DIY Photography

Hacking Photography - one Picture at a time

  • News
  • Inspiration
  • Reviews
  • Tutorials
  • DIY
  • Gear
Search

Submit A Story

You don’t need to buy a charger for this Sony battery

Jun 26, 2022 by Udi Tirosh 11 Comments

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

Nitecore UFZ100 with  USBC port

With a raise of hand, how many of you have more than one battery for your photography gear? More than 2? More than 5? More than 10? I personally have more than 20. Each with its own proprietary charger.  Actually, with all those chargers, I am not surprised that some people build a small shrine to worship all those battery maintenance devices.

With some engineering background, this seems highly inefficient. Why not make one standard to charge all batteries. Well, there is such a standard, it’s called USB-C. And Nitecore just brought a Sony-compatible battery that charges via USB-C, the Nitecore UFZ100 (announced here).  It has some other perks as well. hit the jump to learn more.

Having a USB-C port right inside your battery is a clever thing to do. Almost everyone has a USB charger, and you can plug a USB-C cable into a wall, a car socket, or even a power bank. This takes away the need to carry a big, cumbersome charger. (Although Nitecore does make one if you insist).

The UFZ100 is almost identical in appearance to the original Sony NP-FZ100. it has the same form factor so it fits perfectly into any compatible battery slot (I personally tested with the Sony FX3, Sony A7SIII, and the Sony A7III, but I would guess that this sample group is good enough). the previous Nitecore batteries also had Bluetooth functionality, which has been removed from the current iteration.

UFZ100 Specs

Here are the dry specs as described by Nitecore.

  • Voltage: 7.2V
  • Capacity: 2250mAh
  • Energy: 16.2Wh
  • Operation Temperature:
    Charge: 0℃~45℃ (32℉~113℉)
    Discharge: -20℃~60℃ (-4℉~140℉)
  • Dimensions: 52mm x 38.7mm x 22.5mm (2.05″ x 1.52″ x 0.89″)
  • Compatible Models: it should be compatible with everything that the original Sony NPFZ100 battery’s compatible with, although Nitecore specifically lists A1, A7 III, A7 IV, A7R III, A7R IV, A7S III, FX3, A9, A9 II, A6600, and A7C, and refers you to check the compatibility charge for the original Sony battery for more.

Nitecore UFZ100 - charging

UFZ100 Usage

It seems like Nitecore took everything that is good in the battery industry and incorporate it into their Sony UFZ100 compatible battery. To be honest, I am surprised that other battery manufacturers don’t do so either.

The first thing, of course, is USB charging. It takes about four hours to charge the battery via the USB-C socket (or via a regular charger). The timing was almost identical to a standard NP-FZ100 battery. I could not find a quick charge option, which is something I really miss from my original Sony NP-FZ100 batteries. The battery shows a small flashing red light while it’s charging and it turns green when fully loaded. When the battery is not charging, you can press a small button and get a color indication:

  • Red: <10%
  • Blue: 10%-50%
  • Green 50%+

Nitecore did a clever thing and put the color key next to the indicator LED, so you don’t have to remember anything, just look at the table. On the other hand, there is a huge difference between a 51% charged battery and a 99% charged battery. I wish they used the green color for a charge of 90% + indication. This way, I’d have a scale of Empty- somewhat charged-full vs the empty- somewhat charged-somewhat charged scale that I have now.

My Dewalt batteries have a charging indicator light, my power banks have a charging indicator light, and it’s about time that every photo battery had this light as well. Well done Nitecore!

UFZ100 Compared to the original Sony NP-FZ100

I guess the real question is how do the UFZ100 batteries compare to the original Sony NP-FZ100 cousins. My quick answer is “pretty well”.

The form factor is identical so the UFZ100s fit anywhere that the NP-FZ100s would fit, though the Nitecore variant does not have the nice hologram ;) Both batteries also weigh the same, 82.5 grams.

