Sony Battery Workaround.. Here's a battery substitute to cure Sony battery worries. It's not particularly cheap but you won't soon run out of battery with this setup. The inline plug...

gessman Loc: Colorado

Here's a battery substitute to cure Sony battery worries. It's not particularly cheap but you won't soon run out of battery with this setup. The inline plug lets you swap out any battery with any camera. The urls lead to the parts you'll want. I have a dummy battery harness for my a7Riii, a6500, RX-10 and RX-100, as well as a couple of Canon bodies and six batteries which fit nicely in a front pocket or a belt pouch which I don't use. If on a tripod I use a small bungee to secure the battery to a leg. You will need to cut the usb plug off the cord and splice on one of the white "tamiya" plugs so you can hook to the battery and then to the charger. I show 5000mAh batteries in the pic but lead you to 3000mAh batteries. If you want 5000mAh batteries you can search for them. I have 4 3000s and 2 5000s and two chargers. 3000mHa is more than adequate for a day or two worth of shooting. You do need the 8.4v batteries.

Gene Essman <gessmansr@gmail.com>
8:55 PM (24 minutes ago)
to me

Need these four items...

dummy battery. You need to pick the right one for your camera...
https://www.ebay.com/itm/284329693827?hash=item42335ed283:g:PZMAAOSwFYdgw--n

connectors...
https://www.ebay.com/itm/301895745736?chn=ps&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-117182-37290-0&mkcid=2&itemid=301895745736&targetid=1288994547554&device=c&mktype=pla&googleloc=9028756&poi=&campaignid=11613469917&mkgroupid=117473130610&rlsatarget=pla-1288994547554&abcId=9300455&merchantid=111872977&gclid=CjwKCAjwuIWHBhBDEiwACXQYsXbA1lR2uXtpZujHnU9hiE4XZxoc_yDMB1rmXt2NNqvwOR0oq1Ov3xoCqjkQAvD_BwE

batteries...
2 each 8.4v $27.89
https://www.ebay.com/itm/383616645110?_trkparms=aid%3D1110006%26algo%3DHOMESPLICE.SIM%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D232853%26meid%3De89742b319b44b2cabad75d01569cac4%26pid%3D101195%26rk%3D3%26rkt%3D12%26sd%3D383595508229%26itm%3D383616645110%26pmt%3D1%26noa%3D0%26pg%3D2047675%26algv%3DSimplAMLv9PairwiseUnbiasedWeb%26brand%3DZEEE&_trksid=p2047675.c101195.m1851&amdata=cksum%3A383616645110e89742b319b44b2cabad75d01569cac4%7Cenc%3AAQAGAAACADOC1s%252FhrSVkTt9WpQFYqAswUxPuSd68QguO9VzkcWXjG3FEQwHgi5UpaKoz%252FiDZYu6Ia%252F1kD7ItbxGFrPVrhxmpa2ESaE7he%252BU4218L8aP6Tb3fy6d36O2TuFHDUcGGTewO1BdoyCsewOp6LeBDR6fxnalnAqLUjxauFzv21fNhYTgrFSa2kdjKFLPXSOVWmpm2IZIvHiGl6DPy9ps%252BEmEk8qigfCysaMncwP2rNYvarEW5E%252BVv%252BAtzArTAw%252Bs1%252Fk40Tpukr22p7fzSG7L%252BUL1Ld027Li0pzwNCY1ykHjXEIf87wPGzulLhnjGT4SkynC4bRAlfITSypDgvzlW5oEgxGkEUR7XGwuNg8O8LjIzswJ66YiuKJLxsbwJ8yfM1S0Y5BT8GhOciA%252BKjO83lQ0u6ZQJ8MjOBJ1BVAvwuBQEgcn7C5XcS1WK9U1%252FfKp2VlKqsEJvRF7Bpof0mInsNyqsp4pOBPFNhWZHGO6qxNjmd81BGalFiOiieDJdtKTMIcGQKh3OHQ7rf7slmfsqhEmVsySgnPto6y4qoYBoqPuOeh6Kea8wKXbKb65uhJJTKy2YBJNfWcJqWkQLHYB3Xr%252B%252BkEA32MokfMom4GA2D67VZvA8%252BFzxg9RuPxO8geWJCwcB0XoRc405WHHa0hmOD7DbmEZXr6GxMjO%252FaCCluGdQH%7Campid%3APL_CLK%7Cclp%3A2047675&epid=3040375681

