chris,

I have had the knock offs, but in the camera there is nothing like the security of the real thing.

Steve

Well I ordered them on the 5th Amazon hasnt even shipped them yet and the estimated arrival time could be after my weddings...great:)

In some cases Amazon has to wait for the actual vendor to ship to them then ship to the end user. I've had great luck when I ordered mine but I they came from Blue Nook which is an Amazon vendor.
It's too bad that some of their vendors don't respond as well as we'd like.
I hope you get thru the weddings OK.

For the little money a battery cost's isn't the piece of mind worth it?
€150 or whatever the Sony NP-F970 batteries cost ain't a "little money" to me... That's why I wish they sold the NP-F770 batteries seperately so there was a cheaper way to get an extra battery... But as far as I know they don't...

I don't know about countries other than the USA but I think the price you quoted IS a lot of money but you know as well a I and anyone else, if you run out of power on the job think of what the cost of that could be. I'm just sayin'!

+1 Don. A $5,000.00 camera becomes nothing more than a prop without power.

Well, I'm glad if I even get €150 for a job ;)
This is the first I ever hear of batteries just stopping to work. Maybe I'll get one of the cheap copies to have as a spare, but would feel even more unsafe with one of those in the camera...

My thought is that even a cheap battery that runs the camera is better than an expensive one that blows a cell and doesn't work. BTW, LiON type batteries blowing cells is not uncommon or unheard of. I've had Anton Bauer Dionics blow a cell.
Do what you want but I won't go to shot a 10 minute interview without a bunch of batteries for the camera and my mic paks and my on camera light. You never know what you're going to run into. But that's just me. YMMV! :-)

Guys,

I produce live audio visual corporate events as well as video. This DOES NOT happen on my events when I am the producer. But I have 17 years of experience in live conferences. I am a battery changing maniac at my events. Because, over the years I have seen shows with a budget of well over 100 or 200 thousand dollars go down in flames because the audio guy did not manage the .99 cent AA battery's in lav mics correctly.

You can't even imagine the fall out when the CEO or a $50,000 an hour celebrity presenter is left literally speechless because the A1 did not pay attention and let a battery die. I don't care what the battery level meter says on the most expensive wireless receivers says. I tell my guys to change them on every break. It is a little excessive, but in that case we are talking about AA batteries that can crash a show, it makes sense to me to keep them fresh. Yes, 99 cents can crash a $200,000 show! I tell my guys to change the F****** batteries! I have been there seen it, it is ugly, it is not going to happen on one of my productions.

Dmitri, I feel your pain. I know Sony batteries are not cheap. It is one of those accessory things they mark up big time because we have no choice but to bleed and give them the money. I wish they were .99 cent AA batteries but there not. They have us bent over the barrel!

Steve

Hey Steve

I'm a bit of a maniac change both cam and audio batteries too. At a wedding I will go thru 6 PP3 lithiums on the transmitters and receivers. Sure, I know they can technically last for 6 hours a piece BUT what happens if they don't and I lose wedding vows all for the sake of a couple of seconds to change a battery and having to recharge 6 instead of maybe two??

Wedding are also definitely no retakes, not at any cost, so why be stupid? I think my FP970's cost me $97.00 each ...a small price for peace of mind and not having to wonder if audio batteries or camera batteries will make it. Randy here is doing 3 weddings in a row, and hopefully getting paid a couple of grand per wedding .... Even at $1K per event is it worth bickering on a few hundred dollars that might ruin one? I don't think so!! Definitely for paid jobs buy decent batteries and change them at each event ... I fail to see any economic sense in not having at least 3 sets of batteries per camera for weddings ...we are talking pennies here that can affect thousands in fees!

Chris

I am also a live performer, and always have my musicians change batteries in stomp boxes or anything that use batteries. Knowing full well the implications a dead battery could have in such circumstances.

But reading stories about counterfeit batteries and chargers exploding or going seriously bad, I feel VERY wary of putting one of those in my camera. If my camera is destroyed by a cheap battery that would ruin me, far more than a canceled job at this point. That leaves Sony's €150 battery as the only option.