I have had a set of those batteries for a month, and I see no degradation in capacity. Of course, this may change in a few months, but for now, I am happy.

Nitecore UFZ100 vs Sony NP-FZ100
Nitecore UFZ100 vs Sony NP-FZ100
Nitecore UFZ100 vs Sony NP-FZ100

The capacity of the Nitecore UFZ100 is slightly lower than the Sony NP-FZ100: 2250mAh (16.2WH) vs 2280mAh (16.4WH). This is about 1.5% lower, and I will gladly take this minor hit for the added functionality and benefits.

The fact that the UFZ100 has the same dimensions, weight, and capacity is impressive considering that the UFZ100 has charging circuitry inside.

Nitecore UFZ100 with  Sony FX3

Lastly, my only “real” grievance with the UFZ100 is that it has no print on the back. The Original sony has a nice white arrow showing the direction in which the battery goes. The Nitecore has a small arrow bevel that is hard to see when it’s dark and I had often inserted the battery in the wrong way, only to take it out, flip it, and put it back in again. (Thank god, the USB-C charging port is direction agnostic).

Price-wise, this is not even a fair fight, the UFZ100s run for $59.95, including the USB-C port and the indicator light. The Sony’s run for $78.00. (you could buy other third-party batteries for cheaper, but those won’t have the USB port and charging indicator. So up to you if you want these features (hint: yes).

Conclusion

The Nitecore UFZ100 sits right in between the budget 3rd party sony battery, and the original Sony. If you are looking for a lighter travel and less cables and charger to manage, the extra price si definitely worth the cost.

You can get the Nitecore UFZ100 for $59.95 over at their site.

FIND THIS INTERESTING? SHARE IT WITH YOUR FRIENDS!

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

Related posts:

A Review of the Anker Astro3 External Battery Charger A review of Hähnel Pro Cube2 battery charger Default ThumbnailDIY Project: Battery Charger / USB Connector Center These are five DONT’S in portrait photography

Filed Under: Reviews Tagged With: batteries, Nitecore, Nitecore UFZ100, Sony Mirrorless, Sony NP-FZ100

About Udi Tirosh

Udi Tirosh is an entrepreneur, photography inventor, journalist, educator, and writer based in Israel. With over 25 years of experience in the photo-video industry, Udi has built and sold several photography-related brands. Udi has a double degree in mass media communications and computer science.

« Hoya has launched their new Mist Diffuser Black series No0.5 and No1 filters
This music video took a year to create with video animation and rotoscoping »

Submit A Story

Get our FREE Lighting Book

DIYP lighting book cover

* download requires newsletter signup
DIYPhotography

Recent Comments

Free Resources

Advanced lighting book

Recent Posts

  • Sony teases upcoming ZV-E1 full-frame vlogging camera coming on March 29
  • The Xencelabs Pen Display 24 is silent, glare-free retouching tablet
  • Fall in love with astrophotography with these 10 space objects
  • Hipstamatic app relaunches as a social network, but only for iOS
  • Instagram now has ads even in search results. Sigh

Alex Baker is a portrait and lifestyle driven photographer based in Valencia, Spain. She works on a range of projects from commercial to fine art and has had work featured in publications such as The Daily Mail, Conde Nast Traveller and El Mundo, and has exhibited work across Europe

Dave Williams is an accomplished travel photographer, writer, and best-selling author from the UK. He is also a photography educator and published Aurora expert. Dave has traveled extensively in recent years, capturing stunning images from around the world in a modified van. His work has been featured in various publications and he has worked with notable brands such as Skoda, EE, Boeing, Huawei, Microsoft, BMW, Conde Nast, Electronic Arts, Discovery, BBC, The Guardian, ESPN, NBC, and many others.

John Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.

Dunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.

Copyright © DIYPhotography 2006 - 2023 | About | Contact | Advertise | Write for DIYP | Full Disclosure | Privacy Policy