p.53 #3 · Official: Sony A7 and A7R Fullframe Mirrorless
Anyone have any comments on this idea of using an external charger to keep your (a7/A7r) camera charged up as you move around? From SAR:
'Actually, USB in-camera charging is a bonus. For less than the price of an extra NP-FW50, you can get a USB external rechargeable battery. Leave it connected to the camera and charging while it is in your bag. Enough juice for multiple charges and will do your phone and (in a pinch) tablet too.'
p.53 #6 · Official: Sony A7 and A7R Fullframe Mirrorless
philip_pj wrote:
I imagine these Li-ion devices need charging but maybe much less often..
Have never had one of these brick Li-ion charging packs. If they put out 5V, then sure, it should work.
To do that there'd have to be Li-ion cells inside wired in series, and given the 5Ah capacity, in parallel too. There'd also have to be a voltage regulator to take the resulting 7.2V nominal back down to 5V USB standard. There's some efficiency loss in that.
Provided the bricks are made by a reputable maker (there is a lot of cut rate stuff coming out of the orient which isn't safe) this could be a solution for some needs. I've been thinking of picking up one, or constructing one, for other purposes.
p.53 #7 · Official: Sony A7 and A7R Fullframe Mirrorless
michaelwatkins wrote:
Have never had one of these brick Li-ion charging packs. If they put out 5V, then sure, it should work.
To do that there'd have to be Li-ion cells inside wired in series, and given the 5Ah capacity, in parallel too. There'd also have to be a voltage regulator to take the resulting 7.2V nominal back down to 5V USB standard. There's some efficiency loss in that.
Provided the bricks are made by a reputable maker (there is a lot of cut rate stuff coming out of the orient which isn't safe) this could be a solution for some needs. I've been thinking of picking up one, or constructing one, for other purposes.
p.53 #10 · Official: Sony A7 and A7R Fullframe Mirrorless
Peaking level among other settings, can be mapped to the rear Fn button, nice, just wish there were more peaking settings.
But sadly, there is nothing about mapping to any other buttons or dials.
p.53 #11 · Official: Sony A7 and A7R Fullframe Mirrorless
michaelwatkins wrote:
I put a note in the resource thread about another review and one of the nits reported was boot up time. I do wish it was shorter as I remember boot up time lag being uncomfortable with the X100 and a little less so on NEX and GXR.Those cameras turned me into a battery miser such that I kept shutting off my D800 by force of habit even though there simply isn't a need to.
I can easily tolerate fewer shots per pack (compared to other cameras) as long as battery life isn't unduly shortened by leaving the camera on.
That all said, I ordered three spare Sony packs (shipped) and a Sony charger (new model, pre-ordered). Maybe I should have ordered five or six and a Batman(tm) belt pack to carry them in? ...Show more →
Definitely 5 or 6. This is the identical batt used in the NEX6/7, and its not particularly impressive in service there. 1080mAh? seriously?
So far as I can see from the specs this is the most under designed part of the camera, I guess they just couldn't squeeze an A99 battery into this chassis. Its going to make the vertical grip an essential accessory just for the power reserve. . .and most importantly--the ability to hot swap batts.
p.53 #12 · Official: Sony A7 and A7R Fullframe Mirrorless
It's not intended as an event camera, and weighs 465 grams fully loaded.
RX1 batteries are tiny and fit in a small bag sleeve and weigh like helium. I can change batts in 30 seconds. A batt grip just adds the things many are wanting to get away from - weight and bulk.
A99 batteries are 80 grams - fully 17% the entire weight of the a7r ready to go. A matter of priorities with which many will be very happy.
I am not buying into a light camera only to undo that design excellence with giant batteries so I can brag about how long they last. Of course, nice of Sony to give you the choice!
p.53 #13 · Official: Sony A7 and A7R Fullframe Mirrorless
miguel_13 wrote:
Definitely 5 or 6. This is the identical batt used in the NEX6/7, and its not particularly impressive in service there. 1080mAh? seriously?
The power pack is actually worse than it appears.
The NPFW50 is a single cell pack. 3.7V nominal * 1.080 Ah = 3.996 Watt hours of power. In contrast 3 good quality NiMh AA cells in series = 3.6V * 2.0 Ah = 7.2 Watt hours of power... but 3 AA cells take up more room than 1 smallish Li-ion cell as Li-ion wins on energy density.
