It's just occurred to me that I don't know how the whole Sony camera battery thing worked out. About 10 years ago with the PMW200 and 300 there were new issues of Sony cameras saying "Non genuine battery, Shutting down" (or similar message). And third-party battery suppliers were having a hard time successfully getting around whatever circuitry fun Sony had done.

This is just one of the many threads from back in the day: https://www.dvinfo.net/forum/sony-xdcam-ex-pro-handhelds/502825-dying-bp-u60-batteries.html

I did price up a cheaper non-Sony battery at one stage, but the freight difference to get it to Australia made up for the difference, so that was the end of that little inquiry of mine. That said, I don't have issues with my Sony batteries - they just work.

Andrew

Andrew, Yes, after market BP-U batteries were problematic years back. Even today, unless they are fully decoded and are of a proven quality. Jupio (a Dutch company) batteries for the likes of the EX, PMW, FS and some of the PXW range incl FX 6 and 9 have proven to be very reliable and are far more competitive on price, like 2.4 times better for equivalent batteries. I've been running eight of them for about four years now, and they still perform like they did when new. Can't tell them apart from my Sony ones, of which I have three. A useful feature of the later Julio units is they have D-Tap/USB outputs. They also coexist nicely with the Sony batteries on the three Sony chargers I run.

https://www.videocraft.com.au/Jupio-Sony-ProLine-BP-U100-144V-6700mAh-Video-Battery

https://store.sony.com.au/professional-camera-accessories/BPU100.html

No comparison in my book.

Chris Young

Those differences really are astounding. I'd be crazy not to get a Jupio for my next battery purchase.

I don't mind Sony charging a premium for their batteries which they would absolutely make sure were top notch and never going to be the source of issues in their cameras, but they've probably been taking it a bit too far. Cheers for those in the industry who have noticed this and made a good go out of it.

Besides, an effective 'BPU-100' sounds very awesome. :-)

How much run time do you get out of it on your gear?

Andrew

Run times on the Jupio BP-U100.

Andrew, I believe you have a 300. On the 300 with a battery fresh off a Sony charger, I typically get 335 mins, which is what? Around 5.6 hours. With a battery that been on the shelf for a couple of weeks since its last charge, it's usually around 315 minutes, which is about 5.25 hours. So absolutely no complaints on runtime. On the FS7s they run out at 355 mins. In reality, the batteries are actually rated at 96.5 Wh.

The other very important thing to me is that being fully decoded the Jupio low battery indictions are as accurate as the Sony batteries in my experience, so you can rely on the remaining indicated run-times with a great deal of confidence. No sudden switch offs because the battery info was inaccurate.

Measuring from the back of the camera directly across the top of the 100 batteries, they stick out 45 mm from the back of the camera.

More than happy with Jupios. Videocraft, who are one of the biggest official Sony dealerships, spent many months testing Jupios on a whole range of their rental fleet of Sony cameras before finally giving them the thumbs up as alternatives to Sony OEM batteries.

Chris Young

IGNORE a repeated post! Somehow? :)

Measuring from the back of the camera directly across the top of the 100 batteries, they stick out 45 mm from the back of the camera.

Is it just me or does a large battery on the PMW-300 save you from futzing around (with the tripod sled) to pull out the shoulder brace? :-) Works beautifully for me.

Andrew

Andrew. I have no problems with the 100 batteries on the 300 because of the tripod plate I use. I use a variety of lenses on the 300. The original 14 x, not often. Most jobs it runs with the 16 x HD lens off the K2 kit, and I also use it with an 18 x 2/3" B4 with the ACM-21 adaptor. Which effectively makes it a 24.75 x lens due to the 1.375 crop factor. To overcome any balancing issues between these lenses, I use a Libec AP-1 VCT 14 tripod plate, which is quickly adjustable with a lot of fore and after range. All my cameras are Sony VCT-14 tripod plate compatible, so I can use any camera on any set of sticks as they all have Sony VCT-14 receivers.

The problem is that Libec no longer make the AP-1 plate. But they do pop up used on eBay and other sites. The best illustration I could find of one is here. Click through at the pictures:

Chris Young

https://www.syntex.tv/libec-ap-1