SONY VX 2100 BATTERIES?

[Anonymous]

hI,
DO i HAVE TO USE "SONY" BATTERIES ONLY WITH THIS AS THEY SUGGEST/THREATEN, OR CAN i USE A BATTERY BY OTHER COMPANIES THAT are created for the same sony battery?

Im looking at the L970 …

[Anonymous]

Ah heck, if you know what you’re doing you could bundle a bunch of "AAA" batteries together with wire to power your camera if you wanted to. Here are some things to consider though:

-Sony batteries are engineered with the added benefit of having proprietary access to Sony’s camera schematics. Non-Sony batteries are basically created by reverse engineering Sony batteries. Off brand manufacturers don’t have the insight that Sony has into their cameras’ needs.

-Using a generic brand battery might void your warranty if the camera breaks due to battery issues.

-Generic batteries may not live up to the quality of their Sony counterparts. Sure, the price is cheaper, but the battery might have a life span that’s several hundred cycles less than the Sony equipment, and the battery’s might not have as much power as their Sony counterparts.

-The big "Sony" lettering on a battery looks cool, even if you’re the only one who sees it.

Using generic batteries can be risky business. However, having said that, I have a couple generic brand batteries for both my Sony and Canon cameras. Go figure. 🙂

[Anonymous]

hahaha … Jim, you’re SOME help! j/k

I am looking at a battery biz sony L790 replacement.

How do you non sony batteries work for you?

[Anonymous]

ishootparties,

I’ve never had a problem with my generics. The only thing I’ve ever had a complaint about is that generic batteries don’t seem to have as long of a life as my name brand ones. At the wedding we filmed this weekend, I had a Canon camera on one of my GL-2’s and a generic on the other. Both batteries are fairly old, and I bought both batteries at about the same time. The Canon battery has aged much better, and made it through the whole event, where the generic battery only took me about halfway before it was time to swap it out.

Don’t get me wrong, the Canon battery is on it’s way out too. Both batteries used to breeze through a 8 hour work day with half a charge left under similar conditions. At the end of the 6ish hours at this wedding, even the Canon battery was about toast. That’s life with batteries. They get old, you buy new ones. The circle of life continues.

But that being said, my next batteries will still be off-brands. The up-front price savings is, at least to me, far greater an advantage that a few months longer life. Plus, who knows? Maybe this battery is just some sort of fluke. Even though they can make them close, no two batteries are identical, even within brands. My next batteries might outlast the life of the Canon battery.

Like I said in my first post, there is a down side to off-brand batteries, but in my opinion, they’re more of a value than manufacturer batteries. I have them for my Sony and my Canons, and I don’t have any real complaints. They’re worth their cost, that’s for sure.

[Anonymous]

Thanks Jim & Compusolver! You guys are a wealth of info for a newbie like me!

I ordered the battery biz version of the 970 … we’ll see. I have a wedding to shoot this afternoon! 😀

[ScriptGirl]

I am a newbie at this too, and the info about the batteries is awesome. Thanks to you guys also for the hours of educational reading you’ve provided in here. You are very generous with your extensive knowledge.

[Anonymous]

Thanks to you guys also for the hours of educational reading you’ve provided in here.

I see you’ve read one of my posts then 😀

Seriously though, welcome onboard. We’re pretty friendly. Just look out for video-maniac. He’s a bit of a maniac, and he hangs out with RAMs 😉

[Anonymous]

😯

Hey Jim… How did you find out! X-D

RAM

[ScriptGirl]

And funny too! I’m out of town, typing on a blackberry so I have no emoticon access, but I’m definitely laughing 😀

SG

[ScriptGirl]

It appears I do if I type in the actual symbol. Regardless, thanks to all again!

SG

[flythefish]

Always use the originals, a single Sony NP-F970 normally lasts me the entire day with my Z1…

best regards
flythefish

[Author]

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