Take a typical DSLR pack like the 1900 mAh ENEL15 for D800; these are two cell packs, wired in series =
7.2V nominal * 1.9Ah = 13.68 Watt hours of power. Some of that power will be given up as voltage regulator losses but there are sufficient other benefits in putting two cells in series to warrant taking on efficiency losses.
Of course there is one big downside to larger, two-cell packs: size, and for light cameras, weight.
Along with a crowd of others, I had an opportunity to handle the cameras today and I can see why Sony would opt to use a smaller pack; the cameras really are quite small. Probably the size and portability benefits are worth the trade off and minor hassle of having to pack along a few spare packs.
Incidentally the somewhat ungainly looking accessory grip is very light and comfortable. It takes two packs.
p.53 #14 · Official: Sony A7 and A7R Fullframe Mirrorless
In 20 months with the Nex cameras I'm not sure I've ever once had to change out a battery in the field when I started with a full charge. It definitely pays to have extras on hand back at "base camp", but I'm glad the battery isn't bigger and heavier.
p.53 #15 · Official: Sony A7 and A7R Fullframe Mirrorless
philip_pj wrote:
It's not intended as an event camera, and weighs 465 grams fully loaded.
I'm sorry. . .what precisely is an "event camera" ?
philip_pj wrote:
RX1 batteries are tiny and fit in a small bag sleeve and weigh like helium. I can change batts in 30 seconds. A batt grip just adds the things many are wanting to get away from - weight and bulk.
A99 batteries are 80 grams - fully 17% the entire weight of the a7r ready to go. A matter of priorities with which many will be very happy.
I am not buying into a light camera only to undo that design excellence with giant batteries so I can brag about how long they last. Of course, nice of Sony to give you the choice!...Show more →
So then, what exactly is the difference between carrying one 80gm battery in the camera or two 57gm batteries-one in the camera and one in your pocket/bag? Altogether the vertical grip and 2 NP-FW50s will add something like 350g (according to Sony's specifications). The hot swap function (if it works as Sony describes) seems worth 350g, but if you prefer to instead carry 200g of loose batts and do a camera reboot every time you change one. . .well cool.
Generally I'm on my 3rd battery at the end of a good day with a NEX6 or 7, it seems unlikely the A7/r would be more power efficient but it would be nice.
p.53 #16 · Official: Sony A7 and A7R Fullframe Mirrorless
miguel_13 wrote:
I'm sorry. . .what precisely is an "event camera" ?
So then, what exactly is the difference between carrying one 80gm battery in the camera or two 57gm batteries-one in the camera and one in your pocket/bag? Altogether the vertical grip and 2 NP-FW50s will add something like 350g (according to Sony's specifications). The hot swap function (if it works as Sony describes) seems worth 350g, but if you prefer to instead carry 200g of loose batts and do a camera reboot every time you change one. . .well cool.
Generally I'm on my 3rd battery at the end of a good day with a NEX6 or 7, it seems unlikely the A7/r would be more power efficient but it would be nice.
p.53 #17 · Official: Sony A7 and A7R Fullframe Mirrorless
miguel_13 wrote:
So then, what exactly is the difference between carrying one 80gm battery in the camera or two 57gm batteries-one in the camera and one in your pocket/bag?
The difference: Volume.
More specifically, volume *in* the camera is the enemy of miniaturization and making large sensor cameras smaller most certainly is on Sony's mind and is of interest to many.
p.53 #20 · Official: Sony A7 and A7R Fullframe Mirrorless
Charlie did you get to check the A7r out today?
I did... along with 30 others, not much time with the camera but colour me impressed.
Here's one from the FE55/1.8 shot wide open, SOOC JPEG. Don't blame the JPEG engine, this camera was preproduction, had dozens of people changing settings such that detail was crunched away. I just like this lens.
I found the camera feels smaller than it even looks here, but not too small. When I first picked up the RX1 a year ago my intial reaction was "this is a little bit too small for me" whereas picking up the A7r just felt good right from the start. 20131107-R0020753 by whiskyvictor, on Flickr
Loud shutter? Nah, not at all. Focus was snappy.
There's another hands-on this Sunday in Vancouver; if anyone is interested, PM me. Might have a chance to shoot with one without a crowd around, will know more in a day or so.
