Power bank for Sony a7ii

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Owing to very poor battery life on my Sony a7ii. I was thinking of investing in a USB power bank - for those long shoot in a wildlife hide, I have 4 Sony batteries which seem to last around an hour each :( not really good enough for me

Does anyone have any experience of using these- recommendations - where to buy, type, amp hrs etc would be most helpful?

Thanks in advance guy's

Les :)
 
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You would be better off buying replacement batteries for your camera instead of a power bank.

Rechargeable batteries are not forever, most of them can be recharged up to something like a thousand times, then they no longer effective. Like with mobile phones, when new the battery could last a couple of days (assuming you're not a heavy user) but a few years later, the battery is worn out so it could barely last a few hours, then it is time to replace the battery itself.

It's no good using a power bank to try to keep your camera battery topped up, when it is the battery itself that may be not in perk working order. It's kind of like trying to fuel up your car while it leaks fuel or something like that.

Your best option is to buy brand new replacement batteries for your camera.

Power banks are more suited as emergency power supply once in a while, not non-stop continuous recharging on the go. You would end up charging up your power bank every time it is used to charge up your camera's batteries, then it would make no difference if you were continuously recharging your camera's batteries or continuously recharging your power bank.
 
You would be better off buying replacement batteries for your camera instead of a power bank.

Rechargeable batteries are not forever, most of them can be recharged up to something like a thousand times, then they no longer effective. Like with mobile phones, when new the battery could last a couple of days (assuming you're not a heavy user) but a few years later, the battery is worn out so it could barely last a few hours, then it is time to replace the battery itself.

It's no good using a power bank to try to keep your camera battery topped up, when it is the battery itself that may be not in perk working order. It's kind of like trying to fuel up your car while it leaks fuel or something like that.

Your best option is to buy brand new replacement batteries for your camera.

Power banks are more suited as emergency power supply once in a while, not non-stop continuous recharging on the go. You would end up charging up your power bank every time it is used to charge up your camera's batteries, then it would make no difference if you were continuously recharging your camera's batteries or continuously recharging your power bank.


Thank you for your response- I already own 5 x Sony NP-FW50 batteries- all purchased with my camera 3 weeks back- this issue is, these batteries are notorious for failing after an hour or so- as a wildlife photographer its a royal pain changing a flat battery when shooting in a hide when its all happening in front of me.

You can via a dummy battery adapter, mount a lager power pack onto the hot shoe and power the camera for over 4x normal battery life

I was looking at something like these to achieve my goal- https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ex-Pro-871...7130&qid=1557565315&s=gateway&sr=8-1-fkmrnull

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Universal-...+holder&qid=1557565538&s=gateway&sr=8-1-spell


https://www.amazon.co.uk/Camera-Mount-Tripod-Screw-Adapter/dp/B01KFUBALM/ref=sr_1_14?crid=2FR3SX1PCV6XV&keywords=1/4+cold+shoe+mount&qid=1557565475&s=gateway&sprefix=1/4+cold+shoe,aps,142&sr=8-14



just to give people an idea of what I'm looking at - obviously different/ more powerful power banks are available

Les :)
 
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I was just about to recommend your first choice as wiring it in as a battery replacement is more robust than having a USB plug sticking out of the side of the camera, waiting to get knocked. However, I wouldn't want something that large mounted on the hotshoe and I'd rather make use of the coiled lead and tie it to a tripod leg or similar.
 
Using the same batteries in my A6400 they last way longer then an hour. Are you sure they aren’t knackered?

Anker make good hi-capacity power banks.
 
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I hope this isn’t a daft question, but have you tried putting the camera into Airplane mode, which disables WiFi?

IME it makes an enormous difference to battery life on A7 series bodies (A7 & A7II owner)
 
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I hope this isn’t a daft question, but have you tried putting the camera into Airplane mode, which disables WiFi?

IME it makes an enormous difference to battery life on A7 series bodies (A7 & A7II owner)


not a daft question at all and yes I turned off everything even the monitor screen, been trolling through YouTube video's to ascertain what I can do to reduce battery wear

Thanks for your input- any more suggestions will be gratefully received

Les
 
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How about a battery grip? The Sony one is a little expensive (https://www.lcegroup.co.uk/New/sony-vg-c3em-battery-grip-for-a7-iii--a7r-iii--a9_16329.html) but there are third-party ones for less (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pixel-AG-C...i&qid=1557683416&s=gateway&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1). You may be able to buy multiple battery trays so you can do a rapid swap-out when each pair of batteries is exhausted.

I did think of that- I would only use Sony though,the after market ones are just plain rubbish, I bought one for my now back up camera Sony a77 Mk2 it lasted a week- I now have a Sony grip for the a77 Mk2- maybe have to bite the bullet ande get a Sony griop for the a7ii

Thanks for your comments

Les :)
 
I use one all the time.
I keep it in my bag and plug it into my a7rii when wandering about landscaping.
Can get by on one or two batteries a day at a push depending if I'm doing a lot of long exposures.
My one is a few years old now bought off ebay for less than a tenner.


Cheers Mike- I ordered this 16000mAh Rechargeable Battery Power System- ideal to Velcro to my tripod when Hide shooting all day

here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/16000mAh-R...7130&qid=1557744144&s=gateway&sr=8-3-fkmrnull

at less cost than a Sony battery I might add lol

Les :)
 
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