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If you own a Sony a series camera then you know that Sony normally doesn’t provide a charger or an extra battery with the camera set (unless you buy a bundle). This saves the buyer some money upfront, but it will cost the buyer more when they have to buy more batteries and a good wall charger. Sony offers OEM products and they are good reliable products, but they are expensive. If you look on Amazon, you will find many options for Sony aftermarket chargers and batteries from other companies. Finding good products gets hard with all the fake and poor reviews on Amazon. Currently, I only trust a handful of brands and one of those is Vemico (as of this review). If you are needing to get a charger and battery set for your Sony a series camera you need to take a look at the Vemico NP-FW50 Battery Charger Set. Take a look at my review to learn more about this battery charger set.
Vemico NP-FW50 Battery Charger Set – Features
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The Vemico NP-FW50 Battery Charger Set comes with almost everything you need to add or replace a set of batteries for your Sony cameras. As long as your camera uses an NP-FW50 battery this set will be able to charge your batteries and add an additional 2 to your batteries needs. The kit includes 2 bright orange batteries, a premium USB-C Charging Cable, 2 battery protective cases, a dual USB Charger, and a case to carry it all. All you need is a USB wall charger that charges your phone. Below are the copied features from the Amazon Sales page.
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- 【Fully Compatible】 Replacement battery for NP-FW50, NEX 3/5/7, SLT-A and Alpha 7/7ii/7rii/6500/6400/6300/6000/5100(see instructions for all compatible models)
- 【Fast charging】The 5V-2A Dual USB Charger Can Charge Two Batteries Simultaneously with LCD Display Real-time Monitoring Of Charging Status.
- 【The best replacement】1200 mAh high-quality rechargeable lithium-ion battery that is easy to carry when traveling and provides a reliable power supply for your digital camera / digital video camera.
- 【Absolute safety】Fast charging, automatic low-charging system, Effectively preventing battery overcharge, over-voltage, and other problems, safety to use.
- 【Package Included】1 x Vemico LCD Dual Charger, 2 x NP-FW50 Batteries, 1 x Type-C USB Cable , 24 Hour Customer Service.
Vemico NP-FW50 Battery Charger Set – The Review
A few weeks ago Vemico contacted me about testing some of their products. After talking with them, they sent me the Vemico NP-FW50 Battery Charger Set through Amazon to test. They asked me to write a non-bias review and share my thought here and through my social media network. After the completion of the review, I will keep the free product.
I received the Vemico NP-FW50 Battery Charger Set just over a week ago and used it for 4 different shoots in the last week. This review will be updated if I have any issues over the next year. This review covers first impressions, quality of build of all items in the set, charging of batteries, how well the batteries hold a charge, and final thoughts.
First Impressions
The Vemico NP-FW50 Battery Charger Set comes nicely packaged and is easy to open. Everything is secured and covered in plastic bags or has a plastic protective film over it. After opening the box I found no protective materials packed around the case. The only protection for the contents is the storage case. That case is a well-made leather-like material case with a strong zipper that will keep your charger and batters safe in the case. Once the case was opened, I found that charger, batteries, and USB-C cable are secured inside the case by a secure laser cut spot that is just big enough to press the items into their spots with just a little force.
The batteries are bright orange and hard to lose in a dark bag or dropped on the ground. The build quality is comparable to OEM and similarly priced batteries. When holding them and comparing them to my other batteries they look and feel the same size. To get a more exact measurement I would need to use a pair of calipers and a small scale to know for sure. When installing the batteries I noticed a slightly tighter fit.
Charger
The charger is made well. It’s lightweight, made from plastic, and should last a while if it isn’t dropped. It has a status LED that shows a graphic of the batteries as they fill up. However, there isn’t an option to just plug the battery in to see if it’s full.
Charging Cable
Instead of using a micro-USB cable as my older chargers use, Vemico decided to use USB-C. I still have to carry both cables, but in the future, as more items move to USB-C, that’s one less cable I will have to carry. The cable is a generic cable and will work. I will probably upgrade the cable next time order new cables for my phone.
Charging Tests
Once finished with the inspection, I put each battery into the camera and found them to be almost empty of charge. For the test, I used an Anker Powerport PD 2 30w charger and an Anker Power Strip 2 with two 24-watt USB ports to charge the batteries. Unlike my other chargers, both batteries charge at the same time. but I found the charge time to take hours to complete. I found both batteries to charge from 50% to 100% over 2 hours and from 0% to 100% takes about 4 hours to charge. I found charging one battery at a time speeds the process up. I only tried this once and I need to test this next I need to charge my batteries.
Holding a charge over a period of time could not be tested at this time. I have a full charge on the batteries and will check every few weeks to see how well they hold a charge.
Using the Batteries in the Field
I tested the batteries indoors in a low light area with a speed flash, at a humid indoor pool with a flash, outdoors on a cool morning, in the evening without a flash while it was misting, and on an overcast day with a mixture of rain and mist using an LED light panel. From what I could tell the environment did not affect usage.
Between the different shoots, the batteries held a charge with ease. During the shoots, the camera was usually left on with the LED screen running. I found that during one shoot I shot 427 pictures with a mixture of leaving the camera on and turning it off between longer periods of stand-by. The batteries had almost 70% left. During another shoot, I shot about 100 images and started with 90% battery and got several hours of shoot time, and ended the day with 50% battery life. On the final day, I ran a fresh battery on and off for about 8 hours. During that time I shot several minutes of video and shot 600 images. I only needed one battery! This battery was around 20% and if I had not run out of light I would change out the battery for a new one.
Compared to my OEM and aftermarket batteries I would have had to change out the batteries at least once, maybe twice during a full-day event.
I plan to document my usage and will update the review as more results are received.
Please Note: Result will vary. There are a lot of factors that go into how long a battery lasts, so your batteries may last as long as mine did or they may not.
Final Thoughts
The Vemico NP-FW50 Battery Charger Set is well worth the money. Even if you have a handful of batteries and a good charger, it never hurts to have another charger. The case and the protective plastic battery boxes make this set worth it. I will admit the case takes up extra space in my gear bag and I will eventually remove the case to save space. But when I travel light and only take a small bag and only need 2 or 3 batteries I will use the case and throw it in my backpack.
At first, I was hesitant about having orange batteries since all my gear is black and I’ve always liked the idea of my gear blending in and not standing out. But after digging through my camera bag in the dark and dropping the battery at night I found it easy to find it. The only time the battery is visible is when I install it. So it’s not that big of a deal.
Keep in mind that this battery and charger does not come with a wall charger and you will need to provide the wall charger, car charger, or portable charger to connect your battery charger. I would suggest getting a good reliable charger with Quick Charge and smart technologies (which protect your device).
I found no issues with the Vemico NP-FW50 Battery Charger Set and I highly recommend replacing your batteries or adding more batteries to your gear with a set of these. If you own NEX 3/5/7, SLT-A and Alpha 7/7ii/7rii/6500/6400/6300/6000/5100, then this set will work for you. If you own another camera brand then check Vemico’s Amazon Vendor Page and see if they have set for you.
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