26/04/2026 11:25 am
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Sony's official Z100 batteries are honestly highway robbery at like 80 bucks a pop and I'm just fed up with how fast they drain when I'm shooting 4k video for my YouTube channel. I've got a wedding gig coming up in Seattle next month and I need like four more spares but I just cant justify spending 300 dollars on batteries alone right now.
I'm looking for something that:
- wont blow up my A7IV
- actually holds a decent charge for more than 40 minutes
- costs under 40 bucks per unit
- has a USB-C port for charging on the go
Does anyone actually use brands like Wasabi or Neewer for professional work or am I just asking for a fried motherboard?
5 Answers
10
26/04/2026 11:50 am
Building on the earlier suggestion, I've run these on my A7IV for weddings without issue:
10
26/04/2026 12:10 pm
Been thinking about this... are you shooting the wedding solo or with a second? Itd help to know how much downtime youll have. I remember a rainy shoot in Seattle where my Sony battery just died mid-ceremony. Swapped in a Batmax NP-FZ100 USB-C Rechargeable Battery and it worked fine. Theyre a decent budget option. TL;DR: Batmax is reliable for the price.
5
26/04/2026 12:10 pm
^ This. Also, honestly im in the exact same boat right now trying to kit out for a long documentary shoot next month. Its painful watching hundreds of dollars vanish just on power... literally makes my stomach turn. Over the years ive noticed the market is basically split into two tiers for these fz100 clones:
- Generic rebranders who just slap a sticker on whatever cheap cell they found that week.
- Tech companies that actually develop their own BMS (Battery Management System) to talk to Sony cameras properly. Sony gets away with those crazy prices because their internal chips are incredibly sophisticated. Most cheap third-party ones fail because the camera sees a voltage drop it doesnt like and throws that safety warning pop-up. I've been eyeing the Nitecore UFZ100 USB-C Rechargeable Battery or the Powerextra NP-FZ100 USB-C Battery 2600mAh since they use higher grade lithium cells compared to the bargain basement stuff. Honestly, paying that Sony tax feels like a total scam when you're just trying to survive a professional gig.
4
26/04/2026 11:26 am
Totally get the price pain. Using third-party stuff is usually fine, but definitely be careful with the A7IV since it's picky about firmware.
- SmallRig NP-FZ100 USB-C Rechargeable Camera Battery is super solid and actually lasts near the original.
- Neewer NP-FZ100 USB-C Rechargeable Battery is cheaper, but you might get an annoying pop-up warning. I would suggest the SmallRig one to avoid any motherboard anxiety.
2
26/04/2026 1:00 pm
Exactly what I was thinking
