Battery Recommendation

[Lee Berger]

I've owned this Pearstone battery since May of 2011 and it has performed well in my HVR Z7U, typically over 600-minutes. In my EA50 I can go all day without changing the battery. For example last Sunday I shot from 10 AM to 1 PM (stills) and from 1 to 8:00 PM (video) and only had to change the battery in the last hour. I hardly turned the camera off all day. I shot a six-hour at an event two weeks ago . I had extra batteries in my run bag, but never had to change. I remember back to the day's of NP-1 Nicads that you might get an hour or so and worse as they aged and got a memory. It out performs my Sony NP-F970 batteries.

[Jerome Cloninger]

I have the same battery. Used it ALL day at the race track even though it wasn't recording the whole time, it lasted ALL day. It just takes FOREVER to charge. But great battery!

[James Manford]

I have 5 of those aftermarket batteries ... 3 of them work with my EA50 apart from 2, even though they are EXACTLY the same batteries as the ones that work !? strange eh?

However, the two batteries that don't work, are not duds ... they work absolutely fine on my video light and charge perfectly fine too! The batteries have never been dropped.

I did initially have 6 of these, but I dropped 1 battery which immediately stopped it from working as it dented on the edge.

Recently on an ebay auction, a seller that is selling a Genuine Sony NP-F960 that I wanted to buy said the battery will not be compatible with my EA50. The camera has to be atleast 8 years old due to the firmware on the battery? and if I did forcefully use the battery on my EA50 once I switch the camera on, the battery will malfunction and then refuse to work on any Sony camera THAT IS 8 years old too, turning it into a dud.

What's that all about? Im wondering if the two aftermarket batteries I own that currently don't work have faulty firmware may be?

[Matt Edwards]

Mmmm, this is what kind of puts me off the OEM market. Especially as the info cell system seems to communicate with the camera, would warranty be voided if it somehow kept a log of batteries used with the unit? I don't know?

I've been toying with the idea of getting the Sony ACC-L1BP which comes with the 970 battery.

I find the AC-VL1 really annoying. It gives no indication of charge or current capacity...Feel a bit like Sony scrimpt here as many friends who have recent (up to 3 years old) Sony machines all came with LCD charge units giving the charge status...

In comparison the AC-VL! that's bundles with the EA50 seems pretty cheap. Does anyone have the ACC-L1BP?

[Lee Berger]

My guess is that these OEM batteries do not have any microprocessors or firmware and don't communicate with the camera. The VF's percentage remaining indicator simply measures remaining voltage. Hence when I charge using the AC-VQ1050 Adapter/Charger (came with my Z7U), it does not report on the charge progress, nor the recording capacity in hours as it does with Sony Batteries. So I would not worry about voiding the warranty.

[Wes Browning]

B&H has the charger on sale for $90. It doesn't come with a battery though. Sony AC Adapter and Twin Charger For L-Series Batteries

[Lee Berger]

Wrote to the company that makes Pearstone battery asking about microprocessors in their batteries. Here is their response.

Q: Is there any microprocessor and firmware in your battery that communicates with the camera as do the original batteries from Sony?
A: No. The Pearstone Battery does not have the same communication conformity as the original Sony.

[Marlon Martins]

i believe all batteries from this model series have a circuit to allow the camera to have a state of charge. without it, most cameras will refuse the battery. the protocol is "closed", so compatible batteries are a "hack" to allow them to work properly. but they are not 100% like the genuine,

to test i, just use a scotch tape over the large metal part on the bottom. the camera will refuse the battery. (the - and + are on the holes)

http://i.imgur.com/Cuvj3Pxl.jpg

the "inconsistency" on the remaining time may come due to different Li-ion cell, some have straight discharge curve, others more curved. others have higher internal resistance than original, making remaining time unreliable compared to the the original ones.

[Lee Berger]

Interesting Marlon. I assume that all the metal plate does is make the connection with no other components in the circuit. You are correct about the discharge curve. My Pearstone reads 100% for quite a while (over seven-hours) and then goes down relatively quickly.

[Marlon Martins]

YES, a found the site where i was remembering this information years ago:

‘InfoLithium’ Batteries: Genuine .v. After-market | BCS Innovations

and the "infolithium" protocol:

InfoLITHIM protocol hacked (nearly): Sony Cyber-shot Talk Forum: Digital Photography Review

i also recall the remaining time measurement was made in a few discharge pulses, and the voltage indicate the level during the load. so non-genuine cell would by nature have a inconsistent remaining time (i believe the camera have a discharge "table" based on the discharge curve with original batteries)

some cameras with new batteries/protocols like Sony EX1/3, the battery was fit in the battery compartment, but without power pins connected. then, a cable from the battery was connected in the "dc-in" on the camera, cause the dc-in does not have any communication, and the camera "thinks" its connected on AC adapter. this because the communication protocol wasn't hacked yet (at the time)