charger...
https://www.ebay.com/itm/283660899597?_trkparms=ispr%3D1&hash=item420b81d50d:g:6qwAAOSwFItdiuvh&amdata=enc%3AAQAGAAACkPYe5NmHp%252B2JMhMi7yxGiTJkPrKr5t53CooMSQt2orsSwcmzw5CLtzTE60FqHcnq2AAA4dKAAJ1uX0BcMxkyo%252BLamALIZNsvhORxwwMwPolcfDab%252B5DyMcX4X3Ab1s4YjuE5u4NtburQnoh4juT4dqTFKWM8lOfQ5lUCEdMkJSUjZzhv3d%252B1oWowRsZoDA%252Bxm6qHYucGFne4uoyTsy6VkfJJhs2fSK9vz4xXvMb6KbbtGZeE7nu5o9%252BCEdEm%252BQsP2dHX8W0wkJNqFMJPkmL1EgPQJlNKqp3DLxTK6BD%252ByD94FQ004IsxJDNyGGSgcXYEo1jSc1RDqYnhccsEdDTBqiBr3c6OxIVuEQS3YJXX2JYqQpr8AmELx%252FoNbJGsGA8bxlf%252BLvVx9So4yr6Zw3SDZAzUj9AKBRar0N439QiyAl0%252BVoMniRoD7qFvhAMB4DMqisUIq6KhYDmqWimLco2p7MBfaWPWGz86wwft%252BGppo6WVNfp5amQBYlTvisais%252F9Wu%252F8xM1eSaToz01LqCJr%252Bwb1ganDRzXiEW4hBMFE5LVy21rOkiQu%252BtfNMPb5y63HDWrveqqhufzfMSrha%252BXltCfx%252F1QSdwhtY2PRJXU7Su%252B2VhbTzwWVXr1rLDJ0PSjA91QYQcfwfwyb%252F2A48Li9Z%252FvpCmCN1vnBMTj%252F8TpqW0aYh7zjrq5kquJr%252BCqFlpEQ37nrD6%252BAQmXe%252Fb%252BsvXIDc4wTK4PUVNGxnF0zLx0LffRDTpx93S2K1b6zxXDcgJqLAFJmuOmFl7pmvSdY2w8IulbKuyLedI2rUoXZy%252F3RPHf0%252F6S%252FN2ezoI1FC2HtETA1%252B%252FY8WrsQIsE654j4fBjJs8AuGKji1Fqkmnsqbmo18EcuF%7Campid%3APL_CLK%7Cclp%3A2334524

(Download)

tomad Loc: North Carolina

Do you have to leave the battery door open to accommodate the wire to the dummy battery?

gessman Loc: Colorado

tomad wrote:

Do you have to leave the battery door open to accommodate the wire to the dummy battery?

Some cameras have a cutout slot to accommodate the cord with the door closed and others you can easily remove the door. One of my cameras does neither but you can carefully dremel a slot or, as I do, just leave the door open and. Be mindful that it's open.

azted Loc: Las Vegas, NV.

I admire your research and development on this issue, but do you really want to risk potentially damaging thousands of dollars in electrical equipment in order to save $40.00 more on a battery? Then there is the dirt issue getting into the camera, the loss of any mfg. warrantee, etc. I agree that the Sony batteries are overpriced, but Wasabi and others work well for 35% of the cost. Put your genius to use in some other area, and it will pay off better! Just my humble opinion.

gessman Loc: Colorado

azted wrote:

I admire your research and development on this issue, but do you really want to risk potentially damaging thousands of dollars in electrical equipment in order to save $40.00 more on a battery? Then there is the dirt issue getting into the camera, the loss of any mfg. warrantee, etc. I agree that the Sony batteries are overpriced, but Wasabi and others work well for 35% of the cost. Put your genius to use in some other area, and it will pay off better! Just my humble opinion.

First, it isn't my idea. I read about it and thought it was a good idea. YMMV - suit yourself. Not being a NatGeo guy, I don't spend a lot of time in mud up to my ears but likewise didn't buy my cameras to sit around and protect so I can resell them in pristine condition - I get them to use and don't buy the latest at top dollar. So far, so good. It isn't about saving $40 on a battery - it's about the inconvenience of changing a battery every few minutes.

User ID

gessman wrote:

First, it isn't my idea. I read about it and thought it was a good idea. YMMV - suit yourself. Not being a NatGeo guy, I don't spend a lot of time in mud up to my ears but likewise didn't buy my cameras to sit around and protect so I can resell them in pristine condition - I get them to use and don't buy the latest at top dollar. So far, so good. It isn't about saving $40 on a battery - it's about the inconvenience of changing a battery every few minutes.

Amen. Nothing to fear. External batteries are SOP for many types of photography (video, time lapse, etc). Despite the quite lengthy advice on the DIY construction, there are turnkey “play & play” versions from reliable sources. Most cameras have an access slot for the power cable so you can close the hatch over the dummy.

Ollieboy

Isn't it easier and cheaper to just buy an extra battery or two?

User ID

Ollieboy wrote:

Isn't it easier and cheaper to just buy an extra battery or two?

No. No solution there at all. Thaz why outboard becomes SOP. It’s easier and cheaper to buy a plug & play outboard.

gessman Loc: Colorado

User ID wrote:

Amen. Nothing to fear. External batteries are SOP for many types of photography (video, time lapse, etc). Despite the quite lengthy advice on the DIY construction, there are turnkey “play & play” versions from reliable sources. Most cameras have an access slot for the power cable so you can close the hatch over the dummy.

Yep, you're right - I'm pretty bad about leaving nothing to the imagination but the good part is that I'm really good at stating the obvious. 😁