Sony a6000 Battery Charging: I recently purchased an a6000 to add to my collection and am just beginning to get to use it. I have found that, when I charge the camera directly in the...

jaymatt Loc: Alexandria, Indiana

I recently purchased an a6000 to add to my collection and am just beginning to get to use it. I have found that, when I charge the camera directly in the camera, if the camera is turned on the battery discharges rather than charges. If the camera is turned off, the charger works perfectly.

Is this just a quirk of my camera, or do all the Sony a series camera chargers work this way?

RichardSM Loc: Back in Texas

jaymatt wrote:

I recently purchased an a6000 to add to my collection and am just beginning to get to use it. I have found that, when I charge the camera directly in the camera, if the camera is turned on the battery discharges rather than charges. If the camera is turned off, the charger works perfectly.

Is this just a quirk of my camera, or do all the Sony a series camera chargers work this way?

In your operating guide is there any info. On what you are asking? Have you gone up to Sony help online?

I would think this should not work this way! I could be wrong.

Low Budget Dave

I have been using the a6000 since 2014, and I have never tried to charge the battery while the camera was on. I would guess that the little universal port has trouble supplying enough power to run the camera and charge the battery at the same time. You might try a higher power plug (as opposed to the charger that came with the camera), but I wouldn't want to risk causing heat damage to a camera by using an incorrect power source.

I have found over the years that the best solution is to buy some high-quality third party batteries and an external charger and to carry a charged battery around in my pocket.

If you run into a situation where it is absolutely necessary to keep the camera on a charger, such as long interval shooting, I would go ahead and buy the Sony ACPW20 (or equivalent) and keep the camera plugged in.

jaymatt Loc: Alexandria, Indiana

Thanks, folks. I do have extra batteries, so this isn’t really a big problem; I just noticed that it happens and am curious.

MDI Mainer

I always remove the battery to an external charger, so I have no first-hand knowledge of how the in-camera charger works.

But I remember seeing somewhere on a training video that the camera must be turned off for the in-camera charge function to work.

jaymatt Loc: Alexandria, Indiana

MDI Mainer wrote:

I always remove the battery to an external charger, so I have no first-hand knowledge of how the in-camera charger works.

But I remember seeing somewhere on a training video that the camera must be turned off for the in-camera charge function to work.

Makes sense, doesn’t it?

Dikdik Loc: Winnipeg, Canada

jaymatt wrote:

I have found that, when I charge the camera directly in the camera, if the camera is turned on the battery discharges rather than charges. If the camera is turned off, the charger works perfectly.

The docs clearly stipulate that the camera should be off for charging.

Dik

ggenova64

I would never charged batteries in camera nor keep the camera on while charging! It best to use a external battery charger! What Sony battery does your camera use? I recommend using Sony OEM batteries.

47greyfox Loc: on the edge of the Colorado front range

It may be my imagination, but I’m almost convinced that I get a more complete charge using an external charger like a RAVPower, rather than just plugging the camera in.

mas24 Loc: Southern CA

I have a Sony 20 megapixels pocket camera. The battery can be charged either inside the camera using a USB charging cord. I bought later, an aftermarket external charger and battery. I can charge one battery inside the camera. And the other with the external charger. My camera has always been turned off, when the removable internal battery is being charged. Charging camera light goes off, when battery is fully charged. The same on my external charger.

John_F Loc: Minneapolis, MN

A peripheral reply is to set the a6000 to Airplane Mode ON. Evidently, Airplane Mode OFF means the camera’s wifi or bluetooth circuitry is working even when the camera switch is OFF. Note the stair-step discharge pattern of the Sony battery. Have seen this in other tests.

(Download)

slideart437 Loc: Connecticut

Cannot answer for sure but solved problem by going on line and ordering an external charger tat fits SN FW50-very reasonably priced (low $20's) and is a blessing to not tie up camera at all.

jaymatt Loc: Alexandria, Indiana

slideart437 wrote:

Cannot answer for sure but solved problem by going on line and ordering an external charger tat fits SN FW50-very reasonably priced (low $20's) and is a blessing to not tie up camera at all.

Thanks--I have an external charger, and the consensus apparently is that the battery cannot be charged in camera with the camera turned on.

Billiam13 Loc: Youngstown, Ohio

I have a a6000 and get around 300 shots per Sony orig. equip. battery. I have always charged any battery that is used by any electronics equipment I own by using an external charger and to avoid charging the battery while it is still installed, if possible. This is to avoid damaging my equipment in case there is some battery issue that could damage said equipment. To me, it is not worth damaging an expensive camera due to an onboard battery charging problem such as overheating, leaking, fire, or some other issue. In my experience, attempting to charge a battery while it is installed in the equipment it powers while that same equipment is operating (turned on) really slows down the charging process because the charger is under too much load trying to accomplish two tasks at once instead of the dedicated task of re-charging the battery.

jaymatt Loc: Alexandria, Indiana

Thanks all; problem solved.