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Ultimately I think what it boils down to is how much are you willing to spend to save swapping batteries? Clearly the Sony is the superior battery here. So if you want to have minimum battery changes, the least amount of batteries to charge before a wedding then your choice is clear. On the other hand, if you want to save money and don't mind changing batteries more often, then the Powerextra batteries might suit your needs and offer you value for money. One of the biggest criticisms of early Sony mirrorless cameras was the fact the NP-FW50 battery did not have enough capacity for professional wedding photographers and videographers. I remember the early days when we filmed weddings using the Sony A6300 & A6500's. We would literally carry a bag full of NP-FW50 batteries and constantly be stressing over which camera needed to have a new battery soon. Having grown up in Yorkshire, I always have the urge to save money! Sometimes I have to remind myself of the adage, "Buy Cheap, Buy Twice!" and "You get what you pay for." Given the fact the Sony was only showing 87%, I figured I'd start the test anyway. Since many Sony owners do not use the original Sony BC-QZ1 charger, instead using third party chargers. The Sony A7iii, doesn't even include a dedicated charger! (I assume to keep costs down). I wanted to see what happened. Would the Sony still win? Or would the Powerextra be victorious? As I have mentioned though, our desire for longer battery life outweighs the extra cost we need to spend on the Sony batteries. Yes it means we have to pay a bit more but the extra latitude that affords us is worth it in our opinion.
However, where the SmallRig version excels is in its higher 2400mAh capacity, compared to the 2280mAh found in Sony’s own NP-FZ100, offering extra minutes for both video and stills. The big feature here, however, is the Direct USB Type-C charging—simply plug in a cable into the battery, and you can expect a full charge in around 2 and a half hours.
Battery life was massively improved when Sony released the A9 with the new NP-FZ100. Since then this has become the new battery for all modern Sony mirrorless cameras. It is probably easier for us wedding photographers to swap out batteries. With a new battery, I could usually eek out a Sony NP-FZ100 battery until just before first dance. Where i'd probably be hovering around 6-7%. That would probably see me through the first dance until I left if I wanted to really push it. But is too close for comfort for me at a real wedding. So I have gotten used to putting in a fresh battery during the wedding breakfast when everyone is eating. It just saves me time later in the day and removes the risk of me getting caught out when I'm trying to capture the perfect moment between the bride and groom!
Services availability depends on region. A part or whole of software/services installed into or accessible through the product may be changed, discontinued, removed, suspended, or terminated without notice. After fully charging both batteries using the Sony charger, I repeated the test. This time noting down the times each dropped 10% charge. Here are the results. Percentage I should fully charge both to 100% using the BC-QZ1 charger and repeat the test. Unfortunately I cannot now see what charge each battery was holding since the charger doesn't tell me. Of course I was not expecting the Powerextra battery to be anywhere near 2500mAh. Let's just say over the years I've learned that third party manufacturers can be 'generous' with their estimates. Be that battery capacity or light emitted from a flash, I've learned to always take these figures with a pinch of salt! Using the Powerextra, I would clearly have to swap batteries earlier. I'd be nervously looking at the meter and fretting during groups and couples portraits about the remaining capacity.After the first test, I realised a couple of things which limited the usefulness of my observations. These were: One option I just thought of is to use the original Sony battery you got with the camera and have one PowerExtra as the second battery. That could be a happy compromise if you really want to save money. For Wedding Videographers
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