Do I want a spare battery and is it on my list of things to get? You bet!
But because the EA50 with the supplied battery (assuming it works) is such a solid performer and can film for hours on one charge, getting an extra battery has slipped somewhat on my priority list.

Hi Dmitri

The EA-50 battery is indeed very good I I suspect it would last an entire wedding. However I have had situations in the past (thankfully quite a long time ago) where I did the bridal prep and then the ceremony, then placed the cameras in my car in their aluminium/foam trays and had to do about an hour's drive inland to the photoshoot and reception venue. As I was setting up for the photoshoot the camera felt quite warm when I put it onto the stedicam sled and I just assumed it was the hot day BUT it wasn't!! It had been on since the ceremony and the battery indicator was red and showed 5 minutes left!! Now, if I hadn't had a spare battery then I would have been really in a mess!! That's no fault of the camera or the battery and purely human error and it can easily happen during the stress of shooting and having to rush to a new location with no time to relax and/or check gear.

I one really want's to chance it with no spare pack or have only two batteries then at least take the charger with you so when to change batteries at least you can top up the one you just used

Chris

There are a number of options besides Sony to the battery challenge. Wasabi is one that has worked very very well for me both in Sony cameras, in my LED lights and I have one for my HM100 and it provides longer lasting run times than the JVC batteries.
Lenmar is another off name battery I used in my Sony PD cameras. AAMOF I used their knock-off 950 for almost 10 years. I had 3 of them and I had 1 fail me which was promptly replaced by the supplier. I still have them but they have finally died. Pretty good life for knock-offs. Oh yeah, I got a charger as well. Remember this was almost 12 or so years ago.
If you do some due diligence you can find what you need without spending a lot and if you need to spend more then why wouldn't you to have the piece of mind that you have by having a backup.
Remember the old saying, If something CAN go wrong...it will and always at the wrong time.
Do what you want but I would NEVER do a job without having at least 1 backup to my batteries. Hell I keep 4-Sony 970s in my case just to power my LED light. However, it's your choice.
Just sayin!

well after 3 days the item actually shipped, I can only hope USPS has their stuff together they have 5 days.

I got 2x npf-970 with shipping at $190 from globalmediapro from NZ. Their website doesnt exactly inspire confidence but I had ordered from them at least half a dozen time with no problems

This is my statistic from a quite new npf-770 that came with the camera.

Conditions: 23degrees AC room, on tripod, active stabilizer, 12db, xlr phantom power for shotgun mic

Used 25% after 80 mins
Flashing almost out of battery after 5hours 15 mins.

I have about 12x npf batteries, I can confirm that an older type npf-960 works. 570 does not work.

Hope it helps.

Cool David

Nice to have you here!! I have bought all my previous cameras from GMP in New Zealand and they never let me down at all.

When I dumped my Panasonics earlier this year GMP's price was identical to Video Pro's in Brisbane except the Brissie guys offered me free shipping AND GST was included too so getting from GMP would have cost me a bit more. They are however very prompt and very reliable!!

I got my 970's from Brisbane as well ...they did a buy one get one free deal for me cos I wrote them a nice review on their website for my first EA-50 .. I have a bunch of 750's (generic ones not Sony) that came with my video lights and they also work with the camera but I don't really need them. Yeah the 550's will not work at all according to the manual too!

Chris

These are what I ordered Amazon.com: Wasabi Power Battery for Sony NP-F975, NP-F970, NP-F960, NP-F950 (8500mAh): Camera & Photo (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001KNDN4Q/ref=pe_385040_30332190_pe_175190_21431760_3p_M3T1_ST1_dp_1)

is that right?

I've got 4 of them and they worked great on my PDs and my lights so I don't see any reason they won't work on your 50!
Did you get them yet?

nope but USPS said I SHOULD get them tomorrow. As long as I get them by Friday.

Whew! I got the batteries last night my only concern now is I charged one and it only read as %99 on the camera I hope it holds a charge.

Put it in the camera, turn the camera on, let it stay on until the battery dies or you get tired of checking it. that usually happens around 3 to 4 hours. If you want to, record a static scene on the tripod just to get a more accurate record of run time.
BTW, while doing that, make sure you charge the other